It has been quite a culture shock for M so far. My boy makes it clear often enough that he isn't impressed with big school. Haha! There are daily grouses, though thankfully, these are dwindling by the week.
Besides having to get used to the long hours away from home and the new routine which involves waking at 6 am, there is also the steep learning curve to be even more independent. Though I think he is independent enough to survive and adapt, I am sure the uncertainty adds a level of uneasiness and unhappiness. He is vocal and sensitive to begin with, so perhaps he is more ready than the average easygoing child to voice his displeasure.
It is all getting better though. He is still not skipping with joy every morning about going to school, but he isn't protesting either. On most days, he does grumble, albeit a little, and has even mentioned an ingenious idea of creating a robot clone to go to school on his behalf. Heehee...
While I would say that the past weeks have been rather smooth-sailing, it has been quite an experience for me too. Several incidents happened, which not only highlighted a growing area of concern but also taught me plenty in the department of parenting. But I shall save them for another post.
The first week was orientation week which included some walkabout in school, fire drill and assembly-style events.
Classroom activities included some free expression drawings and coloring. Kids were told to bring a storybook to read. There are also lots of books of different themes in every classroom which they can read during their free time.
Lessons proper started in Week 2, which was last week. I must say that there were a few things that surprised me so far.
The textbooks and workbooks are hardly touched though the lessons have supposedly started.
Worksheets for every subject were handled out by the subject teacher and kids just had to do them. There were no former instructions (i.e. teaching).
One day, M came home to tell me that everyone had to complete a 19-pages booklet consisting of 2 Maths questions per page. He finished his well ahead of time and they were all easy to him. Asked him for some sample questions and I can see why he would find them to be easy, but I wonder if it is the same for everyone.
Another day, he did a 12-pages booklet with lots of English questions.
I've known for some time that in some schools, the teachers just assumed that the kids are already advanced enough to be able to handle the basic concepts and if not, they will have to get outside help (e.g. tuition or parental help).
So the teachers just teach the 'extras', which is why the introduction of plenty of worksheets. According to the rumours that I've heard, M's school is one of these and that some teachers are more extreme than others.
But I also wonder if the teachers are introducing the worksheets right now without instructions to gauge the abilities of every child. This would be a logical and reasonable practice since a good teacher must know the strengths and weaknesses of every student before she can push him further to make progress or guide him along to meet the minimum standards.
M told me there are some students in his class who seemed to be really struggling with some worksheets, while majority of the class breezed through them. To be expected, I suppose.
Now that we have come to the end of Week 3, there still isn't any homework. Not even a liner!
I am reluctant to give him much work too, after seeing how exhausted he is by the time he gets in from school. He deserves a rest for sure after the long day.
Thankfully, his foundation is strong and I know that for now at least, he is still finding all the work in school 'easy peasy' as he puts it. Even for Chinese, he is doing fine because we had done quite a bit of work last year which puts him well ahead of the curriculum.
The thing is, as parents, we don't get regular feedback from school anymore, at least not as regular as most of us would like. So if a child struggles with his work in school and we don't see any of it at home, there will be no red flag until it is too late.
While I like the no-homework practice, I am not going to take a laid-back approach and wait for the alarm bells to go off. It seems wiser to keep the pace of learning consistent now.
The honeymoon (for me) is over. It's time to oil the engine again.
11 comments:
I feel you have prepared M far well enough to cope with the academic in big school. And I am very sure you are helping him on coping the emotional part. He will love school once make friends or find an outlet to let out his talent. (eg. making robot)
I have been reading your blog far before I sent my girl to your class and certainly like your teaching style. Do you mind putting them down (summaries) in pointer so to benefit me or all readers out there what we should cover before the big school?
I would love to learn from you!
it doesnt sound gd when the kiddo seems bored w sch.
nevertheless it only gets to show u've prepared him well ahead.
no-teaching style is really a sad thing to know. a teacher is meant to teach and not assume everyone alrdy knew the subject. then why do we need to go to sch?
Sunflower, I agree that once he has made friends and get more used to the routine and long hours, he will come to look forward to going to school. :> Slowly but surely, it will get better. He is beginning to tell us more about his friends and he is also mingling around now - something which we actively encourage.
As for your suggestion on what to cover before the big school, I think there are some good pointers at the kiasuparents forum. The 'experts' there have pointed out quite a long list in one of their 'preparing for primary one' threads. That, I think is a 'minimum requirement' list.
But I also think it is essential for parents to realize that the school which the child is going to enter (assuming parents have already 'chosen' one) may have a much higher expectation. E.g. if a child is struggling with Chinese and parents want to send the kid to a Pri school that offers Higher Chinese at P1, then it makes sense to prepare the child to a certain level or risk having him 'drowning' there.
Anon, I don't think my kid is bored with school. I think he is just going through a normal adjustment phase and he is expressing his feelings/thoughts about the adjustment. In fact, I have expected it to take a while since the transition is a big one.
A child who is skipping to big school and coming home smiling and happy in the first week may look as if he is adjusting well on the surface, but I think we can't always take things at face value too. Some kids just 'float' along to whatever new situations without any opinions or strong feelings, hence they have nothing to express.
I am not sure about the no-teaching style yet. Still too early to say. Like I said, the teacher could be testing the kids to find out their current abilities.
Even if the no-teaching or minimal teaching style persists, the ones who will eventually lag behind will be the one who are already struggling. They will either have to stay back for remedial lessons (which means longer hours in school) or tuition classes after school.
In fact, I am sure this trend of minimal teaching and covering the 'extras' is more common in more schools now than it ever was. Talk to parents of any of the popular schools, and you will get a glimpse of the reality.
Sad or not, wise parents should be realistic and be constructive in helping the child. Lamenting about the what-should-have-been won't do the kids any good.
hi, I think the 12-page worksheets that you have mentioned are the school readiness tests conducted by MOE to detect pupils with learning needs. Thus, no instruction is needed.
Btw, no news is good news. Trs will call parent when red light is detected.
Maybe ur boy is referring to the School Readiness Test. Hence the many pgs involved. These test are conducted in P1 level, which is the entry level to primary school.
My gal also comes back with 'no instruction' wksheets. :)
Hi Anon and Xiaoci Mama, thanks for pointing out that these could be the school readiness tests. Wasn't aware of their existence, though I thought that the papers are probably for a similar purpose.
Agree to a certain extent that no news is good news. But I suppose parents are only called up for the severe cases that require parental knowledge. Must still be on our toes though and not wait for the 'news'.
Thoroughly enjoyed this post of yours. Feeling bored and (more than!) a wee bit unhappy is very normal for kids in primary school. Instead of fun learning in kindergartens, it is serious academic business in primary schools, and the kids know it. No matter how holistic a primary school we choose, the kids still have to sit down and work significantly harder than in their kindergartens, and they know it fully. Anyway, they will soon learn that hard work is not always fun but the outcomes could be fulfilling. CCAs and school participation in non-academic activities (plays, musicals, sports competitions etc) might play a fundamental role in enhancing a child's attachment to their schools too...but it will take time. Just my 2 cents' worth from own experience :)
Hang in there! I am sure Marcus will adapt beautifully and perform excellently!
Thanks Linette for sharing your experience! I totally agree with you.
I have been telling him everyday that it will all get better. The part that is hardest for him, I think, is the long hours and early waking but he is slowly getting used to it now. And yes, he has been remarking that it is all work and work and more work in school! Haha!
I have also encouraged him to join a sport CCA, believing that he will come to enjoy it despite the tough physical demands. I hope he will and if he doesn't, he will at least make friends from other levels and classes and learn something new. But I know I have to continue to cheer him on for sure from now till he reaches the point when he is good enough at the sport to derive pleasure and satisfaction from it.
thank you for sharing. this post really give me a glimpse on the local system and i really need to do something to my girl at least to count and to read before her P1 next year:(.
sigh...
Hi pc, it really depends which school you plan to register your child in. But it will definitely help her a great deal that she can read and understand basic Maths concepts by end of K2.
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