Laura's homework Thurs, 19 Jun
Mandarin
A few phrases are picked out of a passage from the textbook. To identify the "radical" of these passages, number of strokes and the pinyin. Then make sentences with these phrases.
Bahasa Melayu Tulisan Rumi (pages 1-4)
Writing exercise. Most of the words, Laura don't know. She just writes them.
Thursday's homework has been like a holiday compared to the previous days! Laura read a book for leisure before going to bed. If only it was like this every day.
A few phrases are picked out of a passage from the textbook. To identify the "radical" of these passages, number of strokes and the pinyin. Then make sentences with these phrases.
Bahasa Melayu Tulisan Rumi (pages 1-4)
Writing exercise. Most of the words, Laura don't know. She just writes them.
Thursday's homework has been like a holiday compared to the previous days! Laura read a book for leisure before going to bed. If only it was like this every day.
Labels: homework, Laura school
posted by Min Chan at
5:53 am
3 Comments:
I'm unable to comment from a mother's perspective (no kids yet - well, not even married). However, having gone thru the SRJK (C) system and went straight into a Chinese Independent High School, all before working in one of the private schools you mentioned and then in a university college, I'd like to share my 2 cents worth with you.
The real essence of "education" is long gone in our systems - it has turned into a race of "let's-see-whose-kid-can finish-all-his-homework". I used to join force with my mum to help my then-primary-school-attending brother finish him homework on time. That itself was a joke.
I agree with you on sending kids to private schools running the Malaysian Curriculum - total waste of money. Don't get me wrong, there are good kids, good teachers in local private schools. Here's a very brief pros vs. cons of the private school I used to work in (entirely my own opinions and thru observations):
The Good: (generally) less pressure on completing mountains of homework, better personal attention due to small classes (the max. no of student allowed for each class in that school was 20, though some classes have 22-25), interactions / meetings btwn parents-teachers are encouraged (no PTA though), better facilities, generally better and more experienced teachers (they don't hire as many fresh grads with just a Dip. Ed like public schools) and cleaner toilets (lol)!
The Bad: the "80-20" rule (think this is rampant in public schools as well), where teachers will only teach 80% of the curriculum in class - attend exclusive tuition classes if you want to know the rest. The rotten-spoilt kids with attention deficit disorder (some Dato's illegitimate child from a 3rd wife, some businessmen's under-the-radar child, you get the drill) and a few other black sheeps, the ridiculously exorbident fees and the school traffic during peak schooling hours (the drivers /maids / parents who have to see the kids right thru to the doorsteps of the classroom, and hence double, triple park in front of the school)
The truth is, I'm not an advocate for home-schooling either - we used to reject home-schooled students into the college coz their syllabus is NOT recognised by the ministry and MQA (previously known as LAN) and hence these kids normally go overseas directly after their Year 11 or 12 (equivalent to our post-SPM / matriculation). I'm not sure how far the Ministry of Education is at to liberalize the enrollment of local kids into International schools, but I personally feel that is a privilege only available to a handful of fortunate kids whose parents can afford the fees (think RM20+k per year).
All said, I am of the opinion that Laura is probably best at where she is now. She may struggle with the amount of homework given, have less time for a "real" childhood, etc., but the bright girl that she is, she will come out a stronger person and cope better in the secondary years and even into her career.
As a kid, having my mum with me every night, going thru my homework and revising my studies with me was the part I cherished the most - though sometimes she struggled with the language (she REFUSED to hire a tuition teacher for me and my bro, like most other kids our age had). As we grew up, we are thankful that she went thru the whole process with us, had so much patience with the obvious weaknesses in our edcuation system (despite the occasional face-offs with our teachers in school). My brother and I didn't turn out too bad either. =)
I'm sure you want nothing less than the best for Laura & Adam, as do all other parents. Unless you are ready to move out of the country to embrace a new education system, changing schools may probably do her more harm than good at this point in time. The last thing you want is for her to have to adapt to a whole new environment / new friends (God knows how long that will take), thinking that the reason she was transferred out was because she isn't good enuf or couldn't cope with the current school. That's worse.
Stay strong and have faith. =)
-Bubbles-
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Kenny Surtani
Bubbles, the reason why we're transfering Laura is not that she cannot cope nor that she's not good enough. Excelling at her studies will be at the expense of her growing up to be her. I don't agree with the way the teachers interact with the children, nor the way some of Laura's teachers teach. Laura knows full well the switch isn't because for her but for her.
Kenny, if you want to leave a comment please make sure it's relevant to the post. Thank you.
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