Full-day school is quite a drastic measure to combat tuition. Also, unless full-day means 7am to 7pm, it is unlikely to be different from the status quo.

Any parent with children in secondary school or JC is aware that school is already pretty much “full-day” as of today, from 7am to 5pm at the minimum on most days (including CCA). Hence, there is not much room to get more “full-day” than now. JC students are known to stay much later for CCA, probably some are already having schedules from 7am to 7pm, which more than qualifies as “full-day”.

Also, even if full-day school (say 7am to 7pm) is implemented, there seems nothing to stop students from having tuition during the weekends, or on weekdays 8pm-10pm.

Probably most students would not be too pleased at having a full-day school. If I were still a student, I would definitely be more stressed out by the full-day school. I would much rather have some homework but end school early. I would imagine teachers won’t be too happy too, full-day school for students means full-day school for teachers, since obviously some if not all teachers must stay back to supervise the students.

Most unhappy would be tutors, for obvious reasons. Probably if this is implemented, most tutors will have to change jobs. 😛

The underlying idea to level the playing field is good and makes sense though. Possibly make the full-day optional so that those who want to stay back and have the full-day can do so, those who want to leave can also do so.

Source: TodayOnline

SINGAPORE — To level the playing field for children from less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds, and break out of the country’s tuition culture, Nominated Member of Parliament Chia Yong Yong has suggested that all schools adopt a full-day curriculum.

That way, the children will complete their homework during school hours, and be able to spend more time on “push-frontier practicals” aimed at training them to become more comfortable in tackling problems and to grow an appetite for risk-taking. These qualities are essential traits for the current technological revolution, also known as Industry 4.0, she said.

In her Budget debate speech in Parliament on Wednesday (Feb 28), Ms Chia said the current academic model “runs the risk of not harnessing the potential of all our young people” who do not have access to enrichment and tuition classes. As a result, those from more advantaged socio-economic backgrounds who have access to these classes will outperform their peers.

Stressing that “every school is a good school, but not every home is equal”, the lawyer said the current system has been “abused” such that inequality continues to be perpetuated and deepened.

According to an article published by the American Psychological Association (APA), many teenagers in the USA say they experience stress in patterns comparable to what adults go through. Teenagers also report higher stress levels than adults during the school year.

Tutors from Leaps ‘n Bounds, a learning center in Dubai, also observe that teen stress is not just confined to adolescents in certain countries; it is slowly becoming a widespread issue.

Teen stress can be caused by different factors including the pressure to perform well (or at least to pass) academically and in sports, and to have a great social life. In school, adolescents constantly face tough academic demands and responsibilities and experience social pressure.

Unfortunately, these challenges spill over even after the afternoon school bell rings, which can cause teenagers to feel even more stressed.

Dealing with Teen Stress

For teenagers to learn how to effectively deal with school pressures, they need to develop and rely on key personal skills. These include:

1.    Time management

All teenagers today always seem to be swamped with numerous activities: assignments, studying, extracurricular activities and sports. They need to find time for their friends, too.

Because teenagers need to have enough time to go through and complete these activities, they need to learn how to manage their time properly. Time management is an important skill they need to develop. This skill pertains to their ability to plan and control how they spend the hours in their day to complete their tasks and accomplish their goals.

 With proper time management, teens will be able to establish which tasks to prioritize and how to set their goals, and learn how to monitor where their time actually goes. As such, they will be able to avoid the stress of not having enough time on their hands to finish their assignments, complete their projects, meet their friends, and see their maths tutors in Dubai, if they have additional weekly tutorial or learning sessions.

2.    Setting realistic goals

Being number one in the class and, at the same time, for example, being the captain of the school football team are goals worth working hard for. However, overachieving teens tend to feel more pressure. When they fail or feel they didn’t perform up to expectations, they may develop low self-esteem and other negative feelings and attitudes.

Teenagers, therefore, are encouraged to lower their goals or set more realistic ones so that they can achieve more. By doing so, teens will also avoid pressure and boost academic success.

3.    Positive coping skills

 Coping skills are daily strategies and activities everyone uses or relies on to deal with, work through, or process emotions. Examples of positive coping skills include exercising, meditating, talking with friends or other family members, and having healthy hobbies such as reading and gardening.

Teenagers need to develop and practice positive coping skills instead of negative ones so that they will learn how to deal with stress through healthy ways. Positive coping strategies increase long-term resilience and well-being.

Negative coping techniques such as smoking and using drugs, on the other hand, may provide temporary relief from difficult emotions and pressure but lead to substance dependency and abuse.

For teenagers to effectively withstand adversity and deal confidently with daily stress and other challenges, they need to choose and apply positive coping strategies.

4.    Self-care

 For teens to better cope with pressure, they also need to have strong, healthy bodies. Teenagers, therefore, need to get enough sleep and rest, have a well-balanced diet, and get the right amount of exercise their bodies they need every day.

Adolescents need to take some time to pause from the relentless pace of everyday life and enjoy some creative activities that will help keep them from dwelling on or stressing over school pressures. This, in turn, will help them lower their stress levels.

5.    Optimism

Generally, stress is precipitated by stressful thinking. As such, teens can avoid stress and its negative effects by changing the way they think. When they have a positive mental attitude, they will have stronger coping strategies, better health, and a more stable, less stressful emotional life.

Adopting a positive way of thinking also helps teens complete their work and handle all their responsibilities. If they consistently think they won’t finish something or they don’t have enough time on their hands, they will lack the motivation to complete what they already started or even begin their task.

Teenagers only have a few more years before they enter another important phase in their lives: adulthood. But they can still enjoy all the experiences that come with adolescence and, at the same time, cope with all their school work and other activities without all the stress by simply developing the right skills.

AUTHOR BIO

Bushra Manna is one of the founders and Principal of Leaps and Bounds Education Centre – Motorcity. She has 20 years’ experience teaching the British and American curricula internationally at primary level – early middle school level, ages 4-12. Bushra believes in imparting deep learning to a child and not just rote learning, which is why she recommends the Magikats programme at her centre, to promote a genuine understanding with its multisensory, differentiated and interactive approach within a small group setting.

Maths Tuition

Tutor (Mr Wu):
– Raffles Alumni
– NUS 1st Class Honours in Mathematics

Experience: More than 10 years experience, has taught students from RJC, NJC, ACJC and many other JCs. Also has experience teaching Additional Math (O Level, IP).

Personality: Friendly, patient and good at explaining complicated concepts in a simple manner. Provides tips for how to check for careless mistakes, and tackle challenging problems.

Email: mathtuition88@gmail.com

Areas teaching (West / Central Singapore, including Bukit Batok, Dover, Clementi, Jurong)

Maths Tuition

Tutor (Mr Wu):
– Raffles Alumni
– NUS 1st Class Honours in Mathematics

Experience: More than 10 years experience, has taught students from RJC, NJC, ACJC and many other JCs. Also has experience teaching Additional Math (O Level, IP).

Personality: Friendly, patient and good at explaining complicated concepts in a simple manner. Provides tips for how to check for careless mistakes, and tackle challenging problems.

Email: mathtuition88@gmail.com

Areas teaching (West / Central Singapore, including Bukit Batok, Dover, Clementi, Jurong)

Maths Tuition – What are the Benefits?

Maths tuition brings about many benefits that can be seen for the parent, the teacher and especially the student who is struggling with their mathematics subject in school. For starters, it will have a huge impact for the student because their entire future can depend on their academic performance in PSLE, O-level, and A-level examinations – all of which requires the student to take the math subject.

For young kids, academics and performance in school can be everything. Their self-esteem and pride depends on it and it helps to guide them in the right direction. Performing well in all subjects helps us to determine who they will become in the future and what they wish to achieve. However, this can be difficult to do when the poor child is struggling in school, particularly in mathematics. Having the opportunity to participate in private maths tuition can help a student get back on the right track once again.

Maths tuition can be extremely useful for Singaporean parents as well. While we all try our best to help our students be successful, there are simply some areas where we are not knowledgeable enough to help out very much. A lot of parents are simply not equipped enough in maths to be able to guide our children adequately. There are also many changes to the education system such the newer and harder syllabuses that can hinder our ability to help our kids as well.

However, with a private maths tutor, our kids can learn the proper way to craft mathematics answers, draw models, and solve algebraic questions, developing the tools necessary to help them succeed in their mathematics exam. Doing well in mathematics not only helps students regain their confidence and improve their T-scores, it also helps them in the long-run as they develop into working adults, as mental arithmetic ability is useful in many practical situations. A good maths tutor can use their expertise to help guide students back onto the right path so that all of their goals and dreams can become a reality.

Teachers can also benefit from private tuition as well. Since a teacher has many students that they are required to teach at one time, it is difficult for them to have the time necessary to devote to one struggling student. However, when students in the class engage their own private maths tutor from a maths tuition agency, the teacher will not have to focus too much on that one student, hindering any of the other children in the classroom as well.

With the right tuition agency, parents can engage private maths tuition in any location and there are benefits for everyone involved. Also, if the mathematics tutors are specialized; meaning if your student is struggling in math, a private maths tuition teacher can help to bring their grades up and to catch them up with the remainder of the class.

Maths tutors are great for all age groups and can even be beneficial for those in university as well. Choosing to engage private maths tuition for your child is a great decision, and whether you are a student, parent or teacher, a good maths tutor help to make everyone’s lives a little better.

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-on-the-web/tuition-still-effective-for-many

This parent has hit the nail on the head (find exactly the right answer) regarding tuition:

Whether tuition yields results largely depends on pupils’ attitudes towards learning and how motivated they are.

In conclusion, tuition is necessary and can be effective if pupils make full use of it. But parents still need to decide for themselves if tuition is the answer for their children, and not be influenced by societal pressure.

Read the article for the full letter.