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In a blog post earlier this month titled Primary Colours - Dispelling Myths About Primary Education, Member of Parliament Hri Kumar Nair said that the Ministry of Education should address questions which keep surfacing regarding Primary 1 classes.
Labelling them Myth or Fact, the Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC representative listed four items.
Myth or fact 1: Kids need to have learned certain skills before starting school
Children must have certain literacy and numeracy skills before starting school but parents were not clear about what level of skills are needed.
Hence, parents over-prepare their child.
"The Education Ministry (MOE) should simply make this clear, and remove the anxiety", Mr Nair wrote.
Addressing myth 1
Mrs Kathryn Koh, Principal, Anglo-Chinese School (Junior):
Pupils join the school at Primary 1 with a diverse range of literacy and numeracy skills. As such, there are MOE initiatives such as the Learning Support Programme (LSP) and the Learning Support for Maths (LSM) programmes to help level them up.
The LSP is a specialised early intervention programme aimed at providing learning support to pupils who enter Primary 1 with weak English language and literacy skills.
The pupils are supported daily for half an hour in groups of eight to 10 pupils, and this continues in Primary 2 for pupils who need it.
LSM is an early intervention effort aimed at providing additional support to pupils who do not have foundational numeracy skills and knowledge to access the Primary 1 Maths curriculum. They are supported by an LSM Teacher for four to eight periods a week.
Madam Goh Beng Su, Principal, Damai Primary School:
Regardless of a child's literacy or numeracy skills when he enters school, all the teachers are expected to teach according to the syllabus.
MOE:
The Primary 1 curriculum here is designed to meet the learning needs of all pupils, regardless of their background and level of competency prior to entering primary school.
MOE will continue to work with schools to ensure that lessons taught are developmentally-appropriate and pupils have a well-rounded education.
Myth or fact 2: Teachers do not teach the curriculum if the majority of the class already knows their stuff
"There is much anecdotal evidence that this happens," Mr Nair wrote.
"It only rewards over-preparation and forces others to over-prepare as well."
Mr Nair said it is fine if teachers want to teach beyond the curriculum, but it should not be at the expense of their responsibility to ensure that all their students are taught the curriculum.
Addressing myth 2
Mrs Koh (ACSJ):
Teachers at ACSJ teach the curriculum as guided by the syllabus.
The delivery of the curriculum is done in such a way that will stretch and maximise the potential of each child; thus, there is differentiated instruction for varying pupil abilities.
Madam Goh (Damai Pri):
Regardless of a child's literacy or numeracy skills when he enters school, all the teachers are expected to teach according to the syllabus.
MOE:
While MOE does not prescribe a syllabus for all pre-schools to adopt, it has developed and published a curriculum framework and guide to provide broad teaching and learning guidelines.
MOE had, in 2008/2009, reviewed the primary school system and recommended a more holistic education through a stronger emphasis on non-academic aspects within the curriculum.
That is, with the use of effective and engaging teaching methods as well as holistic assessment.
Schools in Singapore have been progressively implementing these recommendations.
Myth or fact 3: Tuition is encouraged for weaker pupils
In his blog post, Mr Nair noted that he had heard of teachers encouraging parents to send children who are behind for tuition.
He wrote: "It would be particularly egregious if the child is considered 'behind' simply because his classmates are ahead of the curriculum."
He felt it should be the obligation of the school to help those who are behind or have difficulty coping and the problem should not be outsourced to a tuition centre.
"With primary schools going full-day, there is more scope to offer weaker students extra lessons," he wrote.
Addressing myth 3
Mrs Koh (ACSJ):
ACSJ does not encourage parents to send children who are behind for tuition.
The school has a structured remedial programme and a structured pull-out programme for pupils identified as in need of extra support.
Madam Goh (Damai Pri):
Our pupils generally do not need tuition.
For those who are under-performing, our teachers are equipped with the skills to support them through differentiated teaching.
MOE:
When teachers come across pupils who are under-performing in their studies, they would look for ways of giving such students additional learning support.
These include providing these pupils with more attention in class through differentiated teaching and small group teaching, or offering them remedial or supplementary lessons after school.
Where and when helpful and necessary, teachers also provide individual coaching to such students outside lessons.
Myth or fact 4: Smarter Primary 1 pupils are "streamed" into better classes and are taught by better teachers
Mr Nair felt MOE should put a stop to this if it was true.
"If teachers ensure that all their students are taught the curriculum, there will be no need for such 'streaming'," he said.
"Besides, if you want pre-school to be more about social skills and play, it makes no sense to group children according to their literacy and numeracy skills the minute they enter primary school."
Addressing myth 4
Mrs Koh (ACSJ):
There is no streaming for Primary 1 at ACSJ and Primary 1 classes also move up as a whole to Primary 2 without any streaming.
As part of staff welfare policy, when the school carries out its forward planning for a new school year, staff are asked to indicate their preferred level of teaching and subjects to teach.
The school will do its best to accommodate them as far as possible, and will also take into consideration the school's needs.
For example, as part of staff training and development, ACSJ ensures that all its staff are equipped with the necessary skill sets to teach that level.
In addition to being trained to deliver the curriculum, all Primary 1 teachers are specially trained to help pupils adjust to a new school environment.
They are also specially trained to support the social, emotional needs of that age group.
Madam Goh (Damai Pri):
While the pupils at Damai Primary are not streamed at Primary 1 and Primary 2, the teachers are assigned to classes based on their content specialisation, and will teach students of mixed academic abilities.
MOE:
As young children experience rapid growth spurts during early stages of their development, ability-grouping of pupils at a very young age is premature and inaccurate.
MOE has, therefore, instructed all primary schools in 2011 that they should not conduct testing for the purpose of allocating students to similar-ability classes at Primary 1 and 2.
Primary 1 and Primary 2 pupils should be grouped heterogeneously into classes, while ensuring a good spread of students by gender and ethnicity in each class.
