Primary One Exam Blues

Son No 2 will be having his term exams this week. He is in Primary One. Can you hazard a guess how many papers he has to sit for?

Let's count:

1. Chinese Writing
2. Chinese Grammar
3. Malay Writing
4. Malay Grammar
5. English
6. Math in Chinese
7. Math in English
8. Science in Chinese
9. Science in English
10. Moral Education

Incredible but true. Ten papers over two weeks. I am thankful that Son No 2 is above average in intelligence. If he puts in the effort, he can do it.

But we are talking about a 7-year-old boy. How much time do we want him to spend on his studies? I tend to think I am pretty liberal in not "forcing" the child to study. It is pointless. But to handle all those subjects? It is pretty daunting for the child.

The syllabi are very heavy for all the subjects (except English). I do my best to guide him, especially in Malay. The Primary One syllabus for Malay is over the top. They learn things that are of little use. Seriously.

I will give you an example. They learn the different parts of an ayam jantan - a cock. You would expect them to learn about the wing, the beak, the tail, the feet. Fair enough. But no, not only that. They are expected to know the name of that little red thing on top of the head, which I now learn is called the "balung". Don't know its English name. Also the little red thing dangling below the cock's head like a beard . It is called "pial". Don't know its English name. Also that little short sharp thing at the feet - called the "susuh". Don't know its English name.

Can someone tell me, for the love of God, when is my child ever going to start a conversation or have a chance to talk about those obscure parts of the cock (as in the ayam jantan)!!!!

Ok, Ok, back to the topic at hand (God, it's good to ventilate those frustrations) - it shows the stress is not only on the child, but also on the Mummy!!!!

As a caring parent, I plan his study time (not more than an hour a day) - plan how he spends that one hour productively, that means, tailoring exercises that gain maximum mileage - plan how to engage him during that one hour by varying the type of activities.... Above all, I am careful not to kill his interest in his studies. So far so good.

There is much we can do about our education system here. But I guess whatever it is, it is still better to learn more things than not to learn anything at all. And at least, the teachers in his school are caring. It is the system that is misplaced.

Luckily, as a trained educator, I know what are the realistic expectations of my child. Marks and position in class/level are not key indicators of the cognitive ability of a child. I know my child's strengths and weaknesses more than anyone. My challenge is really not to let these externalities affect my child's self-esteem. If I ever see the threat of that happening, it will be time to take the child out of the system.