Ah, the “PSLE year.”
It looms over the heads of almost every parent with a kid in primary school.
Well-meaning parents often enrol their children for primary school tuition and PSLE “bootcamps” in preparation for the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), sometimes long before their children’s PSLE year.
But just how effective are primary school tuition and PSLE bootcamps in helping your child achieve PSLE success?
PSLE year and the draw of primary school tuition
Setting a local and international benchmark for what 12-year-olds can achieve, the PSLE assesses how well and how much your child has learnt throughout his or her primary school years.
Students will then be allocated to secondary schools according to their academic aptitude and choice. Pressure, much?
“In essence, P6 kids who are ranked higher for the PSLE t-score will have more secondary school choices. Generally, secondary schools with better school environment are very popular and have higher cut-off points,” opined one parent on the KiasuParents.com forum.
It also translates that if your child qualifies for such schools, he/she will have a more conducive environment for learning and a lesser chance of disciplinary problems during the teenage years.
Read also: Skip Primary School Tuition! We Recommend Alternatives to Help Your Child Excel
Primary school tuition centres: Opt in or out?
Parents who choose not to enrol their PSLE child for primary school tuition or bootcamp may do so for several reasons:
They value non-academic activities
At times, it comes down to parenting philosophy.
Some parents value non-academic activities, and thus instead of rushing from math enrichment class to Chinese tuition on the weekends, their children have the opportunity to try theatrical dance, art or swimming.
For these parents, the goal is to develop well-roundedness.
What about children who are allowed to spend their free time, well, freely?
Some parents may be concerned about their kids “idling the time away” without being productive, yet from another parent’s perspective, this is precious time for their children to play, explore, fulfill their curiosity, and enjoy the freedom and simplicity in childhood.
Many parents wish for the best of both worlds: “I want my kids to enjoy their holidays but learn something along the way too. Maybe I’m too kiasu!” wrote one parent on a KiasuParents.com forum.
A possible drawback of opting out of primary school tuition is the risk of falling behind in primary school or not reaching his or her full academic potential if your child really needs the extra help.
Of course, this also depends on your child’s academic acumen, study habits, confidence, own sense of responsibility, and how involved you are in their learning journey.
Read also: 5 Secrets to Scoring in Primary School Without Tuition
Parents can be skeptical about whether primary school tuition actually works
“Scoring strategies”, “exam-acing tips” and “score-grabbing techniques”, promise many a primary school tuition centre. But is a worksheet-driven primary tuition centre replacing your child’s joy in learning with rote, mechanical learning?
With multitudes of primary school tuition centres in Singapore, parents may also scratch their heads at which is the right one for their kid.
Furthermore, what if after five years of schooling, tutoring and primary school tuition, your child is still optimising less than 60% of what could have been his or her best?
Students who score poorly in exams often struggle to connect with the content that is being taught. When pieces of a subject are taught in isolation and students fail to grasp connections between units, they learn content without understanding it. The traditional “drilling” tutoring strategies implemented at many primary school tuition centres do not solve this basic problem.
Cramming promises nothing but short-termed results. What’s more, information overload coupled with mounting stress may worsen your child’s performance.
Read also: Should Parents Attend Tuition To Help Their Primary School Kids?
Excel at PSLE with confidence
MindChamps’ Optimal Flow Method™ fills in all the gaps in a child’s schoolwork immediately and provides a solid base for your child’s PSLE preparation.
Backed by recent research findings, the MindChamps Optimal Flow Method™ enables students to thoroughly comprehend new concepts, linking them to knowledge previously learnt.
With MindChamps’ Optimal Flow Method™, your child will actively understand all the curriculum concepts flowing from P1 to PSLE, resulting in confidence and improved scores for the exams. Learning is not just about celebrating stellar results, but it also involves enjoying the process as well.
Help your child realise his or her true potential in scoring well not just in exams but in life.