Too Smart For School?

“I thought parents who prepare their three-year-old kids for primary school were just kiasu. Then I realised many schools expect children to already know most of the Primary 1 work!”

This lament is increasingly common among parents of lower primary students. While many pile on the “help” when the child is perceived to be “lagging behind”, others sign up for a multitude of enrichment, tuition and improvement classes before the next academic year starts.
Some, like Sharon Chan, 48, a human resource executive, hit the bookstores. “I get workbooks used by other schools, so my daughter can familiarise herself with the curriculum during the school holidays,” she says.

She claims this is fail-proof in “getting at least 90 marks” out of her daughter, Shereen. The nine-year-old has been attending Mandarin classes since she was three and is familiar with weekends of “language, abacus and speed problem-solving” classes.

If her grades slip, Shereen spends her December holidays doing practice papers, which her tutors provide. Explains Sharon: “Last year’s mother tongue marks were average, so I wanted her to know this year’s work beforehand. It helps her self-esteem if she’s experienced what the rest of the class is just learning.”

A quick poll of Primary 2 parents showed that in a week, every child attends at least one enrichment/tuition/remedial class. When asked about the necessity of this manic preparation, many parents insist “everyone’s doing it”.

But educators think cramming in advance may backfire in the long run. Dr Noel Chia, assistant professor, Early Childhood and Special Needs Education at the National Institute of Education (NIE), says: “If a parent’s idea of preparing a child for school means doing countless assessment books and papers, I see this as being counterproductive and certainly detrimental to the student’s development as a life-long learner in the future. Soon, you’re going to lose a child who could have been an avid learner but now hates learning (or, for that matter, studying).”

Dr Karuppiah Nirmala, a lecturer at the Department of Early Childhood and Special Education at the NIE, is concerned that “over-prepared” children will be deprived of learning through play. She stresses that play in a child’s early years provides children with opportunities to explore, discover, create, imagine, think and problem-solve.

Read the December 2009 issue of Young Parents to find out just how far you should prepare your kid for the new term.