Archive for the 'Parenting' Category

This year, 2012, I have a child in Std 2 doing the KSSR syllabus and a Std 4 child doing the KBSR syllabus.

So what is KSSR? What does KSSR stand for? I am sure that most parents in Malaysia know that kids start the new KSSR syllabus in 2012 but just what does KSSR stand for? Now, that’s simple. KSSR stands for Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah.

What about the older KBSR then? What does KBSR stand for? Now, that one is easy too. KBSR stands for Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Rendah.

Now that we’ve got the easy part of the way, deriving the abbreviation for KSSR and KBSR, lets talk about the hard part.

The hard part is faced by parents whose children are doing the new KSSR new syllabus. Parents whose kids are doing the KBSR syllabus can skip this post. Let me give you an example.

I have children doing both the syllabus. My standard 2 child cannot recycle or reuse his sister’s books because the syllabus has changed for almost every subject, English, Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese, Maths and Science. For example in Math, he is now taught Fractions in Std 1 and Fractions and Decimals in Std 2. Previously, it was not taught till Std 3. So if you buy the old KBSR workbooks you would have missed out two whole chapters. This is only an example of one confusion that can arise.

Worse still, the book publishers and printers are in a bind. How do they get rid of their old KBSR stocks? What’s happening is, when I went to the bookshops, I had trouble finding Std 2 workbooks or rather very few Std 2 KSSR workbooks. Std 1 is ok since there is new print for this year but not Std 2. For almost every publisher, I could find Std 1 then Std 3, 4, 5,6  but not Std 2. I had trouble finding KSSR books for Std 2, probably they will be available later on.

Then there are unscrupulous publishers who change the name of the cover to KSSR! Well, at least that is what I think because I had bought a KSSR book but when I looked inside the syllabus was the same as the old one. So before you go out to buy any workbooks for your child, make sure you look at his textbook to know his syllabus first, then make sure it matches those of the workbooks. Don’t buy blindly. Do some homework first.

Here is my tips for parents when buying primary school workbooks:

1. Std 1 and Std 2 parents buy books with KSSR on the cover
2. However, make sure you check your child’s textbook before buying. Make sure that the syllabus in the workbook matches the syllabus in the textbook
3. You will need to buy KSSR for the 5 core subjects, i.e. the 3 languages English, Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese, plus Maths and Science
4. However, you may get KBSR books for the paper 2 for English, Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese. Paper 2 meaning the Writing Practise Paper as this do not change very much. (Paper 1 is Comprehension or Pemahaman, Paper 2 is Writing or Penulisan) Note: In Std 1 and 2, there is no Paper 2 test for English, however workbooks are available for practise. There is Paper 2 test for Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Cina or Chinese though)
5. If your child is in Chinese School, go to the SJKC section to pick books. What does SJKC stand for? (SJKC stands for Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina). As for those in National Schools, buy your workbooks from the SJK section (SJK stands for Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan). They syllabus for both are different.

So many acronyms and abbreviations to learn. Parenting is hard enough without all this headache.

I have bought several books on Maths and Science in English for primary schools. Some of them are excellent bilingual English/Chinese books. I have been teaching my kids Maths and Science in English from the time they were in Std 1. They are going to be Std 2 and Std 4 next year. I also help them with their Maths and Science in Chinese by using an electronic dictionary and bilingual Maths and Science books.

My preference would be for them to be taught Maths and Science in English in school but since it is not happening and I don’t forsee it changing anytime soon, I have no choice but to do teach them myself. As a parent, I feel that I need to be in the background always ready to provide them with the balance they need in life. I send them to a strict Chinese school, so I try to provide them with entertainment, play and relaxation at home. If I send them to a school which is more relaxed than, I will be there to guide and push them harder in their studies.

It is the same with Maths and Science in English. Since I think it is important for the kids to learn Maths and Science in English, I will teach them myself if it is not being taught in school. It is not difficult to teach. Maths and Science, unlike languages is all about concepts. The concept is the same. Once the children grasp the concept and understand the lesson, it is only a matter of teaching them the terms.

My girl just brought back her Std 4 books for next year. I am relieved to see that she still has the Maths and Science Books in English textbooks for the year 2012. Or should I feel sad that she will be burdened with yet another year of carrying extra books for subjects that teachers are teaching only half heartedly because they have no choice.

Unlike my Std 1 boy who is learning Maths and Science in Chinese, my girl had the chance to learn Maths and Science in Chinese as well as in English. However, the school takes a rather laid back or relaxed attitude in the teaching of Maths and Science in English. I can’t say that I blame them since it will be discontinued. Why should school time and resources be spent on something that will be phased out soon. There are only a few periods for Maths and Science in English. The test papers are very easy and given almost like an afterthought. There is hardly any homework for Maths and Science in English and most of the time, it is taught in a hurried manner to finish off the syllabus at the end of a term or school year as if to get it out of the way.

With such an attitude, it is better that the kids learn Maths and Science in Chinese alone. They won’t have to go through the burden of learning the same subjects in two languages in school and carrying extra loads of books to school, especially when the teaching of Maths and Science in English is half hearted. Even if given the choice, they will never choose to do any Maths and Science tests in English because they will be better at it in Chinese since the emphasis has always been on teaching Maths and Science in Chinese even though they were given a ‘choice’. I don’t see it as a choice really, it appears more like a burden, an extra thing that teachers are forced to get out of the way. It is not a bonus to be able to learn it in two languages under this sort of circumstances or learning/teaching environment.

So, that means it is up to me to teach my kids Maths and Science in English.  I am not good in Chinese so I find it useful to teach them in English and then later go through the Maths and Science terms in Chinese with them. I am thankful for the bilingual books. It helps the kids improve both languages as they grasp the concept.  My only wish is to see the Maths and Science books in English or the bilingual Maths and Science books being continued to be published by publishers and sold at bookshops. It will be a sad day, when even that stops soon after the Maths and Science in English is phased out.

Updated:

I just found out from my girl that she had to return the Maths and Science Books in English for Std 4 next year. I guess she won’t be learning them in English anymore. She is in Std 4 next year. My son who is in Std 2 will not be learning them in English since he is the ‘pioneer’ year for the switch back to teaching Maths and Science in mother tongues. Looks like this mother will have to work harder.

There still appears to be some confusion as many are unsure on whether the subjects will still be taught in English and until which year. So here is the schedule for the phasing out of teaching Maths and Science in English.

Updated again

Well, looks like that schedule for phasing out is outdated now…

Recently I won some skincare products in a contest. Previously I had not bothered with skincare before because it was expensive, I didn’t have the time and I’m lazy. Since, I have this set of expensive skincare, I might as well use it and so I did.

Naturally the kids became curious to see me applying stuff on my face. I explained that the products were supposed to make my skin look better.

The little one came closer to have a better look at my face and said “Mummy, actually your face is quite ugly” in all seriousness. I was trying hard not to laugh as I explained to him that my face is ugly because of all the pores whereas his skin is young and smooth.

A week later….

The little one came and peered at my face again and said “Mummy, how come you are not yet beautiful?” This time I couldn’t stand it anymore and I burst out laughing. Kids really can be painfully honest at times.

That’s why I don’t buy skincare products. However, I shall continue using this one since I won it and it is very expensive. Thankfully I didn’t pay any money for it, otherwise I would be heartbroken to hear that remark from my son.

Do You Read Your Old Blog Posts? I normally don’t. After writing, I promptly forget about it. The only time I go back and reread is when I have to use my personalized Google Search Box to find out when my children and I fell sick! How convenient to have a diary with a search box. That reminds me, I haven’t added two of my blogs in my search box. At the moment my search box yields results from 3 of my blogs because I forgot to add the other two.

Anyway, I went back to read one of my old blog posts written way back in 2006 because it keeps on appearing on my Statcounter. It is this post: Why Women Nag and Men Don’t Listen. It appears No. 2 on Google for the search term ‘Why Women Nag” so that is why I get the visitors but the funny thing is Why do people keep on searching for this?

I wonder if the people searching for it are male or female. I have a strange suspicion that they are men.

I reread the post and had a good laugh. However, it also serves as a reminder to myself to listen more to the kids rather than nag. That is a tall order! I am afraid I haven’t been very successful in that area since 2006 till now. If anything, I’ve gotten worse!

What about you? Do you read your old blog posts? You should. It may make you cry or laugh.

Now that the kids are older, they are able to watch many more types of shows than just Barnie the purple dinosaur types of shows.

So, what we’ve done is buy old movies that we used to love watching and watch them with the kids.

At the moment, we’re watching Star Trek. We’ll be watching Indiana Jones next. We’ve watch ET and some others and we would probably get The Neverending Story, Ghost Busters, Star Wars and more.

Most of these movies are 80s movies but they’re still nice to watch.

It is really enjoyable to watch old movies with the kids. Not only do they enjoy it, we get to enjoy it too.