Recently I began providing tuition services to a Primary 5 kid. I was thinking, "my full time job is pretty slack right now, I don't really have to work overtime, why should I say no to an alternate source of income?". English, Mathematics, Science. Primary 5. 11 years old. I can do that, I thought.
After my first lesson with him though, I realised "this kid needs help". There was a red alert shining in my mind when I marked his English Assessment book. Seriously? This kid does not know his plurals and his grammar. For a child who is about to go through Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE)? His understanding of Mathematics and Science was sub par, but his English? Not to mention English is the most important subject in all levels of academia. "Whats your average result for your English tests or examination?" "47". Wow.
Thinking about it, the only way one is able to improve on one's language, is to read up. And probably practising the language in everyday life and not succumb to the society's definition of the language (i.e. Singlish). "Do you read books? If you do, what kind of books do you read?" Horror stories. By Russell xxx (of whom I forgot the name of). These are series of compilation of stories submitted by various readers in Singapore. I highly doubt they do any grammar/spelling checks before publishing in order to retain the Singapore 'flavour'. And these are the only books he reads. Appalling isn't it?
When I was his age, I (so did most of my peers) was reading The Little Prince and The Alchemist. Perhaps it was the peers I hung out with, perhaps it was due to the constant push from my parents; I knew that other books (i.e. said horror stories compilation) would not suffice.
I have no idea why I felt this compelling need to blog about this issue but I am a wee bit afraid for this boy, and how am I supposed to help him with his English.
If any parents out there who somehow stumbles onto my humble (at times extremely vulgar) blog, please be strict on your kids. Please do bring them to the library. Please use proper English with them. Make it seem like a pride to be able to converse and write in proper English. Using broken English is not cool, not cool at all. They may hate you now, but in future they will appreciate. Just as I do now, that my mother would cane my palm for every careless mistake I made in all my tests and examinations.
Disclaimer:
I am not endorsing the use of canes as a form of punishment for bad grades. I am just saying that it worked on me. Even if I remember vividly how much I 'hated' my mother for inflicting such pain (:() on me just for the sake of achieving better results, I am thankful that she did that as now I know just how important education is. It differs from kid to kid. All in all, just make sure to invest time in your child. You brought them into this world. You have the responsibility to ensure that if you want them to be learned as they grow, please, make sure they are educated the right way and the smart way.
Disclaimer:
I am not endorsing the use of canes as a form of punishment for bad grades. I am just saying that it worked on me. Even if I remember vividly how much I 'hated' my mother for inflicting such pain (:() on me just for the sake of achieving better results, I am thankful that she did that as now I know just how important education is. It differs from kid to kid. All in all, just make sure to invest time in your child. You brought them into this world. You have the responsibility to ensure that if you want them to be learned as they grow, please, make sure they are educated the right way and the smart way.
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