Congratulations to Victoria Ng for obtaining 73% for her PSLE Math Prelim Paper as compared to just 43% for her P6 Math SA1. This is also the first time she has passed Math in P6.
Although she was a comparatively weak Math student, I allowed her to join my Sat morning Challenging PSLE Math Programme for Medium to High Ability Students as I believe that most students will benefit from the exposure to the tough questions that I give.
I adopt a metacognitive approach in all my teaching, making students think about their own solutions and making them compare their solutions with those of others and my own. In this way, they will learn the most efficient method to solve a particular type of problem. They will also learn about their natural way of thinking, and how the latter may not be the best approach for some problems.
Yay, my Sec 4 student topped her class in Math. : )
Congrats to Ameerah from Clementi Town Sec who obtained 24/25 for her most recent Math test. It’s my fourth good news in two weeks (before this, Daniel Lam from BPGHS topped his class in A Math, Peng Wee from CTSS did the same in Physics and Hanaa from Hillgrove Sec missed the top spot in her class for Math by just one mark).
Over the years, many of my tutees topped their classes, in Math and/or Physics. Is there a secret to their accomplishments? No, and Yes. It’s not a secret that they all worked hard and smart. The secret is, and I intend to keep it as a trade secret, is what I tell them in class, at the crucial moments. The power of words, truly amazing.
In case you don’t believe, let me tell you of another student, Victoria, formerly from Nan Hua High, now in RI year 6. Her math results were very inconsistent, but she obtained A1 for both in the O-levels. She didn’t attend my lessons in the last month before the O-levels because I kind of scolded her badly, and she decided to study by herself. When she called to inform me of her O-level results, I asked her what caused the change, and she said, “It’s something you said.”
The lesson for teachers and tutors is, be careful of what you say to your students. I’ve made mistakes in this area before, in my first few years of teaching. If you are a parent, please be even more careful of what you say to your children. Words have power beyond our comprehension.
Rgds,
Ilyasa