How to Succeed in PSLE: Teacher Insights Series

This is the third in a series of 10 articles that will look into some of the most commonly asked questions by parents. Today, we will share with you a hot topic that is often discussed and shared among parents – Succeeding in PSLE!

Question 3: Is there a proven method to succeed in PSLE?

Teacher Chin

As I coach my children in badminton, I pay close attention to several things.

What are the habits that are preventing them from progressing beyond a particular skill?

E.g. My eldest boy has a habit of turning his body too much to the right during his service. As a result, his serve often lands out of the singles court.

I guess parents need to pay attention to their children’s work habits. One common one is the inability to manage time effectively. Is your child able to move on quickly to the next question if they are unable to solve one within a certain time frame?

What are the present gaps that they cannot overcome at their present stage?

E.g. My eldest boy is unable to perform an overhead clear from one end of the singles court to the other. Many factors such as wrist strength, body position and hitting techniques have to be addressed before this gap is closed.

When a child performs below expectations on a comprehension cloze, the parent has to identify the nature and pattern of the errors and not to increase the number of passages for their children to complete. E.g. The child is unable to handle blanks that deal with phrasal verbs. Once this is identified, the parent can proceed to get the child to keep a journal of phrasal verbs and categorise them by their main verb. E.g. Put off, put down…

Teacher Zen

Personally, I feel that one of the most important factors to succeed in PSLE is consistency. Every student must try to understand the concepts/skills taught in each subject in each level.

Most of the time, the concepts or skills learnt are progressive and if the student is not able to understand or clear his/her doubts in one level, the problem is going to snowball when he/she moves on to the next level.

Getting the right support/guidance (whether from parents, tutors or teachers) and self-discipline are needed for success too.

Last minute revision or seeking help just before exam is definitely not the solution to do well for PSLE.

Though there are many tutors or enrichment centres promising instant results or able to turn the results around within a short period of time, I am one who strongly believe in consistency.

Success to me is relative too. To a weaker student, I feel that he/she has already succeeded for PSLE if he/she can score beyond his/her ability. Every student “blooms” at different rate.

Eventually, PSLE does not determine if your child will be successful or not in life subsequently. Your child’s self-worth is not determined by PSLE aggregate too.

More importantly, the child has tried his/her best, it is the never-give-up attitude that counts.

Refer to the article below which was published on 19/11/18 on Strait Times.

Conclusion

Parental and school support are needed for a student to do well in his studies or PSLE. Having said that, every child is different and learn at different rate. If your child can achieve more than his limits or his ability, he has already succeeded in PSLE. Remember to look after the emotional and physical health of your child too.