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Chinese Part 4

This Chinese as Mother Tongue business is just sounding so strange now. The reason for 'downgrading' the weighting - so that kids can get a better shot at getting into top schools? How educationally sound is this kind of reasoning?

I didn't know whether I was supposed to laugh when I read the article yesterday about the Sec 1 girl who apparently struggled with Chinese and 'only' got an A and who is now in a 'top girls' school' anyway. Or the letter in the forum complaining of how the grandchild could 'only' get a 240 PSLE score because he/she could not get an A* for Chinese (presumably, he/she got an 'A'). Ok, now, what is wrong with getting A for Chinese or getting 240 for the PSLE?

What about the children who are struggling to pass the subject? What about the children who have problems with any or all of the other subjects?

This obsession with A*s and top schools is at fault, not the fact that Mother Tongue has equal weighting with the other subjects.

Anyhow, it won't be too bad an idea to re-designate Chinese and the other languages as 'second language' (which it is for some) and give it an appropriate weighting in view of that. I can't say anything for the other languages but definitely, Chinese is really hard if it is not your first language.

And I hope people will spare a thought for the kids who will then be disadvantaged because Chinese (or one of the other languages) is their advantage.
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Comments

fuzzoo said…
I also want my children to get into a top school so how about including subjects that my kids are good at - PE, music, dance and art so they stand a better chance?
Sigh.. methinks we are missing the forest for the trees.
1:01 pm
household name said…
Yup, sigh... if/when MT gets a lower weight, it would only mean EMS become more important, not PE, music or art...
9:29 am
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