Teachers are Parents, Too

One son is sitting the PSLE while the other is taking subject-based banding exams, but dad and teacher Marcus Cheng has kept things stress-free at home by insisting that his boys take ownership of their learning.

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It’s a critical year for most families when their children are taking the PSLE or other national exams. Some parents liken the atmosphere at home to being in a “pressure cooker”. But for the Cheng family, this year is no different than any other, even though the two boys are taking the PSLE and subject-based banding exams, respectively. 

The two Cheng brothers continue to indulge in their favourite hobbies. Joash, 12, and Joshua, 10, swim every Wednesday and play football at the community club on Sundays. Each day after school – once they’ve completed their homework – they’re free to do whatever they like, such as reading or playing the piano.

Why are the kids so care-free? Could it be that their dad Marcus Cheng, who teaches English, Mathematics and Science at Eunos Primary School, is so familiar with the curriculum and Singapore’s exams system that he’s able to help his sons prepare effectively and efficiently?

In fact, Mr Cheng doesn’t want to be a teacher at home. He focuses instead on being an excellent parent to his children. Instead of coaching the kids on their schoolwork, he fulfils what he sees as “the responsibilities of parents”. He ensures that all homework is completed and done neatly. However, he doesn’t check the accuracy of their work, nor does he feed his children the answers when they need help.

Mr Cheng feels that if a student always gets every question correct on a homework assignment – with the help of his parents – his teachers might get the wrong idea about the student’s level of understanding.

“The teachers will think that the child is learning well, when he isn’t,” Mr Cheng says. He feels that parents don’t have to teach at home and that they shouldn’t feel guilty if they don’t know how to help their children with their schoolwork.

He trusts teachers to do their job. At school, he has seen how hard his colleagues work: preparing lessons, marking piles of homework assignments and giving prompt feedback to students. He believes it’s the sincere aim of every teacher to help their students succeed. 

As a parent, Mr Cheng is not immune to the stress of Joash’s preparation for the PSLE. He says, “Naturally, I’m worried and anxious about how he’ll do.” But Mr Cheng has no intention of pressuring his son to target a particular result. Instead, he tells Joash, “if you need any help, let us know”. Both he and his wife, Joy Khau, believe in letting their children take ownership of their learning.

When Joash was in Primary 4, he didn’t do too well on his mid-year Maths exams.  His parents sat down with him to discuss how they could better support his studies. At Joash’s request, the couple signed him up for Maths tuition at a centre five minutes from their home. They felt that the weekly tuition at this nearby centre, which wasn’t a branded one, was sufficient to meet Joash’s needs.  

The three of them had a similar conversation on another occasion when Joash scored poorly on a Science test. At the time, Joash felt that he could improve on his own without tuition so his parents respected his decision and left him to manage his own revision. Joash’s subsequent results suggested that the low test score was simply a one-off.

As for Joshua’s subject-based banding exams, the couple don’t see the need to put pressure on him to do well either. In fact, Marcus sees the advantages of placing kids of similar abilities in the same class, secure in the belief that this allows teachers to better tailor their lessons to the needs of the students.

At the end of the day, Mr and Mrs Cheng want their children to enjoy learning instead of being stressed about school. It appears that they’ve succeeded: their children are always excited to share what they’ve learned in school – with each other and with their parents. They talk about how their teachers taught a particular Maths or Science concept. Sometimes, they even “teach” Mr Cheng the techniques their Maths teachers use in problem-solving.

Mr Cheng has one piece of advice for parents: manage your expectations. Sometimes kids are unable to meet their parents’ expectations but that shouldn’t stop mums and dads from loving them as they are.