PARENTS received exclusive education resources, teaching tips and anger management advice for their youngsters at The Sunday Times’ Parents Forum yesterday.
The six-hour forum received about 200 attendees, who spent the day with teaching and language experts, including Mr Goh Eck Kheng, chairman of the Speak Good English Movement. They also received tips on anger management for children from Dr Daniel Fung, a psychiatrist and the vice-chairman of medical board (clinical) at the Institute of Mental Health, and went on a learning journey to explore how news is produced in The Straits Times newsroom.
Especially popular was a scrapbook for six- to 12-year-olds called My Reporter’s Notebook, which debuted at the event to mark the official launch of The Straits Times Education Programme (STep).
STep, which comes in Basic and Advanced levels for primary and secondary school learners, is a weekly edition of news-based English language lessons directly delivered to those who buy it. It has been available since March this year, and costs $60 for a year’s subscription for the Basic or Advanced level, or $100 a year for both.
The broadsheet’s associate editor Bertha Henson explained: ‘The Straits Times has a whole repository of knowledge which we can leverage on to teach the English language.’ STep is unique, she added. ‘It is current and focused on raising students’ understanding of the news and mastering the English language. Plus, it has answer keys for parents who are stumped.’
All STep Basic subscribers received a scrapbook, and may purchase a subsequent copy at $17.80 (with GST) only at the forum. Meanwhile, STep Advanced subscribers received an assessment book called No Sweat.
Source: The Straits Times