Secondary 2 Streaming

[sharonkhoo]

I think the discussion is appropriate here for parents who are agonising over the Science vs Humanities debate, and worrying that a "wrong" choice at this stage will permanently disadvantage their child. To some extent, the choice made now will affect the child’s future, but what I feel is even more important for every parent (and child) to realise is that subject choice must go hand-in-hand with innate ability and interest. A child who is struggling with Maths in Sec 2 is most unlikely (there may be exceptions) to be interested or show ability in Maths in later years; and if that same child shows a strong interest in humanities subjects, then it would probably be better to aim for a future in the humanities. Of course, some kids straddle the range, or show no interests - and that required parents to do some deep thinking to discover underlying interests or abilities. What I would like to see is that parents don’t automatically assume that "science is better than humanities" or "only dumb people study humanities" (both of these were said to my face by well-meaning relatives and friends when I chose to switch to humanities).


I am not anti-science, by the way. My husband is a Physics-Maths person, and one daughter was science all the way till now, in university, studying Econs (which requires a lot of maths).

[sharonkhoo]

zac's mum\" post_id=\"2000049\" time=\"1603459005\" user_id=\"53606:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=2000049 time=1603459005 user_id=53606]

ammonite\" post_id=\"2000041\" time=\"1603453892\" user_id=\"50141:

At the secondary school/JC, even University level, what is taught is actually the mere basic foundation of the subject (even if technically detailed).

When the kids actually come out into the workplace, what they need is street savvy and EQ to learn on the job. This could be the latest technology/developments/best practices whatever you want to call it. Can’t be learnt from textbooks as all textbooks are several years’ old research and long outdated.

Met so many interns/fresh grads who came in with stellar grades & scholarships but couldn’t apply their book knowledge.

Learning is a continuous lifelong journey. I don’t want my kid to ever think he has “arrived” after getting a degree.

That's why it must be emphasised to our young people (and even to older people) that it is skills and the ability to learn (and to self-learn) that is important, not the content of what we learned 10 or 30 years ago. Some people do switch quite dramatically from one subject area to another, but basic skills like being able to think, write, manage, motivate, etc. are highly transferable. Both employers and potential employees need to have that mindset though.

Let me share my personal experience in switching to a different job scope in later life. I was a librarian for nearly 10 years, then took a long SAHM stint (17 years) during which I did some part-time library work and other odd jobs that came my way - translation, proofreading, etc. At the age of 51, I decided to try book editing, which I had no experience in. I am thankful that the boss of one company I applied to was willing (or maybe just curious) enough to interview me and offer me a job as rookie editor, a job which was mostly done by fresh graduates. Now I freelance as a book editor. You could say I just moved from one end of the book trade to the other, but it's quite a significant difference in job scope. And I had no problems being trained and supervised by people younger than myself, and being colleagues with people not much older than my kids. I don't regret it at all. My other \"career switch\" was being put in charge of \"communications\" at a non-profit (PT volunteer position) - I write for the website, compile and edit regular mailings, write staff manuals and other documentation, etc. Still in the \"words\" world, but different job scope again.

[ammonite]

bbbay\" post_id=\"2000083\" time=\"1603499549\" user_id=\"175278:

ammonite\" post_id=\"2000043\" time=\"1603454655\" user_id=\"50141:

Actually I pop in because of the thread title, but I see that the topic has shifted somewhat, lol. Coming back to the earlier discussion, I think the subjects offered really depends on the child and school. Some schools are more flexible. Ds1 did badly for his Sec2 exams, but had no problem being allowed to do A and E math. To be honest, I was wondering what the fuss over streaming was until I realised that it was not so in other schools.

Yes the discussions have been on what subjects have been offered and what to choose. And we have been discussing from another angle: the why of our choice. Why choose science over humanity or vice versa. Or whether both have their places for a fulfilling careers? Or their long term usefulness that goes outside exams.

I was referring mostly to the drift to ministers' educational background.

But if you want to talk about the why of our choice - do you mean our choice for ourselves or for our children?
and it seems strange to me to even question if both have their places for a fulfilling career or usefulness outside exams - to me it is \"of course\".

[ammonite]

zac's mum\" post_id=\"2000049\" time=\"1603459005\" user_id=\"53606:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=2000049 time=1603459005 user_id=53606]

ammonite\" post_id=\"2000041\" time=\"1603453892\" user_id=\"50141:

At the secondary school/JC, even University level, what is taught is actually the mere basic foundation of the subject (even if technically detailed).

When the kids actually come out into the workplace, what they need is street savvy and EQ to learn on the job. This could be the latest technology/developments/best practices whatever you want to call it. Can’t be learnt from textbooks as all textbooks are several years’ old research and long outdated.

Met so many interns/fresh grads who came in with stellar grades & scholarships but couldn’t apply their book knowledge.

Learning is a continuous lifelong journey. I don’t want my kid to ever think he has “arrived” after getting a degree.

I don't think any working adult is under the delusion that they have \"arrived' after getting a degree. It is just the start.
That is quite different from saying that things taught in school is useless or irrelevant.

Edited: edited as I realised I was waffling away, hah. Anyway, to bring it back, I think whatever we learn in school has its uses. Rereading the post again, I agree that it does not lock us into our paths.

[bbbay]

bbbay\" post_id=\"1999930\" time=\"1603414237\" user_id=\"175278:

Dear parents

It appear science and math are the popular choice as opposed to humanity. I am offering here another perspective on subjective combination selection.

A quick check on the internet show most of our Singapore leaders majored in humanity.

Some of the successful tech companies in the world, their leader majored in humanity.

Pls also have a look at this YouTube video, on “why tech need humanity”
https://youtu.be/F2XPF6rQ6fs

Human endeavours are often dictated by inherent human needs. Studies of humanity allow us to identify, address and communicate those needs.

Science/Math deal with how to do things. Humanity deal with why are we doing those things. Broadly speaking, Humanity give us directions and science/math give us solutions.

Science/Math and Humanity are all important. Each has their role to play in our complex world.

If our child strength lies in Science/Math, choosing
Science heavy subject combination will be useful in their career/lives. If our child strength lies in Humanity, choosing humanity heavy subject combination will also be useful in their career/lives. If our child strength lies in both science, math and humanity, choosing a balance subject combination will also be useful in their career/lives.

I am correcting my post earlier. Instead of Science/Math vs Humanity, I meant to say Science vs Humanity.

Humanity does not mean exclude logic. Math is 1 of the tool for proofing logic and it is required in the studies of humanity too, when needed.

[TiggerMyJrt]

Dear Parents


Need advice from parents who have kids in NT taking NA SBB core subjects.

My nephew just completed his NT Sec 2 and he has been taking NA English since Sec One. The school has offered him to do NA Math & Science in addition to his English from Sec 3 as he did quite well for his Sec2 result.

We are not quite sure if we should take up all the 3 NA core subjects as it is not going to be easy for him and also not sure how taking NA subjects is going to help him in his advancement since he will be still on the NT main stream.

Any advice is welcomed.

[floppy]

TiggerMyJrt\" post_id=\"2000447\" time=\"1603786036\" user_id=\"189180:

Dear Parents

Need advice from parents who have kids in NT taking NA SBB core subjects.

My nephew just completed his NT Sec 2 and he has been taking NA English since Sec One. The school has offered him to do NA Math & Science in addition to his English from Sec 3 as he did quite well for his Sec2 result.

We are not quite sure if we should take up all the 3 NA core subjects as it is not going to be easy for him and also not sure how taking NA subjects is going to help him in his advancement since he will be still on the NT main stream.

Any advice is welcomed.

If he can take all 3, he should. Otherwise, he should take at least 2 of them.
Each NA core subject (EL, Math or Science) with a good score (ie A1 to C5) would be worth 2 bonus aggregate points (up to max 4 points off) when applying for ITE courses. While it would not help in his advancement, it would help greatly when he is applying for courses in ITE. 4 bonus points mean he is likely to land on any of his preferred courses.

[TiggerMyJrt]

Thanks Floppy. How does the bonus point works? Do you mean the bonus point is deducted from his total aggregate for ITE admission?

[floppy]

TiggerMyJrt\" post_id=\"2000468\" time=\"1603794694\" user_id=\"189180:

Thanks Floppy. How does the bonus point works? Do you mean the bonus point is deducted from his total aggregate for ITE admission?

Not so easy to explain in a few words but you can read the details here: https://www.ite.edu.sg/docs/default-source/admissions-docs/full-time/publications/admission-booklet/gce-n-admission-booklet-2020.pdf (page 16, but page 20 of 140 of the PDF)

Essentially, ITE coverts your N / O results into some aggregate points and use that to assess who gets posted into the course. Having good NA scores in the core subjects mean you get 2 points (4 points max) off the ITE aggregate score, which is helpful to get into popular courses.

[Teacherfelina]

Hi! I just joined Kps. I would like to introduce myself as Teacher Felina. I specialise in Math and Science. I have taught students taking N levels.


Please check with the school if your nephew could take exp English in addition to NA English. Then the better score will be taken into consideration after sitting for both papers. N levels papers usually easier to score though. But this privilege of doing both N levels and O levels for same subject is only offered in some schools unfortunately. Hope this helps. Thank you!