Schools Archives - Page 2 of 4

Choosing a secondary school …

Posted on November 16, 2014August 1, 2023 by admin

The following are some of the factors (not in order of importance) you may want to consider in wisely selecting a secondary school:

(1) Location / Distance of school from home: Secondary school students have a lot of work to do (academic and CCA), so please factor this in and not just think of how prestigious the school is. When I studied in RI from 1985 to 1988, I was staying at Chai Chee Road, and had to travel about 1hr 15 mins to Grange Rd almost every day. RJC was then, at Mt Sinai Rd, even further and the travelling time became 1.5 hrs. Thus I was sleepy most of the time and did badly in school tests and I did well only at the major national exams as we were allowed home study time. Today, we are staying at Bukit Batok and my daughter’s school is just a 5 min drive away, and she’s doing very well in school.

(2) Type of school (Integrated Programme; O-Level, IB etc): I had posted another article on the pros and cons of going to a school where students skip the O-level exams. This is something you have to consider carefully – the significance of not having an O-Level certificate. Remember that not all IP school students make it to Year 6, and of those who do, some are ill-prepared to take a high-stakes national exam and end up with poor A-Level grades. I’ve also posted another article on IB vs A-Levels.

(3) CCA available: I know of a student who goes to a particular school because that school provides Lion Dance as a CCA. Not all schools provide Rugby, Soccer or Fencing etc. So if your child has a strong interest in a particular CCA, it is important that you check out whether that CCA is available in the desired school.

(4) Subject Combination for O-levels: Some schools do not provide Economics and some schools don’t even have Tamil Language. In some schools, it is compulsory for all its Sec 3 students to take up A. Math and Chemistry. And some schools do not provide O-Level Literature or Art. And how many triple pure science classes does the school normally provide?

(5) Niche area: Some schools are better equipped for Sports, some for Science and others for the Arts.

(6) Co-Ed or Single-Gender: It is still a debate whether single-gender schools are better for teenagers than dual-gender ones. Some prefer daughters to be in an all-girls school. Bear in mind that all JCs and polytechnics are dual-gender institutions.

(7) The Principal: Sad to say, some school principals don’t know how to motivate their staff or their students. Some care about their overall school results more than the willingness of their individual students to explore and learn. But principals come and go, and the school culture may change when there is a change of headmaster.

(8) Affiliation: You may want to choose a secondary school that is affiliated to a junior college.

(9) School Culture: Some schools have a very pressurizing and competitive environment, and these schools are not necessarily the top ten schools. I think the environment in schools which are TRYING to create an image of being a top school is more pressurizing than that in a really top-performing school. Thus you might find that the exam papers in some top schools are actually easier than those found in less prestigious schools.

(10) It’s Cut-off PSLE Aggregate: This number will give you an estimate of your chances of entering a particular school. But I don’t think it’s a good idea to be the amongst the last few to obtain a place in a certain school, even if it is a prestigious school. Would you rather be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond? Some parents say that being in a top school would motivate their child, but they forget that being in such a school can also destroy their child’s confidence in his or her abilities (this actually originally happened to some of my tutees from hci, nygs, crescent, nan hua, rvhs and njc).

(11) It’s Median PSLE Aggregate: Parents often forget to look at this one. If your child’s PSLE score is such that he or she is in the bottom half of the school’s cohort, chances are, he or she will not be in the top classes and will not get the full support or resources from the school. Some schools even assign their best teachers to the top classes only, and the lower-end classes may often get relief teachers.

Anyway, I wish all post-PSLE students and their parents all the best in their choosing of secondary schools. Please bear in mind that your performance at the PSLE is a poor predictor of your performance in secondary school, because the assessment style and aims have changed.

Lastly, is every secondary school a good secondary school? You decide. : )

Rgds,

Ilyasa

About myself:

I was a secondary school teacher for 3 years before becoming a tutor in 2004. I also taught in a private school and in an international school. I’ve taught Math, Science, Physics and Chemistry to all kinds of students from Pri to JC and from all streams: Express, NA, NT, IP and IB. From my students and their parents I’ve learnt a lot about the various schools in Singapore, their problems, their strengths and so on. I also come from a family of teachers, and many of my friends are also teachers, HODs, VPs and Ps. I tutor my own children and they all have become proficient in Math and the Sciences. My youngest daughter just got her PSLE (2016) results and this will be the 3rd time I’m going through this school selection process. If you have any questions regarding schools, education or about tuition, feel free to contact me at 97860411. I will help answer your questions as best as I can. All the best!

Beware the critical years in math education in Singapore …

Choosing a sec school: Is it more important to be in a ‘Top’ school or the Top class?

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A-Level, Educational Advice, Personal, Schools

Between JC and Poly …

Posted on January 15, 2014January 9, 2019 by admin

Should a O-Level grad choose to go to a JC or a Polytechnic?

Since many students and parents ask me this question every year, here is my opinion on the matter.

The answer is: It depends on several factors:

(a) Your method of learning;

(b) How sure you are about what you want to do as a career;

(d) Which university you want to go to;

(e) Your level of self-discipline.

Let’s examine each one in detail:

(a) Your method of learning:

In general, if you learn more by reading, go to JC. If you learn more through hands-on activities and projects, go to Poly. If you learn well via both methods equally, go to part (b).

(b) How sure you are about what you want to do as a career:

In general, if you are undecided, go to JC. If you know what you want, go to
the Poly offering your course. For example, if you are sure you want to be a
physiotherapist, go to Nanyang Poly.

In JC, you must take General Paper and Mother Tongue. If you are weak in English especially, you will suffer terribly in JC. In general, if you are not confident of vastly improving your English in a short time, go to Poly. Of course the Poly also expects you to write English well, but not at the level GP demands.

(d) Which university you want to go to:

If you insist on going to NUS, NTU, SMU, SUTD or SUSS, please go to JC and work hard. If you go to Poly, you have to work extra hard to be the top 5 or 10% of your cohort or course, then you can be admitted to a local public university. However, SIT is a university that takes in lots of Poly grads. More than 70% of JC students make it to the local universities every year, so the chances of getting into the local universities are higher through JC than through Poly. If you go to Poly and don’t do well enough, be prepared to go to an overseas university (which is not a bad idea; don’t worry, money can be borrowed).

(e) Your level of self-discipline:

In JC, you are more supervised. Poly environment is like that of a university; you have to be more independent and responsible. I have ex-students from both sides regretting their choice, because they didn’t think about this issue.

There’s one more route that people often overlook: doing a three-year pre-university course at the Millenia Institute (MI). Bear in mind that only MI offers Management of Business and Principles of Accounting as A-level courses.

Lastly, please bear in mind that the above are just guidelines. Central to all forms of academic success is pure hard work and a thinking disposition.

I wish all O-Level graduates great success in their future endeavours.

Best Rgds,

Ilyasa

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By EX-MOE TEACHERS & EXPERIENCED TUTORS

@ BLK 644, BUKIT BATOK CENTRAL, #01-68. S(650644).

CALL 65694897 OR SMS 98530744 OR 97860411.

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Singapore Learner provides Group Tuition, Individual Tuition, Intensive Revision, Enrichment Workshops, Headstart Classes, Holiday Classes and Crash Courses at the Primary, Secondary and Junior College levels in the areas of Math, Pure Physics, Pure Chemistry, Science, Economics, and General Paper for the Singapore A-Levels, O-Levels and PSLE.

A. Math, Schools, Track Record

Yay, my student passed his A. Math!

Posted on January 14, 2014May 20, 2017 by admin

I’m so happy that Sheng Ze, one of my tutees in 2013, obtained a C6 in his A. Math in the recent ‘O’ Level exams, after getting F9s almost all the time from Sec 3 to Sec 4. He was even asked many times, directly and indirectly, to drop this subject but each time I advised his mum and him to continue doing the subject because he himself felt he was improving and did not want to drop it.

I’ve said it elsewhere and I will say it again: Schools generally do not care about their students or their students’ future; they are only interested in their own academic reputation such as percentage passes.

Schools can improve their percentage passes in certain subjects by simply disallowing their weaker students to study or take the exam for these tough subjects, such as A. Math and the Pure Sciences. But by doing this, they are adversely affecting the future of their students who will be denied many future courses and future jobs.

A. Math is an important subject for both Science and Business courses at higher levels. DO NOT DROP A. MATH SO LONG AS YOU ARE STILL INTERESTED TO DO WELL IN IT. Schools have no power to force you to drop any subject. The teachers will try their best to coax you to drop it, but ignore them please.

One of my existing tutees, Syakir, was also “offered” to drop A. Math at the end of last year due to his poor performance throughout Sec 3. But I offered to tutor him intensively instead in Nov and Dec and now he is in the top one-third of his class based on his latest post-holiday test.

Where there is a will there is a way. You can do well in any subject, in fact in anything, if you keep your focus on it and persevere. Do not feel disheartened or lose hope just because someone says you are not good enough. Prove them wrong instead.

Rgds,

Ilyasa

Schools

List of ‘Top’ Secondary Schools (2013) in Singapore by Cut-Off PSLE aggregate score (2012)

Posted on November 21, 2013October 24, 2016 by admin

Name of School	COP 2013	Highest Score
NANYANG GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL	265	280
RAFFLES INSTITUTION	263	284
RAFFLES GIRLS’ SCHOOL (SECONDARY)	263	280
HWA CHONG INSTITUTION	261	277
NATIONAL JUNIOR COLLEGE	259	272
RIVER VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL	256	282
DUNMAN HIGH SCHOOL	256	278
CHIJ ST. NICHOLAS GIRLS’ SCHOOL	253	275
METHODIST GIRLS’ SCHOOL (SECONDARY)	252	267
CEDAR GIRLS’ SECONDARY SCHOOL	251	272
TEMASEK JUNIOR COLLEGE	251	270
SINGAPORE CHINESE GIRLS’ SCHOOL	251	260
ANGLO-CHINESE SCHOOL (INDEPENDENT)	249	261
CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL	249	261
BUKIT PANJANG GOVT. HIGH SCHOOL	246	274
VICTORIA SCHOOL	246	268
ANDERSON SECONDARY SCHOOL	246	265
NAN HUA HIGH SCHOOL	245	265
ST. JOSEPH’S INSTITUTION	245	262
CRESCENT GIRLS’ SCHOOL	244	269
CHIJ SECONDARY (TOA PAYOH)	243	251
ANGLICAN HIGH SCHOOL	242	262
ST. MARGARET’S SECONDARY SCHOOL	241	251
NAN CHIAU HIGH SCHOOL	240	266
CHUNG CHENG HIGH SCHOOL (MAIN)	239	258
FAIRFIELD METHODIST SCHOOL (SECONDARY)	239	251
COMMONWEALTH SECONDARY SCHOOL	238	251
SWISS COTTAGE SECONDARY SCHOOL	237	256
TANJONG KATONG GIRLS’ SCHOOL	236	271

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Schools, Success

Success is not defined by which schools we enter …

Posted on September 8, 2013December 13, 2014 by admin

“Success is not defined by which schools we enter. Success is the ability and the willingness to be the best that we can be with the resources that are available to us.”

– Muhammad Raimi Rahmat, recent First Class Honours graduate, University of Manchester.

ST (8/9/2013, Home p.21) – When Raimi was 12 years old, he begged his principal and mother to let him go to a neighbourhood secondary school, even though he scored 270 in his PSLE.

Personal, Schools

My personal views on the changes to the education system (PSLE, DSA) announced at NDR 2013

Posted on August 21, 2013September 18, 2013 by admin

I was interviewed by the media yesterday about my views. Since the televised version of it is just one minute, I will write my full answers here plus extra perspectives. : )

Q1. How was it like when you had to register your child for P1?

Although my wife is an alumnus of a popular school, we decided to send our girls to a nearby school instead. We were disappointed that even though we live less than 1 km from the school, we still had to participate in balloting. Although our children did get into the school, it would be quite stressful if they didn’t. To me, children who live less than 1 km from a school should be given a higher priority to enter that school than children whose parents are simply alumni.

Q2. What do you think of the changes introduced?

I think the changes introduced are too minor and vague to make any significant impact on the education system here, if the intention was to reduce stress in the system. If the intention was to have a greater diversity of student backgrounds in a school, the impact will still be minimal. For example, what if there are more than 40 students with no prior connections to a school wanting to go to that school which is near their home? 40 places is not a lot. As for DSA, higher-income parents will be able to groom their children to have some sporting or artistic talent. As for good character or resilience being a consideration for DSA, it is very subjective; students can also be pretentious and parents can force their children to undergo activities that show or document that they have good character or desired personal attributes.

Q3. As a parent, how stressful is PSLE for you?

Because both my wife and I are educators, it is not very stressful for us as we are able to develop our kids academically ourselves. But this may not be the case for other parents, especially those who are not teachers or tutors.

Q4. How do you think the change to PSLE scoring will impact the way children learn?

Not much. Just because I won’t be able to know whether my child gets 235, 265 or 266, it doesn’t mean I will not push them to get 4 A-stars. Parents still want their children to get the best grades.

Q5. As an educator, what are your thoughts on the option to do higher level subjects in Sec 1?

It’s still quite vague what the subjects are that students can do. Apparently, it’s only for Normal stream students to do an Express subject, not for Express stream students to do a higher level subject. It may be good for some able students, but just because you have done well in some previous exam it doesn’t mean you are ready to do a more rigorous subject.

Q6. How will the change to DSA impact your child’s preparation for Secondary School?

Hardly any. Personally, I don’t like a backdoor method of entry to a school. If I want my child to enter a top school, I want her to be intellectually ready to compete with other top students.

Q7. Is it realistic to move towards a “every school is a good school” reality in Singapore?

It will take some time to convince parents that every school is a good school. In the first place, the term “good school” is problematic. What exactly constitutes a good school? I think the government contradicts itself by saying that “every school is a good school”, yet it wants to preserve the notion of “top schools”. So there are good schools and there are top schools. So as a parent, why should I not push my child to get into a top school rather than a good school? What will be more obvious to the public is, all schools are good schools, but some are better than others.

My interview will be aired tomorrow at 9pm in VoicesTODAY. I think it will be repeated on Saturday at 5.30pm, and I was told it would also be available on Youtube.

Educational Advice, Kindergarten, Schools

Every pre-primary child should attend kindergarten

Posted on July 17, 2013March 4, 2016 by admin

I’ve recently had the privilege of interviewing two needy students under my free tuition scheme. One is in P6 and the other in Sec 1. Both have done badly in school from P1 to P6, and both did not attend kindergarten.

I wonder if parents are aware that the academic standard of our P1 level is quite high. P1 has not been designed to teach a child the English alphabet or the Numbers 1 to 10 for the first time. BEFORE a child enters P1 he must already know how to spell ‘apple’ and be able to understand simple English instructions. He must also already know the numerals 1 to 10 and is able to do simple addition and subtraction. These things are learnt in good kindergartens and some kindergartens teach even further than those.

Thus a child who has not attended kindergarten will be quite ‘lost’ in P1. He may be placed in the school’s Learning Support Programme but this only means he is singled out and stigmatized from a very young age. More likely than not, such children will perform poorly throughout their primary school years, end up in the foundation classes for PSLE, and in a way become destined for the Normal (Tech) stream in secondary school.

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CALL 65694897 OR SMS 98530744 OR 97860411.

Personal, Schools, Teaching

Mixed feelings during relief teaching

Posted on July 17, 2013April 11, 2014 by admin

I’m now in the staff room of a school in the north, during a break in relief teaching for the day, to cover the work of a Physics teacher. I still enjoy teaching in schools, seeing students clowning about and teachers cracking jokes now and then, and of course, the free parking.

But it saddens me when, at the end of a lesson, the students ask me if i’m coming back to teach them again, or if I can replace their regular teacher. It’s not that I’m such an outstanding teacher; I just do what I thought all teachers should do in class, such as giving real life examples, doing demonstrations, injecting humour now and then, and finally drawing their attention to what the examiners would always look out for in their answer papers.

It has happened just too many times, this thing about students asking me whether I can be their classroom teacher for the long term, that I’m beginning to wonder how many teachers in service are actually passionate about their jobs and possess the right mixture of attributes that can capture students’ attention and make them think about what they are learning. Sometimes, even my own tuition students ask me to teach in their schools.

I’m happy to know that I have the right teaching techniques and the personality to connect with students. But I can be sad thinking about how many students out there are wishing that they have a different teacher for whatever they are learning right now. I’m sure there is a sizeable number of good teachers out there, but perhaps it’s still not enough for the around 30 000 students in every cohort.

Just because you are highly educated in a certain field, it does not mean that you are able to transfer that knowledge to others. So to aspiring teachers out there, please do not enter teaching because (1) it is a stable job, or (2) it gives you many holidays, or (3) you think it is an easy job, or (4) you want free parking, or (5) a job near your home, or (6) you want cheap food. Of course, nothing wrong with all these perks(I myself enjoyed most of these for 3 years), but you should make sure that you possess the right mixture of knowledge, temperament and communication skills for the job. Teachers are the most powerful people on earth; they have influenced leaders like Obama and even Hitler, and others you have not yet come under.

A. Math, Personal, Pure Physics, Schools

Do not drop a subject if you still have interest in it.

Posted on May 29, 2013October 19, 2023 by admin

This is the time of the year when your school may ask you to drop certain subjects that you are weak in, using the lame excuse that even if you work hard, you will at most obtain a B4 or a C5. In reality, your school is more concerned about its own academic reputation, not about you. Schools are worried that if weak students continue to sit for certain exams, their national exam results (percentage passes or distinctions) will worsen. Yes, it’s not about you or your future; it’s about the school’s image.

Thus you must be wary when any of your school teachers call you in to give you hints to drop a subject. The teacher will say that if you drop one subject, you will have more time to study for the other subjects. While this may be true, what about the months that you have spent learning that subject? And the extra hours that you create by dropping a subject, will it all go into learning the other subjects? Having less subjects also mean that you will be taking a bigger risk should the unexpected happen to your remaining subjects, as you would be relying on a narrower band of subjects.

Two subjects that schools like to ask students to drop are Physics and Additional Math, the two most conceptually difficult subjects to master, in my opinion. So should you drop any of these subjects if you are asked to?

For Physics, the answer depends on whether you still like learning about Physics. If you still do, then continue doing it and take the exam, even if you have hardly ever passed Physics before. Why? The reason is, Physics has always been a difficult subject for most people. Thus the minimum mark to obtain the A1 grade for Physics may still be in the 75 to 79 range, significantly below that for Math (which is probably around 88 to 91). Hence you still stand a good chance of getting a B3 or above for Physics if you are willing to spend enough time practising Physics questions. This is only possible if you don’t mind studying Physics.

I have a tuition student who is very weak in Physics, and true enough, his teacher has been pestering him to drop Physics. So his mum turned to me for advice. Since he still likes Physics, I told the mum not to give in to the teacher. The boy finally passed Physics for his recent SA1 exam, and is now doing exam papers to get a better grade for his upcoming Prelim exam. The boy is mentally slow, but since he likes Physics, the school should have helped him improve instead. Isn’t it the purpose of schools to develop each student to his maximum potential?

The boy had also been asked to drop A. Math. But like I’ve said elsewhere, NEVER EVER drop A. Math, as knowledge of it is useful for many future courses such as Business, Engineering or Science. Although he still failed in his SA1 A. Math, he has been making significant progress as he still likes doing Math. Where there is a will there is a way. Let children and young people learn what they want to learn, even if it means getting poor exam results for the short term. A school should not be telling students to stop learning this or that, or to stop making effort, or to give up on something good that they have started.

If you need more advice (or even tuition, see below) on Math, A.Math, Physics or Chemistry or Combined Science, do whatsapp me at 97860411.

Ilyasa

An NIE-trained Teacher, Mr Ilyasa has been coaching students in O-Level & IP Chemistry, Physics and Math for more than 12 years. An alumnus of Raffles Institution, Mr Ilyasa holds a a Bachelor of Science degree from the NUS as well as a Master of Education (Curriculum & Teaching) degree from the National Institute of Education. Mr Ilyasa’s thinking and metacognitive approaches to problem solving has helped many students of varying abilities to excel in Math and the Sciences. He has coached students from many different schools and streams, including IP, SAP, and IB.

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Personal, Schools

Integrated Programme (IP) students have an unfair advantage

Posted on May 21, 2013February 13, 2016 by admin

The pre-2007 A.Math syllabus had topics such as Functions and Permutations and Combinations (P&C). These topics were removed (and moved up to JC level) as part of the MOE’s content reduction exercise, in order to allocate more curriculum time to Project Work (PW), National Education (NE) and Thinking Skills (TS) for all government schools.

However, the IP schools need not follow the O-Level syllabus and I have found out from my IP tutees that Sec 3 students in some IP schools are already learning Functions, P&C as well as Graphical Transformations. Thus some IP students have a 2-year headstart over their non-IP counterparts in certain topics of some subjects.

Apparently, the IP schools are able to incorporate JC topics into their syllabus because they have freed up curriculum time in two ways: (1) by not having to set aside time for O-Level preparations such as prelim and mock exams, and (2) by not teaching O-Level topics that have no consequence for the A-Level exams (such as Geometrical Proof in A. Math). Thus IP schools are in effect taking between 3 to 4 years to prepare their already bright students for the A-Level exams when non-IP students have less than 2 years to prepare for it! Some IP schools even introduce the use of the graphical calculator to their Sec 1 students.

The above is not supposed to happen. It doesn’t make sense to allow brighter students more time to prepare for the same exam (thus, in the final analysis, are IP students really smarter? And imagine how academically bright the non-IP students who obtain straight As for the A-levels are. And what to make of the IP students who don’t get As for the A-levels?)

I don’t think the intention behind the IP concept is to allow IP students more time to prepare for the A-levels. If I’m not mistaken, the time that IP schools ‘save’ in NOT having to prepare for the O-levels is meant to be used for the students to enrich their learning or pursue their passion in certain areas or to acquire soft skills, and not to learn ahead A-Level topics! That is why IP students are not allowed to sit for the O-Level exams, even privately, as it defeats the purpose of having the additional free time meant to develop them more holistically. However, it seems to me there is nothing to prevent an IP school from using SIX YEARS to train it’s students entirely for the A-Levels, by focusing on just the A-level topics and not teaching at all anything that is not tested in the A-levels. Of course this is an extreme example, but there is already concrete evidence that IP schools are teaching JC topics at their secondary levels and omitting secondary level topics that are not tested at the A-levels (yes, I was initially surprised to find out that my IP tutees are not aware of certain concepts tested at the O-levels).

Needless to say, there would be many parents who support giving their children four instead of two years to prepare for our difficult A-level exams. But what about the thousands of students who have to take the O-level route? If ‘brighter’ students need more time to learn, how about the ‘less bright’ ones? And what about the original purpose behind the idea of the Integrated Programme? And when we say every school is a good school, what do we mean? I like what one of my non-IP tutees has said – “Every school is a good school, but some are better than others.”