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.
Yay, my sec 3 NA student topped his class in A. Math.
Congratulations to Daniel Lam, from BPGHS, who obtained 39 out of 40 marks for his recent A. Math class test on Quadratic Equations.
I’m still not used to publishing testimonials from current or past students for my teaching or tutoring. In fact, I hardly record or remember their pre-tuition and post-tuition marks. It is sufficient for me that my students have stayed with me for as long as they have needed my guidance (or nagging), and that they continue to do well all the way to university.
Yes, I’m not good at marketing. Even my website is not dazzling enough. It’s ok for now, as I still get a sufficient number of students every year. I don’t even produce my own materials (but I know where to get the good ones).
So without aggressive marketing, testimonials and “own materials”, how have I been able to attract students to come and learn? And in what ways do I add value to a student’s learning? Well, you have to attend my tutorial sessions to know what thinking looks like. : )
Rgds,
Ilyasa
S4 A. Math O-Level Conceptual Revision: Exam Prep beginning 2nd week of April
For our latest timetable, click here => 
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ORIGINAL POST(OUTDATED):
Conceptual Revision classes are for Sec 4 students to revise their Sec 3 work in preparation for their SA1 or Prelim exams. Details as follows (sms or call 97860411 to register):
Level/Subject: S4 Additional Math
Days/Times: (1) Sundays, 5.30 pm to 7.00 pm.
Location: Blk 627 Bukit Batok Central #07-640
Topics: Sec 3 A. Math topics such as Polynomials, Binomial Theorem, Logarithms etc.
Target Group: This series of revision workshops is suitable for low to medium ability Sec 4 A. Math students who need to revise their A. Math in a systematic and effective way. High ability Sec 3 students may also attend these sessions to revise or have a headstart in their A. Math.
Focus: Conceptual Understanding, Solving Challenging or Tricky A. Math Problems, Exam-Answering Techniques.
Format: Lecture + Worksheets + Discussions
Fees: $200 per month
Class Size: 2 to 6 students.
Tutor: Mr Ilyasa; M.Ed (NIE), PGDE (NIE), BSc (NUS), Ex-RI/RJC; ex-sch teacher, full-time tutor of PSLE, O and A Level Math and Physics. (h/p: 97860411)
A former secondary school Physics teacher, Mr Ilyasa has been coaching students in ‘A’ Level (H2/H1) Physics and (H2/H1) Mathematics for more than 7 years, as well as ‘O’ Level Physics, Additional Math, Math and PSLE Math for more than 10 years. An alumnus of RI and RJC, Mr Ilyasa holds a Bachelor of Science degree with Merit from the National University of Singapore, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education with Credit from the National Institute of Education, Singapore, and a Master of Education (Curriculum & Teaching) degree also from the NIE, Singapore.
To register, kindly call or send an sms to 97860411.
S4 Pure Physics O-Level Conceptual Revision: Exam Prep beginning 2nd week of April
For our latest timetable, click here =>
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ORIGINAL POST(OUTDATED):
Conceptual Revision classes are for Sec 4 students to revise their Sec 3 work in preparation for their SA1 or Prelim exams. For Physics we will be having three such weekly slots (sms or call 97860411 to register):
Level/Subject: S4 Pure Physics
Days/Times:
(1) Wednesdays, 7.45pm to 9.15 pm;
(2) Saturdays, 12.30pm to 2.00 pm;
(3) Sundays, 4.oo pm to 5.30 pm.
Location: Blk 627 Bukit Batok Central #07-640
Topics: Sec 3 Physics topics, such as Kinematics, Dynamics, Heat and Waves, including Light and Sound.
Target Group: This series of revision workshops is suitable for low to medium ability Sec 4 Physics students who need to revise their Physics in a systematic and effective way. High ability Sec 3 students may also attend these sessions to revise or have a headstart on their Physics.
Focus: Conceptual Understanding, Solving Challenging or Tricky Physics Problems, Exam-Answering Techniques.
Format: Lecture + Worksheets + Discussions
Fees: $200 per month
Class Size: 2 to 6 students.
Tutor: Mr Ilyasa; M.Ed (NIE), PGDE (NIE), BSc (NUS), Ex-RI/RJC; ex-sch teacher, full-time tutor of PSLE, O and A Level Math and Physics. (h/p: 97860411)
A former secondary school Physics teacher, Mr Ilyasa has been coaching students in ‘A’ Level (H2/H1) Physics and (H2/H1) Mathematics for more than 7 years, as well as ‘O’ Level Physics, Additional Math, Math and PSLE Math for more than 10 years. An alumnus of RI and RJC, Mr Ilyasa holds a Bachelor of Science degree with Merit from the National University of Singapore, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education with Credit from the National Institute of Education, Singapore, and a Master of Education (Curriculum & Teaching) degree also from the NIE, Singapore.
To register, kindly call or send an sms to 97860411.
Reflections on PSLE Math Intensive Revision recently held at Concept Learning
I’ve been wanting to write abt this for some time. For the four days of the PSLE Math Intensive Revision we covered topics such as Remainder Concept, Constant Difference Concept, Internal Transfer Concept and so on, with each worksheet having questions of increasing difficulty involving whole numbers, decimals, fractions, ratios and percentages. For most of the questions, I showed more than one method of solving them, for eg., by using model drawings, units, or the branch method and so on.
So what did I discover from conducting the course? I’m surprised to learn from the students that schools do not cover all the methods I demonstrated, maybe due to a lack of time. And the students, who were abt medium to high ability in math, could solve difficult questions if the question involves only one concept or one method. If the question involves fractions, ratios, decimals and percentages all at the same time, or the question is best done using the branch method first followed by models drawing, then many of the students could not completely solve the problem.
How to overcome the above problem? Students need to understand that fractions, ratios, decimals and percentages all just different forms of the same proportion of quantities, and are thus easily convertible from one form to the other. But students must first understand each concept properly first; for example, what does it mean if the problem has the phrase “John has 25% percent more marbles than Alvin”? If a student is comfortable with using the ratio method to solve problems, but is unable to rewrite the above phrase in ratio form, then he may not be able to proceed with solving the rest of the problem.
Some questions involve more than one concept. For example, it contains a phrase such as “Alvin sold some marbles and gave 40% of the remainder to Susan and Eugene, with Susan getting 20 more marbles than Eugene.” A well-trained student would be able to use a number of methods to solve a difficult problem.
I’m also surprised that some students do not know how to check whether their answers are correct. Since most tough questions require students to work backwards to find some unknown starting quantity, then the student can verify the correctness of his answer by working “forward” with the now known starting quantity and try to obtain all the other quantities given in the question.
The key to solving PSLE math problems is to understand that either a quantity has remained unchanged, or is equal to another, or can be made equal to another. Then the different methods (models, units, branch etc) can be applied.
A very bright student once said to me – “Whether you draw models or use units or use algebra is not important. You must first understand the nature of the problem.”
Good luck.
Ilyasa.
Mr Ilyasa is the Principal Tutor at Concept Learning and Singapore Learner. He can be contacted at 97860411, or ilyasa@conceptlearning.sg.
* If you are medium or high ability student preparing for PSLE Math, you may want to attend my weekly workshop: Challenging PSLE Math Programme for Medium to High Ability Students. In this programme, I will also include P6 Math Olympiad problems that are relevant to the PSLE.
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S4 Social Studies Mar Holiday Workshop by Qualified & Experienced Teacher
For our latest timetable, click here =>
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ORIGINAL POST(OUTDATED):
Related links:
O-LEVEL | SEC | PHYSICS TUITION
O-LEVEL | SEC | A. MATH TUITION
O-LEVEL | SEC 1-4 | MATH TUITION
O-LEVEL | SEC | CHEMISTRY TUITION
O-LEVEL | SEC 1-4 | ENGLISH TUITION
O-LEVEL | SEC 1-4 | MALAY LANGUAGE TUITION
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Level/Subject: Sec 4 Social Studies
Day/Date: Thurs 21 Mar 2013
Time: 2.00pm to 5.00pm
Location: Bukit Batok Central
Fee: $100
Contact: 97860411
What is covered in the workshop:
1) Avoid deadly mistakes made by students that cost them to lose marks in the Social Studies exam
2) Know what examiners look out for in the source-based and essay questions
3) Know what your answers need in order to score a Distinction
4) Hands-on Practice
….. and many more winning exam tips and strategies based on 12 years’ of success in teaching this subject……
To sign up, contact 97860411.
Tutor: Ms June Foo
Ms June Foo is an ex-MOE school teacher who now prefers to devote her love of teaching to tutoring students on a private basis. She has close to 20 years’ tutoring experience, and has taught in mainstream secondary schools, the Gifted Education Programme (Secondary) as well as junior college.
She hopes to help students realise their full potential by giving them the guidance and motivation necessary to perform well in the subject areas she coaches.
Alumni
Methodist Girls’ School
Raffles Junior College
Ms Foo’s Academic & Professional Qualifications
Bachelor of Arts (Merit) – National University of Singapore
– English Language & History majors
Bachelor of Arts (2nd Upper Honours) – National University of Singapore
– History
Masters of Arts (Distinction) – University of Hull, United Kingdom
– Southeast Asian Studies
Postgraduate Diploma in Education, Secondary-Level (With Credit) – Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
– English Language & History
Foundation Course in Gifted Education – Ministry of Education, Singapore
Masters of Arts in Contemporary China – Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Sec 4 Physics Tuition By Ex-Sch Teacher
For our latest timetable, click here =>
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ORIGINAL POST(OUTDATED):
Sec 4 Physics (Fast-Track): Sunday | 9.30 am – 11.15 am | Code: S4P1
Sec 4 Physics: Tuesday | 8.00 pm – 9.45 pm | Code: S4P2
Sec 4 Science (Physics): Tuesday | 8.00 pm – 9.45 pm | Code: S4P3
Sec 3 Physics: Friday | 4.00 pm – 5.45 pm | Code: S3P1
Sec 1-2 Physics (IP / Fast-Track): Thursday | 6.00 pm – 7.45 pm | Code: S12PIP
Related link: S4 Physics Tuition Schedule 2015
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The Tutor:
Mr Ilyasa: A former MOE school teacher, Mr Ilyasa has been coaching students in ‘A’ Level & IB Physics and Mathematics for more than 6 years, as well as ‘O’ Level & IP Physics, Additional Math, E. Math and PSLE Math for more than 10 years. An alumnus of RI and RJC, Mr Ilyasa holds both a Master of Education degree and a Postgraduate Diploma in Education with Credit from the National Institute of Education (NIE), as well as a Bachelor of Science degree from the National University of Singapore (NUS).
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Administrative Matters:
Location: Blk 644, Bukit Batok Central, #01-68. S(650644).
Our location is just a 3-min walk from either the Bukit Batok MRT station or the Bukit Batok Bus Interchange. Buses that stop along the roads surrounding our location are numbers 157, 178, 66, 506, 173, 174, 176, 187, 985. Buses services which terminate at Bukit Batok Bus Interchange are 61, 77, 106, 173, 177, 189, 852, 941, 945, 947.
TO REGISTER, SMS <STUDENT NAME>, <CODE> TO 97860411.
For enquiries, kindly call or sms to 9786 0411.
A-Level Results: What to do if you get BAD or DEAD, i.e., the ‘middle class’
I guess I have to write a bit for this group of students, who will not be allowed to redo their a-levels in their former schools (unlike students who obtained SUC for their H2 subjects), yet they’d find it difficult to be accepted into popular courses in the university.
With grades like BAD or DEAD, you might still be able to get into a local university, if you choose unpopular courses such as engineering, social work or nursing (I’m not sure if a degree in nursing is available in a local university, but if it does, you should seriously consider it). It also depends on what you had obtained your grade A for. It’s not that these courses don’t require academically bright students (can you imagine the impact to society of incompetent engineers, nursing managers or social workers?), but they are somehow very unpopular with university applicants in Singapore.
With a grade like BAD, you might even get a place in an arts or science faculty (but beware, these faculties have their pride too), and if you possess good O-Level results as well, you might even get a place in the NIE to train to become a teacher (to be admitted to NIE, you must have been at least in the top one-third of your O-level cohort; assuming NIE or MOE has not changed this requirement).
Grades like CCD or CDD might still get you into a university, for very unpopular courses. I’ve not heard of anyone getting into a uni with DDD though, or with anything lower. DEAD might get you somewhere because of the A, if there are very few good competitors for that same course. (Btw, if u obtained ACE, don’t say A,C,E, when anyone asks, just say Ace, so it sounds like AAAs). : )
So should you still accept the offer of a local uni if the course offered is not what you really want? Or should you just retake your A-Levels? If I were you, I will not retake the A-Levels if my grades can send me into any general course in an accredited or recognised university. A general course is typically one of those found in the faculty or school of science or arts. Yes, it’s ok to do an arts or science course or even engineering if you can’t get into the more popular courses such as medicine, law, accountancy and business. Why?
Please don’t forget there is such a thing as a Postgraduate First Degree, or Graduate Programs Leading To A First Degree. WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT IS TO FIRST GET INTO ANY RECOGNISED UNIVERSITY AND WORK HARD TO GET AT LEAST A SECOND UPPER HONOURS DEGREE. Then you can apply to any graduate first degree programme. For example, if you want to be a doctor, lawyer or accountant, you can still become one if you have a very good honours first degree, through the Duke-NUS Doctor of Medicine (MD) course, SMU’s Jurist Doctor (JD) program or SMU’s Master of Professional Accounting (MPA) program, respectively. Or you can apply to any postgraduate program you like, whether it leads to a first degree, master degree or even a direct Ph.D program.
My point is, your first degree may not determine your career, and it need not be in something YOU THINK you are passionate about. It is more important to get into ANY recognised degree programme, and work very hard to achieve at least a 2nd Upper Hons degree ( I didn’t get one, so I had a hell of a time trying to get into a master degree programme. Luckily, NTU gave me a chance and I proved myself right about myself by getting a CGPA of 4.55, out of 5, for my master degree program. I’m still angry with NUS for thinking that I wasn’t good enough for their postgrad programs. Now I intend to a do Ph.D program, and it’ll be interesting to see which university would take me in).
Please also remember that some employers, like banks and the govt, will take you in if you have a very good first degree in ANY discipline. Hence please don’t be fussy about your first degree. I’ll always remember what my father told me when I asked him what course I should do at uni. He said,”Just get yourself into a university and graduate”.
Lastly, dont be fussy about your first job too. In today’s economic environment, having a job is better than having none at all.
Good luck!
Rgds,
Ilyasa
Related post: What to do if your A-level results are bad …
SCIENCE PRACTICAL TRAINING
We provide A-Level / H2 and O-Level Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Science (Physics/Chemistry/Biology) Practical Training for private / school candidates and homeschoolers, for both local (eg. H2, Singapore-Cambridge) and international exams (CIE, IGCSE). School candidates who need more FULL PRACTICAL PRACTICE are also welcome.
You may need science practical lessons if you are a private candidate who needs a science lab and apparatus as well as practical coaching, or you are a school candidate who needs more practical training or timed practice for a FULL PRACTICAL.
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Yay, my H1 Economics tutee got a ‘B’.
My ex-tutee for H1 Econs, Jong Fei, was the first to give me good news today. Usually failing his econs tests, he just smsed me: “Thank you very much for guiding me through econs when I thot all hope is lost. I got a ‘B’ for my econs. Thank u : )”
It’s not easy to teach econs, and it’s even harder for 18 yr olds to understand economic principles and apply them to essays and case studies. I always tell my students that for microeconomics, you’d have to think like a business owner and for macroeconomics, you’d have to think like a minister. Unfortunately, most Singaporean students have neither the maturity nor experience to analyse economic issues.
It can be quite hard for JC or Poly students to master Economics because most Sporean students have not done Econs in secondary school before. However, Economics done in Spore is more a science than a humanities subject, thus it can actually be mastered, in almost the same way as you master Physics. In fact, there are only around 6 to 8 important concepts in A-Level Economics that you need to understand deeply, one of which is the concept of “margin” or being “marginal” (eg. marginal cost, marginal revenue etc).
Then you’d also need the general writing skills and the specific writing skills for Economics essays. You cannot get an ‘A’ just because you understand all the concepts in Economics. You’d need to be able to write fast and coherently, and write ‘economics’ statements that examiners want to see, just as in Physics or Chemistry.
Then you’d also need the economics acumen to answer Case Studies questions. It’s difficult at first, but after doing many case studies, you’ll begin to see the ‘pattern’ of answering.
Anyway, I wish all current Economics students all the best in your economic studies.
Rgds,
Ilyasa, M.Ed., B.Sc., PGDE, full-time tutor (h/p: 97860411)
JC Tuition:
A-Level: Math, Economics, General Paper.
(1) Economics Revision Package
(2) General Paper Resource & Practice Package
Related Links:
(1) Which subject combination to choose in JC?
(2) JC rankings by A-Level results 2012?
A former MOE school teacher, Mr Ilyasa has been coaching students in ‘A’ Level (H2/H1) Physics, Mathematics and Economics for more than 7 years, as well as ‘O’ Level Physics, Additional Math, Math and PSLE Math for more than 10 years. An alumnus of RI and RJC, Mr Ilyasa holds a Bachelor of Science degree with Merit from the National University of Singapore, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education with Credit from the National Institute of Education, Singapore, and a Master of Education (Curriculum & Teaching) degree also from the NIE, Singapore.
Announcement of Release (2013) of A-Level (2012) Results
I think it should be out next week (probably Friday 1 Mar) (It is now confirmed to be on Fri 1 Mar). For those of you who receive good news, you may want to click on one of the links below before you end up in the ‘wrong’ university:
1. List of recognised Universities and Post-secondary Institutes with campuses in Singapore
2. List of Approved Universities for Admission to the Singapore Bar
3. List of Registrable Basic Medical Qualifications for practice in Singapore
For those who receive bad news, you may want to click on the following link for some consolation and advice:
4. What to do if your A Level results are bad.
Wish you all the best!
Rgds,
Ilyasa
Related pages:
(2) JC Math Tuition
Related articles:
(a) Between JC and Poly.
(b) What subject combination to choose in JC.
A former MOE school teacher, Mr Ilyasa has been coaching students in ‘A’ Level (H2/H1) Physics, (H2/H1) Mathematics and (H2/H1) Economics for more than 6 years, as well as ‘O’ Level Physics, Additional Math, Math and PSLE Math for more than 10 years. An alumnus of RI and RJC, Mr Ilyasa holds a Bachelor of Science degree with Merit from the National University of Singapore, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education with Credit from the National Institute of Education, Singapore, and a Master of Education (Curriculum & Teaching) degree also from the NIE, Singapore.