Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)

[Song22]

centralpark:

Hi Blessedmommy,


Welcome to ACSI! It is indeed a great school. My year 2 boy enjoys sec school much more than pri. Think it's because the teachers and principal at ACSI treat the boys like gentlemen instead of talking down to them. Autolycus is right. It's important to know which system suits your boys. Not every student is suitable for IB. From what I have observed so far, a student who is strong in Maths and Sci but weak in Languages might do better in the A levels and enjoy his learning.

Thanks for the feedback.

I think many parents who are thinking between IB and A level might be concerned about the comment underlined above. Hope to hear more about this from existing ACSI parents, thanks!
:thankyou:

[autolycus]

Song22:

I think many parents who are thinking between IB and A level might be concerned about the comment underlined above. Hope to hear more about this from existing ACSI parents, thanks!

:thankyou:

*grin*

I am privileged to know a fair bit about ACS(I) and other schools. As I've offered in the past, anyone who would like information comparing the IB programme with the A-levels is welcome to PM me and I'll give you whatever I can.

[zeemimi]

autolycus:

Song22:

I think many parents who are thinking between IB and A level might be concerned about the comment underlined above. Hope to hear more about this from existing ACSI parents, thanks!

:thankyou:

*grin*

I am privileged to know a fair bit about ACS(I) and other schools. As I've offered in the past, anyone who would like information comparing the IB programme with the A-levels is welcome to PM me and I'll give you whatever I can.

autolycus

i got the 2 papers from you previously. However the papers are technical in nature and very wordy. Took a while for a layman like me to digest them.
I think what parents here hope is that you can give some advice on what kind of students thrive in IB, i.e. what makes a student suitable for IB vs A levels.
From the papers, my understanding is a student has to have critical thinking skills to survive in IB. Hence a mugger / crammer is unlikely to fit into IB. But then i understand A levels is also slowly changing. Mugging and cramming is also not sufficient for A levels now.
Still trying to fathom this complex educational system. :?

[autolycus]

zeemimi:

autolycus:

[quote=\"Song22\"]I think many parents who are thinking between IB and A level might be concerned about the comment underlined above. Hope to hear more about this from existing ACSI parents, thanks!

:thankyou:

*grin*

I am privileged to know a fair bit about ACS(I) and other schools. As I've offered in the past, anyone who would like information comparing the IB programme with the A-levels is welcome to PM me and I'll give you whatever I can.

autolycus

i got the 2 papers from you previously. However the papers are technical in nature and very wordy. Took a while for a layman like me to digest them.
I think what parents here hope is that you can give some advice on what kind of students thrive in IB, i.e. what makes a student suitable for IB vs A levels.
From the papers, my understanding is a student has to have critical thinking skills to survive in IB. Hence a mugger / crammer is unlikely to fit into IB. But then i understand A levels is also slowly changing. Mugging and cramming is also not sufficient for A levels now.
Still trying to fathom this complex educational system. :?[/quote]I think the most important thing is not to think about what system suits your child best, but what system produces the outcomes you want for your child. To choose an extreme case, imagine that your child doesn't like reading and writing and prefers drawing and running around. Would you deliberately avoid reading and writing?

So with that in mind, a young person who would like to be able to work things out from first principles and to clearly communicate ideas and concepts, and show the development of answers from this basis, should take the IB.

The A-levels are less principled, since they are more rigorously siloed - that is, the subjects have little interaction with the larger world of knowledge.

Simplistic, I know... but I'd say that if you want your child to be exposed to real-life learning situations, uncertainty and ambiguity, then it's the IB. If you want a safe option with rigid structures, then it's the A-levels.

[lexis]

that seems to imply that one has to be good at (at least) the English language to do well, or enjoy, the IB. I think if one has problems stringing together a grammatically correct sentence, the IB will be a struggle. That’s my impression anyway, after looking at some of the work produced by the IB kids at ACSI.


I attended the ACSI open house and left very impressed with the IB programme and the school. I only wish it wasn’t so far from where i stay!

[zeemimi]

Thanks autolycus. That was a new perspective of evaluating the ib vs a level.

[blessedmommy]

I am privileged to know a fair bit about ACS(I) and other schools. As I've offered in the past, anyone who would like information comparing the IB programme with the A-levels is welcome to PM me and I'll give you whatever I can.[/quote]


autolycus

i got the 2 papers from you previously. However the papers are technical in nature and very wordy. Took a while for a layman like me to digest them.
I think what parents here hope is that you can give some advice on what kind of students thrive in IB, i.e. what makes a student suitable for IB vs A levels.
From the papers, my understanding is a student has to have critical thinking skills to survive in IB. Hence a mugger / crammer is unlikely to fit into IB. But then i understand A levels is also slowly changing. Mugging and cramming is also not sufficient for A levels now.
Still trying to fathom this complex educational system. :?[/quote]
I think the most important thing is not to think about what system suits your child best, but what system produces the outcomes you want for your child. To choose an extreme case, imagine that your child doesn't like reading and writing and prefers drawing and running around. Would you deliberately avoid reading and writing?

So with that in mind, a young person who would like to be able to work things out from first principles and to clearly communicate ideas and concepts, and show the development of answers from this basis, should take the IB.

The A-levels are less principled, since they are more rigorously siloed - that is, the subjects have little interaction with the larger world of knowledge.

Simplistic, I know... but I'd say that if you want your child to be exposed to real-life learning situations, uncertainty and ambiguity, then it's the IB. If you want a safe option with rigid structures, then it's the A-levels. :)[/quote]

after speaking to a tutor today who teaches ACSI IB boys, im a little apprehensive abt the programme. she told me she has a year 1 IB boy who regularly requires assistance in his language arts projects and that the Lit projects require the boys to write poems based on given themes and write analytical essays based on the Lit books they read. My boys loves to read and are ok with writing. They are above average writers. However, those projects mentioned above sound so tough. Any moms with sons here struggling with the numerous projects given by the school? Im just imagining them burning midnight oil every night, with the intensive sports trainings that they also have to attend. :scared:

autolycus, your take on this?? Thanks!

[centralpark]

jedamum:

centralpark:

From what I have observed so far, a student who is strong in Maths and Sci but weak in Languages might do better in the A levels and enjoy his learning.

my son strong(er comparing 4 subjects) in Science and English, but weaker in Math and Chinese...how? A or IB?

Hi Jedamum,

If I'm not wrong, Maths is compulsory in both systems. IB Chinese at year 6 is supposed to be easier than AO level chinese. Assuming both students take normal chinese. Means no higher chinese. So it's good news for your child. If your child can finish higher chinese in year 4, I got the impression that he can take a ab initio language. A foreign language at the lowest of the 3 levels available for languages. Note that Language Arts in IB is compulsory all the way to year 6. It encompasses Eng literature (my nightmare in school) and expository writing (like GP). So for parents who want the child to get the highest score (max 45) to enter a desired university, Language arts is something a child weak in Eng should be concerned with. The study of literature completes a well rounded education. Another observation I have made which the form teacher agrees is that the IB in this school has the breadth of IB and the depth of A levels. Very xiong. Of course, very good for the young men!

[blessedmommy]

Snow Crystal:

Lol Blessedmommy. My DS is still in pri sch.

I find Autolycus very very helpful so asked him some questions about ACSI.
You should consult Autolycus and the helpful ACSI parents with your questions.
The insights here are amazing. Some threads hardly can find infor.
Again all the best to your DSs!!!

Haha... I must have read it wrongly. its been a stressful two weeks trying to cramp every single pc of info in my head in order to come up with a decision! Thank you for the wishes!

[autolycus]

Hi! This isn't a specific reply to anyone, but just a few points about the IB vs A-levels thing.


1. We grew up with the A-levels, so it seems more focussed, more straightforward. However, the IB has been around for 40 years, and its philosophy is about making sure that students are well-rounded.

2. To that end, the IB has a relatively 'tough'-looking curriculum involving thinking skills and a lot of written communication. The three core skills are 'breadth' (thinking about all kinds of knowledge), 'depth' (knowing how to research a very narrow area of knowledge), and 'self-development' (identifying what you don't yet know and planning a programme to fix that).

3. When we designed the ACS(I) Integrated Programme, the advantage was that we had four years of IB-targeted development leading up to two years of IB Diploma. This is why ACS(I) is one of the world's top IB schools — the average score is about 42 points (40 allows you a chance to enter Oxbridge or Ivy League schools and many other very good institutions).

4. After five years of research (and subsequently many years of implementation experience), we figured out that the IB is the most flexible and useful lead-up to university life. By the time students enter university, they already know how to plan research, write a paper, annotate a text, assemble a bibliography. These aren't so easily incorporated into an A-level programme.

5. If your son or daughter is already at ACS(I), these are reasons why it is a good thing. If your son or daughter is not, it is still OK — there are many other possibilities in life. Taking advantage of any opportunities that come your way is a good thing to do too.

I'm not trying to 'sell' the school. I don't work there, although I know many of the people who do. As expected in any large population, there are rough spots and smooth spots. But the learning opportunities are vast, and the post-school network is second to none.

Cheers to all!