Networking Group - JCs General

[25HMOM]

MyMelborne:

zbear:

Thanks for info as this is first time for me. Is this the same for all JCs or does it depend on which JC you are posted to?

So parents briefing will be on a different day? I am very excited to visit school regardless of which JC my DS gets posted to.

Sorry hor, I sound very suaku, lol

I am not sure but I presume that as the Principal needs to send notice to parents regarding the briefing but since the reporting day is the day after the posting date, he won't have sufficient time to do that. So usually the briefing will be held at a later date.

My DD said there were some parents who went to her JC with their DC on reporting day. The parents were allowed to remain in the hall when the P addressed the students.
Subsequently, the parents were invited to a smaller area to have a chat with the P, who might have briefed them on the schedules of their dc, before sending them off.
The official meeting with parents was held at a later date.

[Ms Tan]

Thank you all for sharing

[zbear]

May I know what time to report on Jan 29?


Thanks.

[25HMOM]

zbear:

May I know what time to report on Jan 29?


Thanks.

It should be stated in the sms of the posting result.

[psle sad mum]

slmkhoo:

psle sad mum:

do you think is better to study H2 chemistry and H1 history or the other way round? thanks!

What are your daughter's strengths? Questions like that can't be usefully answered without knowing the student.

well she got a2 for pure chem and a1 for history elective i guess she's more interested in learning history but she's afraid that the content will be a lot of can't cope
is chem more manganeble as need not memorise lots of information?

[sharonkhoo]

Don’t know either subject in detail, but most subject require a good deal of "remembering of facts". I don’t like to call it "memorisation" as it gives the impression that learning and regurgitating is enough. All subjects require the student to make use of learned facts to answer questions - in History, in the form of essays, primarily, and somewhat differently in Chemistry, I presume. Personally, I always find it easier to remember things I am intrinsically interested in, so the quantity I can cope with is greater.


I would say go with interest rather than look at O level grades, and I think the difference between A1 and A2 is negligible in the case of selecting subjects. It would be different if the choice were between A1 and C5, for eg.

[jetsetter]

psle sad mum:

well she got a2 for pure chem and a1 for history elective i guess she's more interested in learning history but she's afraid that the content will be a lot of can't cope
is chem more manganeble as need not memorise lots of information?

What are her priorities? To enjoy the subject? To avoid hardship? To maximise her chances of aceing it to qualify for university? To get into her favourite course/faculty in university? To be more employable in the future?

Chem will be more \"versatile\" compared to History. If she doesn't end up doing those courses that burp has listed for whatever reasons, she can always apply for Arts, Social Sciences, Law, Biz Mgmt, Accty after A Levels. However, it's \"irreversible\" if she does History. She won't be able to go back to do those science/med courses in uni. Needless to say, this inevitably impacts on one's employability, i.e. variety of career options.

There's TYS for Chem, but there isn't any for History. You cannot BS for Chem, but you can inject a bit of BS for History (those seeking personal opinions). There's no practical for History, but there is for Chem - obviously. Like most A level subjects, both need an elephant memory, but History needs a mammoth memory. So does she have an inquiring mind like a lab detective and want to sharpen her experimental skills? There's no need to do math calculation in History, but you need to do that for Chem. There's a lot more to memorise for History as the content is diff from O Levels, but for Chem, it's symbols, formulae, deducible reactions, and one's elementary foundation's been built at O levels - periodic table, chemical bonding, basic molecular formulae and equations....

What's the reputation/experience of the History lecturer of her JC? NIE newbie or seasoned veteran HOD? There's a huge amt of info from current affairs/history/international affairs journals, internet essays and library books to be distilled, organised, interpreted by the lecturer. Otherwise, you have to depend on yourself and study groups to make solid notes. If you just memorise, regurgitate and don't answer to the question, you can hardly score. And this is worse if you unfortunately suffer from mental block in the exam hall (same could happen to you in a GP exam too). You'll just be stumped if the question is phrased in an unfamiliar way and don't know which chunk of info at the back of your head you need to apply for that 45min essay. Your life & death \"A\" is solely dependent upon 4 essays, not a spread of practical plus theoretical questions. You need to write very fast, coherently, compellingly and legibly.

If I'm not wrong, there're 2 different types of History H2 choices: International History and SEA History. For the former, she needs to be on top of current international affairs and laws as questions could occasionally be on conflicts/pacts/ceasefires that just occurred a year or two ago from your exam. Same for the latter, as they might throw in a question on recent ASEAN devts. Same as GP - i.e. be aware of and able to analyse and give a critical opinion on what's trending around the world. It's no longer as straight fwd as memorising historical dates or names like Chulalongkorn or Parameswara. History's evolving, it's fluid, it's dynamic, so don't assume she's going to be memorising \"over and done with\" historical happenings like she did in O Levels.

An experienced Chem lecturer helps enormously too, esp for lab experiments. But if he's a dull bore, your kid can always fall back on 'tested and proven' TYS and lecture notes, meaning you can keep practising the questions umpteen times and do very well. It's relatively more predictable and not as fluid as History.

If she doesn't take History now, can she take it later in university? Of course. History is a subject that is not difficult to pick up if you have a keen interest. It's the type of background info that any working adult will eventually and should keep abreast of, whether you're a doctor, engineer, banker, accountant or lawyer next time.

It's only a matter of whether you want to specialise/gain exposure to the subject matter much earlier in life than others, and leverage on it (read: gamble) to help you gain admission to university (read: maximise your chances). Higher stakes than Chem, IMHO, speaking as a pragmatist. Any misinterpretation of 1 or 2 questions or an insufficiently argued 2 or 3 questions could mean a B or C for History. That happened to some of my friends who took History before. So think carefully. Passion over Pragmatism?

JMHO.

[psle sad mum]

thanks! if i were to be pratical and want to choose something less content to memorise would it be h1 history or physics?

[sharonkhoo]

Definitely physics has less to memorise. But do note that many students have other difficulties with physics as it requires strong Maths and is much more conceptual than History.

[psle sad mum]

can you elaborate more on what you mean by strong maths? however my child has little interest in phy but do you think is worth studying due to practical reasons? is it much harder or different than o level phy?