Secondary School Literature
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scotia:
She asked me what are the books sec 1 students are reading in school, which I've no idea. :? So i ask parents in this forum loh..anyway she loves reading, since she's interested to find out, why not?
Sure, it's not a bad idea to read the books used by other schools. It sounded like she was planning to read only those books, which is a bit limiting. Glad to hear she loves reading. She's got 2.5 more months to read! -
scotia:
She asked me what are the books sec 1 students are reading in school, which I've no idea. :? So i ask parents in this forum loh..anyway she loves reading, since she's interested to find out, why not?
You can try The Boy In Striped Pajamas and/or Animal Farm. Most of my students read this. Schools change their literature texts often but these are great books to read even if not in your child's school list. -
D3@n:
I don't know what schools trying to achieve by using these two books at Sec 1 level. I believe 90% of good life Singapore kids don't have the emotional maturity to appreciate the real meanings of the stories.scotia:
She asked me what are the books sec 1 students are reading in school, which I've no idea. :? So i ask parents in this forum loh..anyway she loves reading, since she's interested to find out, why not?
You can try The Boy In Striped Pajamas and/or Animal Farm. Most of my students read this. Schools change their literature texts often but these are great books to read even if not in your child's school list.
Dont know what the schools trying to proof (most kids can score due to 'exam prep' more than understanding the 'morals' of the stories and this to me is ultra meaningless). -
hercules:
Some corrections:
I don't know what schools trying to achieve by using these two books at Sec 1 level. I believe 90% of good life Singapore kids don't have the emotional maturity to appreciate the real meanings of the stories.
Dont know what the schools trying to proof (most kids can score due to 'exam prep' more than understanding the 'morals' of the stories and this to me is ultra meaningless).
I believe 90% of good life Singaporeans don't have the emotional maturity to appreciate the real meanings of the stories.
(most Singaporeans have a lack of understanding of the 'morals' of these stories and this to me is ultra meaningless).
P/S: Most Singaporeans don’t read widely either - unless the news / article is on Stomp, Facebook or Instagram. -
@floppy. :udawoman: :udaman: if the adult discusses the books after the children have read them the impact can be felt. We've read both, my 6-year-old can understand 4 legs good 2 legs bad.
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sky minecrafter:
@floppy. :udawoman: :udaman: if the adult discusses the books after the children have read them the impact can be felt. We've read both, my 6-year-old can understand 4 legs good 2 legs bad.
:shock: and :salute:
If literature is based on Disney's interpretation of the classics, my 6 year-old will sure ace the subject every time. -
floppy:
Perhaps have to agree with you with a heavy heart on these 'corrections'.
Some corrections:
I believe 90% of good life Singaporeans don't have the emotional maturity to appreciate the real meanings of the stories.
(most Singaporeans have a lack of understanding of the 'morals' of these stories and this to me is ultra meaningless).
P/S: Most Singaporeans don’t read widely either - unless the news / article is on Stomp, Facebook or Instagram.
The lacking of 'depth' in many Singaporeans can be due to the A-chasing education system that many have spent too much time dwelling on it instead of developing in other areas (till now I also cant understand why have to start a K2 child with coding when the child is still lacking in so many other more important areas).
The Literature education in our sec schools to me is in a bad state with few getting out from the four years or so 'learnings' can really get to appreciate what Literature is despite many of them might have scored A/Distinction.
Quite many A parents attempt to groom A or A* kids, on paper only most of the time. Inside them, generation after generation, can be quite 'hollow' and can't really get to appreciate life in non-monentary ways. :siam: -
hercules:
I think Literature is in a bad state (in our schools) because it is thought to be so damn difficult to score A / Distinction all the time. Apart from a good understanding of the language, one also needs (as you said) \"emotional maturity\" to really understand the underlying meaning of some texts. Literature is also, to some extent, at odds with a push in STEM education. One discipline deals with artistry and emotional or philosophical discourse, while the others deal with facts / data / numbers. Singaporeans are, by and large, pragmatic people, and pragmatic people find it easier to deal with \"facts\".
Perhaps have to agree with you with a heavy heart on these 'corrections'.floppy:
Some corrections:
I believe 90% of good life Singaporeans don't have the emotional maturity to appreciate the real meanings of the stories.
(most Singaporeans have a lack of understanding of the 'morals' of these stories and this to me is ultra meaningless).
P/S: Most Singaporeans don’t read widely either - unless the news / article is on Stomp, Facebook or Instagram.
The lacking of 'depth' in many Singaporeans can be due to the A-chasing education system that many have spent too much time dwelling on it instead of developing in other areas (till now I also cant understand why have to start a K2 child with coding when the child is still lacking in so many other more important areas).
The Literature education in our sec schools to me is in a bad state with few getting out from the four years or so 'learnings' can really get to appreciate what Literature is despite many of them might have scored A/Distinction.
Quite many A parents attempt to groom A or A* kids, on paper only most of the time. Inside them, generation after generation, can be quite 'hollow' and can't really get to appreciate life in non-monentary ways. :siam:
As a result, our A / A* chasing parents and KPI-driven schools have no qualms in encouraging their kids to skip this option or drop Literature (for O Level). After all, iIt's easier to teach and coach the other subjects, and life at a dinner table is also easier because there isn't a need to engage in abstract or philosophical discussion.
To be honest, I took Geography and History (pure subjects, no social studies nonsense in my days) for my O because I thought I couldn't make it in Lit (which is probably true) and it's easier to achieve a decent showing for the other two Humanities (which is also probably true). Literature only appeals as I get older and my grasp of the English language improves, along with more life experiences to help me understand the content in some of the materials. -
floppy:
I had this simple story of Emil & the Detectives (if I remember it correctly) as my Sec 1 Lit storybook. Simple plot that a 13 yo can put him/herself in the story 'easily' to experience like the main characters for us to learn empathy and do 'character analysis' etc out from this book effectively and meaningfully (key objectives of Literature).
To be honest, I took Geography and History (pure subjects, no social studies nonsense in my days) for my O because I thought I couldn't make it in Lit (which is probably true) and it's easier to achieve a decent showing for the other two Humanities (which is also probably true). Literature only appeals as I get older and my grasp of the English language improves, along with more life experiences to help me understand the content in some of the materials.
Fast forward to now is story such as Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and the like. I went through this book two years ago when my nephew was Sec 1. Teared briefly after reading the thin book while in my heart I lamented how to 'teach' my then 13 yo nephew about the sorrowful plot (before he started reading the book, I let him watch the world wars, talked to him briefly about Hitler, etc, that I didn't feel he was really interested, but without these backgrounds, how to appreciate the plot 'properly'. Anyway, he did well for his exam coz exam technique not difficult to learn. Now at Sec 3, I doubt he remembers much of this book that he read just to clear exam).
Schools are now overboard with kids with such 'heavy' literature materials. I wonder they really dont know that most will not have the emotional maturity nor exposure to understand the plots of such 'chim' stories at 13 yo?
Force feeding system. -
floppy:
I think Literature is in a bad state (in our schools) because it is thought to be so damn difficult to score A / Distinction all the time. Apart from a good understanding of the language, one also needs (as you said) \"emotional maturity\" to really understand the underlying meaning of some texts. Literature is also, to some extent, at odds with a push in STEM education. One discipline deals with artistry and emotional or philosophical discourse, while the others deal with facts / data / numbers. Singaporeans are, by and large, pragmatic people, and pragmatic people find it easier to deal with \"facts\".
Perhaps have to agree with you with a heavy heart on these 'corrections'.hercules:
[quote=\"floppy\"]
Some corrections:
I believe 90% of good life Singaporeans don't have the emotional maturity to appreciate the real meanings of the stories.
(most Singaporeans have a lack of understanding of the 'morals' of these stories and this to me is ultra meaningless).
P/S: Most Singaporeans don’t read widely either - unless the news / article is on Stomp, Facebook or Instagram.
The lacking of 'depth' in many Singaporeans can be due to the A-chasing education system that many have spent too much time dwelling on it instead of developing in other areas (till now I also cant understand why have to start a K2 child with coding when the child is still lacking in so many other more important areas).
The Literature education in our sec schools to me is in a bad state with few getting out from the four years or so 'learnings' can really get to appreciate what Literature is despite many of them might have scored A/Distinction.
Quite many A parents attempt to groom A or A* kids, on paper only most of the time. Inside them, generation after generation, can be quite 'hollow' and can't really get to appreciate life in non-monentary ways. :siam:
As a result, our A / A* chasing parents and KPI-driven schools have no qualms in encouraging their kids to skip this option or drop Literature (for O Level). After all, iIt's easier to teach and coach the other subjects, and life at a dinner table is also easier because there isn't a need to engage in abstract or philosophical discussion.
To be honest, I took Geography and History (pure subjects, no social studies nonsense in my days) for my O because I thought I couldn't make it in Lit (which is probably true) and it's easier to achieve a decent showing for the other two Humanities (which is also probably true). Literature only appeals as I get older and my grasp of the English language improves, along with more life experiences to help me understand the content in some of the materials.[/quote]Agree! Agree!
Lit was my favourite subject in secondary school. And I did manage to get an A1 at O levels. I truly believe it is because I loved the subject. Even now, I feel I need to read my boys' Lit books because I get so excited when I see them. It's more or less the only subject they take that I can be bothered with ...LOL. Purely for selfish reasons...I love it!
IMHO the sad deterioration of Lit in secondary schools can be attributed to many reasons:
1) Our busy Singaporean students are so busy chasing As and all round excellence. It's hard to get an A in Lit ...at least for our Sg kids anyway. DS1's form teacher was quite clear when he spoke to me during PTM. \"He has done well considering that this is such a tough combination\" he said or something along those lines. (DS1 takes double science with double humanities- by his own choice)
2) Learning Lit takes more time compared to other subjects - if you want to do it well, that is. I think it might be easier to practise Math or understand Science concepts. No ambiguity...unlike Lit.
3) Where have all the good Lit teachers gone? So very sad to have to say this. My Sec 3 Lit teacher was one of the key people who inspired my love for Lit. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for my DS' Lit teachers. It almost feels as if they too have given up on the subject.
4) Many schools have cut off points for students who wish to take Science rich subject combinations ...none for the Humanities. It almost feels like this is a dumping ground for those who cannot make it to Science. Tragic!
Literature is not a subject you take to fill up your subjects or because you don't qualify for any other subject combination.It a terrific subject that needs a good deal of thought and analysis. It teaches students great values. I really wish there was more importance given to the study of Literature in schools
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