Secondary 2 Streaming
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hercules:
My older girl is also not that strong in Maths. She flunked H1 Maths for most of the time in PreU. My husband coached her in for the last few months leading to the H1 exam, and selected a few topics and types of questions that she should simply ignore. He had the same reasoning as hercules - that she should focus on the topics she was more likely to get some marks for, and not bother with those which she really couldn't grasp. Of course, we didn't tell her that right from the beginning, and she did give it her best shot. But by 6 mths before the exam, we reckoned that working on the stuff she could understand (and she didn't always do those well as it was) was better use of her time. She got a C in the end, after getting mainly S and E up to then, so we were all very happy.
Yes, it's a 有得有失，有失有得 logical strategy of if want to score higher for core then may have to give up the secondary.slmkhoo:
The issue arises more for sec school where most students take 8 subjects but really only need 6, and it may be wiser to focus strongly on 6 or 7 and less on 1-2. The student will still have to attend the classes and take the exams for those other subjects, but the aim should be to put in some effort and accept whatever they get, rather than to work extremely hard knowing that the results are unlikely to be good anyway.
This strategy also will work for PSLE. Though cannot drop Math and Science completely, but can drop topic/s (I have already in mind that if necessary, I will drop the Ratio topic completely for my grand niece when the time comes. Save the unproductive time trying to explain such complex and tricky problem sums, losing maybe 4 marks and focus on angles/areas/parameters kind of problems to help her to score about 70. It's usually a win-win situation to boost her overall confidence in Math while 'saving my breathe' at the same time.). -
janet88:
For admission to Poly, they are looking at 5 subjects.supposing daughter's subject combination are English, math, physics/chem, geography/ss, food & nutrition, POA.
if taking the poly route, all these subjects are important.
English language, Relevant 2 subjects (to the course that the child is taking) and another 2 best subjects.
Your girl will be taking 6 subjects if she choose above combi.
If your child has a course that she is interested in, u might want to take a look and see what are the 'Relevant subjects' for it.
Mathematics is a 'Relevant subject' for many courses but you can do what hercules suggested - focusing on those manageable topics.
Don't worry too much about the POA.
Since the school makes it a compulsory subject, I guess chances are it should be a manageable subject for them.
Let her results help you make the decision.
If she is doing well in POA, it can be one of the ' 2 best subjects' or 'relevant subject' if it happens to be in the group of relevant subjects.
If she is not doing well in it, then let it be and focus on the other subjects? -
Hello! Seeking advice for subject combo. I’m thinking of taking the double science route, 2 sciences (pure) and 2 humanities, 1 core and 1 elective.
For the sciences, Biology or Physics? I’ve heard that biology is more memory based, while physics is more of understanding and applying, plus lots of practice. Don’t really have a preference for any. On one hand, I feel bio is slightly easier in terms of workload, and I’ve heard people say physics is hard, as in the difficulty grasping the concepts, and very 麻烦 (troublesome/inconvenient). On the other hand, I hate memorising, and prefer understanding and applying. My opinion is likely biased though, since I learnt bio last year and physics this year, so I sort of forgot how bio was like, and I put in more effort last year than this.
Now for the humanities: Core History + Elect Literature or Core Literature + Elect History? Or something else? I’m interested both hist and lit, more so for lit and seeing the deeper meanings, but I’m not good at it. Core hist + elect lit would be the so called ‘safer’ or ‘rational’ choice, while core lit + elect hist would be much more risky, but more enjoyable.
Thanks for reading, appreciate all your comments and suggestions! -
Wmc, u forget abt SOcial studies , it’s mandatory subject - governance of Spore …must take as elective
So far I dunno which Sch just offer bio n phy pure? These two cant really match - phy chem - engineering based ; ChemBio - Lab / clinical based .
Can share abt which Sch & combi available? -
Bio vs Physics - if you are good at Maths, go for Physics if you want to save effort (that was the advice my husband gave my daughter for A levels, but it should apply to O levels too). But if your Maths is not strong, Physics could be hard. A 2nd consideration is which you are more interested in. Remember that whichever you drop now, you cannot take at A level.
As for the Lit/History decision - again, interest is important as you are likely to be more willing to work at something you are intrinsically interested in. I can’t advise beyond that as both subjects have their difficulties. -
ngl2010:
she isn't keen at all.
I remember you said you want her to do nursing. Does she want to do nursing? -
janet88:
Going into Nursing have to be strongly decided by the child
she isn't keen at all.ngl2010:
I remember you said you want her to do nursing. Does she want to do nursing?
It is such such tough job industry
Got to be a calling and not fr parents words to continue . -
lego:
compulsory subjects - English, math, SS, MT (thank goodness she is exempted).
For admission to Poly, they are looking at 5 subjects.
English language, Relevant 2 subjects (to the course that the child is taking) and another 2 best subjects.
Your girl will be taking 6 subjects if she choose above combi.
If your child has a course that she is interested in, u might want to take a look and see what are the 'Relevant subjects' for it.
Mathematics is a 'Relevant subject' for many courses but you can do what hercules suggested - focusing on those manageable topics.
Don't worry too much about the POA.
Since the school makes it a compulsory subject, I guess chances are it should be a manageable subject for them.
Let her results help you make the decision.
If she is doing well in POA, it can be one of the ' 2 best subjects' or 'relevant subject' if it happens to be in the group of relevant subjects.
If she is not doing well in it, then let it be and focus on the other subjects?
elective - geography, food & nutrition
if she takes POA, then total 7 subjects.
although geography and SS are considered as one, there are actually 2 subjects.
it isn't mentioned that science is compulsory :?
the results of sec 2 streaming will be released on 2/11.
thanks for your advice, lego & Hercules. -
MyPillow:
Sorry about that, forgot to mention... elective is something like half the core subject syllabus + SS, I think. Sort of like 'combined humanities'.Wmc, u forget abt SOcial studies , it’s mandatory subject - governance of Spore ...must take as elective
So far I dunno which Sch just offer bio n phy pure? These two cant really match - phy chem - engineering based ; ChemBio - Lab / clinical based .
Can share abt which Sch & combi available?
Not sure about other schools but for mine bio + phy is actually offered, just that many JC courses/subjects require chem. As far as I know there's only one JC (forgot which one) that offers a bio + phy course, and only one. So most take chem for more options. Last year supposedly only 5 students chose bio + phy combo; too few to start a class.
The two more popular streams, double science and triple science (all pure sciences).
Compulsory subjects for both streams:
English, Chinese, E math and A math.
Double science:
Plus
2 sciences (most choose chem + bio/phy),
1 core and 1 elect + SS humanities (choose between geog, hist and lit).
Triple science:
Plus
All 3 sciences (chem + bio + phy),
1 elect + SS humanities (choose between geog, hist and lit).
So triple science is essentially taking a science subject in place of a core humanities. Prefer not to say school...
I just realised how blur my post was, I'll change it a bit.slmkhoo:
Hmm, math is ok, not too bad but also not too good. 'Doable' subject wise I guess.Bio vs Physics - if you are good at Maths, go for Physics if you want to save effort (that was the advice my husband gave my daughter for A levels, but it should apply to O levels too). But if your Maths is not strong, Physics could be hard. A 2nd consideration is which you are more interested in. Remember that whichever you drop now, you cannot take at A level.
As for the Lit/History decision - again, interest is important as you are likely to be more willing to work at something you are intrinsically interested in. I can't advise beyond that as both subjects have their difficulties.
True, not worth choosing something that one is not interested in. But competency in the exam also matters, which makes things a lot more confusing... -
wmcbbyld:
Sure, competency should be taken into account too, but also note that the nature of the subjects (how they are taught and tested) changes as you go up, and so the relative grades between subjects may change over the years. You can only make an educated guess, and interest does help make you work harder, even if you seem to be doing more poorly in earlier years (as long a the difference isn't huge!). Some subjects you can do well in earlier years by mugging or drilling, or because they are less conceptual. That may change as you go up - Maths and Physics are such subjects; some students will struggle as the subjects get more conceptual, even if they did well in lower sec, because mugging and drilling don't help as much if you don't understand in the first place. Just make what you believe is the best choice for you; it may not be the same for someone else. But as I said, Physics is generally easier if your Maths is strong - my husband and daughter proved that in the positive way; I proved it in the negative (not good in Maths, and couldn't understand Physics!).
Hmm, math is ok, not too bad but also not too good. 'Doable' subject wise I guess.slmkhoo:
Bio vs Physics - if you are good at Maths, go for Physics if you want to save effort (that was the advice my husband gave my daughter for A levels, but it should apply to O levels too). But if your Maths is not strong, Physics could be hard. A 2nd consideration is which you are more interested in. Remember that whichever you drop now, you cannot take at A level.
As for the Lit/History decision - again, interest is important as you are likely to be more willing to work at something you are intrinsically interested in. I can't advise beyond that as both subjects have their difficulties.
True, not worth choosing something that one is not interested in. But competency in the exam also matters, which makes things a lot more confusing...
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