Secondary 2 Streaming
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werrelecat:
Hi, my son is in Sec 2 currently in O level track. He is wondering what SS Elective, Lit, Geog and History is the most suitable in terms of difficulty and the benefits that he has in jc or uni or in certain industry like law and medicine
Just go with his interest and what he's more comfortable academically at. There's no real advantage to taking a specific elective in preparation for Law, although people say Lit and History are more relevant. Anyway, you don't need to have taken any of these subjects at O level to take them at JC level, based on the JCs I'm familiar with. -
cherrygal:
There's no \"wrong\" choice for humanities, unless the student picks one that he absolutely hates! But hopefully he should have done some research before choosing it. I personally don't like the \"take 2 then drop 1\" option as it increases the workload in the first year, which makes it hard to focus. Better to select one based on interest (which makes working at it less onerous) and then stick with it.Thanks slmkhoo. Worried that kid might pick the wrong one if there's only one humanities subject.
Is it better to take 2 humanities then drop 1 at Yr4 or Sec 4 if can't manage?
Do most science students switch their humanities to economics in JC?
It does seem that many Science stream students take Econs as their contrasting subject at A level as it seems closer to sciences, but by no means all. My daughter's class had students taking Geog or various 3rd languages as the contrasting subject. -
jtoh:
Agree. It really doesn't matter. I know many lawyers from science stream and doctors - and in my time, there was no contrasting subject requirement, so they didn't take a humanities subject at A level at all.werrelecat:
Hi, my son is in Sec 2 currently in O level track. He is wondering what SS Elective, Lit, Geog and History is the most suitable in terms of difficulty and the benefits that he has in jc or uni or in certain industry like law and medicine
Just go with his interest and what he's more comfortable academically at. There's no real advantage to taking a specific elective in preparation for Law, although people say Lit and History are more relevant. Anyway, you don't need to have taken any of these subjects at O level to take them at JC level, based on the JCs I'm familiar with.
What a student takes at O level really doesn't impact what he can study later on except if the schools restrict it (eg. must take O level something in order to take it at A level). That mainly applies to Maths and Science subjects, not humanities. And now that students can only take 2 science subjects at A level, entry to university is even more flexible. One of my daughter's classmates has got into medicine without having taken A level Bio. -
Are IP students allowed to take Econs as an elective in their Year 3 & 4 subject combination, so that this will ease (pave) the way for them to take H2 Econs later on in Junior College, since H2 Econs is a very popular subject combination taken (selected), at JC level ?
For O-level students -
Throughout entire Singapore, there are only four O-level Secondary schools, that permit students to take O-level Economics. These 4 Secondary schools are
- Presbyterian High
- Temasek Secondary
- Westwood Secondary and
- Tanjong Katong Girls Secondary
(Not Tanjong Katong co-ed Secondary)
So, if you happen to be a student studying in any of the above 4 priviledged Secondary schools that do offer O-level Econs (2286), do take up the opportunity : because Econs (2286) can be used to substitute (replace) Humanities (Literature/ Geog / History) subject, especially if you already have the intention (inclination, interest or planning ahead) to take up Econs subsequently in a JC later on, after completing your O-level. Then, this O-level Econs (2286) would have already provided you a good, strong solid foundation towards your H2 Econs in JC. A sharp contrast to many other O-level students who had not yet learnt, nor touched base with Econs, before.
Contrast this situation (scenario) with many O-level candidates : who had studied (mugged) so hard for Literature / Geog / History at GCE-O-level, only to \"throw away\" (dis-continue) what they had learnt in Sec 3 & 4, should they decide to take up H2 Econs, at JC1 and JC2 level, instead.
this Econs (2286) refered to : has got Nothing to do with Home Economics.
below is the link, to detailed SEAB 2018 GCE O level Economics (2286) exam syllabus.
https://www.seab.gov.sg/content/syllabus/olevel/2018Syllabus/2286_2018.pdf -
For Humans subjects, including Econs, it’s a fallacy that taking the subject early helps in later stages. Even for a science, Bio, many of my friends tell me that what they learned at O and A level didn’t really help at university level as the depth and content is so different. That’s probably why it’s no longer necessary to have taken A level Bio to study medicine or pharmacy.
My daughter is studying Econs at university now, and she has classmates who didn’t take A level Econs. The university requires a good Maths grade, rather than whether the student has any background in Econs. In her JC, almost all the students who were taking A level Econs had not taken Econs in sec school, and many of them scored A’s. I don’t think students who have taken O level Econs have any particular advantage.
From a "whole-life" perspective, I would say that it’s better for a upper sec student to take a Humans subject different from what he is likely to want to take at A level. This way, he gets to taste and experience a wider range of subjects overall. Of course, he shouldn’t feel obliged to take a subject he dislikes or feels he would do poorly in just for this reason. My daughter took Lit in upper sec, partly out of interest, and partly because she knew she would probably not take it at A level so it was her "last chance" to take the subject. The same reasoning applied to History, but she preferred Lit. We thought that was good planning on her part.
Similarly, my husband and I are grateful for the wider range of subects we took at O level. He went on to do mostly physics and maths, but at least had a taste of Lit and Geog. I went on to take humanities-type subjects, but at least had some basic grounding in the sciences. Having some breadth is a good thing in later life. Nothing studied is ever a total waste. -
slmkhoo:
I agree. I personally prefer a broader range of subjects in secondary school for a whole-life perspective, as you put it. Even in university, I like the idea of having a more liberal arts - type education where you study a wide range of arts and sciences, before deciding on a major or specialization in later years.For Humans subjects, including Econs, it's a fallacy that taking the subject early helps in later stages. Even for a science, Bio, many of my friends tell me that what they learned at O and A level didn't really help at university level as the depth and content is so different. That's probably why it's no longer necessary to have taken A level Bio to study medicine or pharmacy.
My daughter is studying Econs at university now, and she has classmates who didn't take A level Econs. The university requires a good Maths grade, rather than whether the student has any background in Econs. In her JC, almost all the students who were taking A level Econs had not taken Econs in sec school, and many of them scored A's. I don't think students who have taken O level Econs have any particular advantage.
From a \"whole-life\" perspective, I would say that it's better for a upper sec student to take a Humans subject different from what he is likely to want to take at A level. This way, he gets to taste and experience a wider range of subjects overall. Of course, he shouldn't feel obliged to take a subject he dislikes or feels he would do poorly in just for this reason. My daughter took Lit in upper sec, partly out of interest, and partly because she knew she would probably not take it at A level so it was her \"last chance\" to take the subject. The same reasoning applied to History, but she preferred Lit. We thought that was good planning on her part.
Similarly, my husband and I are grateful for the wider range of subects we took at O level. He went on to do mostly physics and maths, but at least had a taste of Lit and Geog. I went on to take humanities-type subjects, but at least had some basic grounding in the sciences. Having some breadth is a good thing in later life. Nothing studied is ever a total waste. -
slmkhoo:
I fully agree. It's good to pursue interests & a balance of subjs to provide good options. As the student matures, so long as they've an enquiring & learning mind to learn & ability to apply themselves, it'll equip them with a variety of analytical skills. The future is requires a lot of ability to search & research for new information & process diff aspects & create new perspective. That'll be the selling point. Building upon what is there & create sth not as yet available but needed/sort after.For Humans subjects, including Econs, it's a fallacy that taking the subject early helps in later stages. Even for a science, Bio, many of my friends tell me that what they learned at O and A level didn't really help at university level as the depth and content is so different. That's probably why it's no longer necessary to have taken A level Bio to study medicine or pharmacy.
My daughter is studying Econs at university now, and she has classmates who didn't take A level Econs. The university requires a good Maths grade, rather than whether the student has any background in Econs. In her JC, almost all the students who were taking A level Econs had not taken Econs in sec school, and many of them scored A's. I don't think students who have taken O level Econs have any particular advantage.
From a \"whole-life\" perspective, I would say that it's better for a upper sec student to take a Humans subject different from what he is likely to want to take at A level. This way, he gets to taste and experience a wider range of subjects overall. Of course, he shouldn't feel obliged to take a subject he dislikes or feels he would do poorly in just for this reason. My daughter took Lit in upper sec, partly out of interest, and partly because she knew she would probably not take it at A level so it was her \"last chance\" to take the subject. The same reasoning applied to History, but she preferred Lit. We thought that was good planning on her part.
Similarly, my husband and I are grateful for the wider range of subects we took at O level. He went on to do mostly physics and maths, but at least had a taste of Lit and Geog. I went on to take humanities-type subjects, but at least had some basic grounding in the sciences. Having some breadth is a good thing in later life. Nothing studied is ever a total waste. -
phtthp:
Since Chemistry is compulsory, his A-level Science subjects are either (Chemistry, Physics) or (Chemistry, Biology).
Are you sure Chemistry is compulsory at A Levels? -
phtthp:
Have you taken H2 Econs in JC before, phtthp?
So, if you happen to be a student studying in any of the above 4 priviledged Secondary schools that do offer O-level Econs (2286), do take up the opportunity : because Econs (2286) can be used to substitute (replace) Humanities (Literature/ Geog / History) subject, especially if you already have the intention (inclination, interest or planning ahead) to take up Econs subsequently in a JC later on, after completing your O-level. Then, this O-level Econs (2286) would have already provided you a good, strong solid foundation towards your H2 Econs in JC. A sharp contrast to many other O-level students who had not yet learnt, nor touched base with Econs, before.
Contrast this situation (scenario) with many O-level candidates : who had studied (mugged) so hard for Literature / Geog / History at GCE-O-level, only to \"throw away\" (dis-continue) what they had learnt in Sec 3 & 4, should they decide to take up H2 Econs, at JC1 and JC2 level, instead.
I don't think it's true that you need Econs O level to do well in Econs A level. A lot of people only spent 1.5 yrs to score an A. -
qms:
Sorry, not compulsory, only for those taking PCMX or BCMX subject combination, where X = one of the Humanities subjects.
Are you sure Chemistry is compulsory at A Levels?
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