PSLE 2009 RESULTS!!

[arijit dasgupta]

THANK YOU JAMES.I JUST HOPE I CAN GET A GOOD RESULT.HEY CHEIF WHY DON’T YOU MAKE A COUNTDOWN,UNTIL THE PSLE RESULT.

[pinkgorilla]

ChiefKiasu:

Dear James, in most industries, professional qualifications are much more important than academic qualifications. We choose top scholars from universities primarily because of the belief that academic excellence is a close approximation to professional excellence. While the correlation is high, oftentimes, I find myself getting more output and contribution from a poly grad than someone with a Phd.


There is no question about the importance of PSLE. It is the rite of passage to better Secondary schools, and ostensibly for better chance of doing well enough to get to the pinnacle of our education system. And despite the changes made to the system throughout the years, the role of the PSLE remains just that - one of the several gateways where candidates will be measured against each other and streamed according to the \"formula\" applied at that stage. While it is true that O-Levels have lost its appeal since a long time back due to the general acceptance that EVERYONE should at least pass the O-Levels to be a \"useful Singaporean adult\", this is primarily due to the fact that the college degree has itself become a commodity where most people will have at least one of.

Your statement that PSLE are now the new O-Levels may be true in the sense that the proportion of kids passing PSLE these days is much higher now than during our time, but we should not go so far as to say that a kid's life is determined by how well he does in PSLE. The glass ceilings that are imposed by our Singaporean society on our children by virtue of the endless streaming and classification processes only impress on our children that their potential is pre-determined by the system at fixed points of time. Make a wrong move at one point and the future becomes irreparably bad. Can we blame our children for being so stressed as to feel that life is meaningless if they do not do well for the PSLE? And at the age of 12, most kids do not even understand that the road is still long before them, and that the war is only won if they get good honors degrees which might give them a better chance of getting the jobs they want.

We should teach our children that regardless of whatever glass ceiling that others impose on them, the blue sky is still visible and open to anyone who has the heart to reach for it. The top scorer in PSLE will still have to compete with everyone else in the race for attaining good degrees, so the game is pretty much still on for the next 10 years for every graduating Primary school student.

Hi Chief,

I fully agree with everything you say and I'm so happy to meet enlightened being like you. Is great that you are trying to help parents see things in perspectives. People's mindset are hardest to change. The government can spend millions on teaching methodolgies, technologies, etc, etc. but one thing that they cannot change is the people's culture. In the context of Singapore: Kiasu, Kiasi. Parents bring up their kids with fear on the pretext of love. In the end, kids suffer, parents suffer, no one is happy. What's the point?

I know of a singing teacher who went through the usual academic path through all the glam. schools. After she draduated with a degree, she decided to follow her passion and do a second degree on singing. Now she's happy doing what she loves to do and making a living.

My sister was from RGS, a PSC scholar, then a Cambridge Scholar. She was in pharmacy. She ace in all levels in all schools, even in the Uni. After so many years in Pharmacy to get her bachelor, honours, masters and then Phd, she, in the end, left the whole profession entirely to pursue her passion in alternative healing.

She said this to me a few days ago:
\"In the end, everyone wants to be loved for who/what they are, not for what they do and if you do that, they will be happy. I know because I have excelled in the past but was never made happy by the achievements. They meant nothing since people were only interested in what I do, but never know/understand me as I am. I have kicked the habit of spending my life 'performing' for others; only want to spend what's left of it on things that I deeply care about.\"

Let's us all ask ourselves if we are loving our children in the right way. Do we care what they care about? They are not monkeys to perform and impress. They need to discover themselves and find their reason for being here, how they can contribute to this world in their own special way, even if they are not doctors, lawyers and what have you.

Sorry for being so long winded, just my 2-cents worth.

[James Ang]

Vikaesh:

For students in the IP, how does the secondary school point system work, since they do not take the GCE 'O' Level Examinations?

Different schools have different promotion criteria. Meet the school's criteria for Year 4's EOY exams and the students will move to top JCs for Year 5.

[2centsworthy]

Hi Pinkgorilla,

WELL SAID !!! :celebrate:

[James Ang]

Vikaesh:

James Ang:

[quote=\"Vikaesh\"]For students in the IP, how does the secondary school point system work, since they do not take the GCE 'O' Level Examinations?

Different schools have different promotion criteria. Meet the school's criteria for Year 4's EOY exams and the students will move to top JCs for Year 5.

So there's no 'points system' in such schools?
How about points for 'A' level Examinations?[/quote]There is something call MSG and GPA, and other criteria for selected subjects and weightage, so it is really up to the school.

For A levels, there are different cut-off points, grade criteria for different faculties, and interviews for Law and Medicine, Dentistry etc so it is another different competition ball game altogether but generally good grades are the best bets, and excellent CCAs if attainable.

[kuzco]

It's confirmed that PSLE results will be out on Thursday from 12 noon. :xedfingers:

[westmom]

James Ang:

ChiefKiasu:

Hi arijit dasgupta, whatever will be will be.


PSLE is just one of the many milestones in our lives. Few parents in our community even remember what they scored in their own PSLEs, and no company actually judge employment candidates using PSLE grades. You should take PSLE as a learning process, and it is what you do after PSLE that determines what your future will be. If you did well in PSLE, the question is what you must do to continue to excel in your O-Levels, A-Levels, and tertiary levels. If you did not do well in PSLE, you have to decide if you will let this set-back mark you for the rest of your life, or if you should work harder to prove to yourself that you are a much greater person than the system deems you to be.

Chief, you forgot about the IP program which is top 5% of cohort which will skip O levels, get direct into Top 5 JCs and mingle with doctors, lawyers, accountants and other professionals-to-be and almost 95% of which will get into a University or higher whether local or sponsored prestigious foreign Uni and then once you understand the BIG prize behind the PSLE, then you will understand why PSLE is so important now. It is the \"NEW O Levels\"!

Nothing matters to those who say \"Nothing matters\".

James makes it sound like it's the end of the world if one don't get to the IP or be in the top 5%! We all know it is not just mere academic, to be successful in life. I have friends who were at the top in my cohort but where are they now, earning financially lesser than some who were just average ! As Kathysg2009 said \"It is not as if only 5% of population is going to get chance for University education\"!
The BIGGer prize behind PSLE is actually the \"sanity\" level of parents in supporting their kids to do their best based on their ability & individual learning style.

[James Ang]

westmom:

James Ang:

[quote=\"ChiefKiasu\"]Hi arijit dasgupta, whatever will be will be.


PSLE is just one of the many milestones in our lives. Few parents in our community even remember what they scored in their own PSLEs, and no company actually judge employment candidates using PSLE grades. You should take PSLE as a learning process, and it is what you do after PSLE that determines what your future will be. If you did well in PSLE, the question is what you must do to continue to excel in your O-Levels, A-Levels, and tertiary levels. If you did not do well in PSLE, you have to decide if you will let this set-back mark you for the rest of your life, or if you should work harder to prove to yourself that you are a much greater person than the system deems you to be.

Chief, you forgot about the IP program which is top 5% of cohort which will skip O levels, get direct into Top 5 JCs and mingle with doctors, lawyers, accountants and other professionals-to-be and almost 95% of which will get into a University or higher whether local or sponsored prestigious foreign Uni and then once you understand the BIG prize behind the PSLE, then you will understand why PSLE is so important now. It is the \"NEW O Levels\"!

Nothing matters to those who say \"Nothing matters\".

James makes it sound like it's the end of the world if one don't get to the IP or be in the top 5%! We all know it is not just mere academic, to be successful in life. I have friends who were at the top in my cohort but where are they now, earning financially lesser than some who were just average ! As Kathysg2009 said \"It is not as if only 5% of population is going to get chance for University education\"!
The BIGGer prize behind PSLE is actually the \"sanity\" level of parents in supporting their kids to do their best based on their ability & individual learning style.[/quote]PSLE has become the most important streaming exam, it is important to aspiring parents and students. It does matter to those who did their best and the good results they get in 3 days' time will be their best reward and motivation to continue to put in their best.

I applaud late bloomers, it is better to be late than never anyway. But my belief in life is still the best health and well-being of our youths, for I am also parent of a 5 year old, if he can study I also hope he gets into IP in the future.

[girlmum]

westmom:

James makes it sound like it's the end of the world if one don't get to the IP or be in the top 5%! We all know it is not just mere academic, to be successful in life. I have friends who were at the top in my cohort but where are they now, earning financially lesser than some who were just average ! As Kathysg2009 said \"It is not as if only 5% of population is going to get chance for University education\"!
The BIGGer prize behind PSLE is actually the \"sanity\" level of parents in supporting their kids to do their best based on their ability & individual learning style.

Totally agreed with u, westmom! My DD can't made it to IP, does that mean it's the end of the world. I DON'T THINK SO! Academic is important but it's not just THAT. It takes much more in life to be successful. How one intreprets as \"Successful\" may differ from others. I know of people who were from ITE and they are doing great in their career, drawing good $.

[James Ang]

For those who have read this book called Blue Ocean Strategy, I tend to see IP as being \"Blue Ocean\" where resources and opportunities abound for students compared to \"Red Ocean\" where competition is stiff.


Positioning and focus are key ingredients to get into the \"Blue Ocean\" by PSLE/GEP/DSA routes of course!