Secondary 2 Streaming

[deardear07]

can someone pls share which subject is slightly easier to absorb? or mayb just hardwork on memory work?


i understand geog requires understanding too… of how things work… much more than hist. both require memory work of course…

problem is my child has little interest in both geog/ hist. didn’t do too well on both too. but EOY surely have to pick 1 of it. so abit torn as to which to take up… n will still require tuition too! sigh

[rui-en]

Hi,

May i check if my child in sec 3 does pure science in physics and chemistry, can she do medicine next time. The school keeps telling me can but shouldn’t biology be a subject to have too?

[floppy]

rui-en\" post_id=\"1913228\" time=\"1559584253\" user_id=\"38439:

Hi,
May i check if my child in sec 3 does pure science in physics and chemistry, can she do medicine next time. The school keeps telling me can but shouldn't biology be a subject to have too?

You should refer to http://www.nus.edu.sg/oam/apply-to-nus/singapore-cambridge-gce-a-level/subject-pre-requisites as a guide. Medicine requires H2 in Chemistry and either H2 in Physics or Biology.

In any case, it’s not what your child takes in sec 3 that matters; it’s what she takes in A Level that does.

[sharonkhoo]

rui-en\" post_id=\"1913228\" time=\"1559584253\" user_id=\"38439:

Hi,
May i check if my child in sec 3 does pure science in physics and chemistry, can she do medicine next time. The school keeps telling me can but shouldn't biology be a subject to have too?

Things have changed. In my time, Bio was a prerequisite, but now, Chemistry is. And as floppy said, she will have to take Chem and another science at A levels, and it need not be Bio. That said, a number of students who wish to do Medicine do take Bio (at O and A level), although not all.

[deardear07]

deardear07\" post_id=\"1909648\" time=\"1557457116\" user_id=\"1429:

can someone pls share which subject is slightly easier to absorb? or mayb just hardwork on memory work?

i understand geog requires understanding too... of how things work... much more than hist. both require memory work of course..

problem is my child has little interest in both geog/ hist. didn't do too well on both too. but EOY surely have to pick 1 of it. so abit torn as to which to take up.. n will still require tuition too! sigh

can someone pls advise? what does history n geog consist of at upp sec? tried looking at the o level papers but that doesn't share much of how much syllabus/ content to absorb.. or mayb im not reading it well enough

i only know the geog papers have smaller bite sized questions with of course the structured essay questions.. probably making it easier to score? whereas history has a whole lot more of structured essay questions... so alot more writing...

is history really more of memory work? what to expect?

[floppy]

deardear07\" post_id=\"1913265\" time=\"1559613573\" user_id=\"1429:

can someone pls advise? what does history n geog consist of at upp sec? tried looking at the o level papers but that doesn't share much of how much syllabus/ content to absorb.. or mayb im not reading it well enough

i only know the geog papers have smaller bite sized questions with of course the structured essay questions.. probably making it easier to score? whereas history has a whole lot more of structured essay questions... so alot more writing...

is history really more of memory work? what to expect?

Geography - structured questions.
History - essay questions.
Both require memory work.

Some people find it easy to remember facts; some people find it easy to remember dates and names. Some people look at clouds and can call out its name: cumulonimbus, cirrus, etc; some people look at a person and can call out the person’s entire family history, etc.

There are some who are neither. They may be better suited doing Literature

[sharonkhoo]

deardear07\" post_id=\"1913265\" time=\"1559613573\" user_id=\"1429:

can someone pls advise? what does history n geog consist of at upp sec? tried looking at the o level papers but that doesn't share much of how much syllabus/ content to absorb.. or mayb im not reading it well enough

i only know the geog papers have smaller bite sized questions with of course the structured essay questions.. probably making it easier to score? whereas history has a whole lot more of structured essay questions... so alot more writing...

is history really more of memory work? what to expect?

I'll start off by saying that I am biased towards Geography (studied it up to A level, and coached 1 daughter at A level too), and have not actually studied History beyond Sec 2. But I recently edited an O level History guidebook. I am also not very sure what the current O level questions are like for either subject.

In general, Geog is about the \"real world\" of the present - physical features, climate, urban/rural issues, migration, etc. It helps if the student has some interest or curiosity about people and how they live, society, globalisation, and also the physical world. I found it relatively easy to understand and write about because it was more real, and many of the issues could be seen around me or through reading the news, while travelling, etc. Understanding the systems and issues also meant less rote memorisation.

History is about the past, although some modern history will impinge on the present, of course. I find that the problem for younger students is that they don't really know much about the past, lack the maturity to understand the politics and international relationships that are involved, and so end up just memorising lists of facts and list of factors that are in their books and notes. How many Singapore students know (or care) about the Cold War and what happened in Cuba? So my overall impression is that History does require more rote memorisation than Geography because you mostly have to learn it from books, not real life.

Not sure if this will help your child decide.

[deardear07]

floppy\" post_id=\"1913281\" time=\"1559615490\" user_id=\"97579:

deardear07\" post_id=\"1913265\" time=\"1559613573\" user_id=\"1429:

can someone pls advise? what does history n geog consist of at upp sec? tried looking at the o level papers but that doesn't share much of how much syllabus/ content to absorb.. or mayb im not reading it well enough

i only know the geog papers have smaller bite sized questions with of course the structured essay questions.. probably making it easier to score? whereas history has a whole lot more of structured essay questions... so alot more writing...

is history really more of memory work? what to expect?

Geography - structured questions.
History - essay questions.
Both require memory work.

Some people find it easy to remember facts; some people find it easy to remember dates and names. Some people look at clouds and can call out its name: cumulonimbus, cirrus, etc; some people look at a person and can call out the person’s entire family history, etc.

There are some who are neither. They may be better suited doing Literature

thanks Floppy! will it be useful to flip through the sec 3/4 text to decide? the content wise...

but is it enough to just remember facts? the papers are more than just facts... moving alot into inferential kinda questions?

[sharonkhoo]

deardear07\" post_id=\"1913287\" time=\"1559615972\" user_id=\"1429:

but is it enough to just remember facts? the papers are more than just facts... moving alot into inferential kinda questions?

Both History and Geography require inferential skills. For history (in the guidebook I edited), I saw a number of questions based on cartoon drawings or quotations, and students had to start from what was in there and write about how it reflected certain views or aspects of the history of that event. For Geography, they might be given a diagram, chart, photo, and then have to discuss something based on what was shown. In both cases, general understanding is tested by getting the student to relate what they are given to the facts they have learned in order to answer the question.

I recall there was a \"map reading\" paper for A level Geog in my time where we had to answer questions based on an analysis of a map (of some unknown place) we were given - eg. looking at the various markings on the map and discussing the agriculture, climate, urban distribution etc. of that region, depending on the questions asked. Same idea, but now at O level too.

[floppy]

deardear07\" post_id=\"1913287\" time=\"1559615972\" user_id=\"1429:

thanks Floppy! will it be useful to flip through the sec 3/4 text to decide? the content wise...

but is it enough to just remember facts? the papers are more than just facts... moving alot into inferential kinda questions?

Exams will be more than just facts of course. However, those 'facts' are needed to connect the dots. You can't make the inference without knowing where to look.

slmkhoo just did a very good post in between our posts. Highly recommended.

While I agree with her that history is a little tougher for the children today, it is not entirely due to more rote memorisation. The challenge for the young people today is to relate events in the past. e.g. rise of Nazism, Cold War, etc with the world they live in today. History in exams isn't about regurgitation, there's also a need to analysis it's impact on the world today. Unfortunately, as slmkhoo says, our children \"lack the maturity to understand the politics and international relationships that are involved.\"

Lacking maturity, is also a reason why it is lagi, super difficult for them (so, please don't take my suggestion to study literature earlier seriously). Literature is made up of words describing human tragedies, desires, and feelings. Students have to relate to it and then express purposes in the world today. It's a very difficult thing to do