manorway\" post_id=\"2112041\" time=\"1688218976\" user_id=\"9303:
Hi Autolycus, just saw your comment on CL vs HCL. I am curious to know why you would pick B if forced to, since the group 2 requirement for IB is just a second language and A could still do well and score 7 points in Group 2.
If one does HCL in Yr 1 to 4 in IP, can they opt NOT to take O levels HCL and just take O levels for CL?
Why would anyone do that, I am not sure but what advantages are there to take the HCL O levels exam if there is a choice in the first place?
Also, if student does HCL in Yr 4 in MGS, can they still choose Chinese as IB Group 2 subject or they are forced to choose another language? I know you mentioned before she can do ANY language, but what if she is not keen on French, German, Spanish and Japanese. Thanks in advance!
Hi manorway!
As an educator in the Singapore milieu, there are at least two competing paradigms:
1) Clear all the exams, quickly, do well, so you can advance quickly in life (howsoever defined).
2) Take a complicated mixture that will develop you in many ways, so that you can find a life regardless.
The two may not be mutually exclusive. This is why when I interview students (and their parents!) I want to know if the student wants to become a more well-rounded (think of a radial plot) or more achieving (think of a linear plot) person. The educator in me would like each student to not just do what they're already inclined to do, but do stuff they would not necessarily want to do (or not think of doing) but which might offer them an alternative way of handling the world.
That's why I think the three disciplines a student should pursue are (minimally), 1) a convergent logical package which includes mathematics at some level; 2) a more divergent humanities package (at least some lit, history is excellent); and 3) some kind of aesthetics (music, art, drama)—although this needn't be exam-level. Also, because every subject is communicated in language, a spread of languages is good—most of us are English-users, so an east or south Asian language, Arabic, or a Romance language are possible wide-use enhancements.
There are many things people aren't keen about, but it's not always what the student wants, but what the student might find useful despite not really being keen about it. Think of it as a portfolio diversity hedge, if you will. Or broadening the gene pool to ensure survival.
A student with HCL O-levels can still do CL for IB in Group 2 at SL. Can do it at HL, or not do it at all so as to choose another language. There is only an advantage if the student finds it advantageous. Different people think in different ways, after all. Some drop it to do O-level CL and then IB CL again, because it's safe. Not sure how useful long term, but definitely safe short term. Again, different people have different risk profiles.
My personal suggestion is that students go for max tolerable (each individual assesses this differently) risk now. They'll have time to absorb the risk. Counter-argument: it gets harder to learn vastly different things later on, but they will also have more resources if they still have risk appetite. I was a humanities student in secondary school but switched to pure science when I realised you don't easily find laboratory training later in life. I switched back to humanities after becoming a science teacher!
