Open house this year will be on 26th November!

I do not believe in exemption, especially at the JC level. It is extremely pertinent to be exposed to writing under exam conditions, especially for a subject like Econs (Paper 2 requires candidates to complete 6 mini-essays in 2h 15min). It is good training. Besides, if one is really that good, he/she shouldn’t have any problem acing the subject anyway.

daisyt:

I do agree triple sciences is not the holy status, it really depend on your interest and goals.

Perhaps the main beef I had is that many students in Years 1 and 2 are not exposed to the arts/humanities sufficiently enough to \"discover\" their interest, if any. The programmes I posted above are for those Years 3 and above. In contrast, some Sciences attachment programmes are avaialbe to those as young as Year 2, which was when I did my first attachment. Put this on top of the fact that there is some sort of a majestic aura around the \"triple science\", and you have a problem in which many of those with undiscovered flair for the arts/humanities make the wrong choice.

However to some extent this is an inenvitable problem as writing style and personal voice (both which are very important to the two areas) usually develop quite late.

The anomalous expansion of water as it freezes. Ice has a crystalline structure which leaves relatively (as compared to water) large spaces in between H20 molecules. Thus when the molecules rearrange themselves they take up more space (ie occupy a larger volume), hence creating an outward force on the glass.

It is a good thing no doubt but there are more opportunities for external exposure for science than for arts, at least when RV is concerned.


For example, humanities students can attend:

Pre U seminar
All the MUNs (SMUN, RMUN, THIMUN)
Law attachment programme
NTU attachment

in contrast, for science students:

ASTAR and DSTA secondary/JC scholarships
NUS, NTU attachment programmes, which culminate in SSEF
ASTAR and DSTA attachment programmes
Overseas Science Attachment Programme (to countries like Canada, USA etc.)
International Science Youth Forum
National Science Challenge
All the Olympiads

The nature of events available (not just the number) are rather different - with the exception of THIMUN, programmes available to science students are lower in profile and even prestige.

The major caveat is that this might be a national trend instead of a schoolwide one, but as someone who has been to events from both groups, I can vouch with my limited experience that the school prepared science students better. I personally had a lot of attention from the teacher ic while preparing for NSC, ISYF, OSAP and DSTA scholarship interviews while there was almost no training for SMUN. In fact, in my time only those who went for Pre-U sem and THIMUN had sufficient training.

Another notable fact is that MOE does not offer the Humanities Scholarship to RV students, thus depriving students of a so-called (ahem sorry for the use of this word but unlike someone else it is used appropriately here) "humanities-exclusive" scholarship.

Of course, as someone from the science stream, I might have a skewed view. If anyone can point out that the humanities students do receive equal opportunities, I would stand gladly corrected.

So back to the point, I believe that a possible result of Mr Koh’s decision would be that RVians start to stop seeing triple science as a holy grail of year two streaming, and to consider the fact that the pursuit of the arts and the humanities is another viable choice (regardless of what were his intentions in the first place). In my year, some students were enraptured the idea of TRIPLE SCIENCE and took it for the prestige, therefore disregarding the other stream. They ended up taking all arts/humanities subjects in the ‘A’ level, excluding Mathematics. This could be a disadvantage because at that level, the humanities are highly skills-intensive.

Does anyone have an alternative viewpoint to share?

hometutors.sg:

Private tuition: Why Singapore education can't do without it


In school, every teacher has to teach many students, besides having other duties. He may be well trained and dedicated, but there is only so much he can do. A qualified and caring personal private tutor is a must for many, especially in languages and mathematics.

<<link removed by mod>>

I had no problems arranging private consultation sessions with my teachers after school. They were most helpful. Could it be that many students are shy about the idea of consulting their own teachers?

PP:

What kind of difference are there in science and arts stream?Can i only take one science if i go to science stream?

There is no such thing as science or arts stream now. The only thing limiting your subject combination is the fact that you need a contrasting subject.

Hello everyone I’m new here. Hope y’all don’t mind I’m not a parent but a student from the class of 2010.


Just to add to the current discussion, I know for a fact that some of my friends took H2 triple science and mathematics as well has H1 economics as a contrasting subject.

Personally I feel that the advantages of taking that combination do not justify the price paid. For example, the workload is extremely heavy - other than the fact that biology isn’t easy on the brain, H1 econs is just as rigorous (in terms of essay writing and analytical skills) as H2 econs, and the content is around 75% of the full syllabus (everything except market structure). This is especially so because typical hardcore science students have problems in acquiring skills for this subject.

Thus the advice I would give juniors is to choose either Physics or Biology, and spend the time saved on science attachment programmes offerred the NUS, NTU, ASTAR, DSTA etc. This will add a new dimension to the student profile, because it shows that the student is not just capable of rote learning, but is also equipped with the immense body of skills needed for research.

Therefore, I feel that the principal’s decision is not detrimental to students in the ways mentioned above.

Personally, I approve of his decision because RV students are generally too skewed towards science to the extent that many struggle in GP and Econs when they reach JC level.