This is a rant thread written by an O level Geography Elective student, dedicated to expressing his intense dislike for O level Humanities.
Humanities are supposed to inculcate a love for arts, culture and teach us to understand human mentalities and society. But, is O Level Humanities doing its job in teaching us culture? In a Humanities lesson, we are expected to learn to express our views and taught that nothing is absolute in culture. We are all entitled to our own views. However, is this view being brought to life in the way we are assessed? From how I see it, Humanities has been degraded to three basic points:
Instead of getting us to express our ideas about society and human interaction, Humanities exams are now testing us on how fast we write with respect to questions that stump all of us. Why is it that we are expected to do so much in just one and a half hours? Have the examiners ever tried taking their own papers? A Social Studies paper requires at least four cross-references, identifying of purposes, tones and hidden motives. How are we expected to do so much in an ideal time-split of 45 minutes? And, the SEQ questions are not tests of skill at all. Instead, they test our ability to remember the model answers, and then vomit them out in record timing. Is this what Humanities means in materialistic, modern Singapore? That all we need to do to get far in life is memorising a bunch of random facts and spilling them out?
Geography exams are not the best papers to do either. One point of contention I have with the method of examination is the requirement of examples- some questions, like the first sub-part for the 2009 Geography Elective Human Geog questions, are based entirely on the regurgitation of examples. Also, when we do questions involving GM Food, how many times are we going to vomit out the facts involving lectin potatoes and Bt corn? Are memorising examples as important as knowing the concepts and applying in situations? Geography is no longer a subject where we learn about the land and political issues that are faced by the people- it's now about memorising facts and vomiting!
People, Humanities needs its life back. What it needs is the actual artistic spirit that it aims to instill in us.
On a lighter note, hurray! Humanities is OVER!~ No more ridiculous questions involving weighing of factors to think about!
"Social Studies is a compulsory subject for all Secondary School students. Students are put through rigorous speed tests to ensure that they can complete the bulk of the paper in the stipulated time of 1.5 hours, and learn to predict future trends by analysing past-year papers in attempts to "spot" essay questions. By putting students through such unneeded stress and by forcing them to swallow huge chunks of information, students are bonded together with a common hatred of the subject, fostering a common identity and ensuring cohesion in the next generation of O Level students."
ya la! i agree.!
if use own opinion.. i sure very good... since i so lazy haha!
Are you guys sure you are entitled to any opinions in the first place?
:D
VENICE NEVER COME OUT .
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH .
@#$% !
This guy is soo true! I always wrote more on the layman terms, such as for SS, how it affects them, how it changes their perception of something etc. As for Geog, i wrote about how its environmentally friendly, how people tend to accept it(GM food).
I always felt that i was doing something correct but just dont get marked correct for it. If the cambridge markers are the same as SG teachers, then fuck the style of marking fuck the subjects seriously
Not surprised with all the hate, considering you take Geography.
When you take JC H2 Geography, you'll hate it even more.
[quote]
VENICE NEVER COME OUT .
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH .
@#$%!
[/quote]
Ahah! Humanities has also been degraded to spotting chapters! Instead of learning to critique recent changes in society, Humanities students have been degraded to spotting chapters like aunties who buy toto and are selecting lucky numbers based on previous trends. D=
Ah so embarrassing, didn't quote properly. Haha.
When you take JC H2 Geography, you'll hate it even more.
Hmm why is this so? Is it even worse on the memorise-and-vomit scale?
ouh. don't be a pussy. look at the bright side. everyone do bad, moderation is good.
Oh no, the focus is no longer on the marks. It's about the tedious and illogical learning process and examination methods. >=)
humans still OK la.
lit rox xD
Was it me or was it that i like Humanities? In my opinion, most students do not get the point of Humanities; a subject which enables student to learn more about the world. At least for me, i did learn more about what happened and understand what happened. Humanities is not about memorising facts and vomit out in the exam, it's about whether you understand the facts. Most people memorize the questions and just spot the chapters. For me, i just don't play 'spot the chapter', i just play with the flow; what comes out is what we get.
If i had to be honest about this year's O Level paper, it's the most weirdest yet. This year has been the weirdest for O Level papers. POA paper was of lower standard than the N Level counterpart, the Maths paper came out with a few weird questions, English P1 Situational Writing took everyone off guard with no proper format and lastly, Humanities exams tested on majorly one theme for SEQ. I think the Cambridge examiners are really testing us on our brains and how smart we are this year. It could be that the industry wants smart and intelligent people these days.
Anyway, today would be the last paper for most students. So strive hard for this last metre and cross the finish. Celebrate the victory of overcoming the stress, both emotionally and mentally for the past 10 months or so.
Humanities is not about memorising facts and vomit out in the exam, it's about whether you understand the facts. Most people memorize the questions and just spot the chapters.
Yes tintinspartan, I agree. This is what Humanities should be about, the final goal should be to educate students on world issues and culture. But the way we are being tested on the subject leaves a lot to be desired. We are not tested in a way that makes us express our ideas and thoughts on issues, but in a way that leaves students with no choice but to swallow and spit up so as to score good marks.
Also, I do not enjoy playing the spotting game too (I practically studied the entire SS syllabus, gawsh). But, once again, the way we are tested degrades us to little more than toto-buying ah sohs. It is ridiculous to test us only on one chapter when we've went through around ten of them. Isn't this a test of memorising? The way I see it, we should adopt a more wholesome mode of examination that gets us to express ideas on every aspect of society, not just the ones that come out among the 3 essays.
But yeah, thank you for contributing constructively to this discussion! (:
Totally agree. Only the local papers remained at their usual standard. For me, the Geography Elective paper was weird, with the usual mark distribution of 4-5 mark sub-parts being changed to very chunky 6-7 mark questions. Seems that finally, Geography is moving towards a direction where students actually have to use their brains to score!
Originally posted by paradoxico:Yes tintinspartan, I agree. This is what Humanities should be about, the final goal should be to educate students on world issues and culture. But the way we are being tested on the subject leaves a lot to be desired. We are not tested in a way that makes us express our ideas and thoughts on issues, but in a way that leaves students with no choice but to swallow and spit up so as to score good marks.
Also, I do not enjoy playing the spotting game too (I practically studied the entire SS syllabus, gawsh). But, once again, the way we are tested degrades us to little more than toto-buying ah sohs. It is ridiculous to test us only on one chapter when we've went through around ten of them. Isn't this a test of memorising? The way I see it, we should adopt a more wholesome mode of examination that gets us to express ideas on every aspect of society, not just the ones that come out among the 3 essays.
But yeah, thank you for contributing constructively to this discussion! (:
Totally agree. Only the local papers remained at their usual standard. For me, the Geography Elective paper was weird, with the usual mark distribution of 4-5 mark sub-parts being changed to very chunky 6-7 mark questions. Seems that finally, Geography is moving towards a direction where students actually have to use their brains to score!
geog elect last time got 20 marks 1 qns one =)
Originally posted by paradoxico:
Totally agree. Only the local papers remained at their usual standard. For me, the Geography Elective paper was weird, with the usual mark distribution of 4-5 mark sub-parts being changed to very chunky 6-7 mark questions. Seems that finally, Geography is moving towards a direction where students actually have to use their brains to score!
i rmb O lvl 2009 POA paper 2 got a 8 mark question, asking u to comment the liquidity position of the owner. how to squeeze out so many info on a 8m qn?
Originally posted by JaSoNhSu92:
i rmb O lvl 2009 POA paper 2 got a 8 mark question, asking u to comment the liquidity position of the owner. how to squeeze out so many info on a 8m qn?
I think the examiners are looking for 4 points. You have to comment on the liquidity using both quick ratio and working capital ratio. You also need to tell whether there's enough working capital; meaning whether the Current Assets can repay the current liabities. My POA teacher said that we should also talk on if stock is included or excluded from the Current Assets, is there still enough Current Assets to repay the Current Liabilities (which in the question's case is cannot). I think that question is a way to seperate the distinction students from the others.
Originally posted by Dejomel:Not surprised with all the hate, considering you take Geography.
When you take JC H2 Geography, you'll hate it even more.
I looked through a revision book from one of the JC students in MI. They have to study a huge chunk of info. I'm only refering to history here. By just flipping through the revision book, i felt that i wanted to faint. Whatsmore, that book was literally as thick as a dictionary. That's what made me scared of going to JC. I'm not the person that would study one huge chunk and throw it out in the exams.
Originally posted by tintinspartan:I looked through a revision book from one of the JC students in MI. They have to study a huge chunk of info. I'm only refering to history here. By just flipping through the revision book, i felt that i wanted to faint. Whatsmore, that book was literally as thick as a dictionary. That's what made me scared of going to JC. I'm not the person that would study one huge chunk and throw it out in the exams.
Come to think of it, the KI and Literature papers for JC is really messed up too.
Once again, the awesome jump from primary school to secondary school just got more fucked up when we move from secondary school to junior college.
Originally posted by SBS n SMRT:geog elect last time got 20 marks 1 qns one =)
Wow. Wtf?
Originally posted by limywv:hate for what. O levels is really nothing when compared to A levels. Gone were the days when everything can be studied in one night, and achieve straight As
Haha agreed! I studied for my core history SEA paper last year 4 hours before it started, and scored A1 in o levels. Nowadays.. It feels as though every lecture test is o levels, and block tests are worse than o levels. It takes a few weeks just to remember a few chapters of h2 biology notes. Ugh.