"WhySoSerious28" a tutor's reflections on JC life these days

UltimaOnline

2 Jan 10, 18:46

Although this is from the same thread on the Stomp forum as the "poly to Uni" post I just made, but since this is regarding JC students and JC life, I thought it'll be more appropriate to make a separate post for this.

WhySoSerious28

STOMPer

WhySoSerious28 posted :

Just to shed a little light on the notion that "JC life in not necessarily much more stressful than Poly life" :

Having tutored junior college students over a period spanning close to a decade, the ease with which a student is able to cope competently
and eventually shine rests on two fundamental determinants, namely,
the environment and raw amount of academic ability residing within the
individual.

1. The environment:
Yes, I am talking about the school in which the student is enrolled.
In colleges with average academic reputations, students whom I have
taught there seemed to be a tad more relaxed, preferring to maintain
a " slacker's" stance till the very last minute before attempting last minute
revision in operation "desperado". Their responses when being quizzed
points to the very fact that their peers are behaving in an identical,
nonchalant manner. One articulate individual remarked that his motivation
had long dissipated because he was sterotyped and sidelined upon
entering a "bad" JC, add to the fact that the teachers were not too
helpful or attentive,hence there is really no longer any incentive for him to
strive hard in his work.

I am not trying to group everyone from average schools under the same
umbrella of conclusion,(because I have coached certain ones who were
weaker in their studies,but were more than willing to inject effort
and intensity into their academic endeavours), but my observations have
yielded the viewpoint that majority of these students from "average"
schools were last minute warriors, preferring to enjoy JC life to the fullest
instead. So as the OP has pointed out earlier, it is perharps true that if
you enter an "average" brand school, you would most likely be happier and
more carefree, but such an atmosphere is brought about by the
combination of influencing factors which served to cultivate such laidback
attitudes. But bear in mind the concept of results being commensurate
with effort applies to average peformers, so be prepared mentally to
accept mediocre grades for the A levels.

Does it therefore imply that if you enter a premium JC, the atmostphere
would be so suffocating that you might suffer a brain aneurysm?
The answer is both yes and no.
Even in the top JCs, there are the creme le creme classes, and the
downright "rotten" ones. This distinction, sad to say, has been further
made apparent by the direct admission program (DAP) where tons of
students are granted immunity from the O levels each year , and the only
major examinations they would have sat for by the age of 18 would be the
PSLE and the A levels.

The stories and feedback I get from my students (notably from RJC and
HCI) are contradictory at times-some claim they are constantly on edge,
others indicated to me life is easy and slow paced. Not all are speaking
the truth? I reckon not.It all bubbles down to the immediate environment
you are residing within, and equally importantly, the grounds on which you
entered the JC (DAP or O levels).

Immediate environment in this instance refers more to the social circles
an individual is immersed in, as opposed to the overall general school
environment (this is RJC or HCI for crying out loud, I don't need to
state what sort of environment you would expect explicitly). If you think
every rafflesian is a god of sorts in JC academia, I can assure you this
is 100% untrue. I had the "privilege" of coaching this RJC student in
September, he scored less than 30 for his h2 maths mid terms. You
would shrug in disbelief if I told you he couldn't differentiate x^2 wrt x,
but no this is all real. Now this is a student who earned a DAP ticket
on a PSLE T score of 275. Is he stressed? Hell no. He was unresponsive
for the first month despite my encouragement and subsequent chastising,
and he finally admitted he was so relaxed, in fact over-relaxed over the
past 6 years since sec1 that he couldn't get the gears moving again.
Further discussion revealed the fact that his class was a teacher's
nightmare-no one studied, pranks and mischief were usually the order
of any schooling day. Yes, hes happy, too happy for his own good in fact.
So there you go-the immediate environment and DAP coming hand in hand
to create the perfect platform for a bright student's academic decline.

I am not trying to criticse the DAP program, because clearly there have
been those( many in fact) who thrived on the alternate path of being able
to advance their learning without having to fork out a year just to make
mundane, routine and tedious preparations for the O levels. I have
coached a couple of these, and honestly their intensity, intellect and
confidence are of superior levels. They didn't decay on the DAP route,
but instead thrived on it. Now these students don't find school life
stressful,not because they are slackers, but because they are enjoying
the projects and research that engages them thoroughly.

But on the flip side of the coin, theres another set of stories. I have
tutored two girls who each scored 10A1s for their O levels and moved
on to HCI. Both stated that their classmates were equally hardworking and
brilliant, thus it was exhausting to keep up with the competition. They
were not "muggers" in that very sense of the word, as they had full fledged
CCAs where they were holding prominent student leadership positions.
Life was stressful because they had to come out tops in everything,
maintaining a straight As record in their test/exams, and they had to
participate actively in many non academic activities to earn points and
accolades so as to ensure their resumes would be longer than the red
carpet at Cannes. Wheres the fun? There ain't any. So if you are
entering a top institution, depending on which class you get assigned to,
and the friends you are surrounded by, coupled with your own mindset,
it could be heaven or hell.

2. Academic ability

Everyone wants to do well at the end of the day for the A levels, but
being humans, no one in the right frame of mind would be truly passionate about putting in the constant hard work during those two years in junior college. After so many years of teaching, I have realised one thing-if you
want to be ahead of the pack and twiddle your thumbs all day long doing
nothing till the very last minute, you have to be bloody exceptionally
smart or else your idling away time will become the ultimate receipe for disaster.

What I mean by exceptionally smart is not the conventional idea
of scoring full marks for tests and exams, since these are achievable
through sheer hard work and diligence.( for instance, yes you can score 100 marks in maths at the JC level-its possible because I have done it when
I was in hwa chong, my students have done it as well.)
I am talking about the raw ability to learn and pick things up rapidly-
this is something you either possess, or you don't. You can't acquire it.
If you were to ask me where my smartest student came from,
hes not from RJC or HCI, but a neighbourhood JC. He wasn't the smartest
if you look at his grades-straight Us and a colour of red are common
guests on his scripts and report cards. Now, with a month to go
before the A levels, try learning the entire H2 maths syllabus and mastering it
from scratch. Thats his situation back last year. 4-5 6 hour marathon lessons
weekly, and he bounced from a U to a B. There was literally no time for
practice questions, as I had to teach him everything from the beginning-
I became his unofficial lecturer for that month. Practice makes perfect for
maths yes? For his case, nope. He didn't had time to even sniff out past year
questions, and he hammered out a B. Thats what I mean by exceptionally smart. There are only handful of such "freaks" on this planet, even more
lesser in Singapore, and chances are, you aren't one of them. (I ain't one
of them either.)

So for the average student, you can choose to slack off on a constant
basis, but you may pay the price for it. In conclusion, everyone has his/her
own opinion of how stressful JC life is, there are no absolute truths. Instead
of fretting over how painful things will be, or praying for an easy life in junior college, focus your energies instead on what you really wish to accomplish and map out your strategies accordingly. Peace.

UltimaOnline

2 Jan 10, 19:01

WhySoSerious28 also posted :

we shouldn't be too fixated on a year or two "wasted" due to studies or
other commitments. Yes, granted graduating a year later could perharps
create the perspective one is losing $30K (just a ballpark figure) in salaries,
but this is life, it is too premature to assume you are on the losing end. By
a stroke of luck, if you hop onto the bandwagon of opportunity not made available to others, you could have recouped those earnings in a month
(say embarking on a business venture, being headhunted, extraordinary
working situations which expedited your meteoric rise...the list goes on ).
Nothing is too predictable, you could be gloating over the fact you
earned a year's worth salary more than your peers, only to have that
evaporate into despair as the stocks you invested in take a nosedive
(which is more painful? Having earned the money and losing it,
or not having earned it at all?)

Welcome to the world of perceived meritocracy-you can only
step through the door if you show the right set of academic qualifications.

A while back a friend of mine told me an established engineering company
here exercised differing pay grade standards depending on which university
you graduated from, as well as the quality of your degree( first class honors, 2nd upper etc).

If I recalled correctly, a graduate with first class honors from the university
of melbourne would receive $100 lesser than one say from NUS with 2nd upper class honors. Between 2 graduates from NUS or NTU, a first class honors graduate could earn up to $200 more than that possessing a 2nd upper.

I am not trying to stereotype those studying in SIM, but when I asked
some of my acquaintances the courses they are pursuing, they proudly declare finance and accounting, blah blah blah, but when probed further
about their institution of learning, their reply comes as a reluctant meek whisper: "SIM'.

If you have the necessary package in terms of qualifications and experience, then I reckon it would be the charm and wit you must possess
to waltz through the interview in a real smooth and slick manner.

Every answer must not be provided instantaneously when a question
is dished out since it can be easily misconstrued as one not thinking clearly
before speaking, but rather with calculated deliberation-the choice of words
and the quality of speech (moderately slow pace, crisp and audible
tonalities with precise enunciation as opposed to soft mumbling) matter significantly as it can project an aura of confidence or a fidgety, untrained outlook.

Seemingly trivial items like a solid handshake, sitting posture, subtle mannerisms like crossing your legs, where to rest your hands etc can all convey pockets of information to the interviewer.

While I believe that the relevancy of qualifications/experience is highly important, it may not always be so. Case in point-as a social experiment, I applied to a business editorial firm for the position of a junior editor when I graduated a while ago. They required someone with a mass communications degree as well as 3 years of working experience. I went into the interview armed with an engineering degree and no experience to speak of whatsoever. I had a very delightful conversation with a rather attractive female manager, went through 3 rounds of tests(which included providing a commentary piece on current affairs under her personal supervision). It was fun, I thought nothing of it till i received a phone call asking me to report for work the following week.

To every student out there contemplating about JC life and the prospects/odds of doing well in the A levels, there is one cold harsh fact I wish to impress upon you-your competition.

I have taught long enough to notice the obvious disparity in standards between a student from an average school and one from a top flight JC.
I am not trying to be an elitist here, so hold your flametorches and don't
go round spewing fire.

Typically, a student from school brand X comes to me because he/she
has flunked everything, and their fundamental concepts are as fragile
as toothpicks ready to snap. So, their motivation for tuition is to reverse
the painful situation of constantly failing their tests/exams.

On the other hand, those from RJC/HCI come to me because they wish
to make their marks climb a notch higher-they are consistently scoring
As and Bs, but wish to see scores like 95 or a 100 on their scripts.

The methods I employ to teach these two groups would clearly be different: for the former, I would have to restructure their entire foundation brick by brick. In many instances, I would have to reteach everything.
For the latter, I train them using advanced techniques such
as mental graphing to beat the TI-84 in certain circumstances, force them
to digest additional calculus solving skills from university level engineering maths and speed scan/solve questions to finish full A level exam papers
in an hour or less. In other words, I trim off their rough edges.

I wish I could tell you I was lying, but when it comes down even to the very basic aspect of assimilating a new concept or mathematical idea, I often have to repeat myself in front of the average performer, and in some instances revise my explanations to include analogies and visual articulation to facilitate understanding. More often than not, when attempting questions from a new topic, their minds simply drew a blank and they would turn to me for clues.

The contrary is true for the ones from the top schools-they absorb
things at an alarmingly rapid rate, and usually demonstrated natural flexibility,
sometimes ingenuity, when solving problems I dished out to them.

You could say that since I only specialise in teaching maths, the
validity of my observations is questionable. If thats the case, I strongly
urge you to look at the statistics concerning the performance of the
various JCs in the annual A levels. Approximately 50% or more of every cohort from RJC/HCI score a minimum of 4As, and such feats are usually accompanied by stellar CCA records. RJC, for instance, popped the champagne even before the releaase of the results this year by declaring an early holiday.

So if you are still in lala land,under the misconception that a 70 brings you an A, its time to wake up,because these people have ultimately reshaped the bell curve with their "humanly impossible" scores-sometimes an 80 might
only fetch you a B grade.

And, if for a moment, you think that most rafflesians/hwa chongians
eventually fly off to harvard, princeton, yale, MIT etc, thereby no longer
posing a threat to you in vying for a place in the local universities,
you would be sorely mistaken. Yes, they are gone, they won't fight with you for a place, but bear in mind that they left behind a whole trail
of "casualties" in their wake-tons of students left stranded with mediocre
scores. Add to the very fact that there is an increasing influx of foreign
scholars eager to study in Singapore, I suppose you should get my drift by now.

I am not trying to demoralise those eager and are seriously considering
to go to JC, but I wish to drive home the message: don't be complacent,
and its for the very reason that competition, in reality, is very stiff.
If you know deep within yourself that you are more of an average student,
it pays to put in consistent effort. At the end of the day, it still comes
down to the very fact (in many situations) that only hard work
and diligence would create greater opportunities for success.

Oh well, I was an electrical engineer before going into full time tutoring-
after being placed in charge of teaching engineers twice my age about
fourier transforms, signal analysis, PCM data modulation blah blah blah,
I realised my flair was perharps in imparting knowledge, and so here I am,
facing a bunch of space monkeys (jk) on a daily basis.

I was just having an informal discussion with a financial services manager (those thinking about dissing this insurance agent here, don't, coz he earns more than 0.5 mil annually and is bloody smart). One of his remarks stuck with me till today-he stated that an individual would most likely need 5K monthly just to survive in 20 years time (he backed it up with sensible projections and practical considerations including inflation, cost of living in singapore, economic growth etc). Something for everyone to ponder about.

Things have changed, times have changed. In the 90s, if you scored 4As
in your A levels you would be admitted to the medicine faculty immediately
(thats what my doctor friend told moi).

A decade back I applied to cambridge and imperial college, and was accepted. Their criteria were equally "simplistic"-to score straight As in the core subjects (for engineering, imperial college won't give two hoots about your S paper distinction or your GP grade), although cambridge would conduct a written test and oral interview (yep the admissions personnel would come all the way down to HCJC aka HCI and RJC, and they still do to my knowledge). The dream was shattered when I clamped up during my scholarship interview and it became a spectacular FUBAR (always used myself as a classic "what not to do" example for my students to learn from). So without money, you can't fly there. Goodbye UK, hello NUS.

We have to accept that education has evolved-you must be exceptionally
competent in your studies, and on top of that, be equally outstanding in all
non academic activities (CCAs if you wish to call it). That said, being an excellent all rounder may not sufficient, because your peer may have trumped you by a feeble margin in his application since he went to cambodia to feed the poor. Oh, a piece of advice, should you wish to apply for a scholarship, if your A level results do not contain a bare minimum
of 4As for the core subjects( excluding GP), you can kiss any opportunity
of even being granted an interview goodbye ( one of my students who slipped and ended up with 3As and a B shared that with me.)

Reality is harsh, our worlds can never spin properly without ample finances. So it would be prudent to start accumulation of wealth bit by bit instead of procrastinating which most of us do (I am guilty as charged too until recently lol). Take out relevant insurance policies (or better still investment-linked ones), go dump some cash in unit trusts, place some in fixed-Deposits/bonds if you are risk averse or blue chip stocks ( if your risk appetite is larger). Just don't leave your savings in the bank or it will be completed eroded by inflation in a couple of years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by smartiepantspuff

Is your financial know-how self taught (I read elsewhere you are an engineer by training)?

My brother-in-law is also an engineer. Recently in the past half a year he left after 14 years of experience in the profession. He is currently exploring his options, primarily to start a food catering business with my sister (his wife) and being a full time speculator.

He is pissing my sister off because he sleeps at 6am and wakes up at 3pm, in order to monitor the European market. Hilarious.

Yeah, its self taught-reading tons of books and magazines, figuring out
through trial and error in the markets(I should really stop speculation
and analyse fundamentals more often lol). Like they say, engineers
are the worst paid amongst the best paid. You wanna get rich,
in my humble opinion, looking at lines of code or transistors/inductors
won't get you anywhere close-it will only bring you agony and a constant
mediocre paycheck. So I reckon it would be best for me to get out quickly.
Yeah I am taking a risk in this economic climate, but you will never know till
you tried it.

Your engineer friend most likely worked in the wafer fabrication or the semiconductor industry-their paychecks typically are fatter than that of engineers in other fields, since you cited 3.5k as the startoff salary. He probably quit because of the working conditions rather than the pay. I have a classmate who works in chartered semiconductors, but hes still there to my knowledge. One thing about above 3K paychecks for engineer newbies, they are mostly required to slog their guts out, with some starting work before 7am and calling it a day past 11pm. Theres a joke amongst certain marine engineers where they said they have never seen the sun since they started working. Thats why during the boomz time (thanks riz low), many of my peers joined the banks selling credit cards and unit trusts, easily raking in over 10 grand on good months.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dKiWi1987

THAT'S WHY EEE UNDEGRADS READING THIS WUD NOT MAJOR IN SEMICONDUCTORS AMIRITE

Embedded systems ftw

I won't say this is always true, because some study semiconductors since
their interest and forte resdies within that field-perharps they might wish to venture into research and stuff, you know, invent something or make a new discovery. Its quite plausible, given the booming scientific environment here with so many tie-ups established and research facilities springing up which are forged with substantial financing.

I myself am toying with the idea of going back to school, either to pursue law or medicine (yeah I am old, but I don't give a shit about that)-gotta amass a war chest though since school fess will be very hefty.

Quote:

Originally Posted by guitar123

For medicine, you could consider the Duke-NUS thingy.

Indeed I am, since it is a course that is geared towards converting engineers into doctors. However, I understand they are looking to train doctors who will eventually be involved in clinical research instead of setting them on the traditional patient-physician consultation. Hence, I am ambivalent about it at the moment.

donkhead333

2 Jan 10, 19:30

Very true and honest thoughts, something that I observe on a daily basis as a student.

caleb_chiang

2 Jan 10, 20:47

Too tired to read. summarise pls.

UltimaOnline

2 Jan 10, 21:07

Originally posted by caleb_chiang:

Too tired to read. summarise pls.

"the boomz time (thanks riz low)."

Dejomel

2 Jan 10, 21:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by dKiWi1987

THAT'S WHY EEE UNDEGRADS READING THIS WUD NOT MAJOR IN SEMICONDUCTORS AMIRITE

Embedded systems ftw

Funny to say I actually know dkiwi. This sounds JUST like him.

Back to the topic ...

I feel that, if you are not the easily-influenced type who does consistently well regardless of being exposed to a conducive environment or not, then it's all up to your own innate potential of grasping concepts and application skills.

Would I be right to say that, under the assumption the main motive in entering a junior college for a tertiary education was to obtain extremely good A' Level results, some students simply aren't cut out for JC?

Undoubtably, some students grasp concepts (and possess the ability to apply them) more easily than others.

Student A may only require reading through the textbook once on his own to be able to apply the theory he has learnt, while Student B may actually require the teacher to repeatedly explain the simple concept to him before he understands.

In other words, some students, and by extension, some people are simply "better" at studying, or simply more intelligent than other students.

Not being arrogant or whatever, but I am completely missing the point on WhySoSerious28's article.

As with my bolded and underlined statement above, I think the article is just another way of saying

" If you can't score straight As, it'd be better if you didn't go JC "

" If you are too easily influenced by your peers, it'd be better if you didn't go JC "

" If you can't handle stress, it'd be better if you didn't go JC "

The only thing I gained from reading the whole wall of text, is that, now I know I would rather be in the Science stream than the Arts stream, because this article reminded me that Science subjects are usually easier to secure an 'A' Grade than Arts Subjects.

Dejomel

2 Jan 10, 21:54

For those who are wondering, the original can be found here ..

http://talkback.stomp.com.sg/forums/showthread.php?t=91233

While reading the thread, I came across something very interesting and to a large extent, very true.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by LuXuneRevohart

Yeah, i agree, if you an average poly student then stick JC.

But the question i would like to ask is how do you determine whether your an average poly student or not?

A very good question.. Its seriously very hard to define specific parameters as the line is too thin..

You can use this as a general guide:

1) In your class, you are always not the top few positions, but not the btm few position either.. Always stuck at the middle..

2) Your grades are normal, with more Bs den As.. The results are decent, but too decent to choose your course.. You dun end up at a dumping ground, but not in your dream course either..

3) When your teacher post tough questions, those smart guys disscussing abt the solutions will never approach you.. You are left waiting for the answer to appear..

4) You always thought hardwork can bring you to the top.. Strangely, no matter how hard you tried, you still aren't the top few in class..

5) When you had your views on a difficult questions, you never dared to tell everyone hey, you should do it this way and this way.. You are afraid you are wrong, cause you know you are not outstanding..

In others words, an average person with a very normal life..

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you still don't get it, what the two forum-ers were discussing was that, if you found a striking resemblance to the 5 points above with regards to yourself, going to JC might be a far better choice for you than going to Poly.

qdtimes2

2 Jan 10, 23:56

Thanks for sharing :)

theyj

3 Jan 10, 02:28

Very useful

Thanks for sharing

I'm currently studying in a neighborhood jc

This made me wake up quite abit

Thank alot!

xingg

3 Jan 10, 04:17

i think im smart...XD

but olvls are not like alvls. last min work cannot do much help.i've been there and done that. only started studying 2 months before alvls. maths and phy improved quite a lot. econs.... that's something that needs practice..

just put in consistent work will do and make sure you understand each chapter being taught. other than that, you can enjoy your jc life..=D

eagle

4 Jan 10, 14:10

So similar to me :(

A decade back I applied to cambridge and imperial college, and was accepted. Their criteria were equally "simplistic"-to score straight As in the core subjects (for engineering, imperial college won't give two hoots about your S paper distinction or your GP grade), although cambridge would conduct a written test and oral interview (yep the admissions personnel would come all the way down to HCJC aka HCI and RJC, and they still do to my knowledge). The dream was shattered when I clamped up during my scholarship interview and it became a spectacular FUBAR (always used myself as a classic "what not to do" example for my students to learn from). So without money, you can't fly there. Goodbye UK, hello NUS.

Accepted to cornell, but clamped up during scholarship interview...

JC is not hard, not easy... Then again... I'm amazed at how some schools can teach topics that are extremely simple in such a complicated way that students think it is hard... Some examples for JC Maths... Graphs transformations, complex numbers, functions, etc, are actually very very simple and are free marks up for grabs... but schools can make students think they are very hard... I've no idea why...

yiha093

5 Jan 10, 01:07

eagle, cause u got exp ma , i think. anyway.

bak to topic !

ultima , i have to say that was a very good read ! thoroughly enjoyed myself =)

dejomel, with regards to ur last sentence means if u the 5 points stated above then is go poly or jc ? i dun really understanndddddddd . . . the above stated avg student should go jc ? o.O

Dejomel

5 Jan 10, 16:12

Originally posted by yiha093:

dejomel, with regards to ur last sentence means if u the 5 points stated above then is go poly or jc ? i dun really understanndddddddd . . . the above stated avg student should go jc ? o.O

Apparently so.

According to the original person who posted the 5 points, he meant that if you found that the 5 points applied strongly to yourself, you'd be better off in a JC than in a poly.

donkhead333

5 Jan 10, 20:53

Originally posted by eagle:

So similar to me :(

Accepted to cornell, but clamped up during scholarship interview...

JC is not hard, not easy... Then again... I'm amazed at how some schools can teach topics that are extremely simple in such a complicated way that students think it is hard... Some examples for JC Maths... Graphs transformations, complex numbers, functions, etc, are actually very very simple and are free marks up for grabs... but schools can make students think they are very hard... I've no idea why...

I've always had lots of issues with that!

Even stuff like differentiation and integration..they use dunno what formula, but I stick to the method my tutor uses to coach me along. Like "bring down the power.." "differentiate top x bottom, minus differentiate bottom x top over bottom squared"

Works much better for me...