Failing of projects day semi-finals

It was already expected as we made minimal progress during the holidays due to the organization having their own programmes and even when school reopened when our timeslots clashed with curriculum. Our presentation was also not as appealing as that of other groups with photo montage/pictures of them working with the organization and their progress. We truly paled in comparison to them and that was probably the deciding factor of our failure to get through. So what happens if I fail to get through…

If it were last year, I wouldn’t really care whether or not I pass the semis. Reason being that projects day was not a component of our grades then. But now, 50% marks of our IS (independent studies) grade is derived from projects day and failing the semis mean losing 35 marks straight. According to what I know, the criteria to gain entry into special programmes (CSE) are a minimum grade of A2 or A1 for IS. However, this instant loss of 35 marks would land me in a B3 grade for IS, hence depriving me of the opportunity to enter CSE. How is this fair? My grades are ok yet this bloody projects day may well ruin my chance…

In fact, I find that projects day should never had been made a part of our grades due to the fact that not everyone is able to squeeze out the time to dedicate it to working out a perfect, awe-inspiring and striking project, especially in Service Learning. Maybe time management and lack of co-operation was our main problem but still, our opportunities for special programmes should not be limited or determined by a project. But still surprisingly enough, more than ¾ of the class failed the semis. And I believe that there are very few groups who managed to make it through. I do wonder if this is the way the school uses to cut down on the number of students vying for the CSE programmes. If it is so, I got to admit that I have come to the wrong school. Last year was fine, this year it’s a horror.

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This is just a rant of mine to get the frustration out of my heart.

Where do I get my blogging ideas.

I am totally not one with ideas circling in my head all the time but more of one who can only work if given an idea. Occasionally I get ideas from discussed topics in class and the news but these are not enough. Therefore, I tend to visit blogs of classmates in order to brainstorm of something to write. Although this may be interpreted as ripping off but I somehow cant get my own ideas. I am only able to write out my opinions on something but unable to think of a topic...My vocab is pathetic as well. Looking at all the "cheem" phrases/words that my classmates use makes me envious in the sense that "I want to do that too". But sometimes I wonder, must we really have good vocab? Isn't the main point just to get our message across? So what is the point of using bombastic words? Nevertheless, I am looking for ways to improve this situation as its indeed boring to see myself repeating the same words time and again. The only way for me to improve this poor vocab of mine is to read more books but I am rather lazy and sometimes more of "cant-be-bothered" to find books. Hence, is there any recommendations of good books to read?

War Mindmap Part 2

War Mindmap Part 1 - WWI - Singapore

Merchant of Venice MindMap

Dates of post

Due to the fact that I rarely have the time to blog, I will probably only be able publish posts within a certain time period when I am rather free. The date on my posts is normally the day when I thought of blogging on an issue and not the date that it is actually posted. Unique style of blogging =D

Lowering of weightage of Mother Tongue in PSLE

The Minister for Education, Ng Eng Hen, is currently deciding on whether to lower the weightage of Mother Tongue in PSLE. Their reasons for doing so is for students who are weak in MT (Mother Tongue) but excel in other subjects to move on and not get affected by low MT PSLE results. There have been mixed reactions over this issue. In my opinion, the pros (serves as ‘escape route’ for students who are weak in MT) are certainly not worth the cons. There are two sides to this issue, one side supports it and the other is against it.

Those who support this find that lowering the weightage will benefit those who are good in other subjects but weaker in MT. This will give them a chance to enter their dream schools as long as they excel in the other three subjects. However, this is the only benefit of this decision and it only benefits students who are significantly weaker in MT but the benefits is only for the short-term. I will go on to elaborate on this later.

On the other hand, the cons totally outweigh the benefits. Students who excel in their MT will now be at a disadvantage as MT will count less in their PSLE, this will cause students to take the subject less seriously and eventually neglect it just because it is of a lower weightage. Students will place less emphasis on MT and spend less time studying it. Reducing the weightage could lead to an overall drop in Chinese standards. If this move is implemented it is sending the message that people who master English are superior than those who master MT and not English. Singapore has repeatedly emphasized the importance of bilingual language but isn’t this move sending a contradictory message that MT is not as important as other subjects?

The main reason why Singaporeans do well in other countries is because of the fact that we are BILINGUAL and that gives us an edge over many others from other countries. China has the third largest economy in the world and it is necessary for us to maintain relationships with China via communication. If students were given the chance to shirk of learning of MT, we are simply placing a barrier between us and China. If this goes on, we will lose the advantage we currently possess as other countries are placing great emphasis on Chinese Language unlike Singapore which is considering to lower its weightage (my interpretation would be: lower its importance). Thus, we will eventually lose out in the global market. Is it worth it? My answer is a certain NO.

For me MT has been one of my best subjects since I started schooling and English has been my weakest. I find that it is really unfair as MT would no longer be able to average out with my English marks and result in me having a huge disadvantage. If the weightage of MT was lowered just because some parents came up to protest, why not lower the weightage of every single subject anyone is weak in? Why not remove education (I would be glad to end studying haha)? If students were unhappy about MT pulling down their marks, they should put in more effort in studying it instead of complaining here and there. If every student complains about the subject they are weak in and the MoE does exactly what it is doing now, I guess Singapore will become the truly unique no-education country.