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JC1 STUDENT FARE BADLY DURING YEAR END EXAM-WHAT'S NEXT??

Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2010 3:48 pm
by EQUINOX
My girl did badly in her JC 1 final exam. She has a good raw score of 9 in her 'O" levels, went to a good JC and find that she couldn't cope - "culture /learning shock" I think! Did badly but not so bad that the school is prepared to push her up. She is so demotivated and demoralished by the marking system. She has worked so so hard but could barely pass 50% in all her 3 X H2 subjects. Now she is contemplating going to the Singapore Polytechnic to start afresh. But I think it is a waste because it is like picking an easy way out whereas she thinks she has no stamina to go & fight. What can I do to convince her otherwise? She still has Nov & Dec to brush up her work before school reopen for JC2 and she has spent so much time on project work as well. Sigh!

Re: JC1 STUDENT FARE BADLY DURING YEAR END EXAM-WHAT'S NEXT?

Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 3:55 pm
by xxjustakidxx
EQUINOX wrote:My girl did badly in her JC 1 final exam. She has a good raw score of 9 in her 'O" levels, went to a good JC and find that she couldn't cope - "culture /learning shock" I think! Did badly but not so bad that the school is prepared to push her up. She is so demotivated and demoralished by the marking system. She has worked so so hard but could barely pass 50% in all her 3 X H2 subjects. Now she is contemplating going to the Singapore Polytechnic to start afresh. But I think it is a waste because it is like picking an easy way out whereas she thinks she has no stamina to go & fight. What can I do to convince her otherwise? She still has Nov & Dec to brush up her work before school reopen for JC2 and she has spent so much time on project work as well. Sigh!
I think it's the same logic for prelims paper being hard. They allow those who are good enough to pass (but not so bad that they need help) and those who are average to fail.

Re: JC1 STUDENT FARE BADLY DURING YEAR END EXAM-WHAT'S NEXT?

Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 10:40 am
by atutor2001
EQUINOX wrote:My girl did badly in her JC 1 final exam. .... Sigh!
Usually school papers are harder. If she takes biology or economics then the change will be quite drastic. Need allot of application skill.

Go buy past year questions and learn from their model answers - though not all are good but is better than having no reference at all. A good guide to find out what are expected in the answers.

Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 11:43 am
by student15
Hi all,

i am new here and good to hear the various voices from different parents. thanks for sharing your experience!

however, i would beg to differ with regards to the fact that jc students don't require tuition. as someone who has gone thru the A levels, sometimes it's not a matter of working hard, but rather of answering smart. you may have read up alot and may know the answer to the exam question, but if you do not phrase it correctly or package it in the 'correct' way, then you won't get your marks.

personally, i was like equinox's daughter when i was in j1, barely passed my subjects so was not retained, although not all my friends were as lucky as i was. i studied hard for my exams but my results were disappointing. it was after tuition that i realized that i had misunderstood certain concepts and didn't know how to phrase my answers 'properly'. These little 'tips' actually helped me improve my grades in school.

so, i feel that tuition should be considered, but do not overdo it as it might become like what insider has mentioned. basically the tutor should be able to help us to learn/study more effectively. Before i had tuition, i was probably studying the 'wrong' way.

Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 12:53 pm
by student15
hi insider,

yes, you have a valid point there and i respect your view of building up your child's internal strength etc.

however, please allow me to add my humble opinion here... and i'm sure i can speak for a significant portion of jc students as well. as a student who was desperate to get good results to go to university, and running short of time (one year isn't very long especially when you have to learn new topics in jc2 and alot of jc1 syllabus to catch up), we often turn to tuition as a method/ alternative that can produce desired results in time.

yes, you may say that it's probably a crack in the education's system, but if tuition is the 'easiest' path (it's not very easy actually, we still have to work hard) to good grades and eventually a ticket to university, then many of us will take it naturally. Afterall, i guess it's 'survival of the fittest'. Since we can't get good grades the 'right' way, then we just have to find a way around it. Please don't misinterpret my sentence as advocating this method, i'm just stating what many of us felt when we were 17-18 and worried about our exam grades. :)

Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 1:32 pm
by atutor2001
student15 wrote:Hi all,

... basically the tutor should be able to help us to learn/study more effectively. Before i had tuition, i was probably studying the 'wrong' way.
No no no. Better to start understanding what is "exam technique". It defers from level to level and subject to subject. Before introduction of module system, my friends in Engrg NUS have to do some 10 over papers in 3 weeks. The amount to digest is easily 10 times more than A level. How did they survive? It is called knowing what to study and how to study. Must study smart! My importantly - on your own.

Incidentally, non of my kids have tuition. 2 finished JC. Their J1 results dropped which I think is a matter of tunning in to the new game. However, after J1 everything is fine. In fact the eldest was the first batch to be kanna the H1, H2 & H3. No past year papers for reference - so just made do with whatever reference we can lay hands on. It is about flexibility and improvisation.

Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 4:42 pm
by autumnbronze
insider wrote:
弟弟:妈妈,对不起。

妈妈:记得无论考到怎样的成绩,你还是我的宝贝儿子!

弟弟:谢谢你,妈妈[/size]
Insider,

Your post kinda touched me.

Your kids are so fortunate to have a mummi like you :celebrate:

If and when I am ever in your shoes one day, I hope I will be able to rationalize as well as you :pray:

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 12:03 pm
by Quintessential Mum
atutor2001 wrote:
student15 wrote:Hi all,

... basically the tutor should be able to help us to learn/study more effectively. Before i had tuition, i was probably studying the 'wrong' way.
No no no. Better to start understanding what is "exam technique". It defers from level to level and subject to subject. Before introduction of module system, my friends in Engrg NUS have to do some 10 over papers in 3 weeks. The amount to digest is easily 10 times more than A level. How did they survive? It is called knowing what to study and how to study. Must study smart! My importantly - on your own.

Incidentally, non of my kids have tuition. 2 finished JC. Their J1 results dropped which I think is a matter of tunning in to the new game. However, after J1 everything is fine. In fact the eldest was the first batch to be kanna the H1, H2 & H3. No past year papers for reference - so just made do with whatever reference we can lay hands on. It is about flexibility and improvisation.
Yes i agree with you. It is better to learn how to study smart than to rely on tuition. I know it is a short cut to save time but it short changes the student on the learning process in itself. :lol:

Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 12:12 pm
by jen.95
If she barely score well in JC and is suffocating, why not support her decision to enter poly. Through poly, one can proceed to universities as well, and she can be happier. Why not?

Re: JC1 STUDENT FARE BADLY DURING YEAR END EXAM-WHAT'S NEXT?

Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 1:36 pm
by noobparent
EQUINOX wrote:My girl did badly in her JC 1 final exam. She has a good raw score of 9 in her 'O" levels, went to a good JC and find that she couldn't cope - "culture /learning shock" I think! Did badly but not so bad that the school is prepared to push her up. She is so demotivated and demoralished by the marking system. She has worked so so hard but could barely pass 50% in all her 3 X H2 subjects. Now she is contemplating going to the Singapore Polytechnic to start afresh. But I think it is a waste because it is like picking an easy way out whereas she thinks she has no stamina to go & fight. What can I do to convince her otherwise? She still has Nov & Dec to brush up her work before school reopen for JC2 and she has spent so much time on project work as well. Sigh!
How did her peers fare?

Which subject is she having difficulty with?

A levels you need to study smart.