School Sports get prime-time spot on TV

It was published in newspapers that a new weekly prime-time magazine show featuring highlights from the 2009 National School Sports Championships will air on Channel 5 from March 4 to May. It will be shown every wed at 7.30pm and the 13 episode programme will provide coverage of all 26 sports in the 'A', 'B' and 'C' divisions.

As someone who's always interested in sports, news like that just makes me wanna go back to secondary school again! Such an initiative will certainly be a great boost to sports in Singapore, especially at the youth level. Think about it:

• Athletes and coaches, now knowing that their performances will be watched by viewers nationwide, will be more inclined to train harder and perform to the best of their ability
• Schools will give more support to their athletes e.g. engage better coaches, provide better training facilities or increased funding, to help them do well. Because the athletes are representatives of the school, performing well in their respective sports will reflect favourably on the school.
• The increased level of awareness can bring a sense of unity amongst students when students of the same school support their fellow schoolmates on. Athletes also would not want to let their friends and family down.
• The media coverage provides better scouting opportunities for coaches and representatives from the various national sports associations to identify young talent.
• Student athletes will learn to carry themselves in a manner that exemplifies good sportsmanship and professionalism.

These are just some of the many benefits that I can name. It is a very good initiative taken, especially considering the Youth Olympic Games that our country will be hosting next year (in NTU!). If the programme is successful in raising the level of interest in youth sports, it may attract yet more and more youths to pursue an interest in sports.

Happy New Year!

Here's wishing one and all a Happy Lunar New Year! May the year of the ox bring you happiness and prosperity especially in this period of economic downturn.

French culinery and lesser mortals!

So much has been in the news lately, but none more controversial than Perm Sec Tan Yong Soon's $46,500 cooking course in Paris. His article has sparked a major uproar in Singapore's blogging community and, more recently, MP Charles Chong's remark about "lesser mortals" being envious added fuel to an existing fire!

I chanced upon the website of The Wayang Party Club of Singapore at wayangparty.com in which MP Chong's remark happened to be one of its top posts. The website has an impressively high readership in the blogging community. As of 10 minutes ago, the blog registered 520, 888 hits (I wish our blog had such high figures-for the right reason though!). In one of it's polls, 2235 netizens (88%) felt that Perm Sec Tan's article was insensitive because he didn't spare a thought for the feelings of others.

Some of the comments left by users are fierce! I wouldn't wanna be any of them right now! (Ok I wouldn't mind enjoying french cuisine in Paris :) but I wouldn't wanna be any of them right NOW!)

I feel that although there is nothing wrong with Perm Sec Tan Yong Soon going on a family holiday, after all it is his own prerogative to spend his money as he so chooses, I thought that some of the information he  shared about himself was unnecessary, and he could have shown more tactfulness in his article, given the vast readership of the Straits Times and the current economic situation many of its readers are going through.

Feel free to read the postings. I have inluded a link at the blog title above.

Ministry of Finance Inter-School Budget Debate

Feel free to check out the Ministry of Finance Inter-School Budget Debate where students from 32 teams gather to role-play as ministers, environmentalists and business federations to simulate mock budget debates. You can watch the video streaming on RAZOR TV at the Straits Times Interactive website. Alternatively you can just click on the link above (entry title) and it'll take you there.

I watched the first 25 minutes of one debate on Short-Term Business Assistance vs Long-Term Business Assistance. I'm quite impressed by some of these secondary school students, not just in being able to keep abreast of current affairs, but going one step further as to effectively argue for and against each other's valued opinions.

When I was in secondary school, all I was interested in was playing football and counting down the days to the school holidays! I barely kept up with current affairs, much less participate in Budget-debates!

JC or Poly? Release of O Level results

The 2008 GCE O Level results have been released today, and if you happen to be one of those who sat for the exam, I hope that you are happy with your results.

In case you are still undecided on whether to choose the JC or poly route, here are some pointers that might help you make up your mind.

JC: Advanced curriculum

You will take fewer subjects than in secondary school, but that's only because the syllabus for each subject will be more in-depth. Some subjects will seem familiar (but harder!) e.g. physics, maths, geography, english (which takes on a new name called General Paper). Some subjects will be entirely new e.g. economics, biology (if you've never taken it in sec sch)

Poly: Totally different curriculum

Depending on the type of diploma you pursue, most probably, the subjects (they are called modules now) you will be taking are totally new. The modules will definitely be related to your diploma so it can be anything from accounting (if you're in business) to thermodynamics (if you pursue engineering). With such a wide variety of courses, chances are, you will probably find a course that you like, or at least something that interests you. Be prepared for a lot of project works.

JC: Secondary life all over again

It's like an advanced secondary school. Needless to say you still have to wear school uniform, wake-up early every morning and go to school five days a week. You sing the national anthem every morning. The change of classes will be signalled by a school bell (or some variation of a school bell e.g. 5 seconds of melodious music) and if you misbehave (or tuck out your shirt, or dye hair, or skip classes...) you deal with this person called a discipline master.

Poly: Life as a tertiary student

In poly, you are treated as a tertiary student and this means that you are given a lot more independence. You can wear (almost!) anything you like to school or style your hair or hair colour (almost!) anyway you like. Depending on your timetable, you may or may not have to wake up early and come for class. You decide when's the best time to eat your recess. Your education lies a lot in your hands. You are treated as an adult now. Oh and of course, you will pay adult fare for bus and train rides!

JC: The more direct route to university

Someone once told me "If you go into JC, you MUST make it into the university". That's what the JC route exists for, it is an almost mandatory path to the university. If you harbour hopes of studying in the university, then the JC route is a more direct route that gets you there. Majority of JC students usually have no problem qualifying for studies in the local universities. The same however (and unfortunately), cannot be said for the polytechnic graduates. What's more, A-level students usually have a wide variety of options in choosing to study their various degrees.

Poly: Top 5%-10% to qualify for university

As a diploma holder, entry into the local universities will require you to graduate as the top 5% or 10% in your cohort. For the case of my brother Gabriel, he was born in the year of the dragon, and application for university entrance is very competitive. He's still looking for a place in the local universities. Sometimes (depending on what you studied in poly) your choice of degree programs can be limited. For some disciplines like engineering, you will be allowed to gain entry into the 2nd year of study, and if you calculate correctly, this allows you to graduate at the same time with your peers who took the JC route.

Not forgetting: Centralised Institutions

There is a third option which I omitted to comment on and that is the centralised institutions i.e. Millenia Institute. These are institutions who offer 3-year A Level courses. It exists for students who want to take the A Levels but may not have qualified to enter a Junior College. You learn all the A Level syllabus in a span of 3 years. Other than the duration, it operates much the same as a Junior College.

In conclusion

I cannot give a right or wrong answer as to which route is the best route. I know of some friends who went to JC and transferred to poly after one year because they could not handle the academic rigor. I also know of friends whose O Level results qualified them for the best junior colleges, but they chose the polytechnic route instead. You have to decide what is best for yourself. Imagine yourself 5 years or 10 years down the road. What do you aspire to be? What career do you want to pursue? Go and visit the JC and Polytechnic open houses (if they're not over yet). Check out the respective curriculums. Talk to friends or relatives who have been through it before. Remember that it is your short-term decisions that lead you to achieve your long-term ambitions. 

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/401821/1/.html

Home tuition or tuition centre?

We begin a new academic year and for some students, it means taking on tuition for new subjects. For others, it may even mean taking tuition for the same subject, but switching tutors.

Whether you're a student or a parent, if you haven't already planned for your tutoring needs for 2009, you might find yourself asking, what kind of tuition should I get for my child (or myself)? Is it better to enrol in a tuition centre or engage a home tutor?

I do not have a concrete answer to that question because I feel that it depends on a number of factors and also individual circumstances. I have elaborated my thoughts on these determining factors in the hope that you yourself can form your own opinions, and decide which type of tuition is the best for your child (or yourself).

Price

One of the most obvious differences between tuition centres and home tuition. The hourly rate for home tuition can be double that of fees charged by tuition centres.

Quality

The quality of teaching. This is probably the most important difference. Are private home tutors necessarily superior in teaching quality when compared to teachers in tuition centres? Don't forget that some private home tutors are just tertiary students looking to earn some pocket money whereas teachers in tuition centres are more often current or ex-school teachers.

However, that doesn't mean that the former are incapable of doing an equally good job in tutoring. I know of some non-NIE-trained tutors who are very responsible and dedicated in tutoring their students-and their students do go on to score well in examinations. There are tutors who just enjoy helping students and are happy to share their experiences in the hope of seeing them do well. One-to-one tutoring is different from classroom-teaching. To journey with a student and give him/her sound academic guidance doesn't require one to enrol in NIE.

Convenience

We all know that when it comes to convenience, home tuition gives you the best option. You can have your tuition wherever you like, whenever you like and however frequent you like. Sometimes, you even have the flexibility of postponing or cancelling lessons to suit your schedule. It is usually for these reasons that home tuition is more expensive than fees charged in tuition centres. With the busy schedules that students have nowadays, the convenience of private tuition may seem to be the more preferred choice.

However, there are some questions that you need to ask yourself. Is the higher cost of engaging a home tutor attributed only to the added convenience? Are you paying your private tutor more because you really believe that your child will do better under him/her than in a tuition centre? Or is the extra cost just used to buy added convenience? One of the main objectives of tuition is to improve in the learning and understanding of a particular subject. Compromising the quality of the lessons may defeat the purpose of having tuition in the first place.

Individual pace of learning

The pace of learning of a student is a major determining factor in choosing between private tuition and a tuition centre. For students that learn at a slower pace than their peers, or students that have short attention spans, engaging a home tutor allows them the benefit of learning at a pace which they can feel comfortable.

The power of word-of-mouth

Often, the best tutors and teachers are usually known through word-of-mouth. These are the tutors recommended by your friends, your friends' friends and other parents of older children who have studied under them before. Such reputable tutors often charge higher rates, or they may even require you to have the tuition venue at a place of their choice.

Some of the more popular classes in various tuition centres operate by word-of-mouth too. When I was in secondary school, I enrolled in add maths tuition in Mavis Tutorial Centre. The centre had two add maths classes taught by two different teachers. Yet, the participation for one class was more overwhelming than the other because the teacher for that class was reputed to be better.