Sec 5 class advised: Go to ITE instead

Chin Eng SG

Reality Check....

1. What's wrong with ITE? The context of the principal's "advice" was that ITE is another solution. If the students are not achieving what it take to move on in their existing route, ITE is a good solution. The problem is that many parents see that as an insult, students see that as a "demoralising" factor. If they are doing well enough, why should they be demoralised? If they are not delivering what is needed, they'd need to consider other options. What will be really really sad is - ITE also don't want them.

2. We don't know the principal's true intentions. It is entirely possible that it is for ratings, possibly her KPI depends on it. Nonetheless, is her "advice" misplaced?

3. Parents' attitudes. What's with these protective parents? By this level, they should know that perhaps their children needed some special attention. If they need someone else to tell them, then their heads are probably in the clouds anyway.

LazerLordz SG

if the kid is hardworking enough, he'll try to top his ITE cohort and work abroad to earn a better pay. Wink

will4 SG

How many of ITE graduates u knew have gone abroad to work?

orwell76 SG

Increments and performance bonus has to be gauge by something you know...

How many students pass O levels...
How many students get 6 credits...
How many distinction the school scored...

Or elsw how to reward teachers and principals?

Everything all "Performance based" especially with the NEW increment system.

Come to think of it, if the cohort the school accepted were students with excellent PSLE results, naturally, the cohort should do very well 4 years later.

So it's the school's principals or teachers' credit?

Vice versa, if the cohort the school accepted were students with below average grades, does the Ministry of Education expect miracles from the teachers and principals?

Seriously, who would want to teach in a non elite school?

crosshairs SG

1) There is nothing wrong with ITE, obviously you do not see the crux of the issue, is that these students should be allowed to pursue their goals without someone pouring cold water over their heads. In this case it is the O-levels.

2) From the reactions of the students, yes her advice was misplaced. It is pretty obvious as well.

3)The parents are upset that someone is hindering the progress of their children. Their children are looking forward to studying hard, attention will be accorded to them during their course of study to prepare them for O-levels. Haven't you heard of the term "if you need help, all you have to do is ask"? They are asking for help by asking to take the O levels. They are not asking for "help" to be shoved into their gut. Recognise the difference. Do not attempt to think that running one's life for them is something one should view as a moral deed, no matter how good the outcome one may picture. And you shouldn't speculate about the mentality of other people's parents this way, because if you do, I will be forced to speculate about yours.

freedom4ever SG

i wonder how ITE students will react when they see this news. Rolling Eyes

CfCJ SG

the principal uses the wrong way to motivate the student to study!. last time my principal will treat pizza to the whole/some class(es) if we score well for N levels and O levels.. In the end, my class did well and she called the canadian pizza to sch.

I am not saying that the using food as a source of motivation to the student. But show abit of rewards and appreciation for their hard work and efforts to score well for the exam. Human need praises to do things better. and not necessary after praises there will be complacency.

LazerLordz SG

3.

I know very few, but those I knew are pretty hardworking fellas. Embarassed

phil30k SG

Dear Chin Eng,

If she had consulted the parents first, your argument would bear some weight. If the students had approached her for her recommendation, it may even be the right thing to do. If there were a directive from the ministry to identify and council such students she could be excused the manner in which it was done.

However that was not the case. At best, she doesn't know how to do her job properly.

In America, schools are graduating students who can barely read and write because remuneration is tied to the passing rate. It has already created a legacy of illiteracy which is worrying legislators. I think there have been charges brought against responsible parties.

We are experimenting here in Singapore with the same remuneration method, let's at least learn from their mistakes and make new ones and not just repeat the same old ones.

one-niner SG

Classic Statement. I like this statement !

one-niner SG

Just an update. Among my classmates, our class have the following

Corporate bankers with Citibank & UBS, 2 working in consulting firms (American MNC, level 1 firms ) several engineers & a pastor.

However I have to say that ultimately its up to the individual on the groud to decide what he wants in life. So that shook most of us up into the jobs we got.

The last I heard of one of my classmate who is dealing in scrap metal, his stable of cars include a F430 & the 997 Turbo. Oh yes, he finished his O levels and started out on his own with $10,00 from his dad.

Will A listers make it in life ? Well, perhaps they get to secure the 1st job interview with their results and testimonials. Once he starts working, some of this A Listers have much to learn in terms of character and reality checks.

Daddy!! SG

she oso has many straight As under her because she knows how to b.itch her big boss better.

fymk SG

What a narrow view ...... actually sometimes multinational companies value experience than academic results more.

798 SG

The Electric New Paper :
PASIR RIS SCHOOL'S N-LEVEL POLICY UPSETS STUDENTS
Poor conduct? Then you can't stay
# Top grades, but student not promoted to Sec 5
# System ensures students are committed to studies at O level, says school
IT used to be the case that if you do well enough, you progress to the next stage.
15 January 2008

IT used to be the case that if you do well enough, you progress to the next stage.

But these days, students face a string of options.

Take the avenues offered at Pasir Ris Secondary School.

Here's what you need to qualify for Sec 5 at the school after the N levels.

Step one: Get good grades.

Step two: Get a Form A, which means you never had disciplinary problems.

Step three: If you don't get a Form A, you get a different form and will now need to appeal to a group of teachers.

Step four: If you complete step three, you may need to stick around the discipline master, who will teach you to behave.

That's not all.

The students are told of this only when they get to Sec 3 and 4. Yet, disciplinary problems at lower secondary levels will count against students.

The school said this system affects few students, and of the 61 students who qualified for the O levels, 51 are now in Sec 5.

Unfair? Some parents and students think so.

Sarah (not her real name), 17, scored five points in the N levels last year.

Going by the Ministry of Education regulations, she should have been able to continue with her O levels this year.

Yet, Sarah found herself turned away because she was deemed a discipline case.

Sarah is now studying in an Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and requested that her identity not be revealed so she can have a fresh start.

GOOD GRADES NOT ENOUGH

The New Paper learnt last week that at Pasir Ris Sec, students from the Normal Academic (NA) stream are given Forms A to D upon completing their N levels.

The forms are given out by their home teachers, who base it on the students' disciplinary conduct.

Students who receive Form A are allowed to continue with their studies in Sec 5. Those who are given Forms B to D have to write letters to appeal to their subject teachers.

If they wish to continue their Olevels in the school, they have to get signatures of endorsement from not one but all their subject teachers.

The school confirmed the system exists.

This means that as long as one subject teacher does not sign the form, the student cannot be promoted to Sec 5, although the school said it was open to negotiations.

It's not clear, on average, how many students from each cohort receive Form A.

Sarah, who was given Form B, said: 'I obtained a Grade 1 for Art. Yet, this very first teacher I turned to for help turned me down.'

Sarah's mother, Mrs H, 50, said: 'My daughter came home discouraged. There was nothing I could do to help her.'

When asked about her disciplinary conduct, Sarah claimed she was never late for school, although she conceded that she had sported double earrings and coloured hair at some point in time.

The latest report card she showed to The New Paper stated that she had 'fair' conduct, and the comments were positive.

Sarah claimed that the students were not informed that such a system was in place until the beginning of Sec 4. The school has confirmed this.

That's why Sarah is upset.

She said it was unfair to those who had disciplinary problems recorded in their lower secondary days.

Mrs H said: 'If my husband and I had known about the system from the start, we would not have enrolled our children in the school.

'Now, I am worried that my second daughter, who is also in the school, will face similar problems in the future.'

Although Sarah was eventually offered a position in the school due to her excellent academic performance, some of Sarah's friends did not receive similar offers despite doing well for the N levels.

They had scored six or seven points each.

Sarah's classmate, Paul (not his real name), had obtained six points.

However, he and a few other classmates were not given any forms at all as they had not completed the school's Bridging Programme.

It is a requirement set by the school if they wish to be promoted to Sec 5.

'I was sick for several days during the programme,' explained Paul, adding that the school had not accepted his reasons for being absent.

On top of having to appeal their cases, students with Forms B to D and are successful in their appeal also have to spend time with the Discipline Master, they claimed.

Because of the system, some of these top scorers still end up going to the ITE despite doing well for their Nlevels.

For both Sarah and Paul, taking the Olevels in Sec 5 had always been their first choice, until the complications of the system made them choose ITE.

Sarah said: 'Even though the school is now open to negotiations, I will not reconsider or turn back. I don't think I can be happy in that school.'

She is now taking events management at ITE while Paul is taking business studies.

By Teo Chin Ghee, newsroom intern

gunner77 SG

ya lor ya lor my DM oso like tat.
check record, check file, check conduct Rolling Eyes
im a sec 5 student tis year and i tell u i really appreciate my principal words.
when we got our N level result, she warmly welcome us back to do our sec 5 Very Happy
as for the farking DM, even before we started our N level, he already started saying "after tis year, go ite!" to most of us. Rolling Eyes
damm discouraging Evil or Very Mad bloody farker

even the start of tis year, i still don have confidence to do my O levels

^tamago^ SG

the minister has spoken... cheesepie! Mad

Principal's ITE advice 'had to be delivered'
Important to separate tone from substance of message: minister
Straits Times, The (Singapore)
Home
January 17, 2008
Author: Jane Ng

THE tone of a principal's message to Secondary 5 students may not have gone down well, but it was one that had to be delivered, for the students' sake, a minister said yesterday .

This message was that Sec 5 students who stay on to do the O levels instead of applying to the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) will find it a tough road ahead.

Minister of State for Education Lui Tuck Yew said students and parents need to know that 40 per cent of Sec 5 students will not do well enough at the O levels to qualify for polytechnic.

The Straits Times had reported on Saturday that the principal of a girls' school had told students from one Sec 5 class they should apply now for places in the ITE as they were unlikely to do well in the O levels at year's end.

Some parents became upset. The story also drew more than 20 other responses, with parents saying their children had also been told this by their principals and teachers.

Speaking to reporters after a teachers' investiture at the National Institute of Education, Rear-Admiral (NS) Lui said it was important to separate the 'tone' from the 'substance' of the message.

'We can calibrate the tone. We can soften it, improve on the presentation, but there is a lot of work to be done between Secondary 4 and Secondary 5.'

He said principals needed to do their job of conveying this message to the students, and to teachers to do their part to challenge them, set high goals and to help them achieve these goals.

Rear-Admiral (NS) Lui said the educators meant well and had wanted to make sure the students were 'on a firm footing' for the path ahead.

The greater danger would have been indifference.

He said it would be a great injustice to principals to insinuate that they wanted good school results only because their own performance appraisal - and performance bonus - was linked to the results.

He added: 'I have interacted with enough educators... they are by far more ambitious for their students than they are for their career advancement.'

On concerns raised that episodes like last Saturday's would shatter students' confidence, he said that if that were the case, he would be worried about just how fragile young people were.

'We can take the approach where you cringe, your confidence is affected and it impacts you negatively, and it's an excuse. Or you can stand up tall, with resolve and say that I am a better person than you think I am and I will do better and I will show you I have what it takes to achieve the results.'

He added that it was necessary to build that resilience in students, because when they go into the real world, they are going to have to face circumstances well beyond their control.

A parent, whose daughter is in the school involved, said he was upset with not just the tone of the principal, but the timing of the the message.

'The students could have been told earlier, even before their N levels, not when school has started and they were elated about getting to do their O levels,' he said.

Rear-Admiral (NS) Lui said the Ministry of Education preferred not to prescribe to principals what they can or cannot say, or what their tone should be, since they knew their students better.

'There are students who need to be told that if you don't work hard, you won't make it. So you must not take away some of these tools from our educators,' he said.

[email protected]

Copyright, 2008, Singapore Press Holdings Limited

Lin Yu SG

with even the Minister agreeing to the principal suggestion, liao liao It's The End.
Mad Mad Mad

gLc SG

at the end of the day, they have to make sure there are enuf ppl to make up the lower rank of society.

^tamago^ SG

educators for fark? Mad

there was not even any effort at damage control despite the public sentiment.

ur kids have been pwned by the 66.6%. Sad

Dead_Man_Inc SG

its their way to differentiate the elites and non-elites

unfortunately, i belong to the non-elites Crying or Very sad

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