What have I learned during Primary and Secondary School?

Mugen Benoit4real SG

Hi, everyone of us must at least complete the two compulsory education academic, Primary and Secondary School. I suppose that after Secondary School, everyone of us have the optional choice to do what we want such as some of us would have further study to study either ITE, Poly, JC, Private School or anything depending on the Secondary School Academic performance. I am one of the person who was in Normal Technical Stream and I am only able to apply for ITE courses.

Well, during my primary school years, in my days of the 90s, there was this EM1, EM2 and EM3 stream classes. Unfortunately, I got into EM3 stream after my Primary 4 streaming examination. I have hard times with my peers in my EM3 class such that most of the students were hooligans, gangsterism, stereotypes, ignorant, childish and so on. I often got made fun of during my school days for being "different" from them. I want to study hard and these people kept on making fun of me. I did not have any friends in my primary school because of my academic performances and the class I am in.

The education subjects in our EM3 classes were very easy such as primary 1 to 2's standard. We did not even learn algebra in our Mathematics class. Our English spelling are too easy such as primary 1 to 3 standard with words like Family, Friends, Teachers, Schools etc. Other streams like EM1 and EM2 had already learn basic Algebra after their Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). We studied only four examination subjects, English, Mathematics, Science and Mother Tongue. When I was taking my PSLE examinations, most of the questions were very different from what we have done in our classes and I did not score very well for my PSLE examination.

In Secondary School, I eventually got into Normal Technical class. Most of my classmates were worst than in my primary school, almost everyone was a gangster, immature and so on. They don't like studying, often fool around in class and make fun and disturb those who wants to study. I am one of them who often got made fun of. The subjects that I am studying were English, Mathematics, Science, Computer Application, Home Economics (Now it is call Food and Consumer), Design and Technology, Arts, Musics and Social Studies. I am quite good at Food and Consumer and even better in Computer Application subjects. When I was in upper secondary school, there is a new subject, Administrative Skills. Home Economics subject was unavailable for upper secondary school in our times, year 2001 to 2002.

I wasn't in a very good term with my peers and classmates in class as most of my classmates were gangster and I do not have any topic to talk to them. When I was in Secondary School and even Primary School, my parents doesn't allow me to go out after school and also doesn't allow me to spend money such as buying handphone, video games, watching movie and concert with friends, buying popular branded stuff and so on. I have heard some of these gangster talking about stuff like video games that I enjoy watching people playing when I was a kid, but did not had any chance to play it. Even though they were gangster, at least if my parents allow me to buy console game to play, I can at least show off my video game skills to my classmates and if they like watching me to play, they might recognized my existence and treated me as their video game buddy.

I am not sure if anyone have at least seen someone in your class, whose parent are very overprotective their child such as doesn't allow them to go out with friends, doesn't allow them to buy branded popular stuff, doesn't allow them to have any entertainment but to study? Do you think you want to interact with such so-called "boring" person? Majorities of the classmates doesn't want to interact with this kind, they kept on saying "boring leh" in front of that person especially when doing groupwork with him.

Well, even when I am in Secondary School, I did not thought of working part time job during school holidays because they don't teach this in school like teaching students if during holidays, they can work part time job and guide these students how to find job, where to find job and so on. I am not sure whether is this common sense or maybe the teacher might afraid that students might not complete their homework given to them during school holidays? I am sure that those who are sociable in class, they have friends and they can introduce part time job to their friends so that they can work together during school holidays. This gives major disadvantages to those who are not social in class.

There were several group works in some of our school subjects and many people doesn't want to cooperate with me as they kept on making a face and being quiet. The teachers can't help it. Without any choice, I did everything alone and pass it up to my teacher, and I remembered that it was a social studies project. Some of them just talk and discuss among themselves and ignored me. So what is team work and group work, I don't know and I find those are a burden to me since my classmates have already show me the don't welcome me attitude.

After I graduated from Secondary School, the only further education study I could choose was ITE. I choose ITE Information Communication because I am pretty good in computing as I scored the highest in my subject and got interest in it after I have studied the subject during my Secondary School Years.

In my ITE years, same old things apply to my interaction with my classmates, just like in Secondary School, but most of my classmates weren't hooligans, gangster, stereotypes etc kinds. They were those like want to study but once they found out that Information Communication Technology wasn't their liking, they started to fool around, creating nuisances, playing around and so on.

There were plenty of group works when I was studying at ITE and many people avoided working with me because I don't communicate with them which was the same like I was in Secondary School. I wanted to try making friends with them but I lost my social skills and I do not know where to start. My classmates thought I am a weirdo and avoid interacting with me.

There were some modules like Communication Skills, Personal Effectiveness, Interperson skills, Group Effectiveness and so one which I am having difficulties in those modules. Classmates were playing around, fooling around and skipping classes during these modules as they thought they know interperson skills, communication skills, group effectiveness etc very well. My parent even saying me like "Study computing is useless, everyone knows computer" and I eventually gave up computing and "blindly" graduated from it.

I went to NS after I graduated from ITE and served NS as Admin. My performance was horrible. This was due to slow performance, unsure of what job role I am doing such as I don't know the logic of which email to send to who, not interacting with others, different from others etc. I often got confinements and my chief supervisor kept on glaring at me. I can't even take down a simple telephone message and even long telephone message. In my administration subject back in my secondary school, everything is theory, no practical except for typing skills. School did not teach student how to answer and take down long and tedious telephone messages as there are no practical class for that.

After my ORD, I went to buy some self motivational books to improve myself such as Improving your attitude (where some staffs in my admin complaint about my attitude), how to make friends, how to improve on your memory and so on. After I have "waste" my time reading all these books and apply them to a new school and try communicating with my classmate, it is useless. My classmates still treated me like some invisible guy and act dumb when I am having groupwork with them.

I went to study other subjects starting from Secondary 3 Normal Academic as Private Candidate to look for other interest instead. I managed to learn something new such as for Science, there are Physics and Chemistry, especially chemistry and doing laboratory works which is ironically, my first time, Additional Mathematics, Principle of Account, Pure Physics and Pure Chemistry. I did well for Principle of Account but I failed my Pure Physics, Pure Chemistry, Additional Mathematics and Science for "O" Level. I don't find any interest in Principle of Account even though I did well for it.

Unfortunately, I decided not to continue to study due to my age and the most important is I do not have any job experience. I did not know how to start finding jobs and these wasn't even taught in schools, even in those "compulsory" schools like Secondary School. I went to look for job coach, with the help of using forum and they guided me to look for job in some job websites and newspaper, and even taught me how I should talk and speak during interview. These wasn't even taught in any of the schools that I have attended, nothing at all.

Eventually, I found a job as a packer through an recruit agency from street job website. In the contract, there are many things I do not know such as leaves, phrases like one week pior notice and so on. The agent did not even bother to explain properly to me. When I was doing halfway through, people were pissed of me because I was doing very slow. When I do fast, I did almost everything wrongly such as miscounting items, tagging the price tag wrongly on most items and so on. When I do it slowly, everything was done correctly. I can't like do fast and do everything correctly at the same time.

When I was studying in school, my teacher asked me to complete my homework on time. I have plenty of time to finished it, even though there are lots of them, I could do it and managed to finish it. There were some mistakes in some of the questions I have done, so my teacher just marked it, put a tick for correct answers and put a cross for wrong answers. My teachers explained to me my mistakes like for Mathematics, I solved some questions wrongly and he explained where I solved wrongly. Next when the same kind of questions appeared again, I managed to solved it correctly. I don't find this sort of theory apply to job at all. Job is everything must be done correctly, even if you do it wrongly, you have to learn from it immediately otherwise, you might get dismissed. They are like not writing on a piece of paper how on to pack things, which items should be packed in which way and so on. Those like when they explain verbally, everything must go into my brain cells. In school, I can take my time to learn from it slowly from my days. So, it is way different.

When I was at my work place, I saw those kids who are younger than me by twelve and is temporary taking this packer job as some of them are waiting for their school to start and some of them are waiting for their NS, managed to do everything well. Most of them doesn't have any work experience and this is their first job, they can do very well. Even those hooligan, gangsters with tattoos on their arm and legs can do the job properly, fast, quick and correctly done. I wonder where do they get this power from? From friends that motivate them or maybe they are fast learner? Speaking about Fast learner, believe it or not, I am a slow learner where often I need to be repeatedly ask the same thing from my colleagues until they got fed-up with me, and I need frequent surveillance from my senior if I have done my job correctly as compare to other people. This is just the same like when I was working as admin in NS.

When I was looking at some job websites and newspaper, most of the job requirements need to interact with people, being a team player and need to have strong communication skills and those aren't even taught in those compulsory school. It gave disadvantages for those who graduated from Secondary School who doesn't want to continue to further study especially those who aren't social.

Anyway, I am not criticizing about any education system, just I feel that there are something important that must be taught and is not taught when I am attending schools. There are some of my classmates who quit school during Secondary School and I am not sure if they are wised to quit school or do I feel admired of them that they quit school?

So does anyone has any thought or view about these? Care to share your view?

The Code SG

It story's time! :

Once there was a man who did not make it to university. So, his mother got him a wife. After the marriage, he worked as a teacher in a primary school. Due to the lack of experience, he was squashed by the students in less than a week.

When he returned home, his wife dried his tears. She comforted him with these words. 'When one is too full, he could either pour it out what's in him or he just could not pour it out at all. You should not be too sad about it. Probably there is a more suitable job waiting for you out there.'

Later on, he found another job and not for so long, he was fired due to his slowness. This time, the wife commented. 'There are always people who are skilful and non skilful. Some have experience from their years of work. As for you, you were in school all this while. So, how could you acquire these needed skills?'

He went for a number of jobs but never stayed long in those jobs. Each time, he would return home with a dejected spirit. His wife would always comfort him and never for once, she was disappointed or resentful.

He was in his thirties when he aquired a flair in languages. He became a counselor in a school for the deaf and mute. Later on, he opened a school for the disabled. A few years later, he set up chain stores in different cities and provinces selling apparatus & equipment for the disabled. He became a multi-millionaire.

One day he asked his wife. 'When I was looking bleak at my own future, what's the reason that you have so much faith in me?'

His wife gave him a very simple reply. She said, 'When a piece of land is not suitable for planting wheat, we could try planting beans. If the beans are not growing well, we could try planting fruits or gourds. If the vegetation is not economical, we can instead scatter buckwheat seeds. These seeds will one day bloom into flowers. On this land itself, there will be one seed that will germinate and grow.'

After having listened to the wife's explanation, he cried. His wife's faith, love, patience, and persistence in him is liken to the one seed in the land. This is the seed that persists and creates the miracle on this piece of land.

"In this world, there's no one person who is useless. It is just that they have not positioned themselves firmly in right place"

Swift Formula SG

WOW a super long topic.

"I have hard times with my peers in my EM3 class such that most of the students were hooligans, gangsterism, stereotypes, ignorant, childish and so on"

"almost everyone in Normal Technical was a gangster, immature and so on. They don't like studying, often fool around in class"

"They were those like want to study but once they found out that Information Communication Technology wasn't their liking, they started to fool around, creating nuisances, playing around and so on."

MoE divides the students according to their academical results, in PSLE, O's.
There are always more ah-beng, ah-lian, smokers, skip-lesson, tattoo, piercing in lower academical performing classes than those better classes.
This has always been the case. There are cases whereby "miracles" happen. Student in EM3 climbs to EM1, Student in NT climbs to Express. But the rate is like 0.01%

However as a tutor, no matter what grade you are in, you are my beloved students. I will try my best to help you in your studies or other areas so u can have a better career in the future.
The key is to never give up on students.
If they can tell me "Yes! I want to be better at studies" and put in considerable effort, I will assure them that they will indeed do well.
For students who are playful and not interested in studies, i will have to advise them, encourage them, motivate them, change their mindset from "i can't do it" to "I will try my best to make a difference".
Mindset is very important. Else 100% input, 90% output, only 10% absorbed.