Although this is from the same thread on the Stomp forum as the
"poly to Uni" post I just made, but since this is regarding JC
students and JC life, I thought it'll be more appropriate to make a
separate post for this.
WhySoSerious28 posted :
Just to shed a little light on the notion that "JC life in
not necessarily much more stressful than Poly life"
:
Having tutored junior college students over a period spanning close
to a decade, the ease with which a student is able to cope
competently
and eventually shine rests on two fundamental determinants,
namely,
the environment and raw amount of academic ability residing within
the
individual.
1. The environment:
Yes, I am talking about the school in which the student is
enrolled.
In colleges with average academic reputations, students whom I
have
taught there seemed to be a tad more relaxed, preferring to
maintain
a " slacker's" stance till the very last minute before attempting
last minute
revision in operation "desperado". Their responses when being
quizzed
points to the very fact that their peers are behaving in an
identical,
nonchalant manner. One articulate individual remarked that his
motivation
had long dissipated because he was sterotyped and sidelined
upon
entering a "bad" JC, add to the fact that the teachers were not
too
helpful or attentive,hence there is really no longer any incentive
for him to
strive hard in his work.
I am not trying to group everyone from average schools under the
same
umbrella of conclusion,(because I have coached certain ones who
were
weaker in their studies,but were more than willing to inject
effort
and intensity into their academic endeavours), but my observations
have
yielded the viewpoint that majority of these students from
"average"
schools were last minute warriors, preferring to enjoy JC life to
the fullest
instead. So as the OP has pointed out earlier, it is perharps true
that if
you enter an "average" brand school, you would most likely be
happier and
more carefree, but such an atmosphere is brought about by the
combination of influencing factors which served to cultivate such
laidback
attitudes. But bear in mind the concept of results being
commensurate
with effort applies to average peformers, so be prepared mentally
to
accept mediocre grades for the A levels.
Does it therefore imply that if you enter a premium JC, the
atmostphere
would be so suffocating that you might suffer a brain
aneurysm?
The answer is both yes and no.
Even in the top JCs, there are the creme le creme classes, and
the
downright "rotten" ones. This distinction, sad to say, has been
further
made apparent by the direct admission program (DAP) where tons
of
students are granted immunity from the O levels each year , and the
only
major examinations they would have sat for by the age of 18 would
be the
PSLE and the A levels.
The stories and feedback I get from my students (notably from RJC
and
HCI) are contradictory at times-some claim they are constantly on
edge,
others indicated to me life is easy and slow paced. Not all are
speaking
the truth? I reckon not.It all bubbles down to the immediate
environment
you are residing within, and equally importantly, the grounds on
which you
entered the JC (DAP or O levels).
Immediate environment in this instance refers more to the social
circles
an individual is immersed in, as opposed to the overall general
school
environment (this is RJC or HCI for crying out loud, I don't need
to
state what sort of environment you would expect explicitly). If you
think
every rafflesian is a god of sorts in JC academia, I can assure you
this
is 100% untrue. I had the "privilege" of coaching this RJC student
in
September, he scored less than 30 for his h2 maths mid terms.
You
would shrug in disbelief if I told you he couldn't differentiate
x^2 wrt x,
but no this is all real. Now this is a student who earned a DAP
ticket
on a PSLE T score of 275. Is he stressed? Hell no. He was
unresponsive
for the first month despite my encouragement and subsequent
chastising,
and he finally admitted he was so relaxed, in fact over-relaxed
over the
past 6 years since sec1 that he couldn't get the gears moving
again.
Further discussion revealed the fact that his class was a
teacher's
nightmare-no one studied, pranks and mischief were usually the
order
of any schooling day. Yes, hes happy, too happy for his own good in
fact.
So there you go-the immediate environment and DAP coming hand in
hand
to create the perfect platform for a bright student's academic
decline.
I am not trying to criticse the DAP program, because clearly there
have
been those( many in fact) who thrived on the alternate path of
being able
to advance their learning without having to fork out a year just to
make
mundane, routine and tedious preparations for the O levels. I
have
coached a couple of these, and honestly their intensity, intellect
and
confidence are of superior levels. They didn't decay on the DAP
route,
but instead thrived on it. Now these students don't find school
life
stressful,not because they are slackers, but because they are
enjoying
the projects and research that engages them thoroughly.
But on the flip side of the coin, theres another set of stories. I
have
tutored two girls who each scored 10A1s for their O levels and
moved
on to HCI. Both stated that their classmates were equally
hardworking and
brilliant, thus it was exhausting to keep up with the competition.
They
were not "muggers" in that very sense of the word, as they had full
fledged
CCAs where they were holding prominent student leadership
positions.
Life was stressful because they had to come out tops in
everything,
maintaining a straight As record in their test/exams, and they had
to
participate actively in many non academic activities to earn points
and
accolades so as to ensure their resumes would be longer than the
red
carpet at Cannes. Wheres the fun? There ain't any. So if you
are
entering a top institution, depending on which class you get
assigned to,
and the friends you are surrounded by, coupled with your own
mindset,
it could be heaven or hell.
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