A second question about choosing of secondary schools: 1) I want to go to a school with all my friends, but my parents prefer me to go to another school that has programmes that may challenge me further. Which should I go to? 2) My other consideration is that the school that my parents want me to go may have a lot of people who are smarter than me. ❤️❤️❤️ 1) I think you are a lucky child to have all these friends and you must be a good buddy to be so popular. It’s also very sweet of you to put your friends into the equation. I would accept other reasons for not going to a particular school, but “my friends won’t be in this school” can’t quite make the cut. – Even if you are in the same school, you might not be in the same class. – You will make new friends in this school, and the next and in other stages of your life. – I am not discounting the bond of your friendship. However, it is precisely because your friendship is strong, so you do not need to be in the same school. Your camaraderie will withstand the test of time and distance. And come on, Singapore is so small. 2) This is my point of view. May not necessarily be yours but do consider this. I will rather be a small fish in a large sea than a big fish in a small pond. At least at your stage in life. You have so much potential and why restrict yourself. Imagine yourself as a plant in a small pot. Wouldn’t you want to try to grow in a larger pot to see how big and strong you could become? It is always scary to be competing with people who may appear stronger than us. However, that will only stretch us to the fullest. My life philosophy is always that we cannot be mediocre, because it is soul destroying. Whatever you do, you should do your best. That said, each to his own. I have an aggressive and driven personality so my approach to life may not work for everyone. Choose the one that makes you happy but try not to shortchange yourself. #psle #friendship

A second question about choosing of secondary schools: 1) I want to go to a school with all my friends, but my parents prefer me to go to another school that has programmes that may challenge me further. Which should I go to? 2) My other consideration is that the school that my parents want[…]

Some students are deciding between N(A) or express streams after receiving their PSLE results. Here’s a checklist to take note: 1. Do not go for express for fear of the social stigma that NA students may be perceived to get. We do not care what others think. We live our own lives. 2. There may be more choices if you were to go for NA stream. You may be eligible for your preferred school using the NA route. 3. Learn at your own pace. If you think the NA route may suit your learning pace and boost your confidence, choose that. 4. Bear in mind there are many options for NA students now. You can take O levels after N, go for a poly course, promote to express if you do well in S1. On the other hand, if you can’t cope in Express, there’s the chance the school may ask you to take NA in S2. The key to whatever decision really is if you are willing to work hard in S1. If you do work hard, you could build your foundation in NA and be promoted to S2 Express. If you do work hard, you could do well in express due to your diligence. You could be getting 250, start to slack and do worse than a 210-performer at PSLE. So ask yourself these pertinent questions: are you willing to work hard, and are you choosing one stream that’s most suitable for your learning pace? Good luck. #psle

Some students are deciding between N(A) or express streams after receiving their PSLE results. Here’s a checklist to take note: 1. Do not go for express for fear of the social stigma that NA students may be perceived to get. We do not care what others think. We live our own lives. 2. There may[…]