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Posted: 1 October 2008

Why English and Humanities?

Admission Criteria to Junior Colleges

Source: Joint Admissions Exercise 2008 Booklet

An L1R5 aggregate score of not more than 20 points must be obtained in order to qualify for admission to Junior Colleges.

From the table above, we can see that there are certain subjects that are compulsory when computing the aggregate score.

L1 stands for the first Language, and this can be either English or Higher Mother Tongue. For students who do not take Higher Mother Tongue, English will be an important subject as it will definitely be considered.

R5 stands for the other five Relevant subjects. There are 3 critical relevant subjects as these subjects are required to be considered for the computation of the aggregate score.

The first relevant subject is Humanities, Higher Art or Higher Music. For students who do not take Higher Art or Higher Music, Humanities will be the subject to be considered. Most students take a combined Humanities subject and a pure Humanities subject. Thus, students must definitely do well in one of the Humanities subjects.

The second relevant subject is Mathematics or Science. Here Mathematics could either be Elementary or Additional Mathematics. Since Mathematics is a subject that is a prerequisite to almost all the courses in tertiary education, this is a subject that students must definitely do well in.

The third relevant subject is Humanities, Higher Art, Higher Music, Mathematics or Science. For students who take two humanities subjects, they can take the second humanities subject after the first humanities subject is considered for the first relevant subject. For students who take Additional Mathematics, this can also be considered. Alternatively, students can take a Science subject, Higher Art or Higher Music.

The remaining two relevant subjects can be the next two best subjects after considering the first three relevant subjects.

Thus, both English and a Humanities subject are required for the computation of the L1R5 aggregate score for admission to Junior College.

Gone are the days when Humanities are subjects where students only need to memorize the facts and reproduce them during their examinations. With the MOE’s move towards a thinking Nation, new elements such as source based questions and questions that require inferential skills are introduced for the O levels in 2008. Many students especially those weak in their English Language will attest to the fact that they are struggling with the new Syllabus.

Flo Tuition aims to bridge this gap by inculcating skills in students that will allow them to deal with such questions in a simplified and systematic manner. English and Humanities are subjects that are complementary towards one another, as a good command of English will definitely aid students in tackling questions in Humanities.

Posted: 8 July 2008

Online classrooms gaining popularity

Studies show half of high school courses in US will be taught virtually by 2013

From online courses to kid-friendly laptops and virtual teachers, technology is spreading in America's classrooms, reducing the need for textbooks, notepads, paper and in some cases, even the schools themselves.

The Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School in Boston has no textbooks. Students receive laptops at the start of each day, returning them at the end.

'The dog ate my homework' is no excuse here.

Teachers and students maintain blogs. Staff and parents chat on instant messaging software, and assignments are submitted through electronic 'drop boxes' on the school's website.

Students work at vastly different levels in the same classroom, and classwork is using Google's free applications such as Google Docs, or Apple's iMovie, and specialised educational software such as FASTT Math.

Computers also track a range of aptitude levels, allowing teachers to tailor their teaching to their students' weakest areas, said Ms Debra Socia, principal of the school in Dorchester.

However, the school makes one concession to the past: A library stocked with novels.

Average attendance climbed from 92 per cent to 94 per cent, while discipline referrals fell 30 per cent. And parents are more engaged, said Ms Socia.

The experiment at Frederick, which is located in a tough Boston district prone to crime and poor schools, began two years ago at a cost of about US$2 million (S$2.7 million), but last year was the first in which all 7th- and 8th-grade students received laptops.

US enrolment in online virtual classes reached the one million mark last year, 22 times the level seen in 2000, according to the North American Council for Online Learning, an industry body.

According to Mr Michael Horn, executive director of education at Innosight Institute, a non-profit think-tank in Massachusetts, projections show that 50 per cent of high school courses will be taught online by 2013, compared with 1 per cent now.

Mr Horn expects demand for teachers to fall. He also expects virtual schools to boost achievement in a US education system where only two-thirds of teenagers graduate from high school - a proportion that slides to 50 per cent for black Americans and Hispanics, according to government statistics.

K12, which provides online curriculum and educational services in 17 US states, has seen student enrolment rise 57 per cent from last year to 41,000 full-time students, said its chief executive, Mr Ron Packard.

Virginia-based K12 recently opened an office in Dubai to expand overseas, expecting strong offshore demand for American primary and secondary education tailored for foreign nationals who want to enter US universities.

Online tutoring is also expanding rapidly.

Bangalore-based TutorVista, which launched online US services in 2005, estimates its average global growth in active students at 22 per cent a month - all taught by 'e-tutors', mostly in India.