Curtains down - the secondary school journey

This evening, I will be attending Lesley-Anne's graduation ceremony for sec 4. This closes the secondary school chapter of her education journey and it's a milestone that I can scarcely believe we've reached. Four years sounds like a long time, yet they seem to have zoomed by.

As most of you would have guessed, Lesley-Anne is in an IP school, meaning that she wouldn't have to take 'O' levels (except for Higher Chinese next week). However, there seems to be some misconception among parents that because IP kids don't have to study for 'O' levels, they have an easier time. I once met a parent who told me he was worried about his daughter in an IP school because he heard that "IP kids spend all their time playing".

I've no idea how that urban legend came about but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, I would have welcomed more free time because looking at Lesley-Anne's experience over the past four years, being in IP school is EXHAUSTING.

Let's talk academics first: the school still has three exams a year and numerous class tests, pop quizzes and assignments, most of which are included in the exam scores. Every subject is counted towards your average (unlike for 'O' levels) which essentially means you're expected to be an all-rounder. Promotion to the next level and to the JC section is not automatic. You have to meet a minimum grade average and many students live in fear that they are unable to do so. This leads to mega swotting and mugging almost all year round and especially during the year-end exams. And is typical with all top schools, the standard of exam papers tend to be higher, to the point of ridiculous. Killer papers are not uncommon.

I don't agree with this - I've always thought that the whole point of IP is to remove the focus on exams so that the students can have time to explore other areas. Alas, this is not so. The culture of exams, it seems, is too ingrained in the Singapore psyche to be abolished overnight. Clearly I can't speak for all IP schools but I'm sure Lesley-Anne's is not an exception.

Apart from academics, you have your other activities like CCAs which can demand an equal level of commitment. As I described before, the crazy intensity of band practices (and obsession over SYF medals) actually turned the CCA from love to hate for Lesley-Anne. It's unnecessarily energy-sapping.

But enough of whining. In spite of all these kinks, I do believe that Lesley-Anne's secondary school had more pluses than minuses. I can see that Lesley-Anne has matured significantly in her ability to express her views critically and coherently, and I credit her English and Literature teachers. Independent learning is a huge part of her school's methodology (although at times, it appears to have happened by accident due to poor teaching, lol!) and the skills she has picked up are invaluable. They will serve her well in JC and in life. Taking HCL has also improved her Chinese tremendously, something nobody can deny is an asset.   

Being in the humanities class in sec 3 & 4 was also a real blessing for Lesley-Anne. These are kids who have their own minds and will speak it. They're also not narrow-mindedly competitive over grades and have a whole lot of fun together. In fact, it was this team spirit that got the class voted "Model Class" for 2013. A nice way to end the year.

Even though Lesley-Anne has always struggled with Chinese and Maths, she did very well in the finals in the end. Except for HCL and A Maths where she scored B's, she garnered A's in everything else. In a school where it's common to see a straight A report book, it may not be spectacular results but you know what? We don't care. We're unabashedly proud of this young lady who has such a fantastic work ethic, is incredibly grounded and knows what's important in life.

As a parent, there's nothing else I can ask for.