Tuesday March 20, 2007 - Star newspaper
Give top scorers their due
I DON’T understand why some people have to condemn straight-As students. The As are obtained through their ability and hard work and should serve as the stepping stone for them to achieve their dreams.
There’s a myth that students who are more active in the co-curricular front possess more leadership qualities than the rest. It is certainly not true, as the posts they hold are mainly because they are popular.
The rat race to get the posts is almost like a popularity contest, as it is mostly based on the number of votes they get from students.
The public universities’ selection of students should be based only on their examination results. We do not want doctors who were active participants in co-curricular activities yet have Bs and Cs on their examination slips.
True, the workforce needs quality and well-rounded graduates but I would like to re-state that the number of posts a student holds do not determine their character as a whole. If the Government wants to nurture a well-rounded workforce, start by overhauling the education system and offer a holistic education.
It is not right for the students with more posts to have an advantage over the students with none. Please take their hard work into consideration.
Lastly, I would like to proudly proclaim that my younger sister scored 13 As in her SPM.
She didn't hold any post in school, but her peers continue to describe her as being sociable, outgoing and an intelligent person, who should serve as a role model for all students.
YVONNE,
Its people like this that set back our education system 30 years from what we want to achieve, albeit the fact that we are already way behind in a global spectrum.
I do not deny that straight-A's is an accomplishment, but the problem with our country and people like 'YVONNE' is that they are the ones responsible for making young people think that if you get anything less than straight A1s, you're an absolute failure and are condemned to a bleak future.
There’s a myth that students who are more active in the co-curricular front possess more leadership qualities than the rest. It is certainly not true, as the posts they hold are mainly because they are popular.
The rat race to get the posts is almost like a popularity contest, as it is mostly based on the number of votes they get from students.
This is a very uneducated and ignorant assumption to make. True, some positions are based on popularity. A lot are based on dedication, continuity and merit. Even if you do get your position because because you're popular, it means you have good networking skills, are sociable and well known. What's wrong with that? Alright fine, lets live in Miss 'YVONNE''s little world and assume that all students that hold positions in school committee's are evil popular brats that convert other insecure brats into their popular minions of doom hellbent on undermining less social students and taking over the world. Even if you have been selected by your peers, do you think administration will allow you to keep your position if you slack off or don't do a good job?
In my world, the real world, the common phrase people use to deal with this situation is "You're out, BITCH!".
So you have the leadership skills of Nelson Mandela, Gandhi and Hitler combined, but do not lead in anything. Ever heard of "A leader is nothing without his followers"?
Where's the friggin' Nazi's, stupid?
The public universities’ selection of students should be based only on their examination results. We do not want doctors who were active participants in co-curricular activities yet have Bs and Cs on their examination slips.
I'm sorry, I don't want a doctor with no social skills, no analytical thought, not future-oriented and an overall patient-doctor relations disaster either.
This person 'YVONNE' is an absolute Neanderthal. "We do not want doctors who were active participants in co-curricular activities yet have Bs and Cs on their examination slips."? What the fuck? This is another uneducated, ignorant statement. When you go to university or specialize sweetheart, the name of the game changes. When you're in university/college, the name of that game is "GETTING-A-MINIMUM-CREDITS/SCORE-CERTIFIED-BY-A-GROUP-OF
-PEOPLE-NORMALLY-A-HELL-OF-A-SMARTER-THAN-YOU-IN-ORDER-TO-
GET-YOUR-QUALIFICATION-DEPENDING-ON-WHAT-YOU'RE-DOING-
AND-WHERE-YOU-ARE".
What do you think? An instructor saying "Oh its ok, that you nicked the colon and would have caused severe internal bleeding if you were not operating on a dead body for your test, you still pass, I mean come on, YOU'RE THE STAR OF THE FOOTBALL TEAM!!"
Oh and 'YVONNE' before you decide on the measure of a man, ask some people you personally respect and admire now what their SPM results were. Do you think any less of them?
True, the workforce needs quality and well-rounded graduates but I would like to re-state that the number of posts a student holds do not determine their character as a whole. If the Government wants to nurture a well-rounded workforce, start by overhauling the education system and offer a holistic education.
The number of posts a student holds does not determine them as a whole? Well neither does a bunch of A's that cease to matter 5 years later. Sure, let's create a more holistic system for our youth. And if we do, so what? I think 'YVONNE' here thinks once we do that, we can abolish extra curricular activities. I mean why not? You can learn algebra while swimming, playing chess and debating can't you? Go fuck yourself first 'YVONNE'.
It is not right for the students with more posts to have an advantage over the students with none. Please take their hard work into consideration.
Your hard work is taken into consideration. But your laziness and lack of initiative to venture into things beyond textbooks is taken into account too.
Lastly, I would like to proudly proclaim that my younger sister scored 13 As in her SPM.
She didn't hold any post in school, but her peers continue to describe her as being sociable, outgoing and an intelligent person, who should serve as a role model for all students.
Well congratulations to your sister 'YVONNE'. But if your sister was "sociable, outgoing, intelligent and a ROLE MODEL" I don't see why it would have been so hard for her to sign up for a few clubs and garner a few votes. All I see is : UNMOTIVATED, LAZY, NOT FORWARD THINKING, CLOSE MINDED, UNINTELLECTUAL. And those are just a few.
Here's the bottom line.
Non-academic activities gives us balance. You do not have to be the stereotypical over achiever and be part of absolutely everything. It's good to have some additional credentials so people can tell what you're like, your interests and passions. Just for the record, I got 7 A's and 4 B's. It was really important for me to get all A's, mostly because of the kind of expectations there were for me (because my brother did and is doing so crapfuckingtastically well). But when I didn't get it, it wasn't the end of the world. I was sad for like, 45 minutes. And then I was over it and thinking about the next step, which surprised even me.
Extra curriculars are often a chance at redeeming oneself when your grades aren't perfect. I always maintained my grades when I was in form 5, A's, some B's and one or two C's. Yet I still got picked out many times as one of the top students of the school. I'm pointing out myself as an example because I was really active in activities, and yes, a lot of people did know me. In my opinion, a student active in activities with 9A's( not all A1's) and a B is any time better than a student with all 10 A1's and nothing else.
I am in no way saying don't work for all A's, I still know that if I had put in a bit more effort, I could have done it (seeing that all my B's were Science subjects) but I'm not dwelling on it. Always strive to do the best because it can open many doors, but only if you set your priorities right.
I recall my father saying "What's the big deal they make with these all A's students, I mean, what matter's is WHAT THEY DO AND HOW THEY PERFORM AFTER THIS IS GRADUATE AND POSTGRADUATE STUDIES". Amen to that. Sure, its still an achievement, but if you plan to ride on that forvever, you are deluded. And keep in mind, the first time he said this was when my brother got all A's in his SPM, and the papers were hyping up the top scorers to seem like gods.
Although, I don't know what kind of world 'YVONNE' lives in, but I seriously wonder what her sister plans to do next. Here are the possibilities.
Governmental/National Scholarships : JPA/Petronas/Bank Negara/ the usual etc...
The 13 A's will definitely get noticed. But there is more than just a handful that have better grades than that. Guess what? Even our own fucked up system still places value on co-curricular activities. Unfortunately, YOU HAVE NONE.
A Levels/SAM/STPM Foundation courses in Local Institutions
If you manage to get a full scholarship to do your foundation from one of the colleges, power to the people. But I seriously doubt that you would, because I think even for that you need to submit your co-curricular record.
Let's say you enter college to do foundation on your own expenses, what's the admission requirements? Oh, 3 Credits and a pass in BM? Maybe an A1 in Modern Maths? WELL THANK GOD YOU SLAVED AWAY AND AVOIDED SOCIAL CONTACT FOR AN IMPORTANT FRACTION OF YOUR LIFE JUST FOR THAT!
And once you take your A-Levels, no one gives a flying rats ass about your SPM results. And guess what 'YVONNE'? Your sister will be sitting in her biology lecture next to a student that got 4 A's in SPM. Not far away there'll be a student who did worse and maybe failed a couple of subjects.
Your SPM results is SHOT TO HELL.
SAT's/Direct applications to top university's:
Lets say you take your SAT's and then want to apply straight to top schools overseas (If you don't plan to go to good schools but will settle for anything as long as its overseas, you're a more useless piece of shit than you think you are).
You'll apply with your SAT scores (lets assume, for the sake of this projection, you somehow get a perfect full score) and SPM results. Oh wait a minute, whats all that extra pages in your application for that clearly state 'Extra curricular activites'? Well, we'll just have to burn that because YOU HAVE NONE, won't we?
I mean, I'll just get a peer review, some teacher's reviews and write a fantastic application essay/personal statement, and hey, the admissions officers don't need any proof and point of reference showcasing my passion, intellectual ability, motivation, innovation, creativity and uniqueness, do they?
Some of the hardest places to get into in the world are the American Liberal Art's Colleges (top schools that offer undergraduate studies).
So 'YVONNE' lets say your sister applies to Swarthmore. She can get in right? I mean, 13 fucking A's dude!
Answer : NEVER.
And 'YVONNE' how about Amherst? Surely she can make it there?
Answer : IMPOSSIBLE.
Oh but 'YVONNE', surely she can get into William's, the number one Liberal Arts College with an admission rate lower than that of most Ivy League schools?
Answer : NOT A CHANCE IN HELL. |
At 11:46 PM,
the way i see it.....the smartest and most successful are always those who are able to assess their own abilities and and use these abilities to further themselves.
7A's n 4B's(negative)(its good but i dont think its what u really could achieve from what i see) but thinking of the next step(positive) is a good way to go.You said that you were expecting a few more A's which means,you are not happy with your results but i believe the training received in the course of you being involved in extra co-cu activities made you start to think of your future plans. An example of what "Non-academic activities" does for/to you.
I have seen 12A1's(Physics Olympiad Gold medallist) loose out a full scholarship to 8A1's,2A2's,1B3.....why? secretary in school prefect board, English club president and an one kick ass interview(4da scholarship).
Who said the smartest are good leaders? Does knowing how to read n memorise make u a good leader?NO
Big results gives you a head start;
co-cu gives you the speed; speed allows u to catch up with the guy with a headstart, but the guy with both turns out the winner!
At 9:13 AM,
To me, of coz education is important, but i dunno y people these days make such a big fuss over A's. Talking about A's will always put their kids on pressure, and that is not healthy, for the mind and the physical alike. What can u accomplish by getting a lot of A's? It's too early to judge everything, from time to time, people change. u wont know what will become of u in few years time. u might be a goody goody filial person now and the next instant, u can be a badass gangsta, sorta.
From what i c now in da working world, although certificate (degree, whatever) has always been the licence to get proper job, but i think experience is the most important thing. The theory we learned is way too simple for the working world. being experienced and smart, u can even outdo the fresh grads, provided that the company wants train new people. or else, they can easily hire u, no need much training whatsoever. People can even be multi millionaire without proper education especially true to the previous generation. These group of people are smart, dare to take risk, blah blah blah, the list goes on.......they dun even get any A's.
One more thing lar, i just dislike especially in newspaper when the A's students being interviewed on what they wanted to study, it's always been MEDICAL field. it's always DOCTOR. Glamour?
Sorry to anyone that feels offended. i dun mean to direct this to anyone here, just my point of view. something really annoyed me this morning, will try to blog later, and this A's thingis always annoys me.
At 10:26 AM,
why fret bout things u cant control? doesnt matter how many As other ppl get. im still gonna be a real estate tycoon.
At 1:11 PM,
You know the A's shit is a topic I feel very strongly about. By strongly I mean that I want to shoot it between the eyes and dump it in the Klang river.
Instead of going on a rant about how A's in PMR/SPM have little to now value these days, let me tell you of a story.
There was this girl a few years ago who got 16 A1s for her SPM and was top scorer here. In the papers, scholarships to local Unis (yes we ALL want to get super valuable Malaysian degrees) etc. I saw her in a television interview on one of those shitty morning talk shows.
It made me want to scream. She was a fucking retard. I mean a retard with 16 A1s, but it it looks like a retard and acts like a retard...you see the inevitable conclusion. What happens after that? Nothing, nobody even knows who they are, the guys that don't go to college become businessmen and make way more money than those of us that 'studied hard'.
Chino, I call dibs on a penthouse!! Cronyism, my favourite sin....
At 2:04 PM,
We all know that the education system in Malaysian is totally screwed up. It's screwed up worse than Najib's face when he gets buttfucked by Badawi. Fact
Why bother ranting about it ? If I do find a 16 A1 student I will know that the person probably don't have a life and will come out after graduating and find out that their A's mean shit in real life.
What the A's show is that you are very very good at reading and retaining information and then regurgitate it when required to do so. Is this cleverness ? Is this what people want with their employees ? NO.
As a matter of fact, this approach to study will only make them worse for they will rely on the same strategy throughout their life instead of using creative thinking to figure out the answers. It's like learning to play a musical instrument but by only memorising and playing by sight. If you don't take time to appreciate music and listen to other genres to widen your scope (even if it isn't coming out for your grading test) in short "waste time" you'll never really become the next person who writes the next hot song.
Well, all I can say is that this is Malaysia where the stupidest of policies are practiced. Just chill out and remember , no matter how many A's people get you are always better then them because they are not on this blog :P
At 2:12 PM,
Oh yeah , by the way ..
Screw you YVONNE
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At 3:02 PM,
i dont think its fair to see ALL 13,14,15A1 students as having no life.. unless of course you know them and they really are the lifeless people the society makes them out to be..
but ahh.. one way or another, i think yvonne's sister should work as Warlock's personal sidekick :P
At 3:13 PM,
No no . I am pissed off with YVONNE cause she claims that
" It is not right for the students with more posts to have an advantage over the students with none. Please take their hard work into consideration. "
It's a screwed up attempt to say .. My sis is a person who didnt take part in any activities in school and studied until she got 13 A1s .. can the government bump down a more well rounded student and give my 13 A1 sister a place in uni/scolarship.
How can YVONNE's sis become my sidekick .. I allready have you :P
At 3:26 PM,
Lol. Its all really about people getting over themselves.
Here's the bottom line. All that matters is what you do after this. Period.
And whether or not it involves getting straight A's depends on oneself.
But to be honest, when I have the opportunity to study something I really like, I sure as hell want to do the best I can in it.
At 5:06 PM,
Shaun aka ShinGaMi RZ was here... Period
At 8:04 PM,
Lali...I am a kind God..
I do not ask that you get 11As
Only that you get
7 As 4 Bs
For I am kind..