Embarrassing to get 'just' 4As
In a school where 4As is average, some are devasted to fall below that
HER dark face matched the stormy weather on Friday.
She was one of more than 1,200 students who were collecting their A-level results at Raffles Junior College (RJC) that day.
This girl was seen crying hysterically after getting 3As 1C. Pictures: MOHD ISHAK
And one would have thought she had failed the national examination.
Far from it actually.
The frowning student, who declined to give her name, had a clean sweep of As: 4As, A1 for her general paper (GP), two distinctions and one merit for her special (S) papers.
Yet, her results, which would possibly make students from some other junior colleges scream with joy, left her sulking.
Why?
'I wasn't up on stage. I should have been up there, if not for the merit I scored in my S paper,' she said.
She was referring to the 13 top students from the college who made the news over the weekend for a perfect score of 4As, an A1 for GP and three distinctions for their S papers.
She needed one more distinction in her S papers - instead of a merit - to be a 'perfect scorer'.
So why was she making such a big deal of such a tiny 'blemish' on her results slip?
'It's hard here (at RJC), you know. There is so much pressure to get these perfect grades. Yes, I admit I am a bit upset because of this,' she said.
She was not alone.
There were a number of students in the hall who reacted to similar 'blemishes' on their results slip.
One student, who scored 4As and an A2 for GP, but had an 'ungraded' for one of two S papers, hung his head in shame when he received his results.
The New Paper initially thought he had failed badly when we approached.
But he said: 'It's embarrassing when you have one black mark and every one else around you has perfect scores.'
Another unhappy student was a girl who scored 3As and a C for physics.
A girl being comforted by her teacher after getting 'less than perfect' results.
She was crying and her friends had to console her. It perhaps ended her aspirations of getting a scholarship.
She was so upset that she declined to speak to The New Paper.
There was another kind of strange reaction among the RJC students - nonchalance.
At least 15 students The New Paper spoke to bore no expression of happiness or sadness; they just looked bored.
They too, had almost 'perfect' scores - 4As, A1 for GP and even a distinction or two for their S papers.
Yet, it all seemed so meaningless.
There was a group who scored 4As, but took out a pack of cards and started playing. They looked neither overjoyed nor relieved.
Just blase.
Student Ouyang Hong Yue, 18, summed it up.
He said: 'More than 50 per cent of students here obtained 4As today, so our grades have become average. It is no big deal.'
He is right, as 676 of the 1,239 RJC students (55 per cent) collecting their results, scored 4As and above.
He added philosophically: 'Being in this JC has warped our expectations of what is average.
'It's no big deal to get 4As in this school, because half of us have obtained this score. It's only when you are severely below average that you will stand out.'
But he added that he has managed to see the brighter side of things because he has friends from other JCs.
'I know they will get average scores, and as long as those scores get them into the university, that's enough for them.
'It's because of them that I'm able to distance myself from this mindset.'
So what do parents and teachers feel about this trend?
Mrs Kamala M, who has two teenage sons, said: 'This is why students try and get into these top schools, as they know they are likely to produce these results. It's like a factory.
'I feel sad for them. If you feel blase about such grades, then what is there to look forward to?
'Perhaps they should look into placing these super smart kids on a fast track to university and let them skip the A levels as they may no longer find it a challenge.'
A teacher in another JC who declined to be named, said: 'These students are over-achievers, they have been schooled for two years to expect 4As and nothing less.
'I think it is a problem, but to these students, not having the perfect scores means the end of obtaining prestigious scholarships.'
She added that she doesn't see this mindset changing anytime soon.
'Only if the entire system changes, then perhaps their attitudes will change,' she said.
HER dark face matched the stormy weather on Friday.
She was one of more than 1,200 students who were collecting their A-level results at Raffles Junior College (RJC) that day.
This girl was seen crying hysterically after getting 3As 1C. Pictures: MOHD ISHAK
And one would have thought she had failed the national examination.
Far from it actually.
The frowning student, who declined to give her name, had a clean sweep of As: 4As, A1 for her general paper (GP), two distinctions and one merit for her special (S) papers.
Yet, her results, which would possibly make students from some other junior colleges scream with joy, left her sulking.
Why?
'I wasn't up on stage. I should have been up there, if not for the merit I scored in my S paper,' she said.
She was referring to the 13 top students from the college who made the news over the weekend for a perfect score of 4As, an A1 for GP and three distinctions for their S papers.
She needed one more distinction in her S papers - instead of a merit - to be a 'perfect scorer'.
So why was she making such a big deal of such a tiny 'blemish' on her results slip?
'It's hard here (at RJC), you know. There is so much pressure to get these perfect grades. Yes, I admit I am a bit upset because of this,' she said.
She was not alone.
There were a number of students in the hall who reacted to similar 'blemishes' on their results slip.
One student, who scored 4As and an A2 for GP, but had an 'ungraded' for one of two S papers, hung his head in shame when he received his results.
The New Paper initially thought he had failed badly when we approached.
But he said: 'It's embarrassing when you have one black mark and every one else around you has perfect scores.'
Another unhappy student was a girl who scored 3As and a C for physics.
A girl being comforted by her teacher after getting 'less than perfect' results.
She was crying and her friends had to console her. It perhaps ended her aspirations of getting a scholarship.
She was so upset that she declined to speak to The New Paper.
There was another kind of strange reaction among the RJC students - nonchalance.
At least 15 students The New Paper spoke to bore no expression of happiness or sadness; they just looked bored.
They too, had almost 'perfect' scores - 4As, A1 for GP and even a distinction or two for their S papers.
Yet, it all seemed so meaningless.
There was a group who scored 4As, but took out a pack of cards and started playing. They looked neither overjoyed nor relieved.
Just blase.
Student Ouyang Hong Yue, 18, summed it up.
He said: 'More than 50 per cent of students here obtained 4As today, so our grades have become average. It is no big deal.'
He is right, as 676 of the 1,239 RJC students (55 per cent) collecting their results, scored 4As and above.
He added philosophically: 'Being in this JC has warped our expectations of what is average.
'It's no big deal to get 4As in this school, because half of us have obtained this score. It's only when you are severely below average that you will stand out.'
But he added that he has managed to see the brighter side of things because he has friends from other JCs.
'I know they will get average scores, and as long as those scores get them into the university, that's enough for them.
'It's because of them that I'm able to distance myself from this mindset.'
So what do parents and teachers feel about this trend?
Mrs Kamala M, who has two teenage sons, said: 'This is why students try and get into these top schools, as they know they are likely to produce these results. It's like a factory.
'I feel sad for them. If you feel blase about such grades, then what is there to look forward to?
'Perhaps they should look into placing these super smart kids on a fast track to university and let them skip the A levels as they may no longer find it a challenge.'
A teacher in another JC who declined to be named, said: 'These students are over-achievers, they have been schooled for two years to expect 4As and nothing less.
'I think it is a problem, but to these students, not having the perfect scores means the end of obtaining prestigious scholarships.'
She added that she doesn't see this mindset changing anytime soon.
'Only if the entire system changes, then perhaps their attitudes will change,' she said.
posted by dgarden at 1:27 pm
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