This is a reply regarding a post posted earlier this month, which some of my readers and friends have directed me to: http://therealsingapore.com/content/why-i-dislike-education-system-singapore-results-over-everything-else
I just ended Year 1 of Mass Communication in Ngee Ann Poly and I have every reason to assume that the video in question belongs to me. This is my blog post, together with my video, about my experience with JPSAE: http://pekyj.blogspot.sg/2014/01/jae-jpsae-mass-communication-in-ngee.html
I'm not going to defend my video because, admittedly, speaking is not my forte. I've never been a confident person and I only made the video wanting to help those who are as desperate as I was to get into their dream course. I never expected to have such a large audience viewing my video either. My intentions were never to show off my speaking skills, or to garner views.
While I understand H's frustration, I believe there is a reason for her rejection - contrary to popular belief, we do have to do Maths equations in certain modules in Mass Comm. For those who are wondering, this is the link to our course structure: http://www.np.edu.sg/fms/courses/diploma/Pages/mcm.aspx#coursestructure. The two modules are requires Maths are Media Research Methods and Media Business Management which we will take in Year 2. Attached to this article is a photo (courtesy of @trousereddenim on Twitter) of an example of the equations we have to do in the said modules. That was probably NP's concern - that if H failed Maths, how is she going to cope in those modules?
When I applied for my JAE and JPSAE, my results were:
English - B3
Maths - B3
Chinese - B3
Humanities - B3
D&T - B3
Phy/Chem - AB
CCa - C6
L1R4 - 15 raw, 14 net
I guess you can call me the Jack of all trades but master of none. Haha. Jokes aside, I was so passionate about the media that I tried every course in every school. Of course, NP was naturally my first choice and I am still very thankful that I am here today. What I am trying to say is since H mentioned that RP does not make it extra difficult for students to get in with DAE and if she is so passionate about the media, why did she not try RP's Mass Comm? I get that NP's Mass Comm is the most established one in Singapore but if she is that passionate, being able to study the media is better than nothing at all, isn't it? My vice-principal also encouraged me to try media courses in ITE if media is the only thing I want to study. It is not that there are no alternatives, you see - there are so many alternatives for H to try, yet she allowed her own stereotyping to look past these alternatives.
To H, have you ever thought that maybe you got rejected because you have not proven that you have what it takes to be there? That maybe even though I don't speak well, I allowed the lecturers to look past my weakness and proved my worth to them? Like I have mentioned above, speaking is not my forte. In fact, public speaking is one of my biggest fear and I did not do so well for my Speech Communication module. Just like how you don't think it's fair for you to be judged solely based on your O Level results, I don't think it is fair that you judge my abilities based on one video. I have had lecturers telling me that I am good at graphics designing and I scored full marks for my Dreamweaver test last semester. So you see, just because I am not confident when I speak does not mean that I do not deserve a place in NP Mass Comm.
You should know that sitting behind your screen and typing this complaint would not help you get into Mass Comm. Instead, it portrays you as a bitter person. Maybe instead of ranting, you could have used the time to find an alternative. That being said, I admire you for the fact that you got an A1 for English because, honestly, that's not an easy feat.
To everyone else reading this article, I do agree that Singapore's education system has its faults and I do not deny that I complain a lot about the government too. However, if we look at this from another angle, I believe that Singapore's government has been taking the initiative to shift the focus from academics and we have to take things one step at a time. JPSAE, in addition to JAE, is already an initiative to give students who are passionate, but not as book smart, a chance to get into their dream course. We cannot compare Singapore to countries like Australia or Finland because they have hundreds of years of experience. Let's remember that, after all, Rome wasn't built in a day.
I thank you all allowing me a few minutes of your time to say my piece.
Best Regards,
Regine
TRS Contributor