From <200 in PSLE to 88.75rp in A lvls: 3 things I've learnt [youtube video transcript]

The PSLE. it is stress inducing, has high expectations, and parents who are ready to spank ya at any moment. Those are the common perceptions. But what i want to highlight is it's not just parents causing all this trouble. A while back, I've saw tiktoks of people mocking a group of Malays, saying their combined PSLE score is less than 200(under old system).

It seems that people think that PSLE is more significant than it actually is, especially those 12 year olds doing the actual thing.. As an independent black gender fluid, transgender asian who scored 194 for PSLE. I obviously believed that this is was a hate crime from MOE . Because did MOE think how i feel when i couldnt go to my dream school? Do they think of the disappointment that me because they wanted to give merit to others. no of course not. Because all they think about is themselves.

Alot has changed since i was a 12 year old. And Ive learned alot of things. Not just in acads, but outside of it that change my perspective on the education here in Singapore, and i thought id share it with you all, because i have a clickbaitty title that i can use to get the views

(1)Exams is a ‘you’ problem, not your peers/school

While your school’s budget, teachers and environment can all give you the equipment that you need. Exams is more of a you problem. It's ultimately up to you to put in the work and effort to get what you want.

There’s a great quote i found in secondary 1 which really inspired me to get to where i am today.

Some people are more talented than others. Some are more educationally privileged than others. But we all have the capacity to be great. Greatness comes with recognizing that your potential is limited only by how you choose, how you use your freedom, how resolute you are, in short, by your attitude. And we are all free to choose our attitude.

honestly. All those statistics about average performance and whatever means nothing. If you want to be that one person that wants to get where they want, then go for it.

In fact, if you heard the news l, YIJC got their first 90rp. You know, that rock bottom JC where half the school retains and can entire hall full of people with 5rp or less, yea after 6 cohorts, someone finally emerged from the shadows and gotten straight As, and what's even more impressive is that another guy scored big there as well, having previously came from pathlight school. Yea everyone else may have done shit, but when that guy got his 90rp, you could hear shockwaves rippling from yishun all the way to st John island

What was my point again? Oh yea. Do not go to to a "waffles" , or ching chong communist institution , go to CJC, spend a night at staircase 6, go there and get that 90rp and split the universe in half. let putin blow up half of Europe and plunge the world into a thermonuclear holocaust, dig tunnels beneath the school that lead to pulau NTU. Let the world burn 🔥 🔥 🔥

(2) Work on your strengths

the 2nd lesson I've learnt is that you should work on your strengths, more so than your weaknesses

In O level and A level, you have about 6 to 8 different subjects. And because MOE wants to create well rounded individuals, you'll need languages[pain in bread is french Google translation], sciences[italian pizza exploding], math[cursed question] and humanities subjects[Chinese baloon]

so for A and O level, you cannot be a one trick pony as all these different subjects will be equally weighted. So for O level, find 6 subjects to commit to, and for A level, every subject you take should be smth that you know you can do

that being said, when you go into uni and the workforce, you're just gonna specialise in one thing. And it doesn't matter if you're shit at something, because you'll eventually be able to drop it. So for school, tweak your subject combination to have more of the subjects you like and want to do

like if you love Chinese that much and want to take it in uni, take H2 China studies in Chinese, H2 Chinese language literature, H2 translation and H1 math. I don't know why you'd want to torture yourself but go ahead

or, if you like the environment, take BCMG, yes its difficult but it's all interrelated. It's essentially the quadruple science subject combination.

For me, when i entered JC, I wanted to do engineering. So when deciding my combination, my monke brain went: mmm i took Double math in secondary school and got 2 A1s….so lets do double math in jc as well. Actl if you think about it, i technjcally took the H8 math stream : H2 scientific math (physics), H2 further math, H2 normal math, H2 social science math (economics)

and you may be asking why I wasn't like every other basic guy who took PCME, and I'll tell you why. It is because chemistry has been infiltrated by the CIA [hold phone box close to you]. Don't believe me? "Error in A level chemistry paper handled differently across different JC"

basically, somebody probably got high, probably on ibuprofene, while setting the chem paper, and so there was an error. The schools, were supoose to let the students know this and fix it during the exam. You would think that SEAB standardise the process, rleveryone will do something similar, nothing serious will happen. But then, a CIA agent entered entered Vitoria JC. 10 minutes before the exam ended, he gave them 15 minutes to fix the problem. And since its near the end, students can just brainstorm anything else they couldn't do. Quite generous but fair enough. B U T T H E N, another CIA agent entered YIJC. 10 minutes before the exam ended as well, and mentioned the problem. But instead of giving 15 mins exam, he only gave 1 minute, and told them "if you studied for H2 chem, you should know how to edit. this is a meritocracy we live, this is your problem,, go and cry about it, i dont care" [burnnnn]

He didnt say that. And, going back fmath. While fmath was the only subject i got B. I don't regret it. Because when I go to uni, I can use the knowledge of linear algebra[magic square cursed question], statistical functions[MF26], mathematical induction[something cursed] which is actually useful. Like what am I supoose to do with chemistry? Do titration to measure the amount of tears? Screw that, and also I don't want to be involved with the CIA

(3) Grades isn't everything, enjoy the journey

With the exception of 1 or 2 subjects at best for your major, you will forget the rest of your notes. If you did bad for something, its fine. what is worth remembering is the fun times

Well remember how I showed all those A? Well this sounds very dumb, especially considering i came from a chinese school, but I took Chinese B. Alot of people ask me why I did it, especially since I'm literally the only person in the entire school taking it. But I did it because I wanted to try something new.

During my time in dumb man high, i was in a class whom which ⅓ of the people were born in China, I interacted with a majority IP student body, for which I always envied due to getting 194 for PSLE, and got to experience 1 to 1 teaching for CLB in a public school.

And did CLB have any major significant impact on my results? Well, I still got the 89 rank points,and although you may not always be the best, you can always do your best. And that's what I believe matters with regards to acads.

I have a separate video about O levels, where I specifically detail the methods I used. But i didn't want to talk about them in this video, the key point is that you whatever you do, do it with a purpose. Dont let your school dictate how well you do, or blindly follow the education system. Whether it is to get into course, try something new or just have fun.

Maybe I will forget my sciences[insert funny physics smily face photo], and the hundreds of hours doing random practice papers[insert cursed question], and the nights you spent screaming into the void[insert sancutary Lee Hsien Loong dread photo]. But I've made valuable memories that will last long into the future[CJ staircase 6, sentosa, drinking at Clarke Quay, soufflé, art pieces]

In conclusion, chemistry has been infiltrated by the CIA, have some fun at staircase 6, having the worse Chinese in an entire school was the best decision I ever made. Have a good day, and good bye