Should I take secondary 2 lightly ~ Price : SGD 0

460 clicks

Advertiser ID : Master	Contact No : 6568176157
Ads Category : Education	Update : 27-08-2021
Website : Should I Take Secondary 2 Lightly	Follow Us :
Location : Singapore

Should I take secondary 2 lightly

Is secondary 1 and 2 considered the honeymoon period
Should I take secondary 1 lightly
Should I take secondary 2 lightly
Is it OK to relax during lower secondary
Why is secondary 1 and 2 important
The benefits of preparing for final year exams early

It can be tempting for many students to view the first two years of secondary school as a “honeymoon period” of sorts. After all, you’ve just survived the pressure cooker that is the PSLE the previous year, and there’s plenty of time (or so you think) before the next major examination – the O/N-Level – rolls around.

The plan is for you to cut yourself some slack, take your foot off the pedal and only start to worry about the O-Levels in Sec 3 or 4. But if your parents or teachers haven’t already told you: that is not a good plan at all. Everyone deserves a break after the PSLE, but not if the break lasts for two years.

While the lower secondary years are less heavy in workload and responsibilities compared to upper secondary, they are equally important because they help lay a solid foundation from which you will find preparing for the O/N-Levels a much easier undertaking.

Here are some reasons why you shouldn’t think of Sec 1 and 2 as a honeymoon period:

You have to get used to secondary school life – coming from primary school, there is a lot you have to adjust to in secondary school.

You have to get used to new friends and classmates, new teachers, a new environment, a new commute, heavier CCA commitments, longer hours – and that’s before we even talk about what you are learning in the classroom.

While you won’t be able to predict the exact shape all these changes will take, you will find that your transition will be smoother if you enter secondary school on your toes and actively prepared to deal with change, rather than passively waiting for change to hit you in the face. Think of it this way: if you are already struggling mightily to get used to life as a secondary school student, you will find yourself even more hard-pressed to keep up with what is being taught in class.

With great independence comes great responsibility – getting used to secondary school life is a major transition because it is the stage of your life when, on one hand, you will be given greater independence to make decisions by your parents and teachers.

On the other hand, having more independence as teenager also means that you have to take on greater responsibility for the consequences of your actions, a fact of life that will persist into adulthood.

You can’t have it all: if you decide to treat Sec 1 and 2 as a honeymoon period and take it easy, you should do so knowing full well what the consequences will be (your parents and teachers will be more than happy to describe these consequences in great detail). If you are happy to live with those consequences, then that’s fine.

But if you are not, then you should take steps to guard against that outcome. In primary school, you had less freedom because your parents and teachers watched more closely over you, but that also meant that they could pull you back on track if required. In secondary school, you have more freedom, but that also means the freedom to dig yourself into a deep hole if you so choose, and then you only have yourself to blame.

You don’t want to fall behind academically – at the same time, we can’t forget that what and how you will be taught in Sec 1 and 2 is a significant change from primary school too. To begin with, the number of subjects you have increases, and will increase again when you reach upper secondary.

You will have to learn how to manage your increased workload. Secondary school is also less about rote learning – memorizing stuff and reproducing the answer – and more about being able to think critically and apply what you have learned.

These are new ways of learning that have to be learnt before you can actually learn any content. What this means is that if you do not make the required adjustments early on in lower secondary, you will not be able to learn and perform optimally.

And this in turn means that you will be scrambling to make these adjustments in upper secondary, when you will also have both lower secondary and upper secondary content to catch up on, all in one terrifying snowball that will threaten to crush you. In short, the price you pay for a “honeymoon period” in Sec 1 and 2 is a “hell period” in Sec 3 and 4.

“The honeymoon period” is precious time you cannot afford to waste.

The thing about honeymoon periods is that they end sooner or later, usually sooner. And when they end, the most common question that everyone asks whether we’re talking about secondary school or a romantic relationship is, “okay, what now?”.

You do not want to be asking yourself that question in Sec 3. Use your lower secondary years wisely. You do not have to be studying all the time, just enough so you can keep with the changes happening.

Think of your teachers as your parents in this journey. Go to them for advice, ask lots of questions about how you can adjust quickly and better, and keep them updated on your progress. You’re not bothering them, but showing that you’re an engaged and committed learner, which they love to see!