A symptom of educational ills

I VIVIDLY remember diligently ploughing through the TYS for my O and A levels. With their style of questions being repeated year after year, the books were like a crystal ball for what would emerge. Invariably, I would do well for an examination, as long as I did the TYS for it.

My tried-and-tested learning style was turned on its head when I went to university. Some courses did not have past-year papers I could rely on. For once in my life, I had to actually have a comprehensive and critical understanding of the materials taught in order to do well. For these modules, my modus operandi of rote memory and incessant practice was no longer enough.

Even after these courses, I still consider many of my university friends and myself as unthinking peons when it comes to learning. The 'TYS effect' was too deep-rooted to be eradicated by our university education.

The TYS is symptomatic of the conundrum facing our education system.

By rewarding rote memory and unquestioning acceptance of taught 'facts', the TYS has raised generations of Singaporeans to be diligent, systematic and efficient workers. In the process, however, it has stemmed critical thinking, creativity and a genuine love for learning.

Jonathan Kwok, 24, graduated with honours in economics from the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Best thing that happened to me

THE TYS was the best thing that happened to me in secondary school. I hailed from a neighbourhood school and a discipline-challenged class, so teachers had lower expectations of us.

Still, they advocated the importance of practising past years' questions from the TYS. I took their advice, and did so for six hours daily, a month before the exams. It worked for me, and it became my lifeline again for the A levels.

The model answers gave me a clear idea of what examiners were looking for, while the frequency of repeated questions was a good gauge of what to memorise. Having found a pattern for which questions appeared, I developed the confidence to tackle exam questions.

Granted, the TYS is not the most effective form of producing creative thinkers. It is, however, undeniably the source of comfort for students who tear out their hair over mind-boggling questions from elite school papers.

It was also the source of validating my academic progress when my teachers were not around.

There are limits to the TYS for sure - surprise questions throw students off every year. But following it religiously allowed me and my peers to get through the exams. Without this handy compilation, I cannot imagine how else I could have been better prepared.

Estelle Low, 22, is a third-year journalism student at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

A last-minute antidote

MY O-LEVEL grades for physics and chemistry would have been at least a grade lower had it not been for my trusty TYS books.

As a last-minute 'mugger' who convinced himself that playing smart, not working hard, was the way to go, I spotted questions whenever I could.

I can clearly remember sitting down at a fast-food joint with my buddy on the actual day of my physics paper, just frantically looking through the book for questions we thought had a high chance of coming out. We each focused on different sections of the paper and proceeded to quiz one another.

As it turned out, the TYS did not disappoint. I do not think it ever has.

If the TYS can help you understand and even predict questions, and tell you what examiners wanted in return, why not make full use of it? Why study excessively and drown yourself in other schools' papers?

You just cannot go wrong with it.

Keith Neubronner, 20, recently graduated with a diploma in communications and media management from Temasek Polytechnic.

When it becomes a crutch

EVERYONE felt that the TYS was the key to achieving flying colours.

Teachers made class tests out of TYS topics, so I spent hours on end daily to get my answers right. However, wholesale reliance did not work out for me in the end. The questions I was confident of answering never came out for the O levels and, instead of straight As, I could only muster Bs and Cs.

For my A levels, I relied more on my own initiative to source for past-year exam papers from other schools. Besides, I could not rely on the TYS for arts subjects like literature. As a result, I did far better in the final reckoning.

While the TYS may familiarise you with exam formats, it becomes a crutch if students start spotting questions so much that they become unprepared for new questions.

This speaks much for a society where success in education is equated with only the fittest. Parents want the best for their children and understandably pounce on the first opportunity to forge success for them.

The herd psychology is, thus, prevalent among schools, where teachers, students and parents alike become obsessed with getting better and better grades.

Jonathan Liautrakul, 19, has a place to read arts and social sciences at NUS.

No preparation for real world

THE last time I used the TYS was about two years back.

Unlike most of my peers, though, the TYS I used was for my driving basic and advance theory tests. It is, in my opinion, the most useful TYS around.

As you would have expected, I passed both theory tests with flying colours, but I cannot say the same for my actual driving tests. I failed my driving test a remarkable three times, mostly due to dangerous driving.

That pretty much sums up my feelings about the TYS. As far as I am concerned, the series can give you good grades only in studies. They do little to prepare you for real life.

I remember when I was taking my O-level Chinese paper, my revision approach was very different from that of my peers. While they mugged their TYS, I chose to read more Chinese publications and speak more Mandarin to others, applying what I learnt in real-life scenarios. It really made a big difference.

Sure, they got their As. But so did I. And I would like to think that the all- rounded approach to studying benefited me more than mugging the TYS.

At least, after so many years since my exams, I still can comfortably answer most of the questions during the Chinese Challenge campaign at MRT stations.

Chen Wei Li is a third-year communication studies student at NTU.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.