Contrasting subjects: Chore or cinch?

The expanded junior college curriculum that kicked in last year required students to take a subject outside their specialisations. Was the change a good move?

Help students link contrasting subjects

MAKING a contrasting subject compulsory in the junior college curriculum broadens the minds of students.

The contrasting subject gives junior college students a chance to gain interdisciplinary perspectives.

For example, a physics student who has had the chance to analyse reasons surrounding the nuclear arms race, would better understand the need to prevent science from being abused.

However, policy-makers must ensure that students are not learning about the contrasting subject in a vacuum, and teachers should draw links between the contrasting subjects.

For instance, chemistry teachers who teach geography students can discuss how chemistry has shaped secondary industries - to help students to better understand a contrasting subject that appears otherwise isolated from their fields of study.

Schools must give students time, space and encouragement, even if their initial efforts at grasping the contrasting subject fail.

When students have appreciated how different fields of study relate, the intention of introducing a contrasting subject would be met.

Nicholas Sim, 21, is a business administration and law student at the National University of Singapore.

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Passion should drive education

PROPONENTS of multi-disciplinary education say making it compulsory for junior college students to take contrasting subjects is for their own good.

Is it?

By virtue of it being compulsory, they renege against the ideals of learning when students undertake subjects they are not passionate about.

Yes, there are success stories to discourage naysayers like me, but they hardly reflect the general population's experiences.

Many more students out there could be spending a lot of time delving into unfamiliar territory, navigating material they have no interest in.

So the majority choose the easier way out - science and arts students opt to take economics and mathematics respectively for their 'contrasting subject'.

These subjects are considered to be a more plausible option than say, literature or physics, for their perceived tougher linguistic and scientific pre-requisites.

So the initial purpose of making students explore other niches is not totally achieved.

I believe depth is more important than breadth and quality should be coveted, not quantity.

After all, being a master of one is better than having a paucity of knowledge in all.

Berton Lim, 19, is an incoming business administration undergraduate at NUS.

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Have subjects set up around a theme

IT'S time that the Education Ministry substantially broadened the school curriculum to expose students to a more holistic education.

The aim of education should be to create a 'renaissance' generation, rather than one narrowly confined to excel in a particular field.

Adaptability in the face of change and the pursuit of varied interests are qualities to be encouraged.

However, rather than making students take one contrasting subject or another which still limits their exposure to unfamiliar knowledge, how about requiring them take to inter-disciplinary modules constructed around a particular theme?

For example, a course such as 'The Global Citizen' could bring in aspects of philosophy, politics, sociology and economics.

This way, students will truly experience a 'contrasting' perspective, rather than end up once again taking the most familiar subjects they are confident of obtaining good grades for.

It seems to me that the scoring pitfall will continue to weigh heavily on students - and they have already enough on their plate without adding to their burden.

Abdullah Luqman, 23, is a third-year sociology major in the NUS Scholars Programme.

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Prepare students for change

I AM of the opinion that this is a great move on the part of the Government to shake up our education system and force students out of their comfort zones.

Sure, there will be moans and groans as students lament the seeming increase in their workload, but education has to move with the times, and I believe the Government has responded well to the realities of the demands from today's employers.

I topped my Theatre Studies cohort in my first year as an undergraduate, but before then, I had been a mediocre student, taking Science subjects for my O levels and then Commerce for my A levels.

I never had the opportunity to study theatre until NUS.

It was at NUS that for the first time in my life I actually enjoyed studying because of my passion for research in theatre and drama.

The university also requires us to read modules from other faculties, and I recall fondly my classes in Chaos Theory and Urban Design.

I'm glad to say I can still engage in a relatively informed discourse with physicists and architects, and those cross-faculty modules also made me certain I'm far better off staying in my current field of study.

So on top of exposing students to academic alternatives, the current changes for JCs will also prepare students for what they may face when they move on to university.

Edward Choy Keng Choong, 27, is a final-year NUS Master of Arts graduate student.

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Making room for late bloomers

I WISH the 'contrasting' subject policy had been offered when I was in junior college six years ago.

Back then, I took physics and double maths on my parents' wishes, only to find out later that I had absolutely no aptitude in mathematical subjects.

I had to slog for two years with twice the effort of my classmates to scrape out the As so demanded of us.

When I later enrolled in university, the uncertainty continued: I took a risk by making a 180-degree academic switch and majored in history instead.

Thankfully, I have since excelled in the humanities, but under the new system, I would not have had to go through so much turmoil.

This system will benefit late bloomers who are unsure about their true academic calling.

If they choose a subject combination they do not have an aptitude in, the 'contrasting' subject might just be their academic life-saver.

And with academics being a crucial determinant in the equation of our futures, the 'contrasting' subject policy will have far-reaching - and beneficial - consequences.

Eisen Teo, 22, is a second-year undergraduate pursuing a degree in History at NUS.