There is a running joke in my family that I HAVE to be the smartest among my siblings because I garnered the most A's in my lifetime. I started off in kindergarten itself where i scored 21 A's. How I got those many A's, I have no idea. Why there are so many A's to be obtained, eludes me. Maybe it was for something like good behaviour, finishing her biscuits during tea break (I was so fat when I was young, I couldnt wear the belt that came with my primary school uniform) or fallin asleep instantaneously during nap time.
What is the value of an A nowadays?
When I was in school, the smart ones aimed for 10A's. If you got 9A's it was a real big deal. If you got the full flush (as in 10A1's) it was a HUGE deal. Every state only had perhaps three to four students who will get the full flush. The examinations were hard. Passing was doable but getting an A1, was tough.
Now it seems like everyone is getting more than 10As in their exams. The record is, what, 17As?(That comes so close to beating my kindergarten record) What is the value of those As? Have the standard of the examinations gone downhill? Why is so easy to get those As? Have the younger generation now suddenly become smarter? Have the teachers become more dedicated and better at teaching the subjects? Or simply, have the examinations become much too easy?
Does the Education Department not notice that there is a SURGE of students obtaining a heap load of As? Have they investigated the reasons why its so easy to get A's nowadays? Have they included stupid subjects which are easy to score? If I remember correctly, while I was in school, there were compulsory subjects that one can take and the alternatives open to us were limited. English Literature, Accounts and Economics, Kesusasteraan dalam BM and a few others. Now I believe they have ridiculous subjects which I believe does nothing to help the student at all when she or he is in college. Seriously, even when I was in school, I thought Moral taught me nothing(now I KNOW it taught me nothing)though it helped improve my memory (much better than History).
So, the question that comes to my mind would be, why is everyone whining about not getting into universities?
Firstly, I believe how many A's you obtained in the SPM is no indication of how smart you are because most of the subjects are crap.
Secondly, with the amount of people with their truckload of A's, competition is tough.
Thirdly, the quota system applies.
I have to agree with what the Education Department says. You have to pepper your application with co-curricular activities. So what if you have 17A1s? or 15A1s? The girl with 9A's and an application which shows her to be active in both sports and other associations will definitely be more of an all rounder.
As a former athlete myself I have to say it takes more grit and determination to suceed in a sport than to be excellent academically. The disappointment you suffer from getting a B instead of an A after studying for 3 months nonstop pales in comparison to not being able to make it to the state competition after training 7 days a week for 3 months. To suceed in sports, one has to have physical AND mental strength.
So to those who didnt get into university eventhough you have SO many As and you were the Head Prefect (still academic requirement) and you were the President of the Chess Club(this is just sad) but you have no other "achievements" in sports or other activities such as Girl Guides, stop whining. You dont deserve a place in university. You were a book worm and you forgo other areas of your life which many have cultivated and worked hard at. This just teaches you to remember that in the real world, academic qualifications is not everything.
Being smart is does not buy you a free ticket to university. So, quit the whining. Its bugging me and wasting newspaper space in my favourite papers.
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