Choice time is approaching! In our school, towards the end of grades 8 and 10 students have to commit to certain academic subjects for two years; and grade 11 and 12 are beginning or deep into the University process. Their choices will depend, of course on their aspirations, potential for growth, and preferences – but sometimes the choices do not feel easy to make.
What makes things really hard is that’s today’s environment is so different to that of even a few years ago. There’s a reason, for example, that some top companies are no longer asking for degrees for management entries (see here for example). It’s because they value skills as much as knowledge – and some traditional universities simply do not develop skills in their graduates. An HR professional I spoke with last week told me that her blue-chip bank did not even read the CVs from applicants from a particular elite university, preferring to go to ‘lower-status’ institutions where creativity, collaboration and critical thought were far more necessary. So it’s not where you go, anymore, but what you do there; obviously the knowledge and understanding you acquire (these remain critical) but increasingly importantly, the skills you learn.
None of this is to deny the importance of a good education; on the contrary, it allows us to refine and sharpen what we mean by a ‘good’ education. So here, it’s vital that we are informed if we are to give the right advice to our students and children. Often, non-educators only have their own experiences at school to draw on. This is very worrying, when you stop to think about it! We need to do more than draw on the world of 20 or 30 years ago and most schools have their own detailed services to parents, and here I’d like to offer a few pointers from previous blog postings that may be useful:
- How should I think about my long-term future? Jobs, Careers and Callings
- What’s the balance between doing what I love and going for top grades? What top Colleges are looking for (it may not be what you think).
- What subjects should I choose at School? Choosing what to Study and What leads to Success?
- What Course should I study at College? What to Study at College
Finally, it’s worth remembering the big picture that we build our careers (and more broadly, our lives) through our choices; we do not make the choices that somehow magically reveal the one true path that we have to follow. Perhaps even more than that, we live in times where can build and re-build our careers over many decades. That should be a liberating message; that of course we should think hard about our choices – but we should never kid ourselves that we are on a linear, one-dimensional track.
20 Responses
Hi Mr Alchin, I am Lumin Hew a grade 9 and I think the hardest course selection that I chose at the end of grade 8 was my arts selection. I had trouble deciding between what I enjoyed and what would help me maybe in the future. I think this school has prepared us for the future which we will be going into soon but the most significant is our awareness. This school has given me lots of awareness towards my surroundings, the people and the environment. I am able to reflect and learn more about myself and the world around me just by being self aware. A suggestion for blog post ideas is I would like to see a blog post on community and interconnection within our school. Thank you !, Lumin
Hi Mr. Alchin, I'm Izzy and I'm in 9th grade. I go to your school, and I'm commenting on your blog for Dpers.
"Choosing Your Future" is a good title for your blog. Anybody can read it and feel like it's meant for them. The images that have been chosen strengthen what you're talking about in your post. The infographic also adds some (realistic) humor! Your layout is very clear and well thought out. Hyperlinks are clear and neat. You have used your "bold" and "italics" in an efficient way. The questions at the end are for what students may ask you, and you have included links as answers. I really like that! Great job!
Hi Mr. Alchin,
My name is Rosie and I am a grade 9 student at your school.
The hardest thing for me to choose was my art course for my IGCSE, I enjoy so many different arts and it was hard to choose between fine art or food tech. Often I think it's hard to choose between what we want, what we're good at and what our parents think is best and I think that is one thing I really struggled with. I think UWC is doing a lot to prepare us for our future, we certainly are very lucky to go to school here! I think the five different aspects of the learning profile is doing the most to prepare us for the future because each one is teaching us a different set of skills that we may need later on. One thing I would love you to blog about would be what we can do now to prepare for later on, I think it would be really interesting!
Thanks,
Rosie Holt.
Hi Mr Alchin,
I'm a grade 9 student. In DPers we are answering these questions.
Which course selection was the hardest/most complex for you and WHY?
Definitely the arts selection, I had to choose between both D&T's and graphic design, both of which I like and am which I am good at, so I really had a tough time with that choice.
What about UWCSEA east is doing the most to prepare you for the future? What makes you think that?
I think the service aspect and learning about the environment will help by giving me an understanding of the real world.
Recommend one idea that you would love to see Mr. Alchin Blog about (and explain why).
Your views on competitive team sports versus competitive individual sports, as a competitive swimmer I would like to know what you think about the differences and the advantages and disadvantages of each one.
Thank you, Lumin for your comments. I know the choices are hard; but I think this is the reality of a world of opportunity where you have many possibilities. These issues will stay with you for your entire life; for myself, I would have loved to have been a mathematician, or a doctor or a coder. Alas, we have only one life. This is the tragedy of the human condition in world where competing goods are genuinely irreconcilable. Of course the arts, and literature and theatre in particular, are ways to 'experience' other possibilities too – but that's another topic 🙂
Hi Izzy
Yes, the title is important – funny that it can change radically the number of hits. Thinkign of a catchy title always causes me problems I am glad you found the post useful; thanks for your kind words and feedback.
Nick
Thanks Rosie; I am glad you feel prepared for teh future – we are all trying, but it is difficult, right? It's not like we *know* what's going to be in the future.
Your question "what we can do now to prepare for later on?" is actually an easy one. Throw yourself into the Learning Programme, work hard, read widely. Answering is easy; doing it is not! Over to you….
Dear Gus
Thanks for this. I will write something in next week or two about competitive sports. Not so much as a contrast to individual sports; but in it's own right. Some people see competition as not such a good thing – I beg to differ, and will explain why. But I do not see this as linked to individual sports…. which are also excellent (I run a bit, and would never give it up).
I shall have a think if these is any link here, and publish next week or week after. Thanks for your comment
Nick
Hi Mr.Alchin,
My name is Frederique and I am currently in grade 9.
When I was In grade 8 I had a hard time choosing between art and food technology because the were two things that I both enjoyed doing equally. In the end I chose to go forward with Food technology since it was a course that you could only take in IGCSE. I think that UWCSEA has chosen specific subjects that could aid us in the near future.I would love to see you blog about what certain subject choices(eg. Food science,art, design technology) can lead to in the future!
Hi Mr.Alchin,
My name is Frederique and I am currently in grade 9.
When I was In grade 8 I had a hard time choosing between art and food technology because the were two things that I both enjoyed doing equally. In the end I chose to go forward with Food technology since it was a course that you could only take in IGCSE. I think that UWCSEA has chosen specific subjects that could aid us in the near future.I would love to see you blog about what certain subject choices(eg. Food science,art, design technology) can lead to in the future!
Hi Mr Alchin! This is Beatrice, a grade 9 student. I feel like coordinated sciences is the most complex course selection for me because there is a lot of information for us to process and it takes a lot of understanding and concentration to be able to grasp the idea. UWCSEA East helps me prepare for a sustainable future because it provides me with the best education to help us in future experiences and university. I would most likely want a blog post about ways to study and stay active.
Dear Mr Alchin,
I'm Michael and Im currently in Grade9 . My hardest choice between subjects was in the humanities. I had trouble picking between Enterprise and Economics, seeing as I took a liking to both these subjects from what I have heard from other high schoolers and the course content. They were both new subjects only introduced in the high school and not middle school so I kind of let my parents choose for me since I would be willing to sit through 2 years of either subject. They chose Economics by the way and I'm having a blast! I really feel I am a very well balanced student with all the programs that are set and catered for us students. We have a very good academic sector which is combined with service and other activities to make us very well rounded.
Hi Mr. Alchin,
My name is Meghna and I am a grade 9 student. The hardest and most complex choice selection for me was the humanities selection. During our grade 7 and 8 course, I had liked most of the units that we studied and they were a mixture of all history, geography and economic units. I didn't really even consider enterprise as an option when I was choosing subjects for grade 9 because I didn't really know what it was. In the end, my subject selection was based on what I thought I would like the most and I guess what I would excel at the most.
I think what UWC has done to help us for the future is that it has provided and inflicted strong morals and messages onto us, especially the UWC mission. The mission in todays world is extremely relevant and we can go into the real world with an educated and open mindset on today's issues and problems.
I would love to see your opinions on current affairs and how they are relevant to us as UWC students.
Thanks,
Hi Mr. Alchin!
I am Anushka and I am a student in Grade 9. I think that for me, choosing the arts subject, was the most difficult. I was having a hard time choosing between doing something I love, or something new. Most people wanted me to do something new, but I really wanted to continue with music. I think that students really need to follow what they think is right, and not follow the expectations that others set for them. I also believe that UWCSEA has the right idea, when it gives us 1 humanity and 1 art to choose as your subject…at least in IGCSE. I think that by doing this, UWCSEA is making sure that when students are getting ready to choose their careers and college subjects, they are not held back in any way. I would really like to see you post something about your own experience when it came to choosing subjects and how you overcame obstacles.
Sincerely Anushka.
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Hi Frederique
Thanks for the comments. I am not sure I can really answer what the subjects may lead to – as I think in fact any subject can lead anywhere. The thing is to look at what skills you take from each subject – and in fact, you can get much the same skills from most subjects. AT GCSE levels, the actual content does not count for much. I hope that is a liberating thought! It means you can enjoy each subject and not worry too much.
Nick
Thanks Beatrice. Yes, Co-Sci has a lot of detail in it – but actually, as it is compulsory, you do not need to understand it all now, but can simply enjoy it and make sense of it over grades 9 and 10. When you look back from G11 or 12, it will all look much simpler to you 🙂
Nick
Thanks Michael. I do sympathise – there are so many great courses; and actually I am sure you would have enjoyed Enterprise, History, Geography too. So that is a message for grade 8 -do not worry too much – it;s all likely to be very good!
I am really glad you are enjoying so much. Student feedback suggests it gets better and better in G10, 11 12 – so the best is yet to come!
Nick
Great to hear that things are going so well Meghna. Your question about current affairs and how they relate to UWC students is a very good one; and one that I think about a lot. I do not always write directly on it, because we are not in the business of indoctrination – we should tell you *how* to think and not*what* to think. But since you ask, take a look at these:
http://nickalchinuwcsea.blogspot.sg/2015/09/migrants-compassion-sentimentality.html
http://nickalchinuwcsea.blogspot.sg/2015/08/on-passing-of-mr-lee-kuan-yew.html
http://nickalchinuwcsea.blogspot.sg/2016/08/the-price-of-privilege-which-is-paid-by.html
These are based on current events. Hope you enjoy!
Nick
Thanks Anushka for this. I think you would not find my own choice vey interesting. I made what I know see as very narrow A-level – I did Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry. Honestly, it was only in my second or third year at University that I came across many of the ideas that I still find fascinating, and that we now cover in TOK in grades 11 and 12. Education has come a long, long way in the last few decades. 🙂
Nick