Everyday, I have to wake up at 6.35am. For what? The same old thing. Go to school. Fortunately, my school is just a 15-minutes walk away. After school assembly, I will attend lectures. Lectures are really boring; I have to take down all the notes that the lecturers say. Recess is boring too as the canteen food lacks variety. Tutorial classes are worse; only the teachers do the talking. My hardworking teachers also help me to finish my tutorial questions by doing all on the board. At the end of the day, I only get to go home after 4.00pm.

That is junior college (jc) life. People say junior college is the quickest route to university in Singapore. Why am I complaining about junior college life when other of my friends in jcs go home later than I do (because they take more subjects)?

I should have taken the Polytechnic route. I should have realise that the poly route is more practical and hands on. That is what I like; to learn skills on my own and do projects, whether it is individual or group effort.

I scored pretty well for my O Levels exams, to earn me a place in an average jc near my home (which is Nanyang Junior College). The people that I know advice me to go jc, because of my good results and that my English is okay. I have to make a point to everyone reading this article that I only dislike the system, not my jc. I feel that Nanyang is a good college (far better than my secondary school), although the school facilities are in bad conditions which dont really bother me.

I have wasted a year, because I have learned nothing (not really, I will explain later). I hate rote learning and ten-year series. They discourage creative thinking. I am afraid that after two years of jc education my creativity will be dampened. I hate lectures; I learn nothing but 'shorthand' copying in all my lectures. Tutorial lessons are boring and non-interactive.

Actually, I have learned more about myself after choosing the jc route. I come to realise what I value (e.g. creativity, independence, health) and like (e.g. projects, self-learning). I enjoy learning new things/skills on my own; I remember borrowing a frontpage book from the national library to learn to create my own website when I was 14. I dont even have time for such things now..

12th October 03'

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