Boston Latin School
Boston Latin School is literally America's first public school in history. With its roots dating back to 1635, Boston Latin School is a six-year college preparatory school which provides a rigorous academic program in the classical tradition and which fosters the pursuit of excellence. Boston Latin School seeks to ground its students in a contemporary classical education as preparation for successful college studies, responsible and engaged citizenship, and a rewarding life. Recognizing the importance of the development of the whole person, the intellect, the body and the spirit. Boston Latin School combines the traditional with the modern.
We were all hyped to find out that we were able to visit a High School on our visit here as this was not in our itinerary initially. Upon entering the school, most of us immediately thought that we had entered a typical American school television scene. There were lockers in the hallways, students shuffling in and out of classrooms in between lessons and many more familiar sights. We met our two student tour guides, Paul and Natalia, who kindly brought us around the school and introduced the school to us.
#Fun Fact 1: The students at Boston Latin School have to learn Latin- it is one of their graduating requirements.
Reflections from our students:
Boston Latin School was a very enriching experience as it enabled us to immerse ourselves into the education system as well as American high school culture. We had always been impressed by many portrayals of American High Schools in popular culture such as films and fictional novels, hence this was a really entertaining visit. Boston Latin School shares certain parallels with Dunman High School such as the emphasis on academic excellence and a common goal to prepare the students for life learning before the students' graduation. One thing that really impressed us was how the school had a career specialist that helped students deal with future career challenges. However, many differences are also observed between the two schools. For example, Boston Latin School has a much more diverse student population as compared to Dunman high school, which is dominated by the Chinese. Also, students in Boston Latin are much more confident and vocal as well as enthusiastic in the classroom setting. General consensus also believed that the students in Boston Latin had a language advantage learning Latin (as well as other languages like Spanish and French), a foundation for many other languages. However, after reflection and discussion, the students understood that Singaporean students shared a similar advantage with our bilingual education. We were really thankful to our student guides for their warm hosting and active sharing. Overall, the trip to Boston Latin school was eye-opening and enlightening.
- Provided by Gladys and group
We were all hyped to find out that we were able to visit a High School on our visit here as this was not in our itinerary initially. Upon entering the school, most of us immediately thought that we had entered a typical American school television scene. There were lockers in the hallways, students shuffling in and out of classrooms in between lessons and many more familiar sights. We met our two student tour guides, Paul and Natalia, who kindly brought us around the school and introduced the school to us.
#Fun Fact 1: The students at Boston Latin School have to learn Latin- it is one of their graduating requirements.
Reflections from our students:
Boston Latin School was a very enriching experience as it enabled us to immerse ourselves into the education system as well as American high school culture. We had always been impressed by many portrayals of American High Schools in popular culture such as films and fictional novels, hence this was a really entertaining visit. Boston Latin School shares certain parallels with Dunman High School such as the emphasis on academic excellence and a common goal to prepare the students for life learning before the students' graduation. One thing that really impressed us was how the school had a career specialist that helped students deal with future career challenges. However, many differences are also observed between the two schools. For example, Boston Latin School has a much more diverse student population as compared to Dunman high school, which is dominated by the Chinese. Also, students in Boston Latin are much more confident and vocal as well as enthusiastic in the classroom setting. General consensus also believed that the students in Boston Latin had a language advantage learning Latin (as well as other languages like Spanish and French), a foundation for many other languages. However, after reflection and discussion, the students understood that Singaporean students shared a similar advantage with our bilingual education. We were really thankful to our student guides for their warm hosting and active sharing. Overall, the trip to Boston Latin school was eye-opening and enlightening.
- Provided by Gladys and group
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology is founded in 1861 in response to the increasing industralisation of the United States. The school is traditionally known for its research and education in the physical sciences and engineerng, and more recently in biology, economics, linguistics and management as well. We met our tour guide, who brought us around the school campus and told us several interesting facts about the school. We also found out that she was from Malaysia, our neighbouring country, and it was pretty cool meeting someone that is from a place close to where we live. The student tour guide brought us around the school and told us about their school culture and the school's mascot. Tim the Beaver is the official mascot of MIT as beavers are "nature's engineers" and are norcturnal animals. According to our guide, she said that students at MIT work best at night and thus they are somewhat "nocturnal".
The most memorable part of the school culture was the "hacking". The students at MIT often play annonymous pranks on the school without bein found out. Our guide even told us that "anything can be seen can be hacked". It is also rather interesting and amusing that the school does not pursue the hackings and does not hold anyone responsible. This allows students to push the boundries and express their creativity in various ways. Such a culture allows the students to be more innovative and also reduces stress in their school with all the cool tricks going around.
Reflections from our students:
Harvard and MIT both have rich cultures, dating back to their long history. Having a uniform culture across the campus, Harvard differs from MIT in that aspect due to that fact that MIT has a diverse and distinct culture across the campus. Also, Harvard places more emphasis their rich History, whereas MIT places more emphasis on the opportunities they provide for the students. Nevertheless, both MIT and Harvard place strong emphasis on experimentation and research and are always on the forefront of whatever they do. They have illustrious alumni who willingly contribute back to the school, which are also factors which contribute to the success of these universities today.
Fun fact #1: Harvard provides free ice cream while MIT provides free chocolate (which they can make in their chocolate lab as well!)
- Provided by Zhi Hui and group
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Museum (MIT Museum)
After touring the campus of MIT, we headed to the MIT musuem for a workshop on visualising sciences just down the street. The facilitator kickstarted the workshop by giving each of us an abalone shell. We were asked to observe the abalone shell that we had, carefully detailing its characteristics and unique features such as the shell shape,colour or even how many holes that the shell had. The shells were then mixed and we had to identify the very shell that we observed. In addition , we were given boxes of microscope slides containing bits of carbon nanotubes and even plant pieces (there was a slide containing cucumber ovaries ) to observe under the microscope .We certainly had lots of fun, even taking out a $2 singapore notes to observe under the microscope! The facilitator also introduced to us quantum dots which were light sensitive particles that are currently used in various fields such as medical imaging(to track proteins),solar energy and electronics and lighting.Through this simple workshop, it dawned upon us that sciences is definately more than just skin deep and we are able to gain a whole new perspective theough the lens of a microscope. After the workshop, we were given some time to look around the museum, which felt more like a very interesting science centre. Works of MIT students were displayed and we were able to tinker around these interactive exhibits. We could experiment with high speed photography,where a picture of a droplet of water splashing could be captured. We also got to see interesting inventions and experiements such as a pencil that could grow into a plant
Dialogue Session with Ex-Dumanians
After the enriching visit to MIT, we went for a hearty dinner along with some ex-Dunmanians, Benjamin, Joshua and Jia Ying, who are currently studying in Harvard University. As we were all bounded by the same experiences, past and present, it certainly did add another layer of familiarity in the meeting.
One advice that they shared with us was the importance of seizing as many opportunities as possible, be it competitions or extra research projects. It does not really matter whether we have achieve astounding results in these areas, but more importantly, it gives us the exposure and experience to help build our foundation in the future. Perhaps it Is the way our culture works - Singapore students often place too much focus on academic achievements, while ignoring the development of ourselves as individuals. The key in getting into Harvard, as summarised by Ben, is not stellar results, but rather, how much our personal story stands out. Every student who applies for Harvard will have that certain level of academic aptitude, so the only way to sieve out the capable ones is to see how much impact applicants can create on the society and peers. Therefore, it would do us good to zoom out a little occasionally and strike a better balance between academics and personal development, instead of delving headlong into the sole purpose to raising our grades.
Towards the end, we presented the 2014 year book to the three seniors, in appreciation of their willingness to take time off and visit us, despite their busy schedule. We are really glad that we were given this opportunity to feel some homely familiarity despite being so far away from home!
One advice that they shared with us was the importance of seizing as many opportunities as possible, be it competitions or extra research projects. It does not really matter whether we have achieve astounding results in these areas, but more importantly, it gives us the exposure and experience to help build our foundation in the future. Perhaps it Is the way our culture works - Singapore students often place too much focus on academic achievements, while ignoring the development of ourselves as individuals. The key in getting into Harvard, as summarised by Ben, is not stellar results, but rather, how much our personal story stands out. Every student who applies for Harvard will have that certain level of academic aptitude, so the only way to sieve out the capable ones is to see how much impact applicants can create on the society and peers. Therefore, it would do us good to zoom out a little occasionally and strike a better balance between academics and personal development, instead of delving headlong into the sole purpose to raising our grades.
Towards the end, we presented the 2014 year book to the three seniors, in appreciation of their willingness to take time off and visit us, despite their busy schedule. We are really glad that we were given this opportunity to feel some homely familiarity despite being so far away from home!