Practice
Time for Social Studies
Practice
paper 1
Section A (Source-based Case Study)
Question
1 is compulsory for all candidates.
Study
the sources carefully, and then answer all the questions.
You may use any
of the sources to help you answer the question, in addition to those sources
you are told to use. In answering the questions, you should use your knowledge
of the topic to help you interpret and evaluate the sources.
b
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Study Source B
Why was this source published? Explain your answer.
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[6]
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c
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Study Sources C and D.
How different are Source C and Source D in their views
towards the Baby Bonus scheme? Explain your answer.
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[7]
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Does the Baby Bonus Scheme help to encourage Singaporeans
to give birth?
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BACKGROUND
INFORMATION:
The Singapore Baby
Bonus scheme was first introduced in April 2001 and improvements were made to
the scheme in August 2004. The purpose of the government introducing this
scheme was to support parents’ decision to have more children by helping ease
the financial costs of raising children. The government further reviewed the
scheme in August 2008 after obtaining various feedback with increased
benefits.
How
effective was the Baby Bonus Scheme in encouraging Singaporean couples to
give birth? Study the following sources to find out.
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Source B
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An extract of a posting by a Singaporean on
a local blog website, 2004.
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Please do not rush
to get another child just because of Baby Bonus. You Should only
have a
child when you can afford to have one. Do bear in mind that the Baby Bonus
can only help in a small way. There are other factors to consider when having
a child in
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Source C
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An extract of a blog posting by a
Singaporean, 2009.(+)
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In spite of these, the Baby Bonus Scheme does help settle the worries
of couples who find the financial burden of raising a child too heavy to
bear. These monetary rewards given out to parents can be used to subsidise the child’s
early years of education or medical needs. The bonus cannot be simply
thought of as encouragement using money but it helps to speed up the decision
of couples of whether to have a child. The scheme also provides subsidies
for childcare services. Thus, the Baby Bonus Scheme resolves the financial
worries of couples, increasing birth rates.
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Source D
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An extract of a blog posting by a
Singaporean lady on motherhood, 2009.
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Couples
who have not studied the Baby Bonus scheme may think the government is very
generous in giving out money. The fact is that it is a huge investment by the government, with
possibly with no increase in births.(-) The Baby Bonus is just to attract those who do
not understand the hardship and effort that is needed to raising a child. Comparing a few thousand dollars
of baby bonus that is used to help pay hospitalisation for childbirth, on
baby care at child care centres, etc, we will find that the care and
attention that a baby needs can nowhere be compared.
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Study Sources C and D.
How different are Source C and Source D in their views
towards the Baby Bonus scheme? Explain your answer.
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[7]
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Sources C and D differ in their views
towards the Baby bonus scheme considerably/ to a large extent. Source C supports the Baby Bonus scheme and
believes that it can help encourage couples to have more children BUT Source D does not support the baby bonus scheme and feels that it is not helpful in encouraging couples to have children.
Source C and D,however, are similar in stating that the BBS does subsidize the cost of raising a child. Source C states that the BBS can be used to "subsidize the child’s early years of education or medical needs." This means that the BBS can pay for part of a child's needs when growing up. Similarly, Source D states that "baby bonus that is used to help pay hospitalisation for childbirth, on baby care at child care centres" indicates that the BBS can be used to pay for part of the child rearing cost. Hence, Source C and D are similar in their view that BBS can be used to pay for part of the cost of raising a child.
Practice
Paper 2
1
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(a)
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Study Source A.
What does this
source tell you about the attitude towards having a family in
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[5]
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(b)
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Study Sources B and
C.
How similar are the
two sources? Explain your answer.
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[7]
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Possible Response
Both sources are similar is telling us that it is challenging to balance work and caring for one's children. Source B states that it is challenging to have children and work at the same time. I say so because Source B states that "Job too stressful? Quit." This means that once children arrive, one may find it difficult to cope with the present job and so that is why the writer is advocating quitting the job to achieve better balance. This indicates that it is difficult to balance work and caring for one's child. Likewise, Source C states that there is great difficulty in balancing work and rearing a child. Source B states that, "Where is there time to raise a child? " and " We see our friends who dump their kids in childcare centers or with a maid. They spend maybe one full day during the week with them." This means that working couples are unable to balance work and caring for their children because there is no time to do so and even when there is some time, it is insufficient as most of the time is spent at work and this indicates the inability to balance work and taking care of one's children.
Source B and C are different in the attitude towards having children with Source B having a positive attitude towards having children and Source C having a negative attitude. Source B states that no matter how difficult it may be adjust one's life to accommodate having children, the writer as a parent is willing to do so. Source B states " Even if we were not prepared for our baby boy, who is arriving in two months’ time, we will cope and adapt as each obstacle comes our way." This means that the writer is willing to overcome every challenge that comes along with having children. On the other hand, Source C has a negative attitude towards having children. Source C states " ‘We see our friends who dump their kids in childcare centre or with a maid. They spend maybe one full day during the week with them. It seems meaningless." This indicates that the parents in the source do not believe that having children is of any value especially if they will have trouble spending enough time with them. Hence, this indicates a rather negative attitude in having children.
Source B and C have a different purpose. The purpose of Source B is to influence young couples to have more children despite the challenges whereas the purpose of Source C is to influence the Singapore government that their current efforts to raise the population growth rate is not adequate and, hence, the government should improve upon its current policy beyond simply giving incentives.
Source B and C have a different purpose. The purpose of Source B is to influence young couples to have more children despite the challenges whereas the purpose of Source C is to influence the Singapore government that their current efforts to raise the population growth rate is not adequate and, hence, the government should improve upon its current policy beyond simply giving incentives.
Why
is there a slow population growth in Singapore
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION
Read this carefully.
It may help you to answer some of the questions.
The
government is concerned that if this trend continues, there will be some
serious problems related to the economy and even national security.
Study the
following sources to find out Singaporeans views on having children.
Source
A:
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A
comment by a young Singaporean, published in The Straits Times.
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The mere thought of
having to be responsible for another human being for the rest of my life is
enough to make me break out in cold sweat.
Am I too
self-centred? Maybe. But I’d rather be a self-centred single than a
self-centred mum. So I guess that is why marriage never came my way. Since
babies are not on my list of “must haves”, there is no pressing need to grab
a husband.
Give me the joys of
romance and companionship, but spare me the nitty-gritty stuff of marriage,
please. With the current job that I have and my lifestyle, I have no time and
energy for that.
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Source
B:
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Views expressed by a young
Singaporean civil servant - Forum Page, The Straits Times.
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Even if we were not prepared for our baby
boy, who is arriving in two months’ time, we will cope and adapt as each
obstacle comes our way. Home too small? Move back with parents. Money not
enough? Rent out our empty flat. Job too stressful? Quit. But I will never
quit having him. I refuse to fret over what I have to give up, or whether I
have enough money to give the baby the best.
I would like to
think that my parents’ generation did a fine job with child rearing and they
never strained so hard to think about how to do it. They just had them.
Now I am having
one, I intend to have more simply because the kid might get lonely. My
husband wants four. We’ll see.
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Source
C:
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Views expressed by a
Singaporean couple – New Paper, Singapore
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The husband
explained, ‘I’m in the office by
His wife added, ‘We
see our friends who dump their kids in childcare centres or with a maid. They
spend maybe one full day during the week with them. It seems meaningless.’
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