thinking of....

thinking of....

is it safe/okay to yak about religion? jia give me pointers? you know both of us can get 'yoyos ' around the topic of religion.. haha..and would you add a tagboard and a desscprition on what current currants is all about. ya know the crap about.. writing commentary on personal insights on present society. both global and nation(s'pore) affairs and of course any philosophical crap that i sprout when i 'm filled with youth angst..hahah

thinking of....

the long length of paragraphs i have to type ..haha

starting...

i'm passionate abotu Singapore's furture which is greatly dependant on our current education system. only a good and all rounded education will bring about future good leader who are able to provide good governance.

this, therefore urges me to hope for a revamp in the current education system. on the whole, our education system may seem faultless, as there have been no major objections or protests from the citizens except for a few complaints on the rising stress level most students may experience. i, myself feel that stress is brought upon oneself if willed. thus the level of stress varies between individuals. moreover, a little stress sometimes may allow students to perform better.

on the other hand, what indeed contributes to this tremendous amount of stress? it leads to the conclusion that the various streaming components that the students are subjected to throughout their education in s;pore may actually be the core of the problem. streaming can also can be deemed unfair and unjust, or at the extreme: a replica of the indian caste system.

in s'pore, at the tender age of 9, primary 3 students are required to take a series of specially formulated tests to determine whether they are eligible for the 'GEP' programme. this programme known as the 'Gifted Education Programme', begs to differentiate between the 'gifted' and 'non-gifted' students. i wish to question this actions. how can the gifted/intelligent qutient of students be determined so easily at such a young age? is there really a need to set students apart from one another?

( this paragraph was originally about the EM1/2/3 system but sine it has been abolished. we shall not go further.. to 'forgive' and 'forget' as long one realises his/her mistake..)

Broaching on the difference between special and express students in secondary school. i feel that the only difference is the additional subject of higher mother tongue and personally i don't think this amounts to such a big issue. however this alone has raised issues such as preferences to 'special' stream students in 'better' and more prestigious schools. also in this 'better' and more prestigious schools it is assumed that more resources and educational opportunities are given to its students.

it is infuriating to know that there is a deprivation of the educational opportunities and facilities amongst students who are not in these schools. it is also on my part to feel unjust that there is a classification of "good" and "bad" schools. this eventually touches on the subject on the reason why one's education and future should be dependent on one grade such as PSLE (primary school leaving exam) or 'o' & 'A' levels. it is duly unfair to limit our education due to a grade and not by an overall or average grade. a yearning for knowledge must be satisfied and not brought down or dampened by a grade or any other acamdemic shortcomings.

lastly our government has been encouraging s'poreans to think out of the box and pursue their dream careers. there also have been campaigns promoting entrepreneurship. entrepreneurs cannot be nurtured; it depends hugely on the society and an environment's influence to shape an entrepreneur. however when the society only places importance in the amount of education you have undergone eg. PhD, BA. Hon. it is understandable why s'poreans stick to professional careers.

therefore, in order to allow our society and country not only to suceed acadmically, but in all sectors such as art and sports, it is important that we change our mindsets and look eyond the boundaries. only then, are we able to be reassured taht our country will be in good hands in the future to come.

sighs..aahs finally.. jia! add a tagboard and archives link. at the rate we are going we will definitely need one.. hehe. oh yah. you want to post pics of us???

thinking of....

s'pore's 5-day week measure.. have been doing chinese h/w and apparently laoshi wants us to write this long piece on the 5-day week maesure implemented by the govt. well i am going to blast off!

to be personal and frank, i seriously think this 5-day week thing is just going to agonise students further. by restricting the school activities to 5 days, it's like cramming a watermelon into a tiny bottle(okay, weird similie:) but really, we are already jampacked with activities from monday to saturday. by depriving us of one day, that only means that we will have even less time to complete them.instead of attaining its 'so called' goal of allowing students to have more personal and private time to pursue their interests and widen their horizons, it will only instill more than neccessary stress.

moreover, judging the current young generation in s'pore(yes, my generation) we are more likely to spend that 'so called' free time. either mugging, completing multitudes of work, having 'tuition' day or surfing the net and shopping. is that any thing near the 'pursuit of deeper knowledge outside school syllables'. i don't think so.

if one really has the deep interest and want for knowledge, one would pursue it no matter what obstacles. in s'pore's race to be a first world country, the government perhaps implemented a rigid education system and now finally realising it's mistakes.it's trying to salvage the system. gone are the days where the government wants more 'proffesionals' eg. doctors, lawyers. they have realised that s'pore has to thrive on creativity, originality, enterprise. how many more geniuses are in this world and is s'pore even in the league. they have realised that the product of this education system probably only results in people who can study. but can this people survive in the bullish society much later when they reach adulthood? if they can, are they actually fufilling their potential or does the potential still remain hidden?

programmes like the ip(integrated programme) works to improve this strict, rigid structure and perhaps liberate more young minds. our government probably realises their future successors can't be 'studyaholics' who only can "input" but not 'output'. this means they can regugitated information but can't analyse or think for them selves. formulate their own theories or improve on them. of course, they are still a minority that are able to do so, but so what about the rest of the population are they going to lead mindless, robotic lives? that's too harsh, i guess but i cannot guarantee their lives will be filled with self-fufilment.

of course, entrepreneurship, 'thinking out of the box' and even as we hear 'parliamentary camps' are being brought forward. but can this concepts be implemented into our society just like that? it can't be just plunked in the middle of nowhere and expect people to accept it after years of being in another fixated mindset. it has to be a gradual change, shifting the society's mindset isn't easy at all.

just a thought, can future leaders be nurtured?

i think not. leaders usually just sping up out of nowhere, you would realise. they just happen to appear at the opportunate time and place. take MM Lee for an example, it was his passion to bring s'pore to a better tomorrow. leaders are hard to come by, especially ones that are willingly to sacrifice a lifetime in buliding a nation. it takes alot of courage and passion and sadly,that cannot be instilled thus we can only hope amongst the lot seen as 'future leaders' there would be at least a few to rise up to this challenge.

looking on the other side,

you would realise that alot of people like to criticise the government's policies and doings(for eg. me! :P) but would i really have the guts and love for my country to stand up forward and try to bring change? it's easy for me to sit on this chair and type but when put in a position of decision-making for a nation's furture, would i even dare venture.. that's something to think about..

i'll post an essay i wrote on our education system a year ago, hopefully that will have a deeper insight into our fallacies in its structure.

p.s. jia, i have added you on admin. do your stuff, girl!

thinking of....

a currant flowing down the river currents? :)