monsters of the system.
The above is not really a question. More of a thought actually. I wonder if being in a chute-like education system has made me such a one. I hope not! But I catch myself being inflexible at times. Holding onto strange notions that if there's any way up and out in the world, 'knowledge' knowledge. Recently stumbled onto one of my fellow school mate's thoughts, a stout champion for education system as something toward excellence. Even meritocratic! No way loh.. education, no matter how you dress it up is not meritocratic. (in my opinion at least) Maybe I sound like another Jack Neo.. But really, education systems which are inflexible and only emphasize certain types of skills at the expense of others (like our own one)creates certain kinds of peolpe with certain mindsets. At times, good. But mostly, I think we have a train-rail mind -one track. Not only that, I catch myself thinking like an Mrt at times. Only thinking about where I will end up. Destination. destination. If I keep thinking like that, I'm just going to miss out on the journey itself- Focusing too much on where every step is going to get me.
This gets worse especially since I'm drawing near to graduation. It's not that I can't stand people giving me a worried "what are you going to do?", (yar, I don't like that) but more of how I catch myself being a tad pissed when I tell them a honest reply that "I don't know". I really don't have it all planned. Next 5, 10, 20 years of my life is not scribbled on some paper. It's a mystery as much as it is for anyone else. I think we should be sceptical of anyone who claims to know where they'll end up 5 years from now. But I realized I don't question that! How has that become some kind of unspoken virtue? To sound certain of one's goals when life is a complete mystery and we never where we'll end up the next day. (even possibly under a grave stone, not to be cynical) Maybe it is not a singapore thing, but maybe it's an Asian thing.. or maybe it's a global thing.. I don't know.
All I know is that, I don't really want to be stuck in this kind of mindset. I want to be free (if that is not too idealistic to our cycnical minds: thanks to all that tertiary level questionings)... I hope i never become one of those crazy parents hankering after their children to study or DIE. study-the only road to success..
Maybe the next time someone asks me what do I plan to be in the future, I should give them that as an answer. It will definitely not be any better or worse of than any other thinkable answer.
There
Nippy my comment got too long and I moved it over to a post. Haha!
http://springsunlight.blogspot.com/2006/02/my-thoughts-on-spore-education-system_03.html
Very meaningful response Sim! It's good to hear from someone with a different perspective! I do agree with you. perhaps, it is not so much the system, more of the way it is viewed. But the sad thing, I think is that somehow, there are strong mindsets generated by the system (especially we uni people) Maybe we have been inscribed in it so long, we can't break out of it. Most actually buy into that myth you talked abt. yes, most dread working. Fear, dread. Studying becomes a comfort zone.
Moreover, it is hard to get that mixture of views at uni level. Because it has been the same bunch of pple you have been with. It's scary. My friend actually says "yar yar.. it's always us top 25%etc"... same few faces. The system I think fails in that the various pple of various strengths get too seperated in various institutes. I feel that we may need a better mix. It is scary in NUS, everyone is of the same age, has taken similar paths. Think alike... where is the diversity in situations and thinking that is needed to generate creative interactions is lacking.
Another problem is that, streaming pple, makes it seem as if there is a natural path. I think you are brave and know want you want and hence are aware that there are choices (and you're making them). But I think most pple, myself included, do not know what we want yet and see education as soemthing to delay making a choice. Suddenly, we wake up (or not) to see ourselves already inscribed into a certain institute. It is all made so easy for us, we are barely aware that we are suppose to consciously choose. Many US universities makes it such that students take an active role in finding out what they'in for. Actively pursue a place thye want, a course they're interested in. They have cousellors to help them make choices. But here, it is all laid out somehow. we log on cllick a few buttons, we in. I think this is where the anxiety of alto of uni students come from. Finally, we have ot make our own choice!! And it's a big one! we don't want to screw it up!! Fear, Panic.
Hey sim, great post, we chould keep having such conversations!! Very meaningful!!
I agree that if we always hang out with the same crowd, we dwell in the same thinking! The other day I attended a talk on personal financial management by Money Mastery Asia. The speaker said that if you ever start a business, don't choose your friends as partners. The reasons are two-fold, 1. Sometimes a friendship is more valuable than a business - many business partners start as friends and end up as enemies, 2. Because most of your friends are just like you, same skills, same interests, same age group, same finances (i.e. poor). How to succeed in a business if we are all the same crows and are the same black?
This brings to mind about a Today article on how those 'ming xiao' like Raffles Institution don't want to start soccer as a competitive CCA because they didn't want their boys to mix with neighbourhood school students and get into fights. I think they are thinking too narrowly. It's much better to forge friendships with people from all walks because ultimately, everyone has something that someone else doesn't. Maybe smart students have the idea, but it's 'neighborhood' students who have the tough determination to carry it through. That's why I really admire Lydia and Tracy, cos they have all kinds of friends. And that's why big companies are great to work in, cos they have such a rojak of different people to meet and learn from.
Hmm I don't think I'm that brave! It just seemed like the logical choice to make for me at that time cos nothing in JC interested me. Same like the way you chose the university route, it's simply the most logical way to you, whether the choice was subconscious or not!
Even not choosing to decide is a choice. We are all making choices everyday. It's easier to complain about how bad things are, and harder to change your attitude to think that the situation is actually pretty good. Hehe I'm geting preach-y again. But I'm also still learning to be more positive and less angry a person.
Don't worry about messing up!Everyone keeps worrying about making moves they will regret later on, but I believe that there are no good or bad choices in lives; these are just different paths that allows us to learn different things. As long as we make choices that we are happy with, there shouldn't be regrets. Even if we get unhappy later on, choose to move on then, don't choose to stay!
Haha it looks like our comments are very lor soh..