How Effective Is The Education System In Singapore In Preparing You For Your Working Life?

The education system in Singapore remains a bane to most local students and parents. Although it is lamented for its rigidity, it has been praised for its discipline and efficiency by other countries. In my opinion, Singapore's education system is effective in preparing us for our working life and it is constantly improving as the society progresses. Discipline and efficiency must be superimposed on today's knowledge-based economy and increasingly interlinked world. Singapore's education system is even a model for other countries to follow, it is undoubtedly among the best in the world.

Our education system is effective in imparting us the skills and knowledge to meet the needs of the economy. Hence, employers are given a guarantee of the level of skills and knowledge that their employees possess. Anyone that graduates from the education system in Singapore will certainly have skills that conform to a certain standard. The government has made primary school education compulsory, and any parent who does not enrol his or her child in a primary school will be heavily fined. As a result, every child will be literate and have a common set of knowledge as well as a platform to prepare them for their working life. The degree of economic viability will thus be better as every Singaporean is equipped with the necessary skills to let them survive in the competitive workforce.

Academic achievements are so common now that employers do not use them as a sole criterion for hiring their employees. Besides the pragmatic dimension of imparting knowledge and skills, the education system of Singapore encompasses moral and character education. As students, we are reminded of Singapore's history, future challenges and the world around us.

The use of technology is also evident in Singapore's education system. To keep up with the trends of our technological age, schools are promoting the use of information technology to teach and assess the students. Unlike our education system in the past, when students only studied textbooks and worksheets, our current education system focuses on providing the essential skills that we need, giving us a more holistic development. There is a vast array of co-curricular activities to choose from. This not only allows students to hone their skills, but also lets them develop more holistically as individuals. Co-curricular activities and other programmes help to maximise the leadership potential of students, at the same time instilling in them values of teamwork and respect.

Singapore's multi-ethnicity allows us to better interact with our counterparts of other races and understand their differences. In a way, we will have an edge over people from some countries as we will have firsthand background knowledge of people from other countries. When we grow up and embark on our journey as working adults, we will be able to work well with colleagues from other communities and be sensitive to their differences.

However, no system is completely without flaws. There is a large disparity between Singaporeans and foreign counterparts in terms of entrepreneurial spirit. Singaporean students are mostly too acquiescent and obedient, resulting in their reluctance to venture abroad due to insecurities and family ties. Furthermore, many of our students have a lack of communication skills and confidence, due to strong emphasis on rote-learning in previous years. The good news is that all this will change as Singapore's education system improves.

The problems plaguing our education system are currently being rectified. With each passing year, our students are educated to be more creative and entrepreneurial through inter-disciplinary projects and presentations. Schools are now aiming to cultivate students into more holistic individuals who are able to adapt to the needs of the global economy. However, parents must be receptive to this revamp and work in tandem with the education system. If our students are responsive to changes, our education system will be even more effective in preparing us for our working life.

Is Sport Given Too much Importance In Today's World?

Sport has been given the recognition unthought of a century or more ago. Countries have invested substantial amounts of money in sports, and famous sporting events such as the Olympic Games have seen countries go all out against one another for fame and recognition. We hear news about sports being broadcasted on television almost all the time. Even majestic buildings and structures have been built solely for the purpose of sports. Schools are also placing more emphasis on sports. In the past, our main objective as a student was to study and grow up to be a wealthy person, however, in our current society, sports talents earn tons of money even without a decent education! Is the importance attached to sport out of proportion to its value to us?

Nowadays, it is apparent that too much money is spent on sports. For example, famous footballers and golfers can earn more money than people who have high social status. Instead of placing so much emphasis on nurturing sports talents, the government should encourage people to have a job that contributes to the progress of the society. After all, what can sports achieve for a country besides glory and recognition?

Sports makes news headlines ahead of far more important matters. An example would be the football star David Beckham, who appears on the front pages of newspapers even for the most trivial of things. In my opinion, newspapers are talking more about sports than they should, due to the fact that a few pages are dedicated to sporting events alone. Surely there are more significant events happening in the world right now! What matters to us most is becoming aware of events that may impact us, not whether a soccer player scores a goal or not.

Sports takes the minds of many people off the serious matters in life. People who are obsessed with sport often go too far to show their support for a certain team or sportsman, to the extent that they name their children after them! In some cases, some parents even use that as a model for what their children will be when they grow up. I feel that the child should have the right to decide whether he or she wants to play sports or not, and not live as a mere shadow of a famous sportsman.

Furthermore, sports takes people away from home and also concerns of the home. Some parents do not spend valuable family time with their children just because they want to watch a soccer match. People who are so obsessed can even bet large amounts of money on sports illegally. We must get our priorities straight as our family is definitely more important to us than sports.

Some die-hard supporters or fans of a certain team or player may get carried away with emotions when things do not turn out the way they want to. This may result in fighting and violence, which has actually happened before. For example, a bus containing soccer players from a certain country was attacked on their journey to another country for the World Cup. Such fighting and violence may even result in deaths.

In my opinion, sports is given too much importance in today's world. It should only be used as a way for us to stay healthy, not as an obsession that deviates us from what is truly important in life, which is our loved ones. Sports should only be a passion for some, not something that tears apart relationships.

"The Lady Or The Tiger?" by Frank Stockton - My version of its ending

"The Lady Or The Tiger?" by Frank Stockton is a very unique short story. Why do I say so? Unlike most stories, "The Lady Or The Tiger" does not have a definite ending, hence, it is up to the reader to imagine an actual ending to the story. When I first came across this story, I found it very captivating, especially the climax. You can read this story by clicking here: http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/LadyTige.shtml

My version of the ending:
As soon as the door was opened, a loud growl pierced the silence and a paw shot out from the gloom. The young man let out a cry of shock and backed away from the door like a spring. The die was cast. His fate was sealed. He had chosen the way to his impending doom. All he could do now was to hold his own against the menacing creature. He did not expect the princess, the woman he so dearly loved, to betray his trust! Why? Why must she skill him? Mixed emotions of anguish and sorrow welled up in him. He felt as if his heart was being torn apart, piece by piece. However, he had an even greater problem to deal with.

The tiger began emerging slowly from the open door, its fur bathed in the warm sunlight, its claws sharp as razors, ready to rip apart the insides of its waiting prey. The young man recoiled in fear, as this was the most savage beast he had ever seen. He broke out into a cold sweat, constantly keeping his eyes locked on the beast before him. He could choose to fight the beast, or meet his maker. He preferred to die fighting.

As the tiger prowled around him, ready to pounce on him any moment, he readied himself to a fighting stance, wondering how his bare fists could match the beast's claws. How he wished this nightmare would end!

The princess could not bear to watch. The man whom she loved most, all the sweet memories of their moments together, would be gone in a minute. Had she done the right thing? Would her sweetheart understand? She tried to reassure herself by thinking that if she can never marry her lover, no one else would. Absolutely no one.

As the audience waited in bated breath, the tiger let out a menacing roar and pounced at the man. A handful from the audience winced, half expecting to see a gruesome mess of blood and flesh. From out of the blue, the tiger seemed to pause in mid-air and drop to the ground. The audience began to murmur among themselves. The murmuring inevitably turned into shrieks. What had happened? The king and the princess were at a loss for words! Such an incident had not happened in the entire history of this kingdom. The young man was both shocked, and relieved. Had this miracle not appeared, his life would be ended painfully. Taking no chances, he walked towards the tiger with immense caution. To his immense relief, it was dead. However, the cause of its death puzzled him. An arrow had pierced its throat. Blood stained its magnificent fur coat.

Everyone in the arena shifted their gaze towards the direction that the arrow had came from. Nobody could believe what they saw. Even the wise men were stumped. A tall, muscular man stood on a tall tower, wielding a longbow in one hand. It was apparent that he was a brilliant archer. Not even the country's finest marksmen could kill a moving tiger from such a great height!

The young man was baffled. Why had this incredible marksman saved his life? Still, he had to express his gratitude to his benefactor somehow.

Meanwhile, the king was furious, steam was literally coming out of his ears. He threw his crown on the ground and stomped on it like a child throwing a tantrum. "Kill that intruder at once! Do whatever it takes..." he muttered to his soldiers, constantly glaring at the figure on the tower. This nonsense had to end. How could this unknown archer have the audacity to ruin this event! He swore that he would not hesitate to torture the intruder with whatever he could think of.

Before the king's soldiers could arrest the man and the archer, a winged beast flew from above. While everyone in the arena froze in horror, the archer jumped on it and whistled. The winged creature was enormous, resembling an eagle, its wings spanning a third of the whole arena. No one expected something like this to happen. It was as if the world had turned upside down! As the creature flew towards the young man below, the archer beckoned him to hop on. The young man did not hesitate as this was his only hope of escape. After that amazing rescue, the winged creature flew far, far away.

The king let out a cry of anguish and pounded his fists madly on the table. He had only one word in his mind. It was none other than revenge...

"Who are you? Why did you save me?" the man asked, a myriad of questions occupied his mind. The archer pondered for a moment, before turning to him and removing his mask. As the archer replaced his mask with a green hood, the truth slowly came to light. "Can you guess now?" he smiled. The young man could hardly contain his excitement! He could find no way to express his emotions. The one who robbed the rich, and gave to the poor. The one who preserved justice, and fought evil. How could he not realise it? A legend was right before him. The young man replied in admiration,"Robin Hood..."

~The End - Hope you enjoyed it!~

Can A Country Preserve Its Culture Nowadays When Subject Continually To Outside Influences?

The world we now know has changed drastically compared to what it was like a century ago. Due to a rapid progress in technology, the world has shrunk. In the past, countries were wrapped up in themselves, determined to preserve their own cultures. However, nowadays, it is difficult for any culture not to be influenced due to the presence of television, air travel, the internet and the radio. Wherever we go, we are subject continually to outside influences, especially in Singapore, a multiracial country. Can a country still preserve its culture nowadays when subject continually to outside influences?

There is no way to keep the radio out of a country. It has been regarded as a common appliance in our daily lives. In a dynamic and modern society like Singapore, almost every household has a television. However, there are still some means of controlling which satellite transmissions the antennae can receive from. In Singapore, it is illegal to receive satellite transmissions from disallowed foreign satellites. Rather than to keep out foreign influences, the government does this to protect our local television companies. If everyone can gain access to other foreign channels, our local entertainment sector will cease to exist! However, in Malaysia, we can still access a generous number of dialect programmes.

There are advantages of being open to outside influences. We can learn from other countries and not be confined only to our culture. This helps to promote a greater understanding and appreciation of the diverse races and cultures around us, which is essential for a multiracial country like Singapore. In order to fully understand and embrace people of other races, we must interact with them. Another advantage is that countries which are not so developed can progress faster. Two examples are Japan and South Korea. Since the time that they have opened to western cultures, they have modernised rapidly and become economic giants in Asia. In spite of the invasion of foreign cultures, Japan and South Korea still preserve their traditional cultures. As English is a globally-used language, students from China, South Korea or Taiwan travel to countries such as the United States or Singapore to learn English. Why choose Singapore? The reason is that Singapore has a good education system, so foreign students can learn much faster here compared to studying in their own countries.

Unfortunately, the ability to preserve culture does not exist in all countries. Many of our local teenagers have absorbed the drugs and permissiveness of the west. It is indeed deplorable that people in countries like Japan and South Korea are so deep in their own cultures, while Singaporeans are overwhelmed by something foreign. Have you noticed that most Chinese teenagers in Singapore do not wear red during Chinese New Year? Many local teenagers do not respect their own cultures and traditions, so much so that the cultures that our ancestors have kept for generations may be forgotten.

Cultures do not keep alive by themselves. The government must take a stand, especially in Singapore. The optimum result will be to let western culture co-exist with our own. I believe that with determined government attitude and support from the people, our culture can be preserved.

IT Home Learning - Intrapersonal (c)

Diary entry of Jem

Dear Diary,

Have you ever wondered why things were the way they were, why life can be so unfair? Today, I witnessed the most terrible thing that can ever happen. Poor Tom Robinson was convicted even though Atticus had evidence to prove his innocence! This can't be right. You know it too, right? How could they send him to jail just because he is a Negro? I can't help being mad, I really can't believe it. I always thought that court-houses are places where justice is served, where everyone is equal. Tom Robinson was innocent, I'm sure everyone knew that! How could the adults lie? Maycomb is such an unfair place! As soon as I'm grown up, I will become a lawyer and make sure that everyone is treated equally! I will make sure that the coloured folks will never be discriminated again.

Even now I am still angry at the jury. Shouldn't the jury system be abolished? I mean, it's just so unfair! The idea of an innocent man getting convicted by many white men because of his skin colour makes me sick! I wonder how Tom Robinson is doing in jail. I heard that jail is a very scary place where people suffer and are beaten up! When I asked Atticus why they couldn't change the jury, he told me that it was incredibly hard. He also told me that there was nothing more sickening to him than a low-grade white man taking advantage of a Negro's ignorance. Can't we do anything at all to stop this injustice? As citizens of Maycomb, shouldn't we all work together and not hate each other? To me, it is ridiculous to judge a person by the colour of his skin. I'm sure Scout thinks this way too.

After seeing what the white folks have done to Tom Robinson, I finally understand why people despise each other even though folks are just folks. I finally understand why Boo Radley shuts himself in his house all the time. It's because he wants to stay inside.

IT Home Learning - Musical (b)

Poem on the Tom Robinson trial
The court-house of Maycomb was a battlefield
Of discrimination and justice,
Majority against the minority to see who would yield.

Raping a white was a serious crime
Of which poor Tom Robinson did not commit,
But he was still forced to serve his time.
In the end the battle was over
Negroes can never have their rights,
So the mockingbird went to meet its maker.
Only the white jury had the power to make the choice
No matter what the evidence was...

Tom Robinson was guilty.

Multiple Intelligence Test - About My Learning Profile

The Multiple Intelligence test is designed to find out a person's learning profile based on his scores in eight different areas: kinaesthetic, linguistic, logical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, musical, visual/spatial and naturalistic. Based on the Multiple Intelligence test, I am more of a musical and intrapersonal person.

In my opinion, the Multiple Intelligence test is not always accurate about someone's personality, as it only focuses on more general areas. However, it can give a general view of a person's learning style and profile. The Multiple Intelligence test can be very useful in the future as it allows teachers to understand the way students learn and facilitate their learning better.

Just one test is not sufficient to deduce a person's learning profile for his entire lifetime. As human beings, our mindset and characteristics may change as we progress on in life. As a result, the Multiple Intelligence test caters to different age groups and is not just taken once. What about the questions in the Multiple Intelligence test? Well, after taking the test, I find that some of them can be subjective or vague. However, questions are just words that cannot change themselves. Therefore, this does not mean that the Multiple Intelligence test is unreliable. The Multiple Intelligence test is used worldwide, not only in Singapore. As different people of different nationalities in different situations are asked the same questions, they will naturally have differing opinions about how the questions are phrased.

The eight areas in the Multiple Intelligence test can tell us a lot about a person, as they encompass not only our characteristics, but also our relationship with the surroundings. Although using scores to determine a person's learning profile may seem inaccurate as numbers cannot fully describe a person, it is only used as an efficient way to compare a person's learning profile with another person's. If words are used to describe a person in the Multiple Intelligence test, that beats the purpose of having eight different areas as it is not feasible to gauge how good one is at a certain area based on a simple description.

The Multiple Intelligence test should not be used by students as a limit to their abilities. For example, if you are a linguistic and logical person, you may think that you will not excel in the other different areas. I think that this is not true. As students, we should strive to learn and improve. It is natural for someone to have a low score in one of the areas, as we are not perfect. The Multiple Intelligence test is more suited for teachers to understand how their students learn.

I find that it is interesting to learn more about my personality through the Multiple Intelligence test, and I believe that it will prove to be a very useful test in the future.