With the recent furore surrounding the latest ministerial pay hike, Miss Loi curiously asked some of her students for their thoughts on this issue.
Here are some of the deeply wide-ranging responses she had gotten:
“Huh?”
“Don’t care lah! I got a lot of tests to study lah!!!”
*Stares at Miss Loi intensely while seeking the ‘right’ reaction to this (trick?) question*
*Stares at Miss Loi blankly with bloodshot eyes* – probably due to last night’s EPL game
Miss Loi can hear some of you say “Hey c’mon! They’re just 15/16 year-old kids! What do you expect?! At this stage in their lives, their studies are the most important – everything else can wait.”
Nonethess, Miss Loi finds it a bit disturbing that such apathy appears widespread amongst the young generation. With our school syllabus still very much skewed towards academic performance at the moment, it is hardly surprising that students are living in their own world of school work/tests/exams/10-year-series/CCA points.
Miss Loi believes that one’s mindset, ideals and outlook in life are seeded through trials and tribulations experienced during one’s growing years. You only grow up once, so students, parents and teachers alike should grab this golden opportunity to recognize and maximize your potential and exposure. It will be sad if the majority of your ‘trials and tribulations’ in this period involves passing/failing exams, or managing to memorize that whole set of trigo formulas in one night.
So instead of complaining about Singaporeans not being street-smart, not having enough exposure, being poor in articulation, losing out to Foreign Talents etc. etc., Miss Loi humbly thinks that the main parties involved should start early and proactively look beyond the ‘your studies are the most important – everything else can wait’ tag line, and simply find the time to talk about things outside schoolwork as often as possible.
For students who have not yet done so, Miss Loi encourages you to take the initiative and start reading the newspapers (not just the sports section for football news) and other relevant media such as blogs, online forums and books to obtain a balanced view of things and learn to form your own opinions. Initiate discussions on anything you find interesting with your teachers, parents and friends when the opportunity arises. Maybe even start a blog like Miss Loi to express your views. It’s good to be talkative. Realize that your future may not exactly rest on your ability to memorize all those trigo formulas in one night.
For parents, instead of always asking things like:
“How’s schoolwork? How’s your test? This time your score higher than Mrs Tan’s son or not?”
Maybe you can try asking:
“Do you know that Singapore’s Ministers’ pay is going to increase by 33%? What do you think you can do to deserve a 33% increase in your pocket money?”
For teachers, erm …. Miss Loi assumes that they know what’s best for their students. Afterall, Miss Loi is just a private tutor … 🙂
P.S. Just found out that the 33% pay hike is only for the first year. Miss Loi sometimes also quite blur one 😛
7 Comments
曜
日
Not every teacher can be like you. Not every Mom can be like me. I tell my son, getting a certificate or degree is not important, becoming a better person and be useful to society is most important. Results is only to get you a good job, you dun need the marks to go to Heaven!
I think your students are mostly in top schools lah, wat u wan them to say? They are going to be the future elites, you are asking them to take a stone and drop on their toes.
Very important now for Singaporeans is... earn as much as you can, then move to some country where you cannot see these monkey wayangs.
Miss Loi, thanks so much for voting me Hottest Mommy Blogger! *Hugs*
曜
日
Wah ECL, you come in here with your baseball bat already?!! *scampers away*
On the contrary Miss Loi's students' schools are pretty much spread out. Got so-called 'elite' schools, neighbourhood schools and even private candidates.
But one thing stands out in many of Miss Loi's students - many of them have no idea what they want to do in the future. In their young words they lament on the 'very limited choices on offer' in Singapore. "Why must everyone either be an engineer, an accountant, a lawyer, a doctor etc.?"
This Miss Loi puts it down to a lack of exposure and access to quality information for our youths, which Miss Loi thinks is partly due to the preoccupation with academic results - and then later Singaporeans are accused of not being street-smart etc ... the cycle continues - which is the main point of this entry.
In any case, just take a look at what they apparently teach in social studies classes nowadays (scroll down to read some of the students' comments). You can see why Miss Loi is disturbed and concerned by all these.
Anyways how did you know Miss Loi voted for you? Miss Loi only know she voted for one 'Chio Aunty' ... don't be so thick skin lah!
#$%*! Rain again! Later sure traffic jam one!
曜
日
The seeds of dissent are planted young. Not caring is not the same as not knowing how to react. That's why we teach the kids when they are young, in the hope that when they grow up, they'll remember and act accordingly.
曜
日
Johnny,
May have missed your point here - Miss Loi reads your comment as:
"We should teach the kids what we deem as 'appropriate' reactions - whether or not they are consistent with their actual thoughts is of secondary importance, compared to the risk of revealing their true selves that may compromise their standings within the status quo."
曜
日
Johnny thinks it's odd to refer to yourself in the third person.
His point is, the kids do not have the necessary life experience to react.
But teach them anyway, you must, not in what to do, but what to believe and hold true, so when the time comes for them to act/react, they will then know how to.
He also thinks you're damn cute.
曜
日
Miss Loi thanks Johnny for doing likewise :), but yeah it's an odd habit Miss Loi developed since the early days of this blog which is initially meant for her students to read hence all the "Miss Loi says ..."
Ha! And Miss Loi thought Johnny was talking about 'political training' for our young lol!
In anycase Miss Loi is always in the opinion of teaching them the obvious right from wrong (i.e. don't steal/rob/kill/hurt/rape) but let them experience the rest for themselves - and give them little guiding nudges every now and then when they're lost.
Too many of us are over-protective - no chance for them to 'hit the wall' - hence Johnny says they do not have the necessary life experience to react. Many of us instead of teaching, give them instructions all the time, based on our perceived 'superior' knowledge and 'what we know best'. This makes the kids follow but at the same time don't really know what they are learning in the first place. This is akin to peer pressure from us.
We need to understand that kids also have a mind of their own - one that requires respect and doesn't have to agree with you all the time.
What's this??! Johnny likes Miss Loi's little avatar? Johnny seen Miss Loi before (can't be)?! Whatever it is, after her recent experience with the trolls (finally understood what they are), Miss Loi hopes Johnny doesn't mean this in a negative way.
曜
日
I am mostly harmless, but believe in playing devil's advocate every now and then even if it means doing something which is often openly perceived as evil.
I've not seen you before, though that can be arranged. I already have your number anyway. 8)