Prestige Panic

Category: Education and teenage issues
Article: Ten-Year-Series Boom
From Straits Times 4/3/07

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Perhaps this Ten-Year-Series does not really apply to us RI students as we’re not taking the O-Levels, however, we still face the same sort of insecurity that others will when it comes to tests. I shall not be touching so much about the assessment books, but whether degrees will guarantee success in life.

Firstly, the assessment book hunt phenomenon. Are people just afraid to lose, or are their parents pushing them too hard, or are they just pushing themselves too hard? Everyone is afraid of losing, not just Singaporeans. Naturally we wish to do well, no one likes failing every test, and will hence put pressure on ourselves. But it is impossible for me to imagine doing two hundred pages of extra practice, when I cannot even complete the 3 paged supplementary exercises that out math teacher have for us. Some parents see their kids' results as trophies testifying to how well—or how poorly—they have raised them. It’s more about them than their kids. However, do results really matter that much?

Let us look at some real life examples: Bill Gates, the richest man on earth. He was a school drop out, yet he has more wealth than anyone on earth. My dad was a university graduate, yet he doesn’t even have a tenth of his fortune. 3 out of 10 of the world’s richest people, were school dropouts. So what argument do we have for that? Luck, diligence? Perhaps to some extent yes, but it still proves the point that results is not key to one’s future, and a degree does not guarantee success.

This makes me question, why go to school then? Knowledge some will say, an ideal answer. Wrong, we go to school so that we can make a living later on in life. Without doubt, results do make a difference when one searches for a job, but it is their life skills that puts them into the company. Nobody will know if you failed a math test on 28^th February 2007 or if you got full marks for an English anecdote test. But people will see if you got half a page of the teacher’s testimony or four pages of it. I think that piece will reflect better on one’s true working ability.

There was an article I read about Four A’s a few years back, talking about how Singaporean students are getting brilliant results, and more and more are getting four distinctions as compared to last time where there were only a few. However, despite the good results, the author states that the students nowadays are not able to take care of themselves, much less surviving in society, and schools have to do something about it. Well although I thought the article was rather biased, it had much truth in it.

Are schools really giving the students an all-rounded education? Or is it there just in name? Is CLE there to truly create leaders, or is it just for the sake of MOE?

(500 words)