Tuesday, March 20, 2007
I think that UWC is the one missing the whole point of the debate. The S'pore education system DOES breed elitism. Although I agree with Safdar that the team's points were all over the place, I think that UWC will win simply because RI shot themselves in the foot so many times. They had no flow and contradicted themselves too many times.
However, as to the motion, it still stands. Our basic fundamental principle of meritocracy encourages the development of such classes. There is simply no denying this basic fact. Our system encourages us to aim for the top. And each one of us strives to reach the top. Of course by top I mean the best. Elitism does not just mean academically the best, though it is mainly under academic excellence(such is the education system here), but it also involves other areas such as sports and arts.
Under academic excellence, it cannot be denied that elitism exists. All academics strive to enter the better end schools such as the independent and autonomous schools. For example, if you were to get an aggregate of 270, would you want to enter a neighbourhood school when you can enter an independent school such as RI, RGS, HCI or even ACS(I)? Society itself has helped in the development of the elite class. For example, people feel that the independent school students are the smartest class. They are there BECAUSE they are smart and talented enough. IN fact they create their own social class. Even though it is said that the government spends more on the other groups, they are helpless at closing or even narrowing the gap. In fact, the very people in the government are from the elite class. Most of the ministers are FROM THE ELITE SOCIETY. Our PM was from Catholic high, a SAP sch, our President was from VS, an autonomous school, and the rest mostly from SJI and RI. It cannot be denied the fact that the elite have carved themselves a place at the top of the hierarchy.
Under the education system, schools strive to be the best by achieving top grades during the O and A'level exams. Even though the education ministry tried to insert other criterias to the grading scheme, it has backfired as schools now also try to incorporate other areas thereby DOMINATING the playing field. But the bottomline is, academic excellence is still the number 1 priority. In fact, the ministry's decision to allow RI,RGS,ACS(I) n other independent schools to bypass the O'levels mainly proves that the system is INDEED breeding elitism. however, their move has not rectified this issue.
There are many instances that these top students have been very condescending to the others. They often think that the are the cream of the crop and thus deserve the best. Unfortunately, they seem to be lacking in other areas such as humility. They should WAKE UP and realise that the competition they are facing is not just from our tiny country but against the giants not just from the region but the whole world. We should not be insulting each other but work together to face globalization head on and ensure that our tiny nation does not sink in the face of adversity and challenges.
Perhaps many do not see me as fit to write about such a controversial topic however I feel that I have experienced both sides. My school cannot be considered elite yet at the same time we are not a neighbourhood school due to our status as an autonomous school. Thus we are neither here nor there, neither elite nor neighbourhood. I have experienced the snobbishness and condescending speeches of some of the elite and at the same time watched as other neighbourhood schools aspire to move up the social hierarchy to at least be of equal status to my school.
I do not see this as a problem. It already exists. We must accept this fact and take it in our stride. Elitism will always exist and in fact it is a much better prospect for the elitists to adopt meritocracy as opposed to nepotism.
Nathaniel Iman sprouted nonsense at