Me Time!

[doodbug]

Liew Nga Wing\" post_id=\"2092184\" time=\"1671080945\" user_id=\"195250:[quote=\"Liew Nga Wing\" post_id=2092184 time=1671080945 user_id=195250]
Actually I am quite disappointed after joining this forum for 14 months. It is because I found most of the kids nowadays have no dreams and no aspirations.

When I was small, I and my classmates have lots of dreams. For me, I wanted to become a nurse so that I could take care patients in hospitals and I insisted to study Biology even I was not a science student. One of my classmates wanted to be a policeman to protect the life and property of people 除暴安良and he became a police inspectors now. The other one wanted to teach Bible in Africa and he became a priest. My brother in law wanted to defence Singapore 保家卫国 and he is now a army commander,...etc.

At that time, we were taught going to school was to equip ourselves to benefit the community and serve the country 造福人群，服务社会. Or we put it as \"What can we do for our society?\"

However, after reading most of the posts here, I only see most of their dreams are going to any top schools under IP/IB, or O/A level, going to top university and hope to find a job earning much with no tough working environment. Then able to afford buying a 5 room HDB or condominium and a car in Singapore. To me, the race in education system which is always been talking here actually is worrying how much resources (or money) kids are able to grab in future and whether they can have a middle class living standard. (自己的名和利）

What are their responsibilities to the community?

Many years ago, I have watched a TVB Drama and in the drama, a barrister told his subordinate who was disqualified as a solicitor because the subordinate wanted to open a cold case against a rich man whom was the main suspect - \" If your original objective is to uphold the judicial justice, then you won't be so desperate now..it is because you want to use this case to let everyone know you are a capable lawyer and become famous in this industry and therefore you are so desperate now.\"

So what I want to say here is, if the objective for our kids going to school and study hard is to equip well themselves to serve the community, they won't be under so great pressure during exams and they won't be sad and frustrated when the exam results are below their expectation. However, if the objective to study hard is only to grab most resources in the society so that one can enjoy a good/luxurious life in future, then one may be still under huge pressure with any type of education system.[/quote]

Hey, you somewhat uttered my sentiments! Over the years, much as I have benefitted from KSP forum, I too, find myself becoming increasingly sucked into a certain mindset of success and perhaps, \"silent desires\" of what I hope kids can achieve or pursue. Parents here are all well-meaning and want the best for their children. There are valid and strong reasons why many parents here for example, hope for their kids to be doctors. Simply because it guarantees a certain salary and standard of living even if one cruises along, once you are done with the tough training period - in a way no other professions do. The 4G is conscious of that, and of the wage premium that \"head\" jobs have over \"heart\" and \"hands\" jobs, in the words of DPM Lawrence Wong.

I have to consciously remind and teach myself, and my kids to, on how to manage disappointments, to be contented, to not be envious of others, to allow them to pursue meaningful pursuits that benefit society (and not necessarily themselves). As parents, we tend to read a lot into which school our kids are in, or which subjects they are reading, or if they get Edusave awards etc, and a lot of it is triggered by reminders on social media and forums. Maybe this is one reason I hope my kids will get to broaden their perspectives of pathways and success through overseas or alternative educational pathways. Having been in a local higher education institution for more than ten years, I have to say that students' mindsets towards grades and education carry over to university as well, given they have been in the Singapore schooling system for more than ten years.

Ultimately, we want our kids to be mentally healthy, and not grow up bitter or resentful or lost. And I am somewhat concerned, seeing the prevalence of mental health issues among our youths today.

[Estéema]

MrsKiasu\" post_id=\"2092161\" time=\"1671062423\" user_id=\"43981:

Yes I just read another 0.75 coming

Might be 0.25. Best expected is a 0.5 increase. If 0.75 then stock mkt will shoot thro the roof. Don’t think FED will let that happen.

[lee_yl]

Liew Nga Wing\" post_id=\"2092184\" time=\"1671080945\" user_id=\"195250:[quote=\"Liew Nga Wing\" post_id=2092184 time=1671080945 user_id=195250]
Actually I am quite disappointed after joining this forum for 14 months. It is because I found most of the kids nowadays have no dreams and no aspirations.

When I was small, I and my classmates have lots of dreams. For me, I wanted to become a nurse so that I could take care patients in hospitals and I insisted to study Biology even I was not a science student. One of my classmates wanted to be a policeman to protect the life and property of people 除暴安良and he became a police inspectors now. The other one wanted to teach Bible in Africa and he became a priest. My brother in law wanted to defence Singapore 保家卫国 and he is now a army commander,...etc.

At that time, we were taught going to school was to equip ourselves to benefit the community and serve the country 造福人群，服务社会. Or we put it as \"What can we do for our society?\"

However, after reading most of the posts here, I only see most of their dreams are going to any top schools under IP/IB, or O/A level, going to top university and hope to find a job earning much with no tough working environment. Then able to afford buying a 5 room HDB or condominium and a car in Singapore. To me, the race in education system which is always been talking here actually is worrying how much resources (or money) kids are able to grab in future and whether they can have a middle class living standard. (自己的名和利）

What are their responsibilities to the community?

Many years ago, I have watched a TVB Drama and in the drama, a barrister told his subordinate who was disqualified as a solicitor because the subordinate wanted to open a cold case against a rich man whom was the main suspect - \" If your original objective is to uphold the judicial justice, then you won't be so desperate now..it is because you want to use this case to let everyone know you are a capable lawyer and become famous in this industry and therefore you are so desperate now.\"

So what I want to say here is, if the objective for our kids going to school and study hard is to equip well themselves to serve the community, they won't be under so great pressure during exams and they won't be sad and frustrated when the exam results are below their expectation. However, if the objective to study hard is only to grab most resources in the society so that one can enjoy a good/luxurious life in future, then one may be still under huge pressure with any type of education system.[/quote]

If one’s aspiration is to be a nurse or policeman, I think it’s not that hard to achieve.

But if your kid inspires to be a solicitor or doctor from young but school results are less than ideal then what should you do? How do you help them to achieve their dreams? Good A level results open more doors for opportunities.

It’s not true our parents never stress the importance of exam results. I guess, just that they did it in their own ways, they would say, “you choose whether you want to sit in aircon-room and sign documents or go to sweep the roads.”

[doodbug]

Nowadays, getting a teaching job is not as straightforward as in the past. Many degree holders (with good honours, or even PhDs), have to serve one year as a trial teacher first to be assessed, before getting a place at NIE. And there are a good number of applicants who don’t get shortlisted for the "trial" period.

[Liew Nga Wing]

lee_yl\" post_id=\"2092188\" time=\"1671084566\" user_id=\"17023:

If one’s aspiration is to be a nurse or policeman, I think it’s not that hard to achieve.

But if your kid inspires to be a solicitor or doctor from young but school results are less than ideal then what should you do? How do you help them to achieve their dreams? Good A level results open more doors for opportunities.

It’s not true our parents never stress the importance of exam results. I guess, just that they did it in their own ways, they would say, “you choose whether you want to sit in aircon-room and sign documents or go to sweep the roads.”

Why the kids want to become a doctor? To save life and cure patients who are suffering from illness? Even they cannot become a doctor finally because of exam results, they still can become a physical therapist, a nurse or radiation therapist, etc any jobs related to the medical industries. The most important part is : their jobs in anyway are still helping the patients.

Same for solicitors, if you want to uphold the justice, there are many jobs in judicial industries helping the victims.

We should also respect those sweep the roads because without them, our roads will be dirty.

[sharonkhoo]

It all points to the importance of parents speaking into a child’s life. It is sad when kids don’t seem to have aspirations, but it is likely that they have been told that the only ones that matter are the ones their parents aspire for them. They may harbour secret dreams that they have learnt not to share. And you won’t hear about those aspirations here, because it’s the parents who post here! We can only hope that enough will start to think for themselves once they reach adulthood.


On the other hand, I see nothing wrong in wanting to help our kids get the best education they can, given their abilities, interests, our finances etc. As long as they put their talents to good use, there’s nothing wrong with aspiring to be a doctor, and equally, nothing shameful about being a cleaner (but I do think we should pay them more).

[zac's mum]

After being on this tour, my DS has added “tour guide” to his list of dream jobs. Get paid to talk, meet new people often, negotiate schedules, walk around many places, never confined to a single aircon office & staring at paperwork whole day on the seat.

[sharonkhoo]

zac's mum\" post_id=\"2092197\" time=\"1671090060\" user_id=\"53606:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=2092197 time=1671090060 user_id=53606]
After being on this tour, my DS has added “tour guide” to his list of dream jobs. Get paid to talk, meet new people often, negotiate schedules, walk around many places, never confined to a single aircon office & staring at paperwork whole day on the seat.[/quote]

Oh, that would be my 'nightmare' job! Talking all day, meeting new people, arranging stuff for them, moving around continually... Anyway, all this will help him understand himself. Even if he doesn't become a tour guide, there will be other jobs that have those elements. Like my younger girl, she's enjoying her current job because she gets to move around to visit companies, have meetings etc 2-3 times a week - not sitting at a desk all day, every day. My other girl and I shudder to think about doing a job like that!

[Liew Nga Wing]

zac's mum\" post_id=\"2092197\" time=\"1671090060\" user_id=\"53606:[quote=\"zac's mum\" post_id=2092197 time=1671090060 user_id=53606]
After being on this tour, my DS has added “tour guide” to his list of dream jobs. Get paid to talk, meet new people often, negotiate schedules, walk around many places, never confined to a single aircon office & staring at paperwork whole day on the seat.[/quote]

To be a good \"Tour Guide\", one must able to speak a few types of languages because one may be going different countries. Even one stay in Singapore, there are tourists to Singapore from all over the world.

[zac's mum]

slmkhoo\" post_id=\"2092199\" time=\"1671091548\" user_id=\"28674:

Oh, that would be my 'nightmare' job! Talking all day, meeting new people, arranging stuff for them, moving around continually... Anyway, all this will help him understand himself. Even if he doesn't become a tour guide, there will be other jobs that have those elements. Like my younger girl, she's enjoying her current job because she gets to move around to visit companies, have meetings etc 2-3 times a week - not sitting at a desk all day, every day. My other girl and I shudder to think about doing a job like that!

I have the same contrast from my child. Yes it’s good for them to explore more possibilities & consider what suits their strengths & personality best.