Lack of drive in Singaporean students a worry

[concern2]

Perhaps this is also relevant here:


“I would say the generation of the ‘50s and ‘60s took the plunge into politics without ever calculating the costs of the risk and the benefits to be gained. They were driven by ideology. Today’s generation has no culture and averse to taking political risk. Really, an interest in politics is very necessary for the future. But I cannot blame the present generations, because they see the heavy-handed response by the government to dissenting views, even though they know that these matters involve their daily lives.

So the result is that we have produced a younger generation who are meek and therefore very calculating. They are less independent-thinking and lack in initiative. It does not bode well for the emergence of future leaders in politics and business. Robots and computers can be programmed or if you like, can be trained. But the trouble, of course, is that computers lack soul and what we need in Singapore is soul. Because it is soul that makes society.”

--by the late Dr. Toh Chin Chye, In a rare public interview in 1997 Radio Corporation of Singapore

(source: http://theonlinecitizen.com/2012/02/dr-toh-chin-chye-one-of-the-architects-of-modern-singapore/)

I've always thought the political system has something to do with this. When something that matters our daily lives doesn't matter anymore, what else does matter? Have we been paralyzing ourselves?

[Daddy D]

http://www.tnp.sg/content/pampered-and-just-plain-lazy


\"...In the latest edition of NTU tri-weekly newspaper The Nanyang Chronicle, first-year communication student Goh Jiayi wrote a commentary about how the culture of over-reliance on maids has affected the ability of young Singaporeans to be independent. The 19-year-old Singaporean claimed she knows of friends who get their maids to go to their hostel rooms regularly...\"

:slapshead: :stupid:

[Lance G.0723 King]

I don’t think a lack of drive in students can be blamed on the government. All that is doing is once again externalising the reason and not having students take responsibility themselves. And I don’t think it is a parent’s job or a teacher’s job to motivate students, simply because they cannot do it. All any external person can ever do is influence the environmental variables like approval and reinforcement to create conditions where a students own internal motivation is likely to arise.

Rather than trying to motivate students we need to teach them how to motivate themselves. Self-motivation is a skill that anyone can learn but it needs to be taught and then reinforced by parents and teachers not doing it for students but demonstrating them how to do it for themselves.

[concern2]

Lance G. King:

Rather than trying to motivate students we need to teach them how to motivate themselves. Self-motivation is a skill that anyone can learn but it needs to be taught and then reinforced by parents and teachers not doing it for students but demonstrating them how to do it for themselves.

Lance G. King, you've brought up a very valid point. Question is, how many people actually do that compared to those who go straight into tuition when the grades slip/ hit low? When a child's grades slip, they are automatically put into supplementary class / tuition, and the streaming is such that it groups students with similar grades together, resulting in social stigma. How much time are our students given time to 'motivate themselves'? How much time do they really have on their own to do self reflection? What do parents/ teachers do when they spot their child/ a child day-dreaming with an opened text book in front of them? Do you think they will ask them what the child is thinking or to ask them to \"stop dreaming and get back to study?\"

I want to agree with you, but reality is that it isn't happening. There's a lot of pressure in our society, and the system does play a part. It takes lots of self-reflection, patience, questioning of policies and their impact in people/society, resilience, the willingness to question and a personal will to think different. Yet again, how many people have the luxury of time (and possibly money) to do that? The result for many is to just follow the herd or get trampled on. Just my take.

[kitty2]

concern2:

Lance G. King:

Rather than trying to motivate students we need to teach them how to motivate themselves. Self-motivation is a skill that anyone can learn but it needs to be taught and then reinforced by parents and teachers not doing it for students but demonstrating them how to do it for themselves.

Lance G. King, you've brought up a very valid point. Question is, how many people actually do that compared to those who go straight into tuition when the grades slip/ hit low? When a child's grades slip, they are automatically put into supplementary class / tuition, and the streaming is such that it groups students with similar grades together, resulting in social stigma. How much time are our students given time to 'motivate themselves'? How much time do they really have on their own to do self reflection? What do parents/ teachers do when they spot their child/ a child day-dreaming with an opened text book in front of them? Do you think they will ask them what the child is thinking or to ask them to \"stop dreaming and get back to study?\"

I want to agree with you, but reality is that it isn't happening. There's a lot of pressure in our society, and the system does play a part. It takes lots of self-reflection, patience, questioning of policies and their impact in people/society, resilience, the willingness to question and a personal will to think different. Yet again, how many people have the luxury of time (and possibly money) to do that? The result for many is to just follow the herd or get trampled on. Just my take.

:goodpost: Most of the time will stream into a lousy class with a lousy teacher!!!! :slapshead: :stupid:

[dragonflysg]

I would think the HR Directors would know better than CEOs about the employees’ drive. And really who are these CEOs, and their companies? MNCs? Mid sized firms? Cleaning services?

[verykiasu2010]

dragonflysg:

I would think the HR Directors would know better than CEOs about the employees' drive. And really who are these CEOs, and their companies? MNCs? Mid sized firms? Cleaning services?

Veolia is a global cleaning services company