I got back my grade for essay #2! And it's an A-! I'm kinda proud of that cos' I spent a lot of time on that essay.
So, without further ado, here's essay #2!
Question:
Tan (2003, p. 53) claims that “it is by no means the case that policy implementation and outcomes are unproblematic and uncontroversial.”
Choose any two of the Desired Outcomes of Education for the secondary school or junior college levels.
What problems and controversies do you see as schools attempt to attain these two Desired Outcomes?
The desired outcomes of education were articulated with the sole aim of providing our students with a holistic education. It is then opportune to examine the meaning of a holistic education before moving on to the problems and controversies in the implementation of these policies. Ron Miller has shared that ‘a person with a holistic education finds identity and a purpose in life, through connections to the community and spiritual values such as compassion and peace.’ Such a person would have developed ‘a passionate love for learning’.
One of the desired outcomes, which junior college students should possess, is to strive for excellence. In my opinion, the recent introduction of the Integrated Programme (IP) and Direct School Admissions (DSA) has further intensified the drive for academic excellence. Majority of our students are not blessed with natural abilities or talents. Hence, in order for them to clinch a place in any junior colleges offering the IP, this would require them to perform exceptionally well in the O levels. However, the competition to doing well does not stop here. The competition continues through their A Levels where they compete for places in renowned overseas universities or faculties in our local universities. Would not such competition misplace the meaning of holistic education, the joys of passionate learning? In our pragmatic society where we even employ the system of meritocracy in the public sector employment, students associate academic excellence with security for their future survival. This may result in students developing an individualistic and myopic outlook of life, where they equate success narrowly with academic excellence. While it is important for a junior college student to excel in one’s studies, a holistic education makes it imperative for him/her to strive for the non-academic excellence such as discovering one’s purpose in life through appreciation of one’s gifts and talents, as well as development of one’s character.
Understanding what it takes to lead Singapore is the other desired outcome of education for Junior College students. As future leaders of Singapore, it is necessary for students to have a deep-rooted sense of belonging to our state. However, planting deep roots into Singapore may be an increasingly difficult task, especially when globalization bodes more promising opportunities in other parts of the world. With the recent introduction of the IP, the top students are provided with immense opportunities to expand their intellectual minds. In the longer term, it is highly probable that these students may be nurtured to take on national leadership. Although it may seem presumptuous, it will be interesting to observe if these elite students would take advantage of the irresistible prospects outside of Singapore. As Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has acknowledged that Confucian values are now obsolete, one cannot deny that pragmatism has already evolved into our society today. The worrying issue is, will pragmatism subsume the minds of our future leaders? Will their Singaporean roots be uprooted to other soils? Will they place greater value on individual survival compared to national survival? A holistic education should endow these elite students with the values of filial piety so that they will yin shui si yuan – remembering the source when drinking water. Understanding what it takes to lead Singapore requires these elites to contribute their talents to the greater growth of the less privileged counterparts and to Singapore, our homeland.
