Term 3 Week 4 (How to Raise a Global Kid)

What is the main argument Jim Rogers is trying to make in this article? Do you agree with his argument? Justify.

Jim Rogers is trying to argue that there is rapid globalization in the 21st century. Thus, the current generation must develop the younger generation to have a global perspective so that they can stay in touch with the world to ensure their survival. Asia has risen with superpowers such as China, which economy has increased exponentially, almost levelling America although the latter had a head start of about 20-30 years compared to the former. It is necessary to learn Mandarin so that the world can communicate with China and that the "debtors" – the rest of the world, would reap benefits from the "creditors" – Asia, as mentioned by Rogers. He sees that America is "so far utterly failing to produce a generation of global citizens", thus he settled in Singapore so that he would raise "global" kids. In the Rogers family’s five-bedroom bungalow, there is no TV. Instead, there are more than a dozen globes to look at and maps to ponder, a nanny and a maid who speak only Mandarin to the kids, bicycles to ride, and a new karaoke machine so the girls can learn Chinese songs. This shows that Rogers is very particular about his daughters learning a second language so that they can communicate with the world.

I totally agree with Rogers' argument. In December 2007, Rogers sold his mansion in New York City for about 16 million USD and moved to Singapore. Rogers claimed that he moved because now is a ground-breaking time for investment potential in Asian markets. Rogers's first daughter is now being tutored in Mandarin to prepare her for the future. He is quoted as saying: "If you were smart in 1807 you moved to London, if you were smart in 1907 you moved to New York City, and if you are smart in 2007 you move to Asia." China is beginning to overtake America in terms of wealth, military power etc. China has a lot of potential which can profit many businessmen, but one must first learn the language to be able to deal with the people there. That is why many foreign parents are learning Mandarin and also encouraging their kids to do the same. Singapore does have an advantage of bilingualism; however, most students are not cherishing this rare opportunity and instead are complaining.

The bilingual system was first introduced in 1966 by the government. English was the official language, while the mother tongue was the second. English was stressed as at that time, the Americans were the superpowers of the century, thus to improve the economy of Singapore, the citizens, many of those who spoke dialects, had to learn English. However, the once not-so-regarded-as-important Mandarin is currently being stressed, much more than English. This is because the growth of America is stagnating, but China is by leaps and bounds. Apart from bringing Singapore closer to China, the ability to speak Mandarin also reminds us of our ancestral background and that Chinese was once our main language. The 5000-year language teaches us the traditions, customs, beliefs and values that were forgotten when our great-grandfathers stepped into Singapore. The language actually benefits us economically, intellectually and culturally.

In conclusion, Singapore has an advantage, being both a cosmopolitan country and also geographically located between the East and the West. Thus, we should make use of the opportunity to learn Mandarin and effectively make use of it when we go to Mandarin-speaking countries. The whole world is picking up the language; with us being from that line of descendants, we should all the more be better than the foreigners. As we can see, there are some foreigners who are already more fluent and expressive than some Chinese. To not be left behind by the rocking wake of success that China has built, it is inevitable that all of us should master Mandarin.

Term 3 Week 3 (Education System)

(1) Comment on Janelle Lee's view on the education system in Singapore.

Singapore has seen tremendous growth from a third world to a first world country over the past 40 years since our independence. This is largely due to the fact that our education system has been efficient in nurturing out our present leaders based on meritocracy, which picks out the crim of the crop. However, Singapore's education has been one of the toughest and most rigid system compared with the other developed countries around the world. Despite the government's efforts and large expenditure to improve education, Singaporeans are still unhappy with it. Janelle's letter shows very clearly this fact. It has effectively expressed the unanimous view that all students and even teachers themselves would hold, that the education system does have its flaws.

Janelle stated in her first point that students were deprived of the ability to ask "Why?". Indeed, as we now live in the technological era, this ability is essentially important to us if we, especially the Generation Y and even Generation Z, are to survive in this fast-advancing society. No matter how developed the world is, we have just unearthed a small part of the vast universe. Asking "Why?" will certainly help to unveil even more mysteries, especially if innocent young children ask these questions. Sometimes, they may ask questions that even experts have not even thought of. Furthermore, these seemingly insensible questions such as "Why am I born on Earth?" or "Why are you my parents?" can possibly aid the human race to solve the mysteries of life in the future.

Currently, teachers will immediately stop us when we question a theory, formula etc. If we do not understand anything and are just forced to memorize, how then are we supposed to apply the formulas or theories in real-life situations when we start working? To solve the problem as mentioned in the earlier paragraph, schools should focus more on subjects such as Science or Socratic Questioning. Science is a wonder that has baffled scientists for years. Most of the science that we know today are mostly derived from people pondering about things, how they work and how they are formed. If we are not trained to ask "Why?", then there is a high chance that the field of science will stay stagnant for at least another generation, as there is hardly anyone able to contribute. Socratic Questioning is a fairly new subject where only a few schools teach this method of thinking. It helps us to explore complex ideas, to get to the truth of things, to open up issues and problems, to uncover assumptions, to analyze concepts, to distinguish what we know from what we don't know, and to follow out logical implications of thought. This can be very useful as reflection which provides both mental and emotional training.

Janelle then mentioned the problem of Civics and Moral Education (CME). In primary school, my Chinese teacher was also my CME teacher. The replacing of CME lessons for Chinese lessons in preparations for the then upcoming PSLE was all too familiar. I remembered that one and a half months before the actual examinations, I had no CME lessons at all. Although this helped my Chinese to get good grades, I felt that I had lost precious lessons training my character. It is undoubted that there must be a problem with the allocated time slots of the timetable, such that the teacher had not enough time to finish the Chinese lesson and had to eat up part of the CME lesson.

In conclusion, this letter has truly changed my view about the once-thought perfect education system, and also made me notice the inevitable flaws present. I hope for a change so that future batches will not have the same mindset as this teenager has, and that education will one day become the education that we all long for.

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(2) Is an ideal education possible? Explain.

The meaning of ideal is "conceived as constituting a standard of perfection or excellence". We have heard familiar phrases such as ideal place, ideal environment etc. However, there is a flip meaning to this word, which is "existing only in your imagination or as an idea; not likely to be real". This, in my opinion, tells me that an ideal education is not possible.


We are but humans, to err is our nature. No matter how intelligent man may be, he can never create something perfect. An ideal education must be able to provide an all-rounded curriculum to a student, at the same time ensuring that the student is not too stressed and time is managed properly. It would be like creating a Utopia, which is impossible given the current system we are having. The ideal education system depends on the effectiveness of both the teachers and the students; the education itself depends on the information, whether it is accurate and reliable. Given that the ideal education system is put into use, the students would be so packed with work that they have practically no time for relaxation or to pursue their talents. This might end up as a disadvantage which results in a failed attempt at perfecting education.


Thus, it is better to have education flawed, so that we can slowly improve it. However, there can never be a case where the education is perfect as people have different perspective and their idea of ideal will vary. The utilitarianism education is ultimately the best, where the ends justify the means, and there is happiness ensured among everyone for the greater good.

Term 3 Week 2 (The Religion of Water)

Water has been one of the three crucial elements living things have depended on since their existence, apart from air and food. Water has helped many great, ancient civilizations to flourish, such as the Egyptians along the Nile River; the Mayans along the Amazon River; the Indians along the Indus River; the Qing Dynasty along the Yellow River, and many others. Water was also used in Greek mythology for worship, the famous Poseidon, god of the sea, Aphrodite, Triton, Ceto etc. Water has also been the basis for the current technological era. Without it, none of these things would have been possible.

Over years, the demand for water has increased exponentially with the current population boost of the world. As we can see, many areas such as parts of Africa, India and the Middle East, where most of the third world countries are located, are suffering from water shortage as they cannot afford the cost. Although water bodies cover about 70% of the Earth's surface, but only 3% is drinkable. More than 1.1 billion percent of people do not have access to this 3% of clean water, according to a science research done at Cambridge University. The World Health Organization (WHO) is already trying to address this problem, but both the limited water supply and the need to sustain the poor has caused debates from countries whether water should be, like other items, bought, or treated as a necessity and given to people when needed.

Firstly, freshwater and groundwater are not enough to meet the daily requirements of the world. To solve this problem, scientists have made use of advances in technology to develop processes such as desalination and reverse osmosis to turn undrinkable water like seawater into drinkable water. NEWater is a good example of a local enterprise which recycles water. However, machines that do all the work cost a tremendous amount of money, thus the cost of water has been rising.

Water, in my opinion, should not be a commodity. Some people may argue that the current society is based on wealth. If one has no money to pay for the water bills, then it is just too bad for him. Besides, water is not abundant and cannot support so many, thus it would be better that some people do not receive water to save up for rainy days. However, I strongly disagree with this point. We are all humans, fellow comrades to each other. We should then treat each other equally. Is that not what the human rights are created for? This is quite a cruel and selfish mindset, to think only about one's self and not consider the plight of others.

There is a big difference between water being a commodity and it being a human right. If we take the former as a scenario, we would see many people unable to have access to water; but in the case of the latter, we would see everyone enjoying the use of water. Sadly, the supply of water is not infinite. It is a non-renewable source. But how are we going to sustain the entire world if our future is already at stake? One good solution is to start conserving water, be it for our daily needs or in factories. We should also try not to pollute water as this decreases the percentage of drinkable water.

In conclusion, water is Nature's gift to man for thousands of years. All human beings have the freedom to gain access to it, and thus it should not be a commodity. Money has become the religion of the century, and so has water. Who knows, other basic necessities might even follow up...

Term 3 Week 1 (Day-Off For Maids)

Veteran labour leader Halimah Yacob recently called for the legislation of weekly days off for maids working in Singapore. This has sparked off an intense debate amongst Singaporeans. In your opinion, should the giving of weekly days off be legislated in Singapore?

Post your 300 word response on your blog.

On Sunday, June 19, the Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports, and veteran labour leader Madam Halimah Yacob, speaking at a community sports festival at Singapore Polytechnic said that Singapore should consider making it compulsory for employers to give maids a rest day every week. This has sparked off a lot of debate from Singaporeans and even domestic maids themselves. However, the Government has called for an alternative, that is, adopting a more flexible approach of allowing households to work out a mutually agreed arrangement with their maids, and encouraging employers to grant their workers regular rest days. Accredited employment agencies use a standard employment contract for maids, which requires employers to stipulate the number of rest days each month. Should the maids agree to work on their rest day, employers are required to pay them an agreed amount of compensation.

Firstly, the term "Foreign Domestic Workers (FDWs)", more commonly known as maids, refers to a female employed in domestic service. A close word, slave, refers to a person who is the property of and wholly subject to another. Although both are different in terms of the way they are treated, many employers nowadays tend to have the misconception that they employ maids to be in their control and power, and thus treating them like slaves. In this modern era, slaves have disappeared from the face of the earth due to the increasing stress on humanity rights, and this term is only used figuratively. Thus, it would be a breach on these rights if employers continue to have this mindset. Furthermore, since the history of employing maids, it has always been mandatory for employers to give their maids at least one rest day per week. Unfortunately, this is getting more and more uncommon.

Secondly, if maids are not given weekly rest days, they will just be confined to one place, which is the house. Soon, they will either become sick and tired of facing the same chores, looking at the same furniture, and enduring the same nagging and reprimanding from their employers; or they will feel terribly homesick. The latter could even possibly lead to the maid running away from the employer. This would be undesirable for the employer as they would have to pay for the security bond that they signed with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), which means they would lose both money and a helper of their chores. Moreover, the salary of maids in Singapore is not the highest among all the countries in the world, which increases the chance that the maid might run to other countries such as Hong Kong or Taiwan if they do not like the environment here, and they would still get a higher pay.

Thirdly, the alternative that the Government proposed as mentioned earlier may not appeal to both employers and employees. The employers may not be willing to give their maids extra money, but still want them to provide their services on their rest days. The maids may also not want to forsake their rare freedom just for a little more money. Both parties would then disagree and may not reach a consensus in the end. Thus, the employers should give in to the maids' needs as they are so far away from their family and have already been slogging. Thus, the best way would be that the maid is given two choices: the first that they get a rest day without any pay, or they forgo their rest day to earn extra money. Either way, the maid will be contented, which is beneficial towards to both her physical and mental health. On those rest days when there is no one to do the household chores, the employer can then take over. Besides, it does not kill to just pick up a broom and pan to sweep the entire house free of dust and dirt for just one day.

In conclusion, maids should be given this privilege of having a so-called "weekly holiday". It is hoped that this can be made into a law, whereby employers will be punished accordingly if they do not follow it. This way, the maids can meet up with their friends, talk about old times and even make other new friends. The result is the maid enjoys herself and is rejuvenated enough to happily and confidently start a new week of chores. This will be much better than a grumpy maid. Her mood will be affected if this happens and in turn, affecting her work attitude. Thus, MOM should rectify any flaws in the plan in order not to offend the maids and also create a suitable and safe environment for them to labour.