Reflective Journal 5

Reflective Journal 5: Reflect on education. You may choose reflect on the necessary priorities of education, how far the ideals and realities of education converge, how the problems discussed about education in US and China can be resolved. You should explicitly explain how class discussion on education in US and China have influenced/shaped your views.

Education is something that we all have to go through. We go through education to learn new skills and knowledge. Most of us know the importance of having a good education. We know that by getting a good degree, we can have a better chance of landing a much better job, which is good for our future. Our parent’s and teacher’s constant nagging to make us study and countless hours of tuition and remedial are all part and parcel of getting a good education and getting a better chance of having a good future.

However, not all of us appreciate it, with some of us even resenting it. I too sometimes resent the work and studying I have to do. I feel that what has caused this resentment towards education would be the stress and pressure some of us receive.  Education system here in Singapore also focuses largely on standardized tests to enter good schools like the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). This has caused us to study just to attain good grades at these tests and most of us resort of memorizing, which is the best way to get a good grade at an examination. All these rote memorization and dull learning style has really caused some of us, even I myself, to sometimes question why we even continue studying, as there are little or no practical skills thought or practiced. I sometimes do not even feel the motivation to do my work. However, we still have to do it as we all know it is for our future.

The truth is, having an ideal education system whereby everyone loves education is really impossible. Everyone wants to be able to pursue their interests, even in terms of education. They want independence in choosing the courses they go to. An ideal education system to me is also something that actually teaches us students actual life skills rather than just examination skills.  However, all these are not entirely feasible in the real world as in my opinion, not all students would be disciplined enough to do so. In an ideal education system, there is much emphasis on independent learning and choosing what you feel suits you the best. However, I feel that there are definitely students who lack the self-discipline and motivation to do so, choosing courses that are easily done, rather than those that really interest them. I feel that everyone is lazy, it is just how the individual overcomes the urge to be lazy that really differentiates those that work hard and those that do not. The system in Hwa Chong does emphasize a little on independence. We are given free choice of choosing our courses provided that we have good grades. Although the majority of us are able to do so, there are still a good number of us who still struggle with this system. This is because some of us are still lazy or do not see the point in studying, where in the end, we still need to sit for the A-levels if we get into the junior college, which is yet another standardized examination. Hence, an ideal education system is really difficult to be implemented as I believe everyone wants to lead an easy life.

Some people say that the Chinese education system is better, while others say that the western or American education system is better. In my opinion, both education system has its merits and I feel that having a good mix of elements from both education system would be the ideal one. For example, the Chinese education system emphasizes on discipline and hard work, and the American education system emphasizes more on creativity. If only these elements could be combined, then would there be a much more ideal education system. In this education system, students would have the creative mind to think of original ideas while being disciplined and focused on what they do, doing their best in whatever they do. These students in my opinion would grow up with the potential to help their countries economy. Hence, I feel that if both the Chinese and American education system wants to improve, they would have to try to introduce elements from the other education system.

In conclusion, the education system is not able to suit the liking of each individual. I feel that it is impossible for an education system to be able to suit the needs of each individual as everyone has different preferences. Some might prefer a structured system while others might want to be given independence. The most an education system could do in my opinion is to make suiting the needs of the country as its main priority, which is the case in most education system including the one I am currently experiencing, whereby the education system produces students based on the needs of the country. In the long run, the country and its people would be able to benefit from this education system, giving people a better life, which in my opinion is better than just satisfying a few individuals going through the education system.

(847 words)

Reflective Journal 4

Reflective Journal 4: Reflect on youth apathy. You may choose reflect on how far you deem yourself to be an apathetic youth by referring to examples from China, the United States and/or Singapore. 

Political youth apathy varies from different societies. For example, youths might be politically apathetic in one country while youths in another country might be less politically apathetic. In this post, I would be talking about the youth apathy in two societies; China and America. I would also be sharing my views on political apathy of youths in Singapore.

Firstly, let us look at the political youth apathy in China. In my opinion, the youths in China are apathetic about politics. Politics are seldom a subject of discussion be it in classrooms or in a normal conversation. I feel that them being apathetic about politics in their nation is due to a few reasons. I feel that one reason is due to the economic success of China. China has experienced economic success in the past decade and with this success, the focus of youths of the country would change. They would not want to be involved in politics as they are living a comfortable life, and they have become more materialistic. This generation of youths in China are nicknamed the “Me” generation. They do not feel that there is a need to be involved in politics as their lives are currently good. Furthermore, they are more self-centered, which I feel is due to the one-child policy whereby the attention of parents is focused on them only. They are showered with love and care and I feel that this led to them being self-centered. With them being more self-centered, they would only care about their own well-being, they would only care about what is happening to them, they would only care for their own rights. This led to them being politically apathetic as they do not see a need to have a change in the political scene. Another cause for political apathy in China would be of the Tiananmen Square Incident. At that time, the government actually used weapons that were meant to kill on civilians, which included youths when they tried to fight for a change in the political scene in China. This incident happened in the 1980s. Most of the youths involved in this incident are parents of the current youths in China. Knowing what their parents have gone through might have deterred them as they are afraid that if they tried to fight for a change in the political scene in China, the government, which runs by a one-party regime, would put down their protest yet again. Hence, I feel that this also led to the youths of China being politically apathetic.

Secondly, let us look at the political apathy of youths in America. In my opinion, I feel that the youths in America are rather involved in politics. This can clearly be seen from statistics. One example would be that of the number of youths who voted in the 2008 presidential elections. 23 million youths actually participated in the voting, a 3.4million increase from the 2004 presidential elections. This was also the highest number of youths who voted since 1978, which was the year whereby youths were first allowed to vote. The youth turnout was also high at 59%. However, apart from raw data, the involvement in politics of the youths in America can be attributed to societal problems the youths in America face currently. These societal problems include high unemployment rate amongst graduates, student loans and also medical issues. The economic downturn has made a large impact on the youths of America, and I feel that they have suffered the most from the economic downturn. They are the ones who would have a problem finding jobs after graduating. They are the ones who would lack the money to pay of student loans because of the problems caused by the economic downturn, such as high unemployment rates. They are the ones who have suffered the most from the economic downturn. I feel that with these sufferings, they would certainly want change. I believe that they would not want to suffer anymore. I feel that the hardships they face has resulted in them being much more involved in politics as they would want change. They would want to change the political scene so as to have a better life. Hence, I feel that the youths of America are rather involved in politics as they want change as they want to have a better life.

Lastly, I would like to talk about the political apathy of youths in Singapore.  In my opinion, I feel that we are rather apathetic about politics. We seldom talk about politics. Usual conversation topics include gaming and of course homework, but seldom would be start talking and discussing about politics. One example would be during the weekly level assembly we have. During one of the principal’s dialogue, we were discussing about politics in Singapore. Apart from the panel of speakers, whom I assume did some research beforehand, there were only a handful of us who knew about the issue. Only a few of us dared to speak up in the auditorium and I was of the many who just sat at our seat and kept quiet. One simple reason would be that we are currently living a comfortable life. We have all the things that can satisfy us, such as televisions, branded items. The stable economy in Singapore has brought us a comfortable living environment. Another reason I feel that has resulted in the apathy of youths in Singapore would be that of the party dominance of PAP. They are the ruling party of Singapore and throughout the past few decades, they have brought us stability in both society and economy. Singapore has not suffered as badly as other countries during the economic downturn and the government definitely has a part to play in this. Not to say that the PAP are the best, but they have shown us that they are able to maintain stability in the nation. And I believe that is why we do not see a need to have a change in the political scene in Singapore.  

In conclusion, the political apathy of youths in societies differs from one another and I feel that the reasons to them are simply the living standards they face. I personally feel that we should be involved in politics as by doing so, we would not only understand the policies of the government better, but we could also understand how we can look after the needs of the nation in the future.  This would really give us valuable knowledge which would be useful in the future, for example, in the area of people management. Hence, I feel that we should be involved in politics.

1109 words

Reflective Journal 3

Reflective Journal 3: Reflect on the changing roles of women. You may choose to consider how the changing roles of women in society made an impact on you by drawing on examples from China, the United States and/or Singapore.

The roles of women have definitely changed over the years. Be it in China, United States or even Singapore, the role of women has changed. The changing roles of women can be seen from a few aspects, but mainly through economic aspect and also social aspect.

Firstly, let us look at the changing roles of women in the economic sphere. In the past, women do not play hold important positions in the economic world. They are mostly confined to work as factory workers and being domestic helpers. Their job opportunities are limited and not as important as the ones men have, including positions like managers etc. However, the situation has changed. Women are starting to take on jobs in the business world, becoming managers and even setting up their own business. They are getting more job opportunities then before. It is also common to see women earning around the same income as men nowadays. One example of women holding important positions would be American Sheryl Kara Sandberg, who served as Facebook’s COO and second in command. She has helped Facebook grow and also helped monetize them. She also served as chief of staff for the U.S Treasury Department under President Bill Clinton and also managed Google's online global sales and operations as a vice president. In my opinion, this change of roles is due to the progress in education opportunities for women, which would lead me to my next point on social changes.

The role of women has also definitely changed in society. Let us first look at the changes of the role of women in terms of education levels. In the past, education of women or girls are often overlooked as parents prefer to send their sons to educate them as girls are seen as caregivers of the family and they tend to stay at home to look after the family whereas sons are seen as the main breadwinners of the family and are sent for education to get a better job opportunity. However, nowadays, it is not uncommon to see more girls to be sitting in the same classroom with boys listening to lectures and lessons given by teachers. Women nowadays are getting more and more opportunities to pursue education. Apart from education, role of women has also changed in terms of family roles. In the past, women are seen as the caregiver of the household. They tend to the wellbeing of each family member, cooking meals for them and washing their dirty clothing, while the man of the family would go out and earn an income for the family. Furthermore, women in the past do not have much say in making decisions in the household, with the male figure in the household taking up the responsibility. However, women now have a greater say in how things go in the family. They keep track of household expenses and earnings, and they also play a bigger part in decision making in the household. I feel that this is also because of women taking up jobs and earning an income for the family. I feel that women in the past do not feel that they have the rights to make decisions as it was the man who earns the money to keep the family going. Whereas the women now are earning an income too and hence, I feel that by earning an income like the man of the family, they have the right to take part in decision making. One prime example to this changing family role would obviously be my family. My mother works as a manager at a phone company and she also makes decisions in the family. In fact, I feel that she makes most of the decisions in the family and furthermore, she seems to have a better grasp of handling the cheque books in the family than my father.

In conclusion, I feel that the roles of women have changed from the past. Although these changing roles suggest that gender equality between men and women are slowly being achieved, however, I feel that gender equality has not been achieved in all three societies brought up. Women are still being stereotyped as the weaker gender and discriminations against women are still ever present in the three societies. Even though the role of women has changed, I feel that the mindsets of people still have not changed much. Furthermore, I feel that laws protecting women against discriminations, such as quotas, are actually instilling in people the perception that women are still the weaker gender, whereby they need more protection. Hence, I feel that even though the role of women has indeed changed from the past, gender equality cannot be reached unless women themselves strive to change the mindsets of others. Only by showing that they have the ability to do something, then would people start changing their mindset.

(811 words)

Reflective Journal 2

Reflective Journal 2: Reflect on the progress in American and Chinese societies. (Hints: You can explore the notion of progress, which society/elements you deem to be more progressive)

There are many ways to look at how much a certain country has progress. In my opinion, progress is when there is improvement in some aspect in a country which affects the standard of living of the population. It may come in the forms of political progress and economical progress. In this post, I would be discussing about the progress of American and Chinese societies through their participation in politics and also through education in both societies.

Firstly, I would be talking about political apathy in both societies. In America, people are getting much more engaged with politics, especially the youths who are taking the hardest impact. I feel that this is due to the failures of the current government to rid the nation of problems such as debts, which are haunting them now. I feel that Americans want change. The youths in particular are concerned of their future. They are afraid that they would go unemployed and that this would lead to them suffering for much of their lives. That is why they are taking an interest in politics. They are taking a interest in their lives. They want to have a person who can help change and solve the current situation they are in now, which is haunting them now. Personally, I would take an interest in politics as it concerns my future, which is the case of these Americans currently. However, in China, people are much more disengaged with politics and in particular are the youths in China. Through the interactions I had with Chinese students during my time in BSC, I realized that they do not talk much about politics. Instead, the normal discussion topic would be studies and also sports. They do not really care about the economic development of the nation. I realized that they do not really take an interest in the politics of the country. I feel that this is due to the economic progress China has. I feel that with a better economic situation in China, the people do not feel that there is a need to change anything currently. They are contented with what they are having now. They are enjoying life and benefitting from the economic success and progress of China. However, I feel that being disengaged with politics would result in the stagnation of the progress of the nation. They would be the leaders of the future and would take the reins of the country sooner or later. If they do not understand the politics in their country, I feel that they would not make a rather huge impact on the nation.

Secondly, I would be discussing about the education in both societies. In America, they are trying to change the education system. I feel that this is because they are failing to produce sufficient graduates in sciences and engineering. Math scores throughout America rank well below China. They want to change their education such that they are able to reproduce the same results the Chinese education system has produced. They want to replicate the diligence that China students have. They want to shift towards a more strict, disciplined teaching environment that math and science. I feel that with this, there would be progress in America. By looking at the education system of others, they are trying to improve. I feel that by striking a balance between the flexibility in their current system and the strict system in China, America could produce much more graduates. America could produce graduates with much more quality. And America could benefit from the change in education in the near future as these youths are the ones who would be the leaders of America in the near future. Meanwhile in China, they are not making much change to their current system. I think that they do not see the need to change the education system as the current system is producing good results. However, I feel that this would be a problem for China in the near future. In my opinion, if they continue to have this strict and rigid system, the students produce would be rigid and not flexible too. This would not be a good thing if the students want to travel abroad. I feel that these rigidness in their system, whereby there is emphasis on memorization, would prove costly as the students would not have an easy time to think of original and creative ideas. I feel that this would in turn stagnate the progress of China as the youths, who are the potential leaders of the country, would not be able to come up with new ways and ideas to help improve the country. Hence, stagnating the progress of China.

In conclusion, I feel that America is the more progressive of the two societies. The current situation they are in resulted in them wanting to change, which I feel would benefit the country in the near future, hence, giving them progress. Whereas I feel that progress in China would just stagnate. 

Reflective Journal 1

Cultural intelligence is very important if one wants to strive in other cultures. Cultural intelligence would come in handy when a person wants to interact with people from other cultures, be it in doing business or just making friends.

In class, a video on cultural intelligence was shown. It was a video on commercials made by HSBC, a bank. It showed some different practices in different cultures. It showed that if a person does not truly understand another person’s culture, there would most definitely be misunderstanding which might lead to undesired outcomes. The first question asked was what message the video was trying to give to viewers. To me, the video aims to tell viewers the importance of cultural intelligence, not only in doing business but also in daily get-along with other people of other cultural background. The video also wants to tell viewers that HSBC is a bank that is able to do business with anyone in any part of the world, regardless of culture, as it is the world’s local bank.

There were some discussions on cultural intelligence and a sharing of a classmate’s experience let to another topic for discussion, which was whether language could be a deciding factor to one’s cultural intelligence. I feel that language is important in communicating in that particular culture. Knowing their language would surely help in interactions between both parties. Knowing how to speak their language would surely enable better communication as a person can simply ask the other party about their culture straight away. This would surely help in getting a better relation with those of other cultural background. However, language is not really that important. It is impossible to know the language of so many different cultures. I feel that taking an interest in that particular culture and knowing what they practice and believe is important. Even without being able to speak their language, with an understanding of that particular culture, one would know the appropriate actions to take under different circumstances.  Hence, one does not need to truly understand the language of that culture to be able to get along well with the people of that culture, although it is rather useful to know how to speak that particular language as this aids in communication with the people of that culture.

At the end of the lesson, a classmate made his view on measuring a person’s cultural intelligence with a number. I agree with him that cultural intelligence could not be fully measured and quantified using a number. He also said that the best way to truly understand a person’s cultural intelligence is through observing that certain individual when he or she goes to a place of different culture and the action he or she would take to handle the situation. I do agree with him on that as people react differently under different circumstances. Every single person has their own unique way of handling a certain situation and there is no perfect way of handling a situation. I believe that every individual’s action and handling of situations is based on their personality. Some might be bold in their actions, while some might be more passive about it. Everyone would approach a situation with different ways. By observing a person when he handles a situation, the outcome would give us a better understanding of his cultural intelligence as different methods of approaching a situation would have different outcomes. Measuring a person’s cultural intelligence purely by numbers is not an accurate measure to his or her cultural intelligence. A person’s cultural intelligence cannot be simply quantified using a simple number. However, it can be a rough gauge of that particular individual’s cultural intelligence.

I feel that having cultural intelligence is really useful. With a good cultural intelligence, a person would be able to grasp the culture of others much easily. He or she would be much more aware of the believes and practices of the other culture. With this, I would be able to communicate with them better and by not doing something offensive in their culture, as most cultures have differing views on different matters. Furthermore, with a good cultural intelligence relations with people of other cultures could be fostered much more easily. In a rapidly globalizing world, interactions with people of other cultural backgrounds would be inevitable. People would go on overseas business trips, to discuss business deals with potential business partners who are from a different culture. Having a good CQ competency would definitely come in handy while doing business with other people and also help one in getting along with those people much more easily. With good cultural intelligence, one would know the appropriate actions to take when faced with different situations posed by different cultures.  Hence, cultural intelligence is indeed important.