My Views about SEX!!

Yupz, today I'm going to talk about the most popular topic among all youngsters in Singapore. The newspaper (Weekend Today) has already reported about the "Swinger's Club" being in action for quite a long time already. So I guess...



Nevermind...



Hmmm... Did that work? It seems as though people would want to read more about such things rather than other "more serious" stuffs. I wonder now how many people wil hit the X button in the top right corner or that red button (for Mac users... I think I must be a Windows freak because Mac drives me crazy the couple of times I got to use it)

Actually, What I really want to talk about is...

Singapore's Education System and The Child's Development

WAIT!!! Before you really hit the downward pointing arrow button or the X button, let's think about this; when you were in Secondary School, do you know what you want to work as when you hit 25 or 26 years old? Did you choose your subjects based on your career path? Do you know the route to your dream career, i.e. which subjects you should take in order to get to where you want to be.

If the answer to any of the above questions is "No", then you might want to consider reading on. It is probably time to plan how you are going to get your child to know what he/she wants to be when he/she grows up.

Most of the students here will succumb to either parental or peer pressure or "I-have-no-choice-my-results-sux-that's-why-I-had-to-choose-this-subject-combi" syndrome when they reach a certain fork in their education years, simply because they have no idea of what they themselves want. And oh! By the way, Singapore’s education system is basically 8-11 years; anymore than that, you would have already wasted years backtracking. At the 8th year is the sec 2 streaming which will affect your route in sec 4. And the 10th and 11th year are the ‘N’ or ‘O’ levels which will definitely affect what you’ll be.

Do I need to explain further? Hmmm... Lemme think...

Parental Pressure: Personally, I've been a good little tyke when I was younger. Whatever my parents wanted, I would try and do it for them. My choice of secondary school was actually Temasek Secondary but my parents wanted me to go to this weird school called “Sheng Gong Hui” which is actually Anglican High. Being the ignorant kid who knows more Transformers by their first names rather than names of boring Schools, I told them it would be no problem at all. Being first in my P6 EM2 class, I supposed I had no problems going into any school I wanted. In the end, I did not disappoint them.

“Huh? You say what’s so bad about this ‘Parental Pressure’? It’s a SAP school you moron! Temasek Sec can’t even compare with it!”

Well, the thing is, I’m still single… While I’ve realized that many of my pretty gal friends hail from that secondary school! NOoooooooooooooo~~!! This is one thing that this ‘parental pressure’ can do.

Peer Pressure: I’m sure at least some of you people have already known this scenario where you wanna take a biology combination while ALL your other buddies want to take the physics route. Then not wanting to be left out, you signed up for the physics course and ended up flunking all the physics papers and dropping it in the next year and got left out all the same again. Ha ha ha.

I believe many of my friends now regret that they have chosen the poly route in secondary school because all they get out of it is a mere diploma. And let’s face it, using a diploma cert to enter a local University is not as easy as it seems no matter what the gahmen says. And for my line of work, teaching, having a degree commands more pay than just a mere diploma although we do the same job, and when the going gets REALLY tough, sometimes it is just that bit more pay that keeps you motivated.

I suppose the last one is certainly self explanatory. "I-have-no-choice-my-results-sux-that's-why-I-had-to-choose-this-subject-combi” is something most of us will surely face at one time or another. You take the brochure from the polytechnic, open it, and at some point of time you will start looking at the L1R4 score rather than the name of the course itself. You make a list of the courses you are eligible for, and then you choose the course that you like-best or hate-least. Well, I’m sure if we have something we yearn to work for; we would have studied harder and avoided this sort of pitfall.

I’m sure some of us have ended up in jobs that we do not like because we hold a marketing degree when our interests are in arts. Or wasted years re-studying another diploma / degree so you can finally work in your dream job. I don’t know about you people, but personally, I would not want my child or the kids I teach next time to end up like some of the teenagers I know; lost.

Then again, some might say that it is a bit too early to ask the child what they want to be when they grow up at the age of 11 or 12 (P5 or P6). But the education system IS like that, and it is not only Singapore’s, many other countries have these sorts of problem as well. Parents should therefore, play a big role in monitoring, and not outright “influencing”, the child’s education pathway and also to provide information about “how-to-get-there,” especially at the 8th to 11th year.

No matter how rebellious they are at sec 1 or 2, I’m sure asking incidentally over the dinner table in a very friendly and off-hand tone will illicit some useful answers from the kid. Personally I would not attempt to stifle my child’s thoughts about what he/she wants to be, unless it’s really something bad. If the child really wants to be something that you object, don’t bring down the building by shouting, “IF YOU DO THAT I’ M GOING TO DISOWN YOU!!!”

Instead, try the strategy of “factual repulsion” (or whatever it is); by saying, “No I don’t allow this!” the child’s rebellious hormones kick in, and the first thing that comes to his/her mind is to burn enough rocks so that molten lava will spew from the head by using pure anger. The staring-down contest might be next, and the building might shake like the tremors felt from recent earthquakes due to the enormous buildup of power, causing everyone to evacuate the HDB flat.

How about saying something like, “Dear, it’s a job that will encounter lots of blood you know? Don’t you hate blood?” it might be something the kid overlooked, but knowing and saying factual negative points MIGHT just dissuade the child even if at that point of time he might be angry for the negative response you said. But it gives him something to think about, and if after knowing that, he is still adamant, it could mean that he really knows what he wants, and that in itself, is a blessing.

However, we are talking about individuals here, everyone is different and this might not apply to everyone. But parents should know their child and what they are like; though they should not be lulled into thinking they REALLY know the child inside out, because kids can really surprise you sometimes. A more moderate approach and mentality would work out just fine.

Dad: From tomorrow onwards, you will go and work in my office, son.

Son: But I know nuts about constructing Pa…

Dad: WHAT?! I thought I sent you to England to study about constructing?!

Son: Sorry Dad, I didn’t go and study about constructing… I studied fashion design instead. Look! Here are some of my award winning des…

Dad snatches the design papers, looked at them.

Dad: YOU WHAT?! YOU SPENT MY MONEY STUDYING WOMEN’S WARDROBES?!?! *Tears the papers up into confetti*

Son: But Dad…

Dad: NO BUTS! I’M GOING TO DISO…

Mum: Hi dear~ What got you so worked up? Look! Our son just designed this beautiful lingerie for me. Isn’t it sexy? *parades in the lingerie*

Dad stared at Mum, almost salivating.

Dad: (to mum) It’s Gorgeous dear!
(to son) Ahem… good job Son, I’m proud of you *pats Son’s back* As expected from my child. How much money do you need to open a boutique….?



Cheers,
Yangming