However, Singapore also has aspects of the Chinese perception of self. For example, the concept of 'social harmony' is also present in Singapore. There are people who are afraid to speak out and disagree with other people, though it is not that prevalent in Singapore as in China. The China government promoting Confucianism as a means of social cohesion and easing social dissent also seems familiar-since the early years after independence to the present day, the Singapore government uses education to promote social cohesion. The 2007 Civics and Moral Education syllabus (http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/syllabuses/aesthetics-health-and-moral-education/files/civics-and-moral-education-primary-english-2007.pdf) states that one of the considerations made when developing the syllabus is the "The unique multicultural heritage of our nation that upholds values like service to the nation and community above self...thrift, diligence, respect for authority and the belief in social order."
Essentially, what this means is that we unknowingly have been exposed to both American and Chinese culture, and their perception of self. The question then would be what the Singaporean perception of self is? Personally, I think that a place society over self. I am the type of person that does not speak out a lot, either because I am not confident in myself or because I do not want to challenge other people and have to defend my own views. I would rather maintain the status quo rather than try and fight for change unless something is seriously wrong. While this seems to show that I lean totally towards the Chinese perception of self, this is also not entirely true. Having just said that I would fight for change if something is seriously wrong, there are indeed situations when I would value the self over society in terms of freedom of expression and freedom of speech. For instance, if the government suddenly announces that Singapore is now a single party state and all opposition parties are outlawed, I would disagree with that. If something goes against my individual rights, I will still place the self over society.
In other words, there is no single perception of self which I strictly adhere to. Due to the unique culture of Singapore as well as the education and exposure I have been privileged enough to have went through, I find that I have a mesh of different aspects from different cultures in my perception of self. The fact that I think I lean more towards the Chinese perception of self is possibly due to personal preference and personality, as I am more withdrawn and conservative. I suspect that most of my classmates and Singaporeans in general are also similar, and have integrated different aspects of both American and Chinese perceptions of self and made their own unique conclusion. However, there is no fine line on which side we stand.
I think that there are two main reasons for this. As already mentioned, Singapore's unique global position and heritage results in a lot of exposure to different cultures. Another reason which was not previously mentioned is education. Think about it; what are we learning now? Socio-economic studies. How many students would think about things such as their perception of self if they had not gone through this module? Practically zero. Through the discussions in class and the way these discussions are guided, how we view ourselves and the world has changed. Socio-economic studies is just one example. While it is said to encourage cramming and rote memorisation, class interaction is increasingly being stressed. It is commonly said that young children are easily impressionable. So teachers are now shifting from simply lecturing to encouraging students to question. Currently, Singapore is somewhere in the middle of a shift from the more stereotypically Asian system of rote learning to a more interactive and innovative system similar to America. Whether young children are encouraged to question their teacher or told to simply listen may lead to an emphasis on either social harmony or freedom of expression. Looking back on my primary school education, I wonder if I would still lean towards the Chinese perception of self if I had been more encouraged to speak up in the past.
(830 words)
Dear Samuel,
ReplyDeleteYour post is interesting and insightful.
However, you have only taken a one sided perspective to the matter. In your post, you have stated only one main idea of how the Chinese perception of self has affected your life, and one main idea how the American perception of self has affected your life.
For example, the Chinese perception of self is much more then how one aims to maintain harmony as mentioned in your post, and the American perception of self is also more than just freedom of speech and rights, as it is also centred around acting by reasons. Singapore, being a close partner to the United States of America, and a formal colony of Great Britain, while at the same time under the direct influence of China, definitely holds many of these customs that would affect you. For the Chinese perception, for example, you could consider how the Chinese view of "respect" has affected you, perhaps in the way you behave in front of your elders?
Overall, I think that the post is pretty well done, but if you would like a journal with more points of views, I suggest you take a different approach to viewing the impact of these perceptions in your life.
Hi Samuel,
ReplyDeleteYour journal is very interesting. However, I would like to point out that it is quite disorganised and I think there could be a more obvious structure.
You stated that Singaporeans are exposed to both perceptions of self, but I am not quite sure which perception of self you said you prefer and it is rather jumbled. Perhaps you mean that you do not prefer but rather are more used to the Chinese perception of self, but that you have adopted both perceptions of self? Also, I do not think that your journal fully answers the question which is how these perceptions have influenced and affected your life, although you have given some personal examples such as the General Elections.
There is a particular section which I have some questions on:
"Having just said that I would fight for change if something is seriously wrong, there are indeed situations when I would value the self over society in terms of freedom of expression and freedom of speech. For instance, if the government suddenly announces that Singapore is now a single party state and all opposition parties are outlawed, I would disagree with that. If something goes against my individual rights, I will still place the self over society. " How would a single party government go against your individual rights? How would you go about disagreeing with this, and on what platform would you voice your views? Do you think the government adopts the American perception of self and thus would respect your individual opinion? Is this a case of placing the self above society, or is it actually placing the society above the government? I do not think that this is necessarily placing your own individual opinion above your society as opposing the single party government will benefit the society too. And I think that you may have misunderstood the American perception of self as it is not one which places self above society, rather, it respects the individual rights of liberty and freedom of expression of everyone.
The Chinese perception of self is also not just trying to avoid conflict and maintaining social harmony, as there are also many values which are emphasised such as respect which I feel you could also have touched on.
-Jiefeng
Dear Samuel,
ReplyDeleteYour post is certainly enlightening, and I especially like what you mentioned about education!
I would like to expound on your point on education. You stated that:
"So teachers are now shifting from simply lecturing to encouraging students to question. Currently, Singapore is somewhere in the middle of a shift from the more stereotypically Asian system of rote learning to a more interactive and innovative system similar to America. "
Personally, I feel your point on Singapore shifting its education system is limited to a certain extent. I agree that the education system is attempting to make a change, as seen from the new tagline “Teach less, learn more”, which encourages students to initiate and question more, however, I do believe that this change is not significant enough.
I feel that the education policies brought up will not affect the typical Singaporean student’s perception of self. I feel that the nature of one’s self cannot be changed over night through education. Many Singapore citizens are brought up with parents, elders and teachers asking them not to question and to simply accept answers or commands given to them. Over time, this turns into one’s character, leading in students being used to not questioning, because the environment around them does not allow so. Once this is driven into a student’s character, I feel that even with the space given to him to raise questions, they would not respond, as they are already so used to keeping mum and not answering questions as a sign of respect. I used an example in my own blog post, stating how Hwa Chong students are not exactly very responsive to panel discussions. From what I observed, the people who actually goes up to speak at the mike are usually the same few ones every time, whilst literally the rest of the student body keeps mum as it is already something they practice at heart. Therefore, I believe that education alone is not sufficient to change a student’s perception of self. Society, culture, family also play a part in shaping a student’s nature, whether they are open and expressive or conservative and submissive.
Moving away from Hwa Chong, an elite school which already largely encourages freeflow of opinions, let us talk about the ordinary “neighborhood school”. Unlike IP schools like Hwa Chong, teachers in these schools have the responsibility to prepare students for the O’levels. I feel that in such a case, the nature of exams and vigorous curriculum impedes questioning. Due to the need to complete the syllabus and prepare for exams, teachers would tend to avoid questions, especially questions that have no relation to the syllabus however meaningful they might be. I have a personal experience in Primary School where the teacher tends to shut off questions not pertaining to the syllabus she has to go through, just because she has to prepare students to take PSLE and have no excess time to explore interesting insights. Thus, I believe introducing policies and platform for raising opinions in the education system, though with a good intent, might not be very effective, due to the limitations of the education curriculum.
Regards,
Jing Ling
PART 2: (as blogger restricted the max number of characters in 1 post)
ReplyDeleteLastly, I would like to comment on your point of fighting for your rights if something is really wrong. You stated:
“Having just said that I would fight for change if something is seriously wrong, there are indeed situations when I would value the self over society in terms of freedom of expression and freedom of speech. For instance, if the government suddenly announces that Singapore is now a single party state and all opposition parties are outlawed, I would disagree with that. If something goes against my individual rights, I will still place the self over society.”
From what you mentioned, it seems that you are implying that resisting against a major change against someone’s rights is more of an American belief of invidualism. However, do you think a Chinese collectivism belief would then cause Chinese people not to resist in such situations? I feel that the example you brought up is too extreme. Even the Chinese people (in China) know that there are certain rights they have that the government should not take away. That is why we do see Chinese protestors all over China, expressing their discontent over the government. For example, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16276349 I learnt that as recently as December last year, there are protests by fishermen in Haimen, China. Thus, my point is that anyone, despite the beliefs they are brought up with, be it American or Confucianism, would resist if “something is really wrong”, especially if it pertains to their rights.
Regards,
Jing Ling