The Hubris of a GEP student at RJC

kaister SG

This is not how the world should work! Reward those who were born smart so that they can show off to others? How about those mentally challenged? They should just die off?

All derrek was saying is that people who works hard to the best of their abilities are still finding it hard to survive. "White horses" climb faster and have an easier life, because they're good in what they do? Maybe. But most of the time, it's because the path has already been laid out for them. They hardly have to fight for what they will achieve.

rmyfrm SG

I agree with you kaister. BUT:

This girl, annoying as she is, has made it through, despite being consciously aware of her 'connections' and that at any moment she should desire, she can use these 'connections' to propel her through the world. I give her credit for that.

However, I don't think I can say the same for a good number of others. I have this Uni mate who has failed 6 out of 8 units, and yet, he has gone on to work with (I'm not going to give away the industry I'm in - some privacy online is always a good idea Razz heh) - because he has an auntie, who is in (still not giving away ~). Yet for me, I have to put in 40hours/week just to ensure I get through Uni relatively successfully, in order to secure a job upon graduation.

We all have to work for what we want. If you have connections, without working hard you'd be f**k*d. If you have connections, and you work hard, your future is set (however annoying you are). If you don't have connections, and you work hard, that's the position of your average Singaporean - its really uncertain and it all depends on opportunity and luck.

kaister SG

Ya I know. Not mad at you but frustrated at how this world works.

The Rich gets richer and the Poor gets screwed.

rmyfrm SG

What is the definition of success my friend? Financial well-being?

"The rich get richer and the poor gets screwed" - this statement gives rise to two plausible suggestions - both of which bear reference and have direct connection to time (period).

1) The man who is rich, gets richer, and the man who is poor, gets poorer.

With this definition, you have to ask, why? Is it because the rich man is just more capable, luckier or etc. etc. - This can't be helped, and yes indeed, the world should not work this way, but still ..

2) The son of the rich man, gets richer, and the son of the poor man, gets poorer.

With this definition, you have to ask again, why? The answer becomes apparent. This has nothing to do with luck, capability or such.

This has purely got to do with effort. The poor man's son HAS NOT, and NEVER WILL BE, deprived of a chance and opportunity to receive an education in Singapore. Considering that he is already at the bottom, the poor man's son has only one way to go, and that is up. If he does well in school, there is no reason why he should be deprived of work.

Sure, nobody is born equal - but I sure don't buy that argument that somebody is stupid simply because he is born that way. Everyone receives the same education - depending on the amount of effort put in, results will vary. Intellectual capability can be cultivated. Nobody is stupid simply because their "brian was partially d.o.a.".

If the poor man's son out-does his father. Then the poor have not gotten poorer - and I know many people like that. People who have gone way beyond what their parents ever achieved.

If the poor man's son does not out do his father - he has obviously not worked hard enough despite the fact he has been given reasonable opportunity and access to an unbiased, unrestricted and undiscriminating education system.

The rich man's son on the other hand. Sure he'll get through life faster and easier than the poor man's son. BUT, if he does not out do his father, the rich cannot be said to have gotten richer, because their increment in pecuniary wealth would have shrunk. Furthermore, when you're already at the top, it's really much easier to go sliding down to the bottom.

We all have to work for what we want.

Connections count, but trust me, they are given WAY too much credit than they really deserve. You can have someone to put you in a position of advantage, but that person will not live forever - if you are incompetent, you will somehow find your own way to the bottom.

anonymouscoward SG

Sad Ms Wee got her ideas from reading MM Lee's biography. Something about the strong shall inherit Singapore and the weak can all go and die.

Unfortunately for Singapore, Ms Wee doesn't have a clue how it's like to live below the middle income family and will probably not have a chance to appreciate it; thanks to Daddy's fat pay check.

An even wiser man once said, "Those who are born to privilege bears a responsibility to society. Those who fail to understand this will see their fortune dwindle within 3 generations."

I pity Ms Wee. She has been blessed and given the best that life and education can offer. However, she has been deprive the knowledge of humility, love of a fellow human being and thus, will probably end up successful monetary wise but fail miserably in life and marriage.

She'll probably laugh at this posting and the forumers here but that fact is that we couldn't care less. We will lend her a helping hand when she at the lowest point of her life and give her hope but till then; I hope for her sake that a miracle will happen in her life.

anonymouscoward SG

Btw, the ghost of your past will always come back to haunt you when you least expects it.

To Ms Wee if you're reading this; someday, what you said in your blog will come back and when it does, I hope you've learned some humility.

kaister SG

Yes of course there're people who were poor and succeeded. There're even more examples of rich people who had connections and succeeded.

The fact of life still remains. It's quite a huge feat to jump right out of your social class in just one generation.

Your view is ideal but not reflective of reality. How about parents who can't afford to send their kids to extra-lessons to gain that little bit of extra edge? Where do you think that RJC gal got to learn her French? All these add in.

Now, think of the poor. Do you think you can study in a cramped 3-bedroom HDB flat where you have to share with 5 other sibings? Do you think you can afford to hire tutors when you're falling behind in a subject? Do you think it's easy when you have to help out your parents after school?

Yes, meritocracy is an ideal system but it's still flawed. We still need to look out for those who might be weaker.

NewAge SG

Before i see the picture i thought of spanking here. But after seeing it hell no.

A government job is not limited to purely economic growth. Part of it is to take care of the people who are not as well off or relativly deprive. Obviously the government is not doing well in terms of income ensuring equality. There is also virtualy no safety net for the people when they besome unemploy or to prevent them from being exploited. Singapore does not have any minimum wage rate policy or any regarding how much a employer has to pay in order to retrench an employee. Even an 18 yr old like me worries abt such thing. Being fed with a silver spoon spare her from such troubles.

How i envy her for coming from a prestigious family. Well they say u gain some u lose some. Luckily not all RJC lad are so shortsighted

rmyfrm SG

Indeed your views are well grounded and justified.

Note though that our education system as I have stated is unbiased, undiscriminating and relatively fair - and I know many who have never had tuition, or for that matter, any assistance more than the norm would have received, and yet gone on to do ridiculously well. The govt. has done more than enough for Singaporeans, with regards to providing them with the foundations necessary for any successful career.

With some luck and appropriate opportunities, even modest back-office staff can become "high flyers".

Indeed, connections do help, but it's not as though there are THAT many privileged people to deprive the majority that makes the norm of any reasonable and possible chance of success.

At the end of the day, it still boils down to what you want, and how hard you are willing to work to achieve that.

EDIT: You know that french thing, it might be, but I dare not confirm, the result of the third language program .. I don't know if it's still around, but they used to offer it to some students .. As I recall, one could pursue German, Japanese or French.

ditzy SG

X2 Laughing

anonymouscoward SG

posted

kaister SG

You're right on the third language thingy... Laughing Left school too long to remember anything about it.

The education system is fair but the condition by which our society works is not.

You based your views on a simplistic ideal that those who work hard and are smart will get what they want. Unfortunately that only applies to the cream of the crop. Less than a few dozens each year and many of which are those with connections. Majority who were not able to secure a scholarship are doomed to slave their life away for some companies.

Has the government done more than enough to provide a foundation for all? Take a look at the previously implemented EM3 system and you'll see. Some Singaporeans are condemned and branded to fail right from the start. I've not known any eduation system in the world that does this type of segregation.

The current education aims to produce workforce to support the industry that Singapore is currently promoting. Once that policy changes (remember from IT to biomed?), many people will get screwed.

Unfortunately, it's these "white horses" that become our policy makers in the future. Policies that affect the majority of Singaporeans, allowing Singaporeans to lose their jobs if they can't keep up.

I know life's not fair and so aren't the government's policies

OO_OO_OO SG

what a screwed up girl. who the fuck's her father?
not to mention she's fugly.. very.

kilua SG

Note though that our education system as I have stated is unbiased, undiscriminating and relatively fair

I wouldnt agree that Singapores system is unbiased and gives everyone and equal footing.

Take for example, the O levels. Admission is based on English, Maths and Science and 2-3 more subjects depending on where you decide to go. From my observation, one form of discrimination that has been separating the rich and rest has been the subject English. I have seen many middle class kids do well, but they do not score well in English because they speak Chinese at home. While most of them can converse fluently, they do not score as well as those students from an English background. Imagine if the O level admission made Chinese a compulsory criteria, dont you think the balance of students getting into top colleges would change significantly?

For those parents who have been through the system, they are able to better guide their kids to beat the system again. For example they may be more attuned to streaming at different stages, while the working class parents are not well educated nor is well aware how to prepare their children for education.

I wanted to point the myth of a system that is totally unbiased.
Unfairness always exist in the world, as long as its relatively fairer than most countries, it should be good enough. But we shouldnt stop improving the system making more chances for the less privileged.

rmyfrm SG

Indeed unfairness always exists.

I find the education system very fair. It prepares most for the harsh reality that is the working world. Indeed, college admissions would change dramatically if certain subjects were made compulsory - however, the education system should not revolve around the individual, but the standard that is required to propel the nation into global success.

I disagree with a multitude of government policies - especially regarding employment and FT. However, with regards to education, because of the mouldability of young Singaporeans, and the fact that uniformity and consistency has always been a foremost issue behind multiple legislative policies, I feel that the education system is one of the Singapore's greatest strengths. No doubt, we produce a hell load of annoying elitists, but truth is, those that survive the tribulations and demands of the education system generally go on to do relatively well because the education system effectively prepares many to enter the workforce.

kilua SG

I think people like her should be humbled by some misfortune someday.

She can spout this kind of rubbish because she has little contact with students from other non-elite class.

I know this student from this XXX secondary school, the principal merge two classes because of a lack of resources and the class became a class size than is larger than 40. There are usually disruptive students that makes the teacher give up and unable to teach. So even if some of the students work hard, they will be unable to hear the teacher. From what i heard, the teacher cries regulary during the class.

anonymouscoward SG

Reflecting back on what she said on her blog. It is suddenly obvious why our govt isn't proactively solving the country's social and economical problems for the lower income. And when they do try, reactively, they fail miserably at it.

It is simply because they do not understand the issue. They may know and possibly able to articulate the problem to a certain extend but they have not a clue what the problem is.

I was talking to a customer yesterday and had the finance operations conference in to help resolve the customer issue. Despite several explaination and the finance people best attempt, they could not understand a sales issue. You have to be in it, done it/live if before you know what it is and how to tackle it.

We need more ministers who is like one of us.

BTW, Anyone knows who her old man is? They always say that to know what's wrong with a child, all you have to do is to look at the parents.

anonymouscoward SG

Her blog is closed. Don't worry, the Internet kep several archives; somewhere, somehow. You can delete your blog, maybe even convince your friends to delete their's but you can never delete the memory off all the servers in the Internet.

Here's an example -

Q.What do you look for in a guy/girl? this is quite difficult actually. someone i can get along with, someone i won't feel slightly sorry for when i look at him, someone who makes me laugh, someone who has a brain, someone who can speak english, someone who loves ME Very Happy i don't think the list is exhaustible hahah..and i suppose many many yrs down the road, someone with a lot of cash and someone my parents like..

You're gonna have a tough time looking for a mate.

Ms Wee, I bet you're reading this. Mark my words, the ghost will come back to haunt you someday. Be afraid, be really afraid.

ctstalin SG

her old man is Wee Siew Kim of AMK GRC (strong mandate wor dun play play) according to sammyboy's ppl Laughing

still can catch some part of her blog from google cache Twisted Evil

anonymouscoward SG

Aiyo.. our dear PM's constituency again? Wonder if our dear elitist-convert PM is aware that there's another elitist in his GRC who's breeding other elitists.

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