ASPIRE-ing For A Brave New World

In August this year, the Singapore government accepted the list of 10 recommendations put forward in a report by the ASPIRE (Applied Study in Polytechnics and ITE Review) committee led by Ms Indranee Rajah, Senior Minister of State for Law & Education.

Among the recommendations –  to help students make informed choices about their educational pathways and careers, development of more online learning resources in the polys and ITEs, development of programmes focused on life skills aimed at strengthening student’s leadership, character and resilience, introduction of work-and-study programmes a.k.a. place-and-train programmes as well as Continuing Education and Training (CET) programmes to deepen skills after graduation.

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ASPIRE’s fundamental objective could be summarised as follows:

It is to ensure every Singaporean is able to contribute to Singapore’s overall development and progress by fulfilling his/her potential according to his/her talent and interest.

While the ASPIRE recommendations are all logical and sound given this objective, the ASPIRE committee was under no illusions regarding the enormity of the challenge that lies ahead in implementing these recommendations.

The challenge does not lie in the nuts and bolts of the government-post-secondary institutions-industry machinery implementing the recommendations but in the hearts and minds of our people. This is where ASPIRE has to work its magic and changing mindsets is not something that can be done overnight. This is a long term project – perhaps even stretching over a generation or so. But what makes this project so monumental and more importantly, why is it so important that Singapore achieves the objective?

Firstly, Singaporeans have long been weaned on the work hard-do well in school-get a good job ethos which has worked well for us as a nation until now. Children have been advised (and lectured :-() time and again that the only way to success in life is to get good grades in school, go to university and get a high salaried job in the government service or MNC.

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In the past decade, the Ministry of Education has worked hard both to correct this misguided notion of success by way of policies and programmes in schools and post-secondary institutions, to create multiple pathways to success. One example is the lining up of educational pathways like the 6-year IB diploma programme and the setting up of specialised schools like the School of the Arts and the Sports School.

But old habits die hard indeed, especially those that are so entrenched in our society that they are widely recognised to be an integral part of our culture,

We are, after all, the nation of “kiasu” people (“kiasu” means “afraid to lose” in Chinese). This character trait is so ingrained in our collective psyche that we have even created a comic character called Mr Kiasu which evolved into a TV series later.

The good grades, being exam smart, the insane hours and money spent on extra tuition, the paper chase – these are all perceived to be pre-requisites for a better life and being “kiasu” we do not want, for one minute, entertain the possibility that this idea, in and of itself, could be flawed and that the reality could be very different, if only we have the courage to choose a different pathway to find success and happiness.

The problem is that many people are discouraged from taking the risk of choosing a different path. Why? Because they perceive that there are not enough decision-makers out there in industry and even in schools and educational institutions, who believe that taking a different pathway can and should lead to success. Some of these same people may even offer an excuse that the current HR policies or government incentive schemes are overwhelmingly in favour of the status quo – i.e. people who have taken the traditional paper-ridden pathway.

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So how do we then resolve this problem? We have to make that cultural change as a nation. At the risk of sounding repetitive ad nauseum – this is a huge change, a tidal wave, not a surfing wave.  We have to start singing the same tune. We have to start celebrating people finding success on different pathways. Scholarship schemes have to make the playing field more level for these “mavericks”. HR managers have to start giving more weight to achievements and character traits rather than paper qualifications when assessing candidates for jobs.

So one may ask, why are we even embarking on this endeavour when we know that there are risks involved (political and social) and the rewards forthcoming only years, if not decades, from now?

The reason is simple. Its because we risk even more if we don’t. The majority of us who are not academically gifted enough to enrol in the “A” grade universities, will not have our aspirations met. We will stop believing in the dream that Singapore is a land of opportunity and if you are hungry enough and are willing to work hard, you can also succeed. And once that dream is broken, people will start to look elsewhere to fulfil their dreams.

But there is also another phenomenon that is occurring which is forcing our hand in this great shift. The paper chase, fuelled by our “kiasuism”, has spawned a new generation of job-seekers armed with university degrees who feel entitled to good jobs, paying good salaries. And when these jobs become elusive, they become disenchanted and feel let down by the government.

Graduate unemployment is beginning to be a concern for Singapore. Even though the numbers are not as high as in other East Asian economies like South Korea or Japan,  something needs to be done before the numbers soar incurring a heavy social cost.

The other thing that has emerged is that inspite of the increasing cohort university participation rate, Singapore continues to face a talent and skills mismatch in the job market which forces it to look for more foreign talent.

This then begs the question as to whether our overall educational infrastructure is geared properly to support the needs of our industry. Are we producing too many university graduates and too few polytechnic and ITE graduates with the relevant technical knowledge and skills to be gainfully employed in the job market? Are employers willing to recognise and reward these skills in the market such that students are willing to consider switching to non-traditional, non-degree pathways to fulfil their career ambitions?

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These are some of the questions and challenges that we will face as ASPIRE tries to move its recommendations on the ground. Expect resistance from all parties – students, parents and employers. But pushing ahead undaunted and keeping the faith will soon become the treacly mantras that the government, as the party taking the lead in effecting this cultural change, will be chanting. Expect the chants to grow louder and more frequent in the years to come.

ASPIRE: Realising the Aspirations of Singapore Youths

Next year Singapore will celebrate its 50th year of independence. 50 is, I suppose, a significant milestone for a country and is a good time for citizens to reflect on Singapore’s achievements, her setbacks, to consolidate and start planning for the future. It is also a time to celebrate and that is what SG50 is about. Singaporeans are invited to send their ideas of how we can celebrate as a nation this special birthday through the SG50 website.

Well, I did my fair share of pondering and drew up a wishlist for myself, well, actually, more accurately for my children, on what I hope Singapore to become in the coming decades, specifically in the area of education.

Recently I attended a parents engagement session, one of many feedback sessions conducted all over Singapore by ASPIRE, the acronym for Applied Study in Polytechnics and ITE Review.

The acronym is very appropriate as it deals with the aspirations of students in the polytechnics and ITE as well as the nation as a whole.

Briefly the ASPIRE Committee was set up by the government to review the polytechnic and ITE education sector and get it ready and equipped for the challenges of the new [digital] economy. Industries change and adapt to these challenges by adopting new technology, increasing efficiencies, developing new talent and investing in skills upgrade and training.

A key challenge of this new economy is to ensure that our polytechnic and ITE graduates are industry-ready not just in terms of possessing the technical skills but also the soft skills like communication skills, being able to work in teams and having EQ.

During this discussion, several parents expressed their educational and career aspirations for their children, first from their own perspective and then from the perspective of their children.

Some differences were evident from the responses for both perspectives. Most parents still thought that a university degree is important for their children’s career advancement. There were mixed views on whether the pursuit of the degree should begin right after securing the diplomas or after gaining some work experience.

However, parents were almost unanimous in agreeing that polytechnics and ITEs should retain their core applied learning pedagogy and enhance their industry-linked training focus.

2 issues received greater attention in the ensuing discussions.

One – How can we better engage our students (potential students)  in the polytechnic/ITE sector to ensure that their aspirations are not left floundering because of the rigidity of the educational system?

Two – How can we better enhance the industry exposure and training for our students so that they have the skills to add value at the work place and have career advancement which would allow employers to retain them for a reasonable number of years?

Dealing with issue #2 first – one model that was put forward for the parents to consider  was the German model where students are put in an apprenticeship programme for 1-2 years with companies. This apprenticeship is a structured study-and-work programme whereby the student works 3 days of the week and comes back to school for 2 days to acquire the theory and book knowledge.

This has it’s pros and cons. The plus points are that such a programme will offer the students increased industry exposure and an excellent opportunity to obtain the industry-relevant skills. Good student-apprentices could be identified by the companies which may even offer them full-time employment upon graduation or sponsor their further studies (degree programme).

One of the costs of such a programme is the need for greater collaboration among the government, companies and polytechnics and ITEs to build a structured programme which delivers a high quality apprenticeship which does not dilute the academic rigour of polytechnic and ITE education. Other concerns include according proper academic and industry status and recognition to the programme, ensuring the apprenticeship has an assessment system that is fair, objective and consistent, ensuring there is a critical mass of companies willing to be part of this programme and that companies have a tangible incentive to be part of this programme.

The last 2 points on critical mass and tangible incentives deserve closer scrutiny. It is essential that companies in this new polytechnic and ITE educational landscape, realise that their roles are going to be different. Company supervisors will not just be bosses to the students, handing them work to do while supervising them as they are currently under internship programmes. They need to be mentors, passing on not just technical skills but gilt edged advice distilled from their many years of work experience to the students. Proper training plans should be carefully drawn up so that they are structured and leveled up over the 1-2 year period exposing students to different areas of work or varying levels of complexity.

On the point of tangible incentive, seeing how the roles have changed and indeed expectations are higher under this proposed programme, I feel it is only fair that the government offer some tax incentives to companies willing to partner polytechnics and ITEs in this programme. This could draw in the numbers which would address the critical mass issue.

However, I also see the need for the Education Ministry to introduce a special division that will have jurisdiction over this apprentice programme to train company supervisors to be able to

(i) develop structured training plans and

(ii) to become good mentors

This special division will also act as a mediation centre in the event that there are disputes arising between students and the companies or between the companies and the polytechnics/ITEs.

Now what about the Issue #1 – How can we make the aspirations of our students a reality?

I feel that this is an urgent issue that needs immediate attention. We have to be able to look at each and every student and offer them a decent shot at realising their fullest potential in the sector of their choice which they have the greatest interest in.

Some of you reading this will probably snigger and see it as a politically correct ideal which has little resonance on the ground. But success in overcoming great challenges almost always has it’s roots in a simply stated but potent idea.

I do not have the numbers to substantiate this but based on my personal experience as well as my experience as a polytechnic lecturer, I sense that there are many students who feel lost and directionless as they try to manoeuvre through the complex maze that is the current educational landscape.

Yes, the basic pathways have been defined for all to progress from primary school to secondary and post-secondary and finally tertiary institutions/universities. But there are a fair number, I feel, who “fall through the cracks” because they have not been sufficiently engaged and counseled.

Parents and educators (teachers) play a crucial role in identifying students’ passion and areas of interest. More has to be done in further studies and career counseling and it has to happen earlier at the minimum, at Secondary 3 level. Why Sec 3 level? Because this gives students enough runway to pursue their dreams – apply for courses they are interested in and do work that they are passionate about.

If student “A” knows that s/he is interested in animation and doing creative work on the computers, s/he could have benefited from a session with a further studies/career counselor who could pull out the relevant courses in ITE and polytechnics which offer these courses and check out their minimum entry requirements.

This could serve as an incentive for “lost”students to work harder in school in order to meet these entry requirements and qualify for these courses and eventually work in an industry which they are passionate about.

Aside from career counseling, a greater push is needed from schools to identify students’ interests in the allocation of modules or electives in the specialised schools or when students want to join a certain CCA or when a student works in a certain project in school.

Say for example, there is a student who has a keen interest in computers and is widely recognised as the computer “whiz” kid in class but is an average performer academically. This student should be given a chance to use his/her “gift” by offering him/her computer-related electives or when work is delegated in projects. Our schools can and should do more in recognising the “gifts” in our students and refrain from citing purely meritocratic reasons for denying them an elective or a chance to join a particular CCA which aligns well with their “gifts”. 

Education has a special place in the hearts of all Singaporeans because it is through education that we realise our aspirations. It is through education that we build our character, become good citizens and exemplary workers and professionals .

I see education simply as a journey where we (parents and teachers) guide our young to a place where they have many doors to enter or to a place where there are fewer doors but these are the doors they are happy to open and continue on their life journey.

Teachers are the chief stewards in our young’s educational journey and we should try our best to make their aspirations a reality, a noble and worthy aim of ASPIRE and one which is firmly on my wishlist for Singapore as a prepare to celebrate our 50th birthday.

PolyForum 2013 – Learning Values Through Community Action

It is really interesting how the Education Ministry’s publicity machinery is cranking up the importance of values-based learning in schools.

The wheels have been set in motion and this was none more evident than in the speech given by the Education Minister, Mr Heng Swee Kiat, in the closing ceremony of the PolyForum 2013 at D’Marquee at Downtown East, Singapore.

He urged polytechnic students to continue to serve the community as volunteers in the soon to be set up Volunteer Youth Corp in 2014.

Minister Heng Swee Kiat speaking to our PROS

And through volunteering not only does the community benefits but the students as well as they learn values such as respect, empathy, resilience and integrity.

I was privileged to be a witness of this values-based learning in action at close quarters at the recently concluded PolyForum 2013. Approximately 300 poly students from all the 5 polytechnics in Singapore were mixed up and grouped under 5 sub-themes. I was a facilitator for sub-theme 5, Building Social Resilience, along with 4 other lecturers, one from each of the other polytechnics – Irene (NYP), Chin Ming (RP), Joanne (TP) and Evelyn (SP).

The performance of the students in their community action project (CAP), was nothing short of remarkable, given the very short timeline (2 weeks) to accomplish the task and the ambitious goals set.

The task originally was to conduct a block evacuation exercise but this was later revised to organizing a block party for residents of Block 757 Pasir Ris West and the other neighbouring blocks. The aim: to build social cohesion and bonds among the residents so that they are better able to handle crises and emergencies when they happen.

PROS working together with a common purpose

The students in the sub-theme, calling themselves PROS, set out to achieve the goals set with much vigour and gusto and with a true sense of mission, quite unlike what I have seen in students I have worked with in recent times.

They worked under the broad supervision of the 5 facilitators but never needed to be prodded or coerced. They had great motivation to work together and all of them worked in unison with a singular purpose in mind.

Personal goals and petty issues were set aside in order to achieve the larger group’s mission. What also impressed my fellow facilitators and I was that students had respect for whoever took the lead in the various activities, i.e. CAP, Closing Ceremony Performance or Exhibition. They discussed, debated, finalised ideas and implemented the action plan both expediently and in an expeditious manner.

PROS put up a remarkable performance skit at the closing ceremony

Communication with the facilitators was prompt most of the time and we were fortunate that there were few gaps in communication or miscommunications.

I believe, the main reason for the lack of major hiccups or issues among the PROS, is the unity of the students in this group. Over the course of the PolyForum, they became a close-knit group and they truly lived and worked with each other and for each other. Even the organising committee members commented on their camaraderie and said it was exemplary.

Accomplishing our goals was like Nirvana – Smells Like Team Spirit. The camaraderie was palpable

In all this, I have definitely learnt something myself. These students have helped to rescue, if not reinforce, my wavering belief in the youths of Singapore. Our youths have had many names thrown in their direction, like “soft”, “needy”, “entitled”, “aimless”, “self-centered”, etc., etc.

The PROS have reminded me that these names, as with most broad-brush name-calling, is unfair and not representative of the whole. The PROS have restored my faith in the youths of Singapore.

The PROS have also taught me how to work and achieve team or group goals BECAUSE…

It is amazing what can be accomplished when nobody cares about who gets the credit. – Robert Yates

And for those who would like to view my video montage of the proceedings of PolyForum 2013, please click on the link – POLYFORUM 2013 VIDEO. CHECK IT OUT!!

Key to Singapore’s Success is Character Development of Our Youths

As National Day approaches, I started reading about how we Singaporeans are getting ready to celebrate this important day in our calendar of public holidays.

As I pondered past national day celebrations, I could not help but think back about the newspaper commentaries written by 2 prominent people. These commentators wrote about our Singaporean youths and how they fared in the globally competitive talent market which Singapore is.

First, we had Mr Ngiam Tong Dow, the former Head of the Civil Service, saying in a Straits Times op-ed, dated 27 March 2013, entitled, Let’s Get Our Young Talent Job Ready, in which he said that our young graduates have “acquired gourmet tastes but have no clue how to fry an egg”. He further lamented that “instead of punching above our weight, we performed below our knowledge potential. Today we have thousands of young graduates becoming property agents or relationship managers selling esoteric products.”

Then we have Mr Han Fook Kwang, Managing Editor of the Straits Times, the Singapore daily, who said in a commentary in The Sunday Times dated, 30 June 2013, Do Singaporean Workers Deserve Their Wages, that several foreign-born heads of companies in Singapore were lamenting the lack of  quality workers here. Specifically a head of a German MNC noted the lack of drive in the workers here compared to workers in other countries. In fact he said that Singapore workers were far down the hunger index chart compared to their German and Chinese counterparts.

In addition, Mr Kwang’s friends and colleagues also felt that Singaporean workers did not possess good communications skills and had poor reasoning and critical analytical skills. Mr Kwang further says that schools need “to make students less obsessed with doing well in exams and better at learning how to acquire skills and knowledge relevant in today’s fast changing world are so important.”.

I could not help but agree with these 2 gentlemen’s thoughts on the critical changes that our education system needs in ensuring that we continue to produce graduates who are job ready and possess the necessary skills that would justify every last penny that companies pay  to secure their services in the job market.

However it is not just a responsibility that should fall squarely on the shoulders of the educational institutions. Parents are just as responsible if not more, in ensuring that their children are learning the necessary values important to guide them into successful lives and careers and not just focusing on their children doing well in school.

Below is my original parenting tips piece that I wrote for the July 2013 issue of a bulletin produced by the polytechnic for parents which focuses on character development in our children.

Character development starts at home and should be reinforced in schools and is probably the key to producing the Singaporean core of graduates that we need to ensure Singapore continues to succeed in the foreseeable future.

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Character Development In Your Child

Character development is probably one of the most difficult and yet one of the most important responsibilities that parents shoulder in the overall development of our children.

Sometimes as parents we take it for granted that as long as our children stay out of trouble in school, they are on their way to developing good character.

But what is good character?

Good character (in the context of character development) refers to qualities that will enable children to grow up to be happy, well-adjusted and full-functioning members of our community.

Character is defined by values we as a community live by. Most of these values are universal irrespective of our race, religious background or nationality.

Here are 6Rs I believe are important for my children’s overall growth and development:

6 Rs

Respect – to love and respect yourself, your parents, peers, people in general

Rectitude – to have honesty & integrity and to be upright

Relationships – to build bonds with the community and to develop empathy

Resilience – ability to recover from disappointments

Resolute – to be undaunted, determined, steely work ethic

Resourcefulness – to develop the ability to think creatively to solve problems

Communicate With Your Child

It is important that as parents we communicate constantly about developing good character traits with our children.

Share with them your own life experiences and how they shaped your character and helped you to develop one or all of the 6 Rs.

Personally, I share with my children my experiences in school especially the times when I represented my school in the National School Track & Field Championships. The hard, punishing training, the camaraderie of my team-mates, the sense of being one whether in victory or in defeat – all these experiences helped shape my character and the person I am today.

Character Development Opportunities in Our Daily Lives

Be on a lookout for these opportunities everyday. It could be a community call for action to help distribute N95 masks to the elderly and needy.

It could be a run-for-a-cause event to help raise money for the under-privileged.

It could even be an instance when your child asks you to buy an expensive item. These are moments you can use to teach your child about building good character by being involved in the activity yourself.

For the record, I asked my son to start saving for the item by doing chores at home or setting aside some of his daily allowance.

 

Be A Good Role Model

Parents are the best role models for their children and in many cases, the only role models.

Role models are important because children often look up to grown-ups they are close to as extrapolations of themselves.

As parents, we should be mindful of that and strive to manifest the 6Rs in our daily lives if we want our children to develop good character effectively.

Life-Long Process

Character development is an on-going, life-long process. It does not end when someone reaches adulthood because life’s challenges will continue to shape our character.

As parents, it is our responsibility to provide our children with life experiences to help forge their character.

Like 19^th century German writer and poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said, “Character develops itself in the stream of life”.

Write Your Own Happy Story

Last Friday was the graduation ceremony for graduates from the School of Film & Media Studies (FMS), Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

Many of these graduates were from the Mass Communication diploma course and had taken the module I teach, Media Business Management. Additionally  my internship team and I had helped many of them find internship places to fulfill their final year requirement for a 6-month work attachment.

The realization that a significant milestone was reached called for a celebration especially after much hard work, endless deadlines and constant worries about putting in work that impressed the lecturers and industry partners.

Photo – courtesy of Farez Juraimi

And FMS students don’t need lessons on how to celebrate. There was much joy, laughter and candid posing for that memorable photo with peers, friends and family.

As Director of FMS, Ms Anita Kuan, said in her stirring graduation speech peppered with Hollywood inspired humour, these students will go on to achieve more milestones in their lives ad infinitum.

And as this year’s valedictorian, Keziah Quek, urged her graduating class in her speech, FMS students will not need a second prompting to write their own script for a happy life and not just a successful one.

Several of the graduates I had the chance to meet after the graduation ceremony told me of their next milestone, gaining entry into university. Others secured full-time employment, some, I am delighted to say, in companies that they interned at.

Even others were taking a break to mull over what their next milestone should be, which I felt, was a really wise thing to do when one reaches a cross-road as important as this one in their lives.

Whatever it is,  it is my hope that these graduates embark on journeys to write wonderful, inspiring and happy stories of their own lives because they deserve it. Because they can. Because they owe it to their parents who supported them all this while.

I would like to share this really awe inspiring video clip of Britain’s Got Talent which showcases in a dramatic and moving way, what passion, sacrifice, determination and the unflinching faith in the values that are dear to you can do to help you achieve the milestone of your dreams. Watch and be wowed! (Click on the Watch on Youtube link)

Why We Cheat

[UPDATE/16 Jan 2013: Lance Armstrong has admitted that he had taken performance enhancing drugs during the years when he reigned supreme in the Tour de France cycling race. ]

Lance Armstrong Admits to Doping – ABC News.

Why do people cheat? A spate of recent events got me thinking about this phenomenon.

Cheating (just so that we are all on the same page) is the act of achieving or accomplishing something through deceit, fraud or dishonest means.

The announcement that 7-time Tour de France champion, Lance Armstrong, will no longer continue to fight doping charges by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) came as a shock to me. The shock was not so much because he admitted to taking performance enhancing drugs (he did not say as much on his website www.Lancearmstrong.com) but mainly because his unwillingness to fight the charges meant he was “guilty” in the eyes of the sports authorities and perhaps raises some doubts about his innocence within his own community. Its the finality of it all, the conclusion of his long drawn feud with USADA and the blemish that this judgement will have on a remarkable man’s record and in the history books of sport and how we will remember him now and forever, that is shocking to me and all sportsmen alike.

Armstrong was one athlete that I had admired for a long time for his grit and his never-say-die attitude. He is a cancer survivor (testicular cancer) who came back to win the Tour de France, one of the most grueling cycling events in the world sports calendar, for a record 7th time in a row, from 1999 to 2005.

He is an American hero who has been an inspiration to millions around the world. He started his own cancer charity called Livestrong which raises money through the sale of the now ubiquitous yellow wristbands. Its unfathomable that a man of such courage and goodwill would now be stripped of the 7 titles he had won and be banned from the sport he loves for life.

But cheating takes many forms and exists in many segments of our society. In the arena of academic pursuits, cheating is not uncommon.

For example, students cheat during exams, bringing in unauthorized notes to refer to when answering questions. Recently I had a sad and unfortunate experience of catching a student referring to unauthorized notes during an exam in an act of irrational boldness bordering on stupidity.

The 3rd-year, female student managed to sneak in an A4-sized piece of paper, completely filled with handwritten notes. When asked why she did it, she could only stare back at me blankly, her eyes devoid of any expression or feeling. She seemed to be as shocked to be found out as I was at her irrational, high risk act.

In a society that places so much importance on paper qualifications, it is no wonder that young people are willing to take the risks because the potential rewards are too tempting which may include admission to top universities and scholarships, paving the way to an illustrious career in government or a big multi-national company.

Academic cheating was all over the headlines recently when it was reported widely in the newspapers in the U.S. that 125 students from the Ivy League university, Harvard, either shared answers or plagiarised for a take home final exam for the module, “An Introduction to Congress”. What was really troubling is that there are ominous signs that academic cheating is more widespread and endemic than what was originally thought.

Check out the link – Harvard Cheating Allegation Part of ‘Culture of Cheating,’ Grad Says – ABC News for more.

But in a strange and shocking twist to academic cheating in another case in Atlanta, U.S., was the news that several teachers had actually changed answers in the answer sheets of their students to reflect better scores and therefore a higher pass rate among their students. Not exactly the news we want to hear to commemorate Teachers Day, is it? But it is a sobering reminder to all of us about the pressures that teachers face from parents, politicians and administrators, to maintain standards ( the ABC News link on the story is below).

Teachers Caught Cheating

At the other end of the spectrum, teachers who take the tough stand against students to ensure an education tied to learning of values important for life, like Mr Lynden Dorval in Edmonton, Canada, can find that the system may not support them.

Teacher who gave zeros wont appeal suspension – Edmonton – CBC News

But should the roles of the teachers and parents be more clearly defined? Should teachers focus on what they do best, teach and parents focus on the imparting of good values? Parents who want better grades for their children may not be the best academic tutors at home because it conflicts with their roles as parents and puts a strain on their relationships with their children (check out the concerns of a parent in a letter to the TODAY newspaper).

TODAYonline | Voices | A parent, a teacher or both?.

Coming back to the topic of cheating, there are many dishonest acts that are frowned upon by society and treated as crimes punishable by law resulting in some form of incarceration. This includes acts involving bribes, corruption and commercial breach of trust. The cheater is often disgraced, suffers shame as society shun him/her, and the cheater has to rebuild his/her life to not only atone for the “sin” s/he has committed but also to win back the trust of the community that s/he is back on the straight and narrow.

In the recent sex-for-grades scandal, a former NUS Law student, Darine Ko, allegedly had sex with Associate Professor Tey Tsun Hang in return for more favourable assessment of her academic performance. In a plea to the media, Tey implored the media not to involve his family, NUS, Ko or her family because the press reports were causing them a lot of distress. Tey then said that his reputation is tarnished and his integrity and livelihood are at stake.

Media reports suggested that Darine Ko’s law degree maybe revoked even if Tey was to be found not guilty of corruption in the current court case against him.

It appears that cheating is a malaise that afflicts people of all backgrounds and social class. Take the recent case of plagiarism by Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN show Fareed Zakaria GPS, Time columnist and a New York Times best selling author.

In his August 20th Time article, he had plagiarised a passage from historian Jill Lepore’s article that appeared in The New Yorker in April.

It was a wake up call for the well-respected foreign affairs expert who is hugely sought after by politicians and academicians and conference organisers. Although CNN and Time have reinstated him after a brief suspension, the repercussions of his indiscretion have been swift.

Zakaria (a Yale alumnus) resigned from Yale Corporation, the governing board of Ivy League school, Yale University, saving himself the ignominy of what was inevitable – an announcement from Yale Corporation to remove him as a member of the board, which became unnecessary as a result of Zakaria’s resignation.

There are many who were baying for more action against Zakaria and at the same time there were others who regret the outcome and sympathize with his plight. I would think that NUS and the Singapore establishment would be in the latter camp as Zakaria was one of the strongest supporters of the Yale-NUS College of Liberal Arts proposal in Singapore which got into a torrid and at times inflammatory debate over its launch here. Zakaria had written an article in the Yale Daily News in support of the Yale-NUS College in Singapore which helped to swing opinion, albeit not overwhelmingly, in favour of the proposal.

So back to my question again. Why do people cheat?

It’s simple. It is what the world has become today. Commercialism, capitalism and greed have grown to such an extent that we start losing sight of why we work so hard and crave success and money in the first place. For example, the huge monetary rewards in appearance fees and endorsements that accompany success in the sporting arena is a reflection of capitalist, money generating culture that has gripped our world and which may prove too much of a temptation for some athletes.

We work hard and want money and success because we want better lives for ourselves, for our families and our children. We want our children to have a head-start in their lives, which may have been something that we were unable to have when we were young.

Once we lose focus of this and we start yearning for success to feed our own egos, that marks the the start of the rot.

The pursuit of success as represented by the medal or degree scroll should not be an end in itself but the journey taken towards this end should be emphasized more. But our society seems to focus more on the end itself rather than the journey. In addition, greater competition as more people join the race, heightens the stakes and so the success becomes more coveted and therefore, more valuable, thus justifying the huge risk one is willing to take in order to achieve it at all costs.

Once we prioritize success at all costs in the sporting, academic and corporate arenas or elsewhere and forget to take a closer look at an individual’s time-honoured values like discipline, hard work, honesty, integrity, perseverance and steadfastness in adversity, we start creating a fertile environment for people who are not strong enough to ward off temptation, to eventually succumb to taking short cuts.

But the other thing is that we may all be cheaters in our own small and seemingly insignificant ways. Like when we download music or movies for free or we use ideas that we heard from our friends or peers and use them in our own work. We start telling ourselves that its OK because everybody is doing it so it’s OK to do it and anyway it’s a small thing.

So before we take stones to throw at cheaters, let’s look within ourselves first.

Have we been faithful to our spouses?

Have we cheated our bosses by taking MCs to attend to personal matters?

Have we short-changed our clients by giving them less than 100% in return for full payment of our fee?

Do we subscribe to the adage “Finders keepers, losers weepers”, even when it involves an item of great monetary value?

Perhaps a fitting close to this blog would be to recollect what Pearl Bailey, an African-American actress and singer from the 50s and 60s, said about cheating. She said, “The first and worst of all frauds is to cheat one’s self. All sin is easy after that.”

Focus of Polys is to Train Students For Industry

This question is directed at all poly students.

Have you read the recent report in the newspaper regarding the International Academic Advisory Panel’s recommendations on future university education pathways for our students?

If you have not, you should, because it concerns you and your aspirations.

Hope you have read it before you answer the following questions in this poll.

The Universal Burden of Teachers

Being an educator myself, I am understandably drawn towards media reports on teachers and developments in the educational sector.

So I thought it would be great to share an article that I came across in the Today newspaper which I thought was very thought provoking and in many ways, struck a cord with me.

The article, written by a teacher, William Johnson, who teaches in a public high school in Brooklyn, speaks about the challenges he faces in teaching students with learning disabilities and while trying to meet the objectives of a less than sympathetic administrative framework with a management that seems to be out of touch with reality on the ground.

It brought home in a stark and sobering way, what teachers face on a day-to-day basis and how the classroom environment and the new generation of students have changed.