In other words – know who instead of know-how. You need to hone your skill… and not be so horny…

;)

In this case, the press picked up the story and sensationalized but it has always been happening all the time and will continue to occur.

Citing Lee Kuan Yew when he was asked about the flaws of Singapore education system, his answer was simple: “Efficiency and Effectiveness. The resources available were limited, the number of schools were limited, the number of teachers were limited etc. Therefore, the need to stream and maximize the resources in used.”

It is unavoidable, but I do agree that due to the competition and partly due to the merit-based system which rewards good academic achievements, parents in Singapore do get overboard and extreme in pushing their children.

I personally feel Singapore’s education provides good value for the time, effort and money invested but whether our child gets a well-balanced childhood development, that depends on the PARENTS !!!

However, when a rich kid fails to get into the competitive system, the paper chase game plan continues. By- pass the system, and overseas education is one of the solutions. After all, most of the overseas higher educational institutions are commercialized too, fund is always wanted everywhere. If for the purpose of doing Chinese Studies, one would think of Beijing University or Taiwan National University, why study Chinese in Australia? It is like if you want to learn Chinese cooking the best place perhaps is Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. Learning Chinese cooking in Australia perhaps results in getting the cooking methodology but never the taste. Even the financial guru, Jim Rodger migrated to Singapore so that his kids could learn better Chinese as he perceives Chinese is going to be an important language. The answer is that the paper from the West is always more valuable, especially names like Oxford and Princeton sound very impressive. We Asians are still under the domination of the system of the West. As far as Chinese study is concerned, the best could still lie in the East unfortunately our Eastern professors are not so prestigious and hence less financial value.

Unless a country is rich enough where bread and butter is no longer a major issue for a majority of population, education is still a tool for earning a better living, be it technocrat, production people, wealth creator, manager or medical personnel.

Something else must be underlined here – that today our children ought not to define the goal of education as being directed to attain success in exclusively financial terms.

What good is a financially well off man who in thoughts and character is comparatively poor due to lack of proper education?????

Proper education is in this 21st Century not just having 1st class bachelor,masters or PhD in renowned universities.

It is a temper of mind and an attitude. I won’t try to define it but (without exhausting the list) it would include some of these distingusihing marks that sometimes over lap:

· an ability to think logically, analyse, synthesize, well that’s certainly a part of it that a rigorous academic training could help instil discipline but more than that –

· an ability to identify issues and knowledge of where to look for facts and infiormation and sift them as to relevance, aplication and truth

· a high ability of abstraction with swiftness and acuracy in quickly discovering principles which underlie patterns and limits found in any complicated data, situation and problem;

· a questioning mind that could question even cherished asumptions and at the same time an ability tending to contrary to have that flexibility of mind to entertain a thought evaluating all angles about but without just accepting it, and in other circumstances, to accept ideas or thoughts that challenge one’s beliefs;

· an ability to separate emotions from the necessary objectivity of one’s conclusions, no matter how emotionally unpleasant;

· an all roundedness with large swaths of basic understanding in many areas and disciplines and how they are inter-connected in integral way or separated otherwise;

· an ability to separate and weigh all parts of an equation seeing all minutae and the larger picture at the same time, in both depth and breath, and to find a practical way to solve a problem;

an ability to temper a mind which otherwise could work efficiently as a cold and efficient machine with emotions of courage as well as human compassion and kindness ……

Just pray and hope that your kids will be one too. God willing.

Mr Lim and the likes of him are only exceptions in the world of education. Mr Lim may have earned and won accolades from his professors, and rightly so, but such occurrence is not the norm. He is truly brilliant in his own ways.

In an education system how do you go about identifying the so -called “Churchills” or “Einsteins”, and give them the room to develop and progress in their own chosen field of interests?

There is no sin in getting a string of A’s in an examination, neither is it everything. It is to be viewed in an objective manner the values of the grades and the situation they were obtained. Definitely the grades do reflect the ability and potential of a student.

For the purpose of recruiting a student for a particular course/vocation, he/she should be assessed by other more relevant and objective and specific methods, if such and assessment is indeed necessary and required.

Mr Lim is fortunate and his eventual achievement in accordance to his interest and calling is fortuitous. The fact that “Mr Lim Wah Guan, 28, belongs to a rare breed of Singaporeans to have studied at two of the world’s most prestigious universities – Oxford and Princeton”, bears witness to that. It was rare and fortuitous.

Even so, it is unfortunate that many of us go through schools and colleges without knowing our real interest. Many, whether straight A’s or otherwise, just do what other fellow students do, that’s why they are all just the “norm” and not the “rare” one like Mr Lim.

In this world, only the rare breed stands out. It is the will of a hidden force that they be the chosen ones. And Mr Lim is taking his rightful place and calling.

Just pray hope that your kids will be one too. God willing.

Other countries will adopt them. Another reason for the brain drain.

after the season, the mother birds went around chirpy chirpy fo theri lost offsprings.

some how some never got to return to their flock, the weather has change the migrations has started, Trapped were some of these ducklings and survive their instints pervail them.
many of These young birds fresh into the world some how joined into the crowd only to know they are different when they grew up, you are a flamingo not a common daffy duck.

go find your own ways , your roots, even babas know this.

are you still lost?

Because the average British voter/public is smart to treat their leaders as servants and not masters unlike here!

Yes after the War Churchill had gained all the experience and knowledge in guiding Britain through her darkest hour of Hilterian threat. He also had goodwill and contacts throughhout the world.

However Hitler was no more and the British public decided that they did not wish Churchill to remain in Churchill words “one more hour respoinsinble for their oeace time affairs!” He had done what he was best at to protect British freedoim and heritage in those perilous times – and that it, period.

Thanks for taking the time to type out the quotations from the book on Churchill. I appreciate that sharing attitude that you reflect.

HJ Angus

Why did Churchill lose the government after winning World War II? My friends tell me that Churchill being Churchill, he was great when seeing the big picture. One severe blind spot: He has no eye for details. So he always needed good lieutenants. So even Churchill needs good lieutenants.

Alexander the Great would not have made the conquests he did had it not been for his great penchant to identify good generals, surround himself with with and making use of their talents.

The same goes for Lee Kuan Yew. Ditto all the great emperors of China.

For Wah Guan, it is just a beginning and is far away from Churchill. How much he could contribute to the society and mankind is yet to be seen. We all got excited because of the prestigious names like Oxford and Priceton. The infamous SIL is also from Oxford.