Singapore Chinese becoming like Malaysia Malay????

I was read some blogs when I came across an article that links to this.

Some rules kids won't learn in school

Text By Charles J. Sykes

Printed in San Diego Union Tribune

September 19, 1996

Unfortunately, there are some things that children should be learning in school, but don't. Not all of them have to do with academics. As a modest back-to-school offering, here are some basic rules that may not have found their way into the standard curriculum.

Rule No. 1: Life is not fair. Get used to it. The average teen-ager uses the phrase, "It's not fair" 8.6 times a day. You got it from your parents, who said it so often you decided they must be the most idealistic generation ever. When they started hearing it from their own kids, they realized RuleNo. 1.

Rule No. 2: The real world won't care as much about your self-esteem as much as your school does. It'll expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself. This may come as a shock. Usually, when inflated self-esteem meets reality, kids complain it's not fair. (See Rule No. 1)

Rule No. 3: Sorry, you won't make $40,000 a year right out of high school. And you won't be a vice president or have a car phone either. You may even have to wear a uniform that doesn't have a Gap label.

Rule No. 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait 'til you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure, so he tends to be a bit edgier. When you screw up, he's not going to ask you how you feel about it.

Rule No. 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grand-parents had a different word of burger flipping. They called it opportunity. They weren't embarrassed making minimum wage either. They would have been embarrassed to sit around talking about Kurt Cobain all weekend.

Rule No. 6: It's not your parents' fault. If you screw up, you are responsible. This is the flip side of "It's my life," and "You're not the boss of me," and other eloquent proclamations of your generation. When you turn 18, it's on your dime. Don't whine about it, or you'll sound like a baby boomer.

Rule No. 7: Before you were born your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way paying your bills, cleaning up your room and listening to you tell them how idealistic you are. And by the way, before you save the rain forest from the blood-sucking parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the closet in your bedroom.

Rule No. 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers. Life hasn't. In some schools, they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. Failing grades have been abolished and class valedictorians scrapped, lest anyone's feelings be hurt. Effort is as important as results. This, of course, bears not the slightest resemblanceto anything in real life. (See Rule No. 1, Rule No. 2 and Rule No. 4)

Rule No. 9: Life is not divided into semesters, and you don't get summers off. Not even Easter break. They expect you to show up every day. For eight hours. And you don't get a new life every 10 weeks. It just goes on and on. While we're at it, very few jobs are interesting in fostering yourself-expression or helping you find yourself. Fewer still lead to self-realization. (See Rule No. 1 and Rule No. 2.)

Rule No. 10: Television is not real life. Your life is not a sitcom. Your problems will not all be solved in 30 minutes, minus time for commercials.In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop to go to jobs.Your friends will not be as perky or pliable as Jennifer Aniston.

Rule No. 11: Be nice to nerds. You may end up working for them. We all could.

Rule No. 12: Smoking does not make you look cool. It makes you look moronic. Next time you're out cruising, watch an 11-year-old with a butt in his mouth. That's what you look like to anyone over 20. Ditto for "expressing yourself" with purple hair and/or pierced body parts.

Rule No. 13: You are not immortal. (See Rule No. 12.) If you are under the impression that living fast, dying young and leaving a beautiful corpse is romantic, you obviously haven't seen one of your peers at room temperature lately.

Rule No. 14: Enjoy this while you can. Sure parents are a pain, school's a bother, and life is depressing. But someday you'll realize how wonderful it was to be a kid. Maybe you should start now.

You're welcome.

HAHAHA I had a good laugh because I have done that when I was younger and now as I am slightly older, I see the same in the young today. They are going down the same trended path.


I had just gone through a CCA camp with my track runners and I am really amazed by their "lack of Independence" in them that my colleague (An ex-malaysian) commented that the present Singapore young people are like the Malays in Malaysia, unable to look after themselves, depending on the handouts from the Government and lack of will to strive and work hard (because life is good) They have handphones as if they are BIG businessmen making millions, closing deals using their handphone. They have games consoles at home and now, Playstation Portable, they can even bring out to play wherever they are. They have internet to play games, download mp3 and movies, chat with their friends on MSN, but none productive towards physical, mental and spiritual well-being. They have maids at home so they do not know how to clean up after they have eaten, how to make a cup of Milo for themselves, keeping the living area clean during the camp and basic ration and sharing during community living like a camp (self-centeredness).

Another elderly teacher, passed retirement but choose to teach then to sit at home, commented that it is no wonder the Government needed an influx of "foreign talents" who are willing to work hard and drive the economy so that our local people can be taken care of. I cannot help but agreed that there is some truth in the statement. Just go to the Singapore Custom at Woodlands at 7pm to look at the amount of Malaysians that are returning to Johor after work in Singapore, the motorcycles are so closely packed that there is no space for the motorist to stand while he waits for the quene and he has to rest himself on the bikes beside him. The Malaysian workers would probably reach home about 10pm and have to wake up at 4am to make their way to Singapore to work. How many of us can actually do that? Even I am ashamed to say that I cannot. This is not inclusive of the workers who take bus transportation to Singapore.

I see that same thing happening to someone close (just call him LS for short) LS scapped to go JC but dropped out after first year, failing most subjects, to go poly. Recently, poly teacher called to report to the parent that LS has not been attending classes at poly. all he does at home is to go online, play games and smoke. He even dreams of being a singer, but there is not concrete plans to achieve his dreams, the least would have to attend singing lessons or music classes. (Reminds me of rule number 3)


I want this to be a discussion and to hear balanced views if this is really happening or is it just me???