Dear Readers,
In the recent weeks, Japan has experienced many natural disasters. It started off with a large earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 on the Richter scale, followed by a disastrous tsunami. The situation was then aggravated by the series of small quakes on the eastern coasts of Japan. The impact was so great that the main island of Honshu moved 2.4 metres westwards.
On the television and radio channels, we have heard the disastrous consequences of the Japanese quakes and tsunami. However, the Japanese community is seen as an orderly and well-disciplined group. Their resilience is evident in their mental strength to rebuild their cities and villages.
Whenever there is chaos occurring within the country, there would always be reports about looting happening all around. However, when we take a look at Japan, the situation is totally different. Some Japanese were having dinner during the quake and dashed out of the restaurant for shelter. After that, they returned to the restaurant to pay for their food. This is really touching, for I believe if this is to happen in Singapore, the locals would be relieved to have “a free lunch”.
On one of the days, it was reported in the news that the Japanese did not rush, push and squeeze to get their basic necessities. Instead, they queued up in neat rows in front of the cashier counter. Following that was a report from China, where I saw numerous people dashing into the stalls to literally “sweep” the bags of salt off the shelves. The orderliness of the Japanese is thereby in stark contrast with the ruthlessness of the Chinese. Bear in mind that the Japanese were experiencing disasters, whilst the Chinese were still living their normal day-to-day lives.
Why is this so? It is obvious that the education system is totally different. In Japan, the children were inculcated from as young as kindergarteners to respect elders, be loyal, work hard and be kind to others. The culture preaches discipline, diligence, calmness and also, unity.
Compare how the Japanese behaved to the tragedies, which took 8000 lives and caused 12000 to be missing, to how the Singaporeans behaved to the floods, which did not even cause any injuries at all, much less fatalities.
We, Singaporeans, are known to be complainers; whenever something is not to our liking, we complain and expect the government to solve all our problems, worries and fears. As we trace back, we realise that the main problem which is causing such a phenomenon is our education system.
Our education system is really results-oriented, and students’ mentality is that results are all that matters, as that is what their parents and teachers preach both at home and in school. In the newspapers, we see parents sending their children for tuition even at the elementary level of kindergarten.
Yes, we do have weekly Civics and Moral Education (CME) classes, but more often than not, the teachers who enter for CME classes and who are lagging behind in their subjects would use this as two additional periods to catch up in their teaching. Worse, in secondary schools, these CME lessons only happen once or twice a term.
All these result in an ill-mannered younger generation, who have poor moral values, if any to start with, and who care only for themselves.
On the Internet, we see people arguing that the Japanese were able to have such an orderly fashion because they have had experienced quakes many times before. However, I believe that should it happen in Singapore, it does not matter how many times it happens, the people will still be the same – the selfish ones who care solely about their needs, their wants and their own selves.
Singapore may be the No. 1 in many things. We might have the best airport and the busiest port in the world. However, when it comes to character-building, I believe we should really take a leaf out of the Japanese’s books.
(adapted from my journal entry for Art and Acts of Persuasion)
Best Regards,
Nathan :)
Dear Nathan,
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you that the education does play a part in this behaviour in Singapore. However, I do not agree that the education is the only reason. Another possible reason could be due to the pragmatic needs of our advanced economy and society that results in this uncivilised behaviour, especially in the middle-age and the older generations, since CME lessons were introduced in 1987 in Singapore, and only the younger generation has received these lessons as part of the school curriculum. Over time, Singaporeans have come to be “kiasu”, but this is not only limited to Singapore, like the example you had given in the post.
I would like to provide another example of the uncivilised behaviour of some people in Singapore (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rTBn2NotCU). I believe that you know of the incident from the news. When asked why they were crowding around awaiting for the library to open, one resident said that it was because she wanted to borrow books that the other libraries do not have while the other said that if she did not do so, and queued up orderly, there would be a smaller choice of library books to choose from. From these responses, we can see how Singaporeans don’t want to lose out in many aspects of life, even if it is just a small matter like borrowing books. They have the mindset that we have to be first in everything and disregard the feelings of other people. Later on in the news report, when asked why she brought a recycling bag to carry the books, a resident said that she had brought seven to eight cards and that each card can be used to borrow 6 books each.
One of the students at the library described the situation as “恐怖”, referring to her being horrified at the situation. Indeed, such a situation can turn very ugly and result in injuries or deaths from stampeding crowds. I hope that in future years to come, Singaporeans can be more civilized and regularly keep in check what they say and what they do, and improve the civic-mindedness of our society.
Regards,
Ivan
Dear Nathan,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that education plays a part in terms of the moral values, however, I think you should also take note that the difference in situation could also result in a different reaction.
In one of the previous Reading and Reasoning exercises, I believe that there was a question asking to comment on the statement that crisis brings out the best in humans. This could have been the phenomenon that was happening in Japan. Also, imagine if you were the Japanese, where a great tragedy has just occurred which has resulted in many deaths, the mood is sombre, you reflect about what has happened, replaying the incident again and again in your mind. Would you be in the mood to rush up and grab whatever you can? Obviously not. In contrast, when the floods in Singapore, there was no adverse impact to the vast majority of Singaporeans. Having not have so much excitement in such a long time, it is human nature to try to fill in some excitement, and it just so happens that Singaporeans do it by taking a stake in the incident by complaining and so that their time would be occupied with trying to get people's attention.
What I want to say is that one should not be one-sided in one's views, as it may result in unnecessary biases. Instead, one should look at all the important factors pertaining to the issue and evaluate each of them carefully.
Regards,
Chong Kai En (2i106)
Dear Ivan,
ReplyDeleteRegarding your point that CME lessons started in the year 1987, I believe that our IH notes have stated that CME lessons were started only in 1992, replacing Religious Knowledge. :)
Yes, I fully agree with your point, and would really like to see a younger generation which will displace the old stereotype of Singaporeans being kiasu! :) Everything starts from "me" (一切由“我”开始), so we should all do our part for a better Singapore!
Best Regards,
Nathan :)
Dear Kai En,
ReplyDeleteI do not really comprehend your lengthy paragraph, because I do not see the direct contrast between the Singaporeans' take on the incident and the Japanese's possible robberies.
However, I will take note about taking a perspective which is less extremist, how ever difficult and daunting the task might be, for we all know there is no "reliable" source, as bias is present in any text, in any source we see.
Best Regards,
Nathan :)
The continually improving reputation of online educational programs has also helped fuel its astronomical growth, as initial doubts about their validity has faltered in the face of evidence that shows that online learning can be just as effective as face-to-face education. Discover the amazing benefits of online educational program. english class for Japanese
ReplyDelete