The competition in education in Asia
There are not many things that I dislike about my parents, but one of the times when I don't like my mother is when she talks to me about university. It's not about the fact that I have to get into a good university and have to work hard to meet the criteria, that I don't disagree. However it's her motives for sending me into a good university that tick me off. She often says that I have to get good grades and go to a university not to prove to myself that I can work hard and achieve what I want, rather it is because of the "tough competition and the need to stay on top". There is a subtle difference between the two, and it is largely the phrase "tough competition" that gets me going.
I always see education as something that every human being contributes in society; education is something shared. In every year that passes we learn a little more about the world around us. We learn a bit more about quantum physics or how large the universe is. We learn to see trends in the economy and how social systems work. However to the closed mind of many Asians education is viewed as a way to get a higher pay wage than the other: a way to buy that new sports car you wanted and live in a luxurious flat every day to view the city skyline. This is the way that Asians view education: Education is selfish and competitive.
Of course I credit this largely to the amount of poverty that there was in Asia just a hundred years ago and of course that paradigm was needed. Considering the fact that you did not have enough food or water to eat or drink, you had to treat education as a race and push others out of the way you can at least get enough money to sustain your family. However at the moment Asia is growing and that paradigm has to change. Asia is growing and the economy is changing, but the way of thinking has not. Even now I meet those who are willing to sabotage or refuse information for the sake of staying on top, and I find this very unconventional in a world where everyone is getting richer at the same time.
I am quite happy to realise, however, that this paradigm is shifting and that despite people my age refusing information, there are many more younger than me willing to help out or willing to share their notes purely for the sake of others. This I find truly heartwarming.
Fruit for thought.
Cheers,
Matthew Tan
I always see education as something that every human being contributes in society; education is something shared. In every year that passes we learn a little more about the world around us. We learn a bit more about quantum physics or how large the universe is. We learn to see trends in the economy and how social systems work. However to the closed mind of many Asians education is viewed as a way to get a higher pay wage than the other: a way to buy that new sports car you wanted and live in a luxurious flat every day to view the city skyline. This is the way that Asians view education: Education is selfish and competitive.
Of course I credit this largely to the amount of poverty that there was in Asia just a hundred years ago and of course that paradigm was needed. Considering the fact that you did not have enough food or water to eat or drink, you had to treat education as a race and push others out of the way you can at least get enough money to sustain your family. However at the moment Asia is growing and that paradigm has to change. Asia is growing and the economy is changing, but the way of thinking has not. Even now I meet those who are willing to sabotage or refuse information for the sake of staying on top, and I find this very unconventional in a world where everyone is getting richer at the same time.
I am quite happy to realise, however, that this paradigm is shifting and that despite people my age refusing information, there are many more younger than me willing to help out or willing to share their notes purely for the sake of others. This I find truly heartwarming.
Fruit for thought.
Cheers,
Matthew Tan
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