Being well-versed
I find that many Singaporeans today are not well versed in a lot of things outside of academia. Many know little about what they do not care about, and I don't think that should be so. Whether or not you care about it or not there are somethings that you must have knowledge about, whether its the World War or about the Sea Games (which would be very unexpected if any ASEAN country member knows nothing about).
For me, I remain very unfamiliar with literature pieces. I have yet to read all of Shakespeares' works to convince myself that he not only writes tragedies by comedies as well. I am in the process of reading "To Kill a Mockingbird", a book known world wide and its contents of which I have to understand by the time the sequel is prepped to arrive.
I do wish that Singapore would integrate English literature into our system and not only put emphasis on the English language. Granted the English in Singapore, due to the presence of Singlish and our acceptance of it, is horrid. But perhaps it would be possible to entice a love for English through literature instead of the usual "be good at it to get good marks. Then you can forget it" mentality.
Many people do realise that we do live in a world of academia, where grades mean a lot. But they do not mean everything. What differs different individuals from the general rabble is our knowledge of literature and the reflection of which it has on life. Literature brings a lot of stories, whether it is the content of the book itself or the impact that it has had, often both of which are interconnected. The Bible for example.
In our world where everything is changing, we must not only be well versed in academia but also in current affairs, so that we are able to see the world around us. We also have to take another step back to acknowledge beautiful academic pieces and literature for me remains a very tangible and convenient piece of academic work to study and enjoy, bringing me happiness one page at a time.
So what do you think? What's your favourite work out art? How do you keep in touch with the world besides academia?
Fruit for thought.
Cheers,
Matthew Tan
For me, I remain very unfamiliar with literature pieces. I have yet to read all of Shakespeares' works to convince myself that he not only writes tragedies by comedies as well. I am in the process of reading "To Kill a Mockingbird", a book known world wide and its contents of which I have to understand by the time the sequel is prepped to arrive.
I do wish that Singapore would integrate English literature into our system and not only put emphasis on the English language. Granted the English in Singapore, due to the presence of Singlish and our acceptance of it, is horrid. But perhaps it would be possible to entice a love for English through literature instead of the usual "be good at it to get good marks. Then you can forget it" mentality.
Many people do realise that we do live in a world of academia, where grades mean a lot. But they do not mean everything. What differs different individuals from the general rabble is our knowledge of literature and the reflection of which it has on life. Literature brings a lot of stories, whether it is the content of the book itself or the impact that it has had, often both of which are interconnected. The Bible for example.
In our world where everything is changing, we must not only be well versed in academia but also in current affairs, so that we are able to see the world around us. We also have to take another step back to acknowledge beautiful academic pieces and literature for me remains a very tangible and convenient piece of academic work to study and enjoy, bringing me happiness one page at a time.
So what do you think? What's your favourite work out art? How do you keep in touch with the world besides academia?
Fruit for thought.
Cheers,
Matthew Tan
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