I read the Enquirer with great interest. The editorials and reporting are of high quality, much better than the printed Chronicle that I (and I believe my colleagues) occasionally glimpse at.
My suggestion for the online newspaper to continue to attract wider readership, you must continue to make an effort to explore the “non-politically correct” issues and investigate what may lie beneath the seemingly closed-minds of our undergraduates and impenetrable university bureaucracy.
Above all, your analysis must be independent, reasoned and critical, not forgetting of course the usual dosage of self-discipline and restraint. The University is an idealistic place, where students should be encouraged to think independently, and you at the Enquirer should aspire to take on this role.
Keep up the excellent work!
Ho Khai Leong, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Nanyang Technological University
Mind Sharing
says:November 22nd, 2008 at 9.50am
I would be rather concerned if the students were to perceive that the university is an idealistic place which is not at all in my opinion. The university like any other huge organisation possess certain harsh realities of imperfections and bureacracies. It can be too simplistic to assume that the university is the perfect place to nurture independent thinking without considering the wider perspective or the bigger picture.
The university is not only a place to nurture thinking but should be a place to train and prepare our students for the real corporate world upon graduation which could be harsh and brutal in several areas. I’m quite surprised to read some comments put up by some students which certainly reflect their lack of maturity and understanding of the real world. The values and advice passed on the students from their professors must be able to reflect that. Again, how many professors themselves are also been entrenched into this “idealistic world” thinking? Theories can never be equate with practical exposure and training.
The best teachers are the harsh lessons the students acquired themselves as they mature along the way..
daniel
says:November 29th, 2008 at 1.49pm
Ideals are what pushes the world ahead to advance, such as conscience, moral values, democracy and the likes.
You are right to say that the real corporate world is harsh. The human mind is outright corrupted out there in the real world. The politics played between Man and the endless power struggles.
But all these are effects of human causes. Without ideals and without being nurtured in an idealistic place, what are graduates left with in their very inherent self? A rotten insides with a polished outer shell?
I think if one wants to learn the harsh realities of life, the workplace is the best place to get accustomed with those harsh lessons. Definitely not in a school setting.
c shares her thoughts
says:November 30th, 2008 at 3.51am
Conclusion i reach so far: Never, ever, stop pushing limits of realising the ideals for a current harsh reality. Have in mind still, the harshness of a possible backlash to that attempt, and be prepared to handle that with coolness.
So, keep the dialogue going, and we will work things out, negotiated, reasoned, and eventually, agreed.
Whether it is an agree with a sigh or an agree with a glee.
Good start so far at Enquirer! –concluded. my take.
(=
Mind Sharing
says:November 30th, 2008 at 12.13pm
Dear Daniel, the workplace is the best place to get accustomed with those harsh lessons. Definitely not in a school setting??? There is no need for one to even attend schools in ordere to acquire ideals! One can achieve ideals simply through reading a book.
I’m not against having ideals but we must know that the univeristy is NOT an idealistic place and expect things to be done in an idealistic manner. Students can have their own ideals but if they would end up disappointed, frustrated if they try to apply their idealistic set of thinking anywhere else, including the university.
Like it or not, if you fail your exams, you are out! That’s the truth though ideally, some may hope to graduate even after failing all the exams.
c shares her thoughts
says:November 30th, 2008 at 5.18pm
Well, to add a glean of light to that ending note from Mind Sharing (and yes i totally agree that we students shouldn’t harbour expectations upon university, which at their end is deemed ideal, which we can’t fathom and feel enraged even, but, we just got to keep ourselves engaged as to why the university has to make certain choices, and then we raise informed requests, having in mind, that the university has the final decision. Yes, there has to be some order of decision-makers here, who says and who decides.)
The real harsh (and surreal) truth among peers is that, you gotta get that A or minimum B.
Well, refer to http://enquirer.sg/2008/10/18/you-cant-have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too/ how a man of a regarded current social and political standing view grades as a student.
Folks, you may disagree. Go ahead. But at the end of the day, we need to understand what the disagreements are. yeaps.
So keep thinking, and comment as informed a manner as possible.
cheers.
john t
says:December 9th, 2008 at 5.46pm
Based on what I saw in NTU during my undergraduate days (I’ve graduated by the way.), I would say that idealism does not exist in this campus as a whole. And what I saw was revolting.
I know of a student who was on very good terms with a professor. After the results were released, he got an A-. But apparently, he went and did some social engineering with the professor and the professor regraded his paper and that student ended up with an A if I’m not wrong. Is this considered corruption? I do not know. But what I do know is that such cases are not isolated. It happens.
Such practices are what go on in the real world. So perhaps you guys can think about this. Pragmatism or idealism that should hold and which should go?
Perspective
says:December 9th, 2008 at 8.12pm
Dear John,
It takes efforts to study. It takes efforts to do projects. It also takes efforts to build good relationships with people. Sometimes, whom you know is more powerful than what you know.
Wondered why some academically inclined students don’t do better than those who are less academically inclined in the corporate world? Emotional intelligences comes into play. You need both IQ and EQ and now CQ (Creative Intelligence). Welcome to the real world, my friend!
Vince
says:February 1st, 2009 at 9.40pm
Anonymous, please exercise restraint in your remarks even if disagree. This forum does not encourage name calling. Your remarks do not reflect any better of your own character.
Matrix
says:February 12th, 2009 at 9.45am
I quote Dr Balakrishnan,
“As Dr Balakrishnan aptly put, Singaporeans are in danger of measuring success in terms of money and grades. This is indeed the root of the problem that is holding Singaporeans back from pursuing other interests.”
I’d like to point out the underlying education culture in NTU at this moment in time. Forget the world rankings and the whole gleam and shine of the new labs and buildings and the great research projects on campus.
It all boils down to one crucial question:
Is the university preparing students to simply join the workforce (may it be as an engineer / biologist / top notch managerial person) , or is the university doing what a university is supposed to do? EDUCATE A STUDENT TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITIES?”
I fear not. We are streamed into the superhighway of mainstream student thinking i’d like to call “Exam education”.
We may speak of “Oh, i’d love to explore more on a topic, oh i’d like to join a project related to what i’m studying…bla bla bla”
but it all depends on one thing. Are our grades on the line? I agree with “Mind Sharings” view that u need to get through ur exams , its a fact NOONE should deny , because its the one of the few reliable indicators of a student’s mental worth and a showcase of effort.
But its not the ONLY one.
Speaking from the perspective of an engineering student, i think what i’m learning is useless. PERIOD. You would be hard pressed to find any engineering student who cna recall whatever he/she has learnt in the past years of study. Perhaps the basic principles, but that’s it.
You need to put into action what u have learnt to absorb it. The reason working experience is essential for the makings of a good engineer. The university can educate students along this way by simply reducing the emphasis on exams and increasing exphasis on projects and labs.
Make us group into teams. Make us complete projects in a semester. Give us a project and give us supplementary lectures we have to attend to get the projects done.
Just let the exam madness end. For writing on a piece of paper, though being a good measure of ability under pressure, it is not the most reliable or accurate. You can screw up an exam if you’re off on the exam day, but not a semester long project.