3rd August 2008
Sunday
The proper way, as it must be.It is 5am local time, I am losing sleep primarily because of sore muscles.
Comme il faut. Literally meaning 'as it must', is a phrase adapted from the French language. It means that one should do things according to local norms, or accepted conventions.
Looking at it, I get reminded of how the 'norm' path of education is like in Singapore. Primary School, Secondary School, Junior Colleges (JC), University (Uni), Workplace. Of course, that is what is expected of us, being the only resource of our nation.
In Singapore, it is considered a major loss of pride if you fail to follow the education route for the "elites". If you fail to get into the elite primary school or secondary school, you get labeled as a Neighbourhood School Kid (NSK), and is generally believed to be a failure in whatever you do.
If you fail to get into JC, you will be believed to be inferior to those who are in JC. If you fail to get into Uni, which happens to most Poly graduates, you are believed to be useless.
And when you raise something up about the mainstream education system, you are either, rebutted, accused of being jealous, or accused of knowing nothing and then having your whole "embarrassing" education history hauled out.
Some others, as you can see from yours truly, fail to meet the stringent demands of the norm in society for different reasons, and wind up changing courses in life.
These few "delinquents", as many would quickly surmise to be, will generally be looked down upon by the general public, families, and friends. Most will simply become known to others as "that guy who dropped out".
There is a problem with the system, but no one is willing to do anything about it. It is not that no one sees the problem, it is just that no one wants to acknowledge the problem.
