East And West
This is a multipolar world. Sure, it may not look like it right now, but it has always been one. The United States is about to rediscover this at their own peril. Yet, closer to home, it's also instructive to see what a multipolar education system looks like. Take for example the Integrated Programmes many Singapore schools are coming up with. They're experimental, and hence probably not yet at the stage where they might be considered full paradigms for the future.
Let's take humorous look at the elite educational revolution of Singapore (wow, a top country in education worldwide) that many foreign suitors are lauding to the skies. There are three kinds of models which seem to be dominant.
Firstly, there is the national elite model. Firmly rooted in the philosophy of elitism for the sake of nation-building, this is the model which the PSC and, by default, all schools which value the Singaporean meritocratic scholarship model, must adopt. In such an education system, the main point is to garner academic kudos so that people will respect you - and preferably, stuff which contributes (or which can be said to contribute) to the national interest based on what the government of the day requires. Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country, that sort of thing. These guys treat books as a means to an end, and are quite sure that seriousness should win, if not real intelligence.
Secondly, there is the cultural elite model. Firmly rooted in the philosophy that your forefathers were the best guys of all time, and that all other cultures are barbarian johnny-come-latelies, this is the model that cultural elitists and cultural chauvinists love. In such a system, the main point is to make your culture a dominant player (if not the only dominant player); alternatives exist, such as whining a lot if it's getting sidelined, or grousing that 'someday we will receive our rightful place in the sun' (or that 'someday Taixxx will be ours again') regardless of the dangerous lessons of history. These guys burn books (or censor them) every few hundred years. They call it culture, and are quite sure that they will win.
Thirdly, there is the creative elite model. Not-so-firmly rooted in some sort of dire dichotomy between ancestors who wanted to make lots of money and ancestors who wanted to make lots of converts, this is a sort of centrist model which includes all kinds of psychos, wackos, the mildly disturbed and the mildly disturbing; it also produces a lot of solid citizens who will talk a lot of nonsense after the first couple of beers and then proceed to claim that they secretly run Singapore. The main point here is to act as if you are members of the rebel alliance, and that the best is yet to come. These guys write books, act weird, and are quite sure that they will win because they have so many alternative viewpoints.
And in each of these models, there is some sort of flagship school. It is instructive therefore to look at the emblems chosen by these schools and what they might mean.
The first kind claims to be egalitarian and nationalist, but uses a two-headed gryphon as its badge - and everyone knows that the two eagle heads, facing east and west, are symbols of empire. That is one greedy creature. It will call up all your sons and daughters and say, "All your base are belong to us" or something like that.
The second kind claims to be egalitarian and traditionalist, and uses what looks like a pile of books on fire. Well, as I've said before, this is appropriate historical comment on the probable philosophy espoused by such organisations. Maybe it means that scholarship will fuel the eternal flame of learning. Maybe.
The third kind claims to be religious and inclusivist (which makes a change), but also combines three symbols of empire in one creature. Yet, in a multipolar world, to show that a Lion should balance carefully between the Eagle and the Dragon is a necessary and rather foresighted thing. Optimism is always good.
Let's take humorous look at the elite educational revolution of Singapore (wow, a top country in education worldwide) that many foreign suitors are lauding to the skies. There are three kinds of models which seem to be dominant.
Firstly, there is the national elite model. Firmly rooted in the philosophy of elitism for the sake of nation-building, this is the model which the PSC and, by default, all schools which value the Singaporean meritocratic scholarship model, must adopt. In such an education system, the main point is to garner academic kudos so that people will respect you - and preferably, stuff which contributes (or which can be said to contribute) to the national interest based on what the government of the day requires. Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country, that sort of thing. These guys treat books as a means to an end, and are quite sure that seriousness should win, if not real intelligence.
Secondly, there is the cultural elite model. Firmly rooted in the philosophy that your forefathers were the best guys of all time, and that all other cultures are barbarian johnny-come-latelies, this is the model that cultural elitists and cultural chauvinists love. In such a system, the main point is to make your culture a dominant player (if not the only dominant player); alternatives exist, such as whining a lot if it's getting sidelined, or grousing that 'someday we will receive our rightful place in the sun' (or that 'someday Taixxx will be ours again') regardless of the dangerous lessons of history. These guys burn books (or censor them) every few hundred years. They call it culture, and are quite sure that they will win.
Thirdly, there is the creative elite model. Not-so-firmly rooted in some sort of dire dichotomy between ancestors who wanted to make lots of money and ancestors who wanted to make lots of converts, this is a sort of centrist model which includes all kinds of psychos, wackos, the mildly disturbed and the mildly disturbing; it also produces a lot of solid citizens who will talk a lot of nonsense after the first couple of beers and then proceed to claim that they secretly run Singapore. The main point here is to act as if you are members of the rebel alliance, and that the best is yet to come. These guys write books, act weird, and are quite sure that they will win because they have so many alternative viewpoints.
And in each of these models, there is some sort of flagship school. It is instructive therefore to look at the emblems chosen by these schools and what they might mean.
The first kind claims to be egalitarian and nationalist, but uses a two-headed gryphon as its badge - and everyone knows that the two eagle heads, facing east and west, are symbols of empire. That is one greedy creature. It will call up all your sons and daughters and say, "All your base are belong to us" or something like that.
The second kind claims to be egalitarian and traditionalist, and uses what looks like a pile of books on fire. Well, as I've said before, this is appropriate historical comment on the probable philosophy espoused by such organisations. Maybe it means that scholarship will fuel the eternal flame of learning. Maybe.
The third kind claims to be religious and inclusivist (which makes a change), but also combines three symbols of empire in one creature. Yet, in a multipolar world, to show that a Lion should balance carefully between the Eagle and the Dragon is a necessary and rather foresighted thing. Optimism is always good.
etched with acid at 8:33:00 pm
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