Pleasantly Surprised from a Visit by Sy ..

I'm pleasantly surprised from a visit by Sy in the afternoon. Sy graduated from JC in 2001. Oh, but I only tutored her in 2000. Haha.. The one-year-bond is strong enough. :P

I remember her as an average student back then. After graduated from JC, she went over to Melbourne and study Accountancy there. Now she has graduated, but she has decided to work in Australia, not Singapore. Ha.. Australia must have some strong drawing factors for her to decide to work there, while leaving her boyfriend (Je, also one of my ex-*little pals for 2 years) behind “slogging” in Singapore @ NUS now.

I shall talk a little bit about her being an average student BACK THEN and the “strong drawing factors” in Australia.

She was average. Mind you, I can only use the past tense here. She is now beaming with pride and confidence. She related how she enjoyed her studies there. I also have peers relating to me how they enjoyed their university education overseas. But when I talk to *little pals currently studying in our local universities, they hardly say they enjoy it. Okay, some may relate how much they enjoy the fun and all with their peers, but they never forget to reiterate how stressful the learning environment is most of the time.

Many *little pals I know studying overseas told me how they enjoy attending lessons and they really look forward to them. Too many (not all hor) *little pals I know studying in local universities shared with me how they skipped lectures and/or even tutorials. Heh.. Are we suspecting they are learning less there and we are learning more here? But hey, they really know their stuffs! They are pretty focused, let me put it more correctly.

Okay, she admits, there wasn’t much homework. And during weekends.. ha.. she really enjoyed herself. She studied, of course. It was a course she likes. But she was certainly having a life at the same time. She said she can remain pretty focused as she has a good and healthy company. I still think it boils down to discipline.

Now that she has graduated, many may assume she will return and work here. Nope. In Australia, no one works after office hours! The 5 day work week culture has been there for so long. She once worked as a helper in an eatery stall in a business district. She related how these white collar professionals will come to the shop she worked in for breakfast, for (many) breaks, for lunch, for tea, for more breaks, etc.. After 5 or 5:30pm, people will be out of their offices, for dinner, for a drink, etc. In her own words, “the people over there don’t see the need to compete.”

She can’t imagine working in Singapore, although the idea of working in Singapore is very much the idea of both her parents, and the wish of her boyfriend. Mm.. Besides the life-style she wants, she noted that the starting pay in Australia is higher than that locally. Heh..

I am not saying I’m really for the mind-set of the Australians (the way she described it). However, I think it’s so important to have more personal time to explore not just the world but also within ourselves.

I have to admit Singapore is different and in many ways we may not be compared on the same ground. Her experiences only make me think what’s missing in Singapore’s education system? Almost every student is feeling stressful. I don’t often hear students saying that they look forward to lessons. During the first week of lesson, they may be already thinking of when is the next break coming. (Okay, I am exaggerating.)

Of course, to have a fairer view, not all students there emerged successful. Yes the learning atmosphere is rather relaxed and students are learning rather independently. There are also many instances of students basically “rotting” there, wasting their time and their parents’ money.

One comment she made also struck me hard. Not entirely a new idea though. She said her learning experience in Singapore from Primary to JC had build a rather solid foundation for her to survive so well in Australia. Mm..

I am also thinking :
If I were to study overseas for my university education, will I be different now?
The current system may be such, but as a teacher, I have a such a close contact with the students. Can’t I make a difference? Haha.. Maybe I am the "root" of the problem. I mean the system may be fine, but I "translated" wrongly to the *little pals.
Maybe .. maybe.. perhaps.. perhaps..

~ ~ Growing ~ ~
What really delights me is not to know how wonderful another country is.
What's really exultant may be to learn how these young individuals have grown to be so confident, so sensible, leading a life so full of purpose.

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有一位圣者这么说：
人的肉体是有限的，但人的意志力是无限量的、精神是无穷尽的。
『志』 --
对的，不敢不做；
错的，我不敢犯错、我不敢耽误、我不敢辜负。