Cherian George joining HK university

I just have to write about Cherian George. You know how difficult it is and how much resources are needed to produce a professor in this city? Do you know how much more difficult it is to produce a good professor that is worth his title? Cherian George is one of the rarity, an ex journalist who has earned his stripes and good enough to be ‘promoted to associate professor in 2009, the same year he won a teaching excellence award from the university (NTU)’. And he received his doctorate not from some funny university but from Stanford University. Stanford, my friend, is no funny university but among the best in the USA and in the world.

NTU did not seem to be flattered by his qualifications and his teaching excellence. Maybe it is a kind of policy to send our talents overseas and replace them with foreign talents from overseas to create the right kind of buzz and the right kind of vibrancy that local talents cannot offer. Maybe George will have a better chance if he takes up a foreign citizenship and return as a FT.

Cherian George is going to Hong Kong’s Baptist University’s School of Communication. I am wondering if this exchange is good for the grooming and nurturing of local talents. Or is it that instant trees are still the way to go, instant foreign talents are the best.

Best wishes to Cherian George. Hong Kong has gained a talent that we rejected. We should send more recruitment teams overseas to recruit Sinkie talents to come back home. Cherian, just wait, in a few years time there may be a Sinkie team going to Hong Kong to beg you to come back and tell you how good this city state is and how valuable you are and how much they missed you.

Kopi Level - Yellow

Food for thought – No security breach

When the bank manager arrived at the bank on Monday morning, everything was normal. The security guards were at their post. The security cameras were working normally. The doors were locked as usual and he had to unlock it with his bunch of keys.

He opened the vault to check everything was fine. Yes, everything was fine. The vault was all in order, nothing missing, except the money in the vault.

He called a press conference. During the briefing he told the media, there was no breach of security. All the locks and security apparatus were not tempered with and working fine. We have the best security system guarding the bank.

Only the money was missing.

Have a good Sunday.

Graffiti vandals – are they NSmen?

Many people are wondering if the 5 young men are NSmen given their newly shaven heads. The fact that they are 17 said no. But they could be preparing for their enlistment as 18 is just around the corner. Some said their heads were shaven after being arrested. This I find it difficult to believe. I remember clearly that the rioters I the Little India case were not shaven at all. Can anyone confirm this? I may have dementia you know. I am sure the police have SOP about when and how to shave the heads of people under their care. Innocent until proven guilty. The young men, or actually children as legally defined since they are below 18, have not been found guilty by the courts yet. Is there a procedure to shave their heads?

I am very sure that army boys when enlisted will have their heads shaven on the first day. I am very sure all convicted prisoners will also have their heads shaven on the first day in prison. The boys are not convicted prisoners yet. Who ordered their heads to be shaven and is it the proper thing to do? But we are presuming, the boys could have shaven their own heads to prepare themselves to be NSmen to serve the country.

Choo Zheng Xi, a lawyer, has quoted some legal provisions that protect the rights of minors or children under the age of 18. He also felt that the AGC should intervene to protect the interest of these boys from all the excessive publicity in this case, names and faces prominently flashed across the media. Not only that the law provides legal protection to the young, morally, the society too would want to protect the young, and the adults should have some decency to want to protect the vulnerable and still young in the head children.

These are our children. They are mischievous, outrageous, defiance, unruly or whatever, just like children. They are definitely nicer than the rioters in Little India. They did not pelt stones to hurt anyone or the police. They did not burn police cars. They are in a way playful and not knowing the consequences and the severity of the law.

Should they be dealt with just like any criminals? Shall they be whipped or shall they be made an example of to deter other youths from doing the same? Shall the adults behave like responsible adults and look at them as children growing up, in search of an identity, and identity crisis, a part of the growing up process?

It is so easy to throw the book at them and whack them as hard as provided under the law. Poor thing. Did I say poor thing? Or shall one blindfold oneself and say it without any passion, a crime is a crime? Compassion, kindness movement, forgiveness and acting like responsible adults, do these words mean anything?

Kopi Level - Green

Singapore’s education conundrum

The SDP has launched a paper titled ‘Educating for Creativity and Equality: An Agenda for Transformation’ on 17 May 2014. They have also invited the Education Minister Heng Swee Kiat to join in the discussion. It is unlikely that Heng Swee Kiat will attend as it is always seen as ‘us against them’ kind of relationship and at worst, the opposition parties are enemies. So the SDP is likely to have their own conversation while PAP would have their own conversation without inviting the other camp. The twains shall never meet.

Our education system and policies are kind of a mystery. On paper it is the best in the world or nearly there with praises from all over the world, and with some countries copying some of our teaching methodology. But we also have been scouring around the world to want to find the best, believing that we are not really that good. This is good as we are not resting on our laurels. The bad thing is to look at the wrong place or the worst place that produced shit and for us to think they are gold.

How good is our education system must be in the eating of the pudding. All the strings of straight As would have meant nothing if the graduates ended up unusable in the industry. The graduates will be nothing but paper collectors, exam smart kids but are unable to perform in the real world. Apparently this is true. The top scholars are only good to stay in the govt service, GLCs or as politicians. Outside these sectors, hardly anyone is seen to be performing. The private sectors are even resorting to employ funny talents from funny universities from funny parts of the 3^rd World to replace the graduates of our education system. And it is real, all the funny talents from the funny universities and funny places are outshining our local talents from our top notch universities because they looked and spoke like Hollywood actors ala George Bush Junior and Obama.

They have started to replace the scholars in GLCs with these Hollywood actors and will soon also replace the scholars in govt service once these ministries are open to them. They could easily replace the politicians as well. We can have Richard Gere and George Clooney or Hilary Clinton too.

The proof is in the pudding and the proof is saying our education system stinks. Not only that they are not producing good quality graduates but they are causing undue strains to our children with many having mental and psychiatric problems going through the process. Our children are growing up very unhealthy and later, uncompetitive in the adult world. If this is not the result of our education system then what is the cause?

Over the years we have several top notched talents helming the Education Ministry. Among the top names were Tony Tan, Lee Yock Suan, Tharman, Ng Eng Hen, Teo Chee Hean and Heng Swee Kiat. Every one of them is a top scholar or top talent in their fields. We have 3 finance honchos and two engineers by training, and three top scholars. The only thing absent in them is the background on education and pedagogy. None is trained professionally in education. But they became experts in education overnight and found themselves competent enough over a short span in the ministry to introduce wide ranging changes to the policies and teaching methodology during their watches. Let me try to recall the famous mantras of the day, teach less, learn more, less hard sciences, more humanities, holistic teaching, teach characters, all round training, including sports and arts, appreciation of arts and music, wholesome education, critical thinking, innovative hinking until none can think or is innovative. Teaching students life skills like doing small business and investment, etc etc. Did they know that to do all this you not only need the students to be genius, exceptionally talented and also have all the time in the world to learn them?

We should be having the best education system and the best education products. The whole world should be descending on us to learn from us. Our graduates should be the best in the world and be in high demand everywhere. Unfortunately they are not even in demand in their home country here except to drive taxis. And their next best aspiration is to become hawkers.

Need I have to say anything more?

Kopi Level - Green

5 youths arrested for Toa Payoh graffiti

BREAKING NEWS: 5 Youths Arrested for Vandalism at Blk 85A Lorong 4 Toa Payoh #sgpolicearrest

Police have arrested five 17-year old youths for suspected involvement in a case of vandalism that had occurred at Blk 85A Lorong 4 Toa Payoh.

The above is quoted from the Police Force website. The youths will be charged in court today, 10 May, for vandalism. Case solved. Better than FBI.