maybe because i'm bored. probably because i'm distracted. and
definitely because i'm supposed to be doing something else... i've gone and written an article on elitism and bigotry in singapore. it was pretty much prompted by
http://studentnotebook.blogspot.com . yes.. i'm supposed to be doing my essay on postmodernism.. but how can one give up such an interesting topic? especially since my last two critical theory tuts were discussions on Habermas and Adorno.... :D
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very marxist... i know, but i honestly do believe that it [bigotry and elitism in Singapore] all boils down to class differences and our inability to see beyond the boxed worlds that we were brought up in.
it is not so much the schools that we're talking about. i think the major issue is what these schools stand for - what they represent.
i.e. elite schools for the middle to upper income brackets and the neighbourhood schools for everyone else.
(note: i do acknowledge that within every elite school there are bound to be exceptions, and vice versa. my brother goes to a neighbourhood school, and i was from an elite secondary school and jc. so that's a bit of where i'm coming from as well.
what i speak of - for the sake of discourse - are generalizations, as the inclusion of specifics would make discussion almost impossible.)
a lot of the bigotry and elitism that we see in our society has its roots in the way our education system is designed. i don't know if it was meant to be that way, but that's how it seems to me.
the first thing that i will say, is that it is easier for a middle to upper class student to get into and remain in an elite school from primary all the way till university. mainly because of the fact that with money comes opportunities. as much as i hate to say it.
now i imagine that meritocracy and fairness and we-all-have-equal-opportunities-because-its-a-free-country kind of objections will be flying through some peoples' heads now. so let me just try to clarify what i just said with an illustration.
imagine two students, A and B, equal in intellect, enter an elite primary school at primary one. A gets in by affiliation (parents or siblings or other strings) and B gets in through balloting.
they go through primary school. A gets extra tuition outside school, takes part in activities that stimulate the intellect (e.g. drama, music, what have you). B doesn't have all that extra stuff, through no fault of his own. just that his parents do not have the financial means to give him all that stuff.
due to class size, and the inability of the teacher to cater to all students. A starts to do better than B academically. not because he's smarter, but because he gets extra help outside school.
PSLE. A does extremely well because of the rigorous tution and the drilling from his tuition teachers with countless assessment books. he is streamed into the special stream.
B on the other hand, didn't do as well and is streamed into the express stream.
A makes it into an elite secondary school, while B doesn't.
this is a purely hypothetical example to illustrate a point, so please do not argue by saying that not everyone is like that.
GENERALLY, people in higher income brackets are presented with more opportunities. as such, by secondary school, the majority of students in elite schools are from the middle to upper classes.
where is all this going to?
it is in our adolescent years (teens to early twenties) that we form our identities, and perhaps the firmest friends. it is also during these years that our worldviews are shaped the most.
now due to the fact that by secondary school, a lot (not all) of us are fit into schools which have cultures that revolve very much around our income brackets (are my fellow AC students going to deny that their frequent visits to holland village, as compared to the neighbourhood Macs, are not bourgeois?), it is inevitable that we will form stereotypes of the Other. the Other being those from neighbourhood schools. a lot of our identity is based on what we are NOT, and it is there that we draw the boundary.
therefore and thus, we start to believe that the Other is so different, and incompatible to the world that we know. and this works both ways. and more often than not, due to purely human nature and our subconscious (and sometimes conscious) workings, these distinctions take on an i'm-better-than-you stance. e.g. students from elite schools are snobbish. OR students from neighbourhood schools are not as smart.
As such, elitism and bigotry in our wonderful Singaporean society is largely a result of the stereotypes and mindsets that we pick up in school. Re-inforced by friends, and sometimes even by parents.
How we can get out of these mindsets and start treating each other with respect?
Firstly by acknowledging that they exist in the first place. Then by making a conscious effort to mix around with people from other backgrounds, trying to shove those stereotypes into a little box in the back of your brain. Recognize that everyone has had different opportunities and choices to make. Basically, don’t judge a book by its cover (or a student from his school… for that matter).
I don’t profess to have easy answers, and I know that its very easy to point out a problem. It’s the answers that screw with your brain.
