OVER the past two weeks, the words 'meritocracy' and 'elitism' have stirred feelings of loyalty, indignation and dismay all at once.
Just ask the old boys of St Joseph's Institution (SJI), who have been making a very public case for and against the lowering of the school's entry requirements to enable more students from its feeder schools to make the cut.
Meritocracy must prevail, argues one camp. Easing entry requirements will only cause academic standards to slip. But SJI must not become elitist, counters the rival camp. Boys from the Christian Brothers' schools, based on that affiliation alone, should qualify.
The imbroglio once again puts the focus on the uneasy relationship between meritocracy and elitism. A cynical take is that the race to the top will always leave behind stragglers, and those who cross the line first are bound to look down on their weaker counterparts. Given this attitude, it does not surprise me that some SJI alumni are campaigning fiercely against the 'E' word.
I attended Raffles Girls' School (RGS) and Raffles Junior College (RJC), both elite institutions. I confess that as a young adult, I was conceited and felt unsympathetic to the world around me. These days, when people ask me what is my alma mater, I often say I'm a Rafflesian - but a 'recovering' one.
Before I incur the wrath of Rafflesians past and present, let me say I am grateful for the all-rounded education I received. Way before the term 'holistic learning' became a Ministry of Education catchphrase, my $300-a-month secondary school fees in RGS paid for classes in speech and drama, etiquette and philosophy.
My teachers did not teach us to be snobs. But neither did they teach us not to be snobs. As a Rafflesian, one never spoke in terms of examination pass rates. It was the number of As one got that signified one's mettle.
We felt entitled to big things in a merit-driven society where mental dexterity equated strength of character and virtue. We felt so because we had trumped the system, even if it was the 'system' that had allowed us to get this far in the first place.
Intellectual snobbery can be a scary thing. A running joke when I was sitting for the A-level examinations in RJC was that the National University of Singapore law faculty half consisted of Rafflesians. The other half came from 'students from OJ' - other junior colleges.
I did not have a single friend from a neighbourhood school. In our world, we did not see a need to venture beyond what we knew.
Many of my friends came from rich families and lived in the Orchard or Bukit Timah areas. I remember a then 15-year-old friend asking me where I lived.
'Siglap,' I said. She asked quizzically: 'That's where all the Malays live right?'
I never learnt that failure was sometimes an unavoidable option. Two years ago, I sank into a funk when I did not get a scholarship. A non-Rafflesian friend jolted me to my senses when he asked: 'How many people even get to think about doing a master's?'
Growing up this way, you lose perspective. You forget that you belong to a privileged minority, that in the real world there are those for whom a C grade (and not an S-paper distinction) represents the pinnacle of academic achievement - but who may be wiser in many ways than the academically gifted.
It was only when I left the comforts of my flock that I realised how close-minded I was. Unlike some of my peers, I did not win a scholarship or study overseas. I studied at Nanyang Technological University, where classmates told me they were initially wary of me because I was a 'Raffles girl'.
I learnt that brandishing my elite school background, from the way I spoke 'proper English' to wearing my RJC physical education T-shirt around my hostel, rubbed people the wrong way. I learnt there were other ways to win respect without riding on the coat-tails of a brand-name education.
My work as a journalist also quickly brought me crashing down to earth. Loftiness goes out of the window when you have to talk to everyone from politicians to cancer patients to victims of natural disaster.
I hasten to add that for every misguided smart-aleck I encountered among Rafflesians, there were others who were humble and well-adjusted. Still, an Old Rafflesians' Association president once quoted in this paper defined the Rafflesian character as 'predominantly achievement-oriented and goal-driven' - traits I dare say which tend to create a type of ultra-competitiveness that leaves little room for empathy and humility in the absence of a countervailing value-system.
Many of my schoolmates went on to become civil servants, lawyers, bankers and doctors. They keep to the same small social circle they grew up in, married within it and will probably wish the same life for their offspring as well.
I'm not saying they grew up into mean-spirited, Ayn-Rand spouting adults just because they excelled in what they did. The pursuit of intellectual excellence is a virtue that our educational system quite correctly promotes. But the pursuit of intellectual excellence to the exclusion of character or value excellence breeds an exclusionary attitude to the rest of society. Many of the products of our top schools forget they have to give back to the society that allowed them so many opportunities.
It is especially worrying when the exclusionary attitudes bred in school become accepted life values. You judge success using markers that only you and your like-minded friends agree upon. For example, my unmarried girl friends tell me they will never date a man without a degree, a car or a 'respectable' job - and they are entirely unapologetic about it.
These are people who live for years without having to step outside their comfort zone, leading a bubble-wrapped existence.
The sooner that wrap is removed, the better.
Also see :
*thumbs up*
she grew
i hope the jc kids in sg are reading this
all the brainwashed by the spoonfeeding system of sg
This reminds me of an article I just recently came across. Thought I should share it:
http://searchingforenlightenment.blogspot.com/2010/03/from-elite-school.html
interesting...
well, think her observations are quite true to some extend.
Dear UltimaOnline,
Thanks for sharing :)
It is good for one to have an open mind and heart.
Happy Easter Sunday!
Cheers,
Wen Shih
thx for the read. ^^
Not all are like this...
Currently studying in a so called 'elite school' myself (Not that I love brandishing the name around), I would agree with the article... but only to a certain extent!
Case in point:
Her point about elite students being snobs -->Totally true. To be blunt, I'll say 'yes, we are snobs.' With the guys aiming to be Alpha males and everyone aiming to be the best, it's no surprise here that the students would have the mindset of scrutinising and judging others for what they lack.
Right, let's give my own perspective mmkay?
Studies: Why should you choose to be average when you can be the best?
On Material Wealth: It's about having what I want, not about wanting what I have!
On getting along with others: I've got a circle of friends from my school and some 'other' schools that I can relate to, no problem. But when it comes to the number of friends that I have that's outside of this circle, and let's be frank here, I'm talking about kids from our neighbourhood schools, I have none. Yup. None at all. They're associates, nonetheless, but definitely not friends.---------- Problems: It's not that I don't try to be friends with them, it's just the difficulty of getting along with them. Of course you can talk with them, entertain them, go for outings but deep down, you know that the problem lies with you. No matter how hard I try to get the idea that 'I'm superior' or that 'Your thinking process is flawed in so many ways' out of my head, it's still there.
On being Self-Centered:
Striving to be the best has its pros and cons. Of course, you need a purpose in life or you'll just slip into utter depression, and in this case, being the best at everything is my current purpose in life. I understand the implications of this, that the aim to be the best at everything edges upon perfectionism, and since no one is perfect, I'll never be truly happy! But the pros of such a mindset is that you are constantly improving yourself while comparing yourself to others.
The Cons, however, are quite apparent as well. For instance, you'll slowly lose the empathy that you had for others when you were a child. The need to be the best often causes people to compare themselves to others, and as time passes by, it's not surprising that some of us would delight at the failings of our counterparts as a symbol of our own success.
In addition to being Self-Centered, I have even developed an attitude that disgusts me to the very core: The... "I don't give a shit" attitude
Examples: Someone telling me about his/her troubles - Apart from being able to convince the other individual that I actually care when I really don't, there's no part of me that actually "gives a shit" about his/her pains or sufferings.
And trust me, it's not just me that has such problems. In fact, quite alot of people in my class/school have such character problems as a result of the environment that we come from - Rich, Being reminded that we are the 'cream of the crop', having an hedonistic attitude to life which results in the need for material wealth and general self-centeredness which we grow to have (Which we're able to keep hidden after realising the implications of portraying such attitudes towards life out in the open, and instead, we adjust by acting concerned about others and being part of groups which we have no real want to be in, but only the want to be viewed as being the best, both socially and academically).
Originally posted by Icelord9988:Currently studying in a so called 'elite school' myself (Not that I love brandishing the name around), I would agree with the article... but only to a certain extent!
Case in point:
Her point about elite students being snobs -->Totally true. To be blunt, I'll say 'yes, we are snobs.' With the guys aiming to be Alpha males and everyone aiming to be the best, it's no surprise here that the students would have the mindset of scrutinising and judging others for what they lack.
Right, let's give my own perspective mmkay?
Studies: Why should you choose to be average when you can be the best?
On Material Wealth: It's about having what I want, not about wanting what I have!
On getting along with others: I've got a circle of friends from my school and some 'other' schools that I can relate to, no problem. But when it comes to the number of friends that I have that's outside of this circle, and let's be frank here, I'm talking about kids from our neighbourhood schools, I have none. Yup. None at all. They're associates, nonetheless, but definitely not friends.---------- Problems: It's not that I don't try to be friends with them, it's just the difficulty of getting along with them. Of course you can talk with them, entertain them, go for outings but deep down, you know that the problem lies with you. No matter how hard I try to get the idea that 'I'm superior' or that 'Your thinking process is flawed in so many ways' out of my head, it's still there.
On being Self-Centered:
Striving to be the best has its pros and cons. Of course, you need a purpose in life or you'll just slip into utter depression, and in this case, being the best at everything is my current purpose in life. I understand the implications of this, that the aim to be the best at everything edges upon perfectionism, and since no one is perfect, I'll never be truly happy! But the pros of such a mindset is that you are constantly improving yourself while comparing yourself to others.
The Cons, however, are quite apparent as well. For instance, you'll slowly lose the empathy that you had for others when you were a child. The need to be the best often causes people to compare themselves to others, and as time passes by, it's not surprising that some of us would delight at the failings of our counterparts as a symbol of our own success.
In addition to being Self-Centered, I have even developed an attitude that disgusts me to the very core: The... "I don't give a shit" attitude
Examples: Someone telling me about his/her troubles - Apart from being able to convince the other individual that I actually care when I really don't, there's no part of me that actually "gives a shit" about his/her pains or sufferings.
And trust me, it's not just me that has such problems. In fact, quite alot of people in my class/school have such character problems as a result of the environment that we come from - Rich, Being reminded that we are the 'cream of the crop', having an hedonistic attitude to life which results in the need for material wealth and general self-centeredness which we grow to have (Which we're able to keep hidden after realising the implications of portraying such attitudes towards life out in the open, and instead, we adjust by acting concerned about others and being part of groups which we have no real want to be in, but only the want to be viewed as being the best, both socially and academically).
Why bother?
If I'm like that, I wouldn't bother helping out in this forum :)
Too many pple are trapped inside their personal painted pictures of society that they have totally missed the point... no matter from which JC... So what if a person comes from RJ, or VJ or HCI, or whatever? He or she is still just a person, nothing special. Like everyone else, I'm just a mere mortal bumming around society, contributing whenever I can, being happy and satisfied in my own personal way.
When someone label or believe themselves to be someone less significant, then in the end, this person will really become someone less significant. You drive your own beliefs and lives.
To me, the author of the article, Sandra, is still trapped within society's beliefs. Only when one transcends all these beliefs will one see how dumb all these beliefs ultimately are.
Hi,
When there is the notion of 'me versus you', there is bound to be some issue to contend with.
When there is the notion of 'us', there will not be any issue at all :)
Thanks.
Cheers,
Wen Shih