SES in the previous semester has definitely been extremely enriching for me. Being a person who enjoys ideas compared to content, SES has been a platform for me to be exposed to my classmates’ ideas and reflect upon them within. I extremely enjoy the class discussions although I would have very much liked to speak up more in class. I think this could be due to my lack of enough depth in preparation at times due to the extremely hectic Hwa Chong curriculum. While I find the topics very interesting and the materials engaging, I rarely find enough time to read up in depth and often only skim through the content. However, whenever I have the time to do so, I would spend hours reading up on topics related to SES.
SES mainly touched on the Chinese and Western culture in different aspects, and I am able to see the gradual rise in level of thinking as the weeks go by.
We started off with what Chinese and Western culture is, which gradually leads us to how this has affected economically, which builds up to our Semester 2 module about Economics. I remember in our very first lesson where we were introduced to this idea on cultural intelligence. SES has definitely equipped me with a better understanding both sides of the world and showed me what there is outside this little red dot. The exposure to both the Western and Chinese culture has give me a better understanding of how Singapore has actually played both of these elements in our society.
Singapore’s culture and the mindsets of the citizens are extremely influenced by both the Chinese and Western perceptions of self, which I was exposed to in Term 1. Being a child born in a very Chinese-influenced family, I was able to look more into how this perception of self has actually been able to influence people. Being introduced to the Chinese perception of self, I was able to discuss more about this and show more of my family members about the bigger picture. The introduction of the American perception of self has also allowed me to show them what is out there, out of what they are comfortable with and what they have always been practicing. As a teenager living in the 21st century, where the wide usage of the Internet has exposed much of the world to the American perception of self, being exposed to the formal mechanics of this ideology has better shaped my opinion on it. More importantly, by having a wider view of the world, it has allowed me to grow into my own perception of self. One that is a synthesis of both, which I prefer and am more comfortable with.
A difficulty I encountered would be the depth of the materials given doubled with the amount of time I actually had to read through them. With the depth of the materials, I would haven needed much more time to read through them and digest them to be equipped for discussion. However, due to the lack of time, I was only able to skim through it and only absorb a portion of it, sometimes barely understanding what the topic was about. After a few weeks of struggling with this, I managed to resolve this issue by going online to read up on the basics of the topic, gaining a rough understanding and gauging what I can expect from reading the materials. I also talked to a few of my friends from Bicultural Studies Program to get a rough idea of what the topic is about, especially those regarding China.
SES would definitely be useful for me in the future. Not only has it broaden my knowledge on what is happening around the world, building on the knowledge and strategy part of cultural intelligence, it has also inspired me to want to talk to more of the people involved in the culture.
Regarding this, the two Chinese scholars in my class has definitely made the lessons more interesting and giving us more insights from experience. SES has also helped me reflect more about myself and find out my perception of self. Knowledge and exposure is the first step towards reflection and emotion, and knowing about all these has allowed me to reflect more on myself. Writing the reflective journals has also improved my writing skills partially and more importantly has provided me with a platform to put my thoughts into words and learn better how to express them such that another can understand. The compulsory submission of reflective journals and the comments given has told me how I can improve in my reflections, and shown me that EVIDENCE is needed in order to reflect on something- counting on my own thoughts and partial logic is not enough.
Lastly, listening out to my classmates’ opinions and presentations has allowed me to have a more diverse view and not only my own perception of what is happening. I have definitely learnt a lot from them.
I hope the next semester of SES would be equally, if not more, enriching as Semester 1!
825 words
Monday, April 30, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Reflective Journal 4
In the last week, we discussed the different issues faced in China and America, which are categorized according to political, economical and societal. Despite the characterization, they are not all distinctly different; most of them are in grey regions, not completely black or completely white.
America faces many problems in society, which range from teenage crime to drug abuse. Teenagers cause a huge problem to America by having gangs and committing violence. This would result in social unrest. Furthermore, teenagers are known to be the future of the country. Without the right moral mindset and a proper definition of what is wrong and what is right, how would they be able to step up to solve potential problems in the future? I believe this is caused by various reasons. Firstly, America emphasizes on the importance of freedom of rights. This perception encourages youths to become more adventurous and “testing”, taking advantage of the freedom of rights and committing the crimes. The availability of weapons could also be a reason, as seen from many college shootings in the past decades. This could be solved by restricting the usage of weapons in America, not allowing youths access to these dangerous items.
Also, there is a problem of low saving rates in America. This leads to families being unable to support themselves in times of emergency. A study conducted showed that only about 48.6% of the American population is prepared for a period of unemployment while only 36% of them are prepared for a medical emergency. This problem is worsened with the weak job market in America. With these rates, a large portion of the population would be looking to the government for solutions. This would evolve it to become an economical as well as political problem on top of being a social problem. I believe that this savings problem can be solved by introducing the concept of saving, a common ideology in China as well as other parts of Asia to American citizens, especially children, who would ultimately be the successors of Singapore. An example of such an initiative would be Playmoolah, a company founded by co-founders Audrey Tan and Lee Min Xuan. The company aims to educate children in America on saving and properly investing their money, while parents are also allowed to track their children’s progress within the platform.
Another problem in America would be the inefficiency of the political system. Decisions take extremely long to pass through due to the equally balanced two party ruling system, where both parties have equal say and have contradicting and contrasting opinions, many times just to spite each other. This slows down the efficiency of having policies passed through, leading to major problems in society. As seen when President Obama took office, his desire to withdraw troops completely from Afghanistan have not been very efficient due to conflicts between the two parties, resulting in more tension being built up within and outside of America. On the other hand, China has policies passed out easily due to the one party ruling system, where there is no opposition with enough power or enough authority to speak against the decisions. This helps the system to run at a faster pace, allowing decisions to be made more easily. To overhaul the American political hierarchy to become a one-party system would be ridiculous, as it would go against many of their believes such as restricting their freedom of speech and possibly cause even more conflicts to occur. However, I believe that America could take valuable pointers from a one-party system and adapt accordingly. They could allow the ruling party to have more authority than the opposition, enough to be the ultimate decision-making power while still having an opposition to raise valuable arguments to make sure that they do not simply go with their ideals.
Of course, China is not perfect too. A great problem in their society would be an issue on corruption. Being a one-party ruling political hierarchy, the party in power has the authority to go along with their ideals on what they believe in beneficial. With so much power, corruption is aided. There is no second party strong enough to pose threat to their power, and this rampant corruption could affect the society greatly as it affects the citizens’ views toward the government, which would result in the inefficiency of the workforce, leading to economical problems as well. In this aspect, China could definitely learn to open up more to take in more opinions as well as allow a second party to pose a threat or force to make sure the party in power checks themselves and be more cautious with their actions.
In conclusion, I believe there is no perfect solutions to problems, but only a restriction to the issues. It would not be possible to eradicate issues completely, but both of these superpowers of different sides of the globes can definitely take lessons and adapt accordingly in order to progress socially, politically as well as economically.
833 words
America faces many problems in society, which range from teenage crime to drug abuse. Teenagers cause a huge problem to America by having gangs and committing violence. This would result in social unrest. Furthermore, teenagers are known to be the future of the country. Without the right moral mindset and a proper definition of what is wrong and what is right, how would they be able to step up to solve potential problems in the future? I believe this is caused by various reasons. Firstly, America emphasizes on the importance of freedom of rights. This perception encourages youths to become more adventurous and “testing”, taking advantage of the freedom of rights and committing the crimes. The availability of weapons could also be a reason, as seen from many college shootings in the past decades. This could be solved by restricting the usage of weapons in America, not allowing youths access to these dangerous items.
Also, there is a problem of low saving rates in America. This leads to families being unable to support themselves in times of emergency. A study conducted showed that only about 48.6% of the American population is prepared for a period of unemployment while only 36% of them are prepared for a medical emergency. This problem is worsened with the weak job market in America. With these rates, a large portion of the population would be looking to the government for solutions. This would evolve it to become an economical as well as political problem on top of being a social problem. I believe that this savings problem can be solved by introducing the concept of saving, a common ideology in China as well as other parts of Asia to American citizens, especially children, who would ultimately be the successors of Singapore. An example of such an initiative would be Playmoolah, a company founded by co-founders Audrey Tan and Lee Min Xuan. The company aims to educate children in America on saving and properly investing their money, while parents are also allowed to track their children’s progress within the platform.
Another problem in America would be the inefficiency of the political system. Decisions take extremely long to pass through due to the equally balanced two party ruling system, where both parties have equal say and have contradicting and contrasting opinions, many times just to spite each other. This slows down the efficiency of having policies passed through, leading to major problems in society. As seen when President Obama took office, his desire to withdraw troops completely from Afghanistan have not been very efficient due to conflicts between the two parties, resulting in more tension being built up within and outside of America. On the other hand, China has policies passed out easily due to the one party ruling system, where there is no opposition with enough power or enough authority to speak against the decisions. This helps the system to run at a faster pace, allowing decisions to be made more easily. To overhaul the American political hierarchy to become a one-party system would be ridiculous, as it would go against many of their believes such as restricting their freedom of speech and possibly cause even more conflicts to occur. However, I believe that America could take valuable pointers from a one-party system and adapt accordingly. They could allow the ruling party to have more authority than the opposition, enough to be the ultimate decision-making power while still having an opposition to raise valuable arguments to make sure that they do not simply go with their ideals.
Of course, China is not perfect too. A great problem in their society would be an issue on corruption. Being a one-party ruling political hierarchy, the party in power has the authority to go along with their ideals on what they believe in beneficial. With so much power, corruption is aided. There is no second party strong enough to pose threat to their power, and this rampant corruption could affect the society greatly as it affects the citizens’ views toward the government, which would result in the inefficiency of the workforce, leading to economical problems as well. In this aspect, China could definitely learn to open up more to take in more opinions as well as allow a second party to pose a threat or force to make sure the party in power checks themselves and be more cautious with their actions.
In conclusion, I believe there is no perfect solutions to problems, but only a restriction to the issues. It would not be possible to eradicate issues completely, but both of these superpowers of different sides of the globes can definitely take lessons and adapt accordingly in order to progress socially, politically as well as economically.
833 words
Monday, February 13, 2012
Reflective Journal 3
In the past two weeks, we explored both the Chinese and American's perspectives of self. The Chinese perception of self mainly stresses on respect for seniors and has a strict social hierarchy. On the other hand, Western perception of self devotes to liberty and freedom, where every individual has an equal status and have their individual rights.
In Singapore, we are very much influenced by both perspectives of self. Firstly, the Chinese perception of self can be seen in our one-party rule where the People's Action Party (PAP) rules over the governance of Singapore. However, the legalized action of being able to form a separate opposition party shows an example of how both perspectives of self is incorporated in Singapore. I also believe that there is a noticeable generation gap between the dominant perspective of self. The older generation of Singapore stresses much on Chinese Confucianism ideals such as respect, where respect is due to the older generation, regardless of race. On the other hand, the new generation, very much influenced by the thriving media industry, is more greatly influenced by the American perspective of self. It is common to see the younger generation having the tendency to want to speak up and express their point of view as compared to the more conservative older generation who believe they should simply follow the ruling of PAP in the fear of being convicted when expressing views or opinions against the ruling party.
Economically, is is also clear that both the Chinese and American perspectives of self is incorporated together. However, there is an American dominance in the perspective of self today. In the late 20th century, Singapore had to build a more technical workforce to sustain the manufacturing economy. Then, the Chinese perspective of self was stronger as students were only required to gain the necessary technical skills and pass examinations in order to join the workforce. With Singapore moving toward a more IT and knowledge-based economy in the 21st century, simply having the Chinese perspective of self is just not enough. The American's perspective of self is shown strongly today, as students are encouraged to participate more in class and have their own opinions instead of simply following the textbook. Students are required to be more creative and capable of contributing to the knowledge-based economy in the future.
Having said that, I must admit that I have only went through the Hwa Chong Integrated Programme and do not have a clear understanding of other schools. However, based on my observations, many other schools still follow the exam-based curriculum where the GCE 'O' Levels are the priority. Having brought this reflective journal to this point, I would like to discuss a little how I feel the Hwa Chong curricula incorporates both the American and Chinese perspective of self. Being a Chinese school, we are built with pillars of Chinese values. We value respect a lot- teachers receive the respect they are due in a Chinese perspective of self. In our "good values" JTIGERR and "core values" PIERR, "R" stands for "Respect". This shows the importance respect stands in our school. However, in the newly implemented "PIERR", there is a new component which reads "Innovation". We can infer that the school is embarking on promoting creativity in our school, part of the American perspective of self. Oral participation and independent studies are also evidences where the school encourages us to express our viewpoints while using the Chinese perspective of self to guide our character to having a "better moral self". I feel that this mix of both cultural perspectives of self does shape us to become better people- being able to express ourselves while having guiding principles to fall back on. I also enjoy the space given to us to embark on our own project according to our own interests as well as the opportunities to voice our views in class, especially in subjects such as Socio-Economic Studies which largely surrounds class discussion.
Personally, I prefer the American perspective of self as it allows for more room for creativity and expression. There is less boundary to confine my thoughts and actions. However, I am born and nurtured in a largely "Chinese perception of self"-supporting family and environment. Since young, I have been taught that I simply have to work hard and I'll get a decent job, earn a decent pay and continue the cycle. I have been taught that I should not question the seniors as that is disrespectful, and that creativity doesn't work in examinations thus I should not use it and I should use the best way to obtain maximum marks in a test. However, being educated in Hwa Chong and growing up with the influence of the American culture through media in the form of movies as well as the internet, I have grown into a person who fancies creativity and have opinions which contradict the Chinese perception of self. I believe that this is an example of many Singaporeans today- we are bounded by Chinese values but yearn to adopt the American perspective of self. The only solution out of this is to balance them, showing different sides to different people, also known as adaptation.
Thus, I would like to conclude with a point on adaptation. I believe we should be able to adapt to different situations as we grow up. While in a more "Chinese" situation, we should learn to adapt and respect their values, as they are still good values to follow and learn from. However, if one prefers, we can still adopt a more American perspective of self in other situations, and values such as creativity and expression are definitely worth treasuring.
947 words
In Singapore, we are very much influenced by both perspectives of self. Firstly, the Chinese perception of self can be seen in our one-party rule where the People's Action Party (PAP) rules over the governance of Singapore. However, the legalized action of being able to form a separate opposition party shows an example of how both perspectives of self is incorporated in Singapore. I also believe that there is a noticeable generation gap between the dominant perspective of self. The older generation of Singapore stresses much on Chinese Confucianism ideals such as respect, where respect is due to the older generation, regardless of race. On the other hand, the new generation, very much influenced by the thriving media industry, is more greatly influenced by the American perspective of self. It is common to see the younger generation having the tendency to want to speak up and express their point of view as compared to the more conservative older generation who believe they should simply follow the ruling of PAP in the fear of being convicted when expressing views or opinions against the ruling party.
Economically, is is also clear that both the Chinese and American perspectives of self is incorporated together. However, there is an American dominance in the perspective of self today. In the late 20th century, Singapore had to build a more technical workforce to sustain the manufacturing economy. Then, the Chinese perspective of self was stronger as students were only required to gain the necessary technical skills and pass examinations in order to join the workforce. With Singapore moving toward a more IT and knowledge-based economy in the 21st century, simply having the Chinese perspective of self is just not enough. The American's perspective of self is shown strongly today, as students are encouraged to participate more in class and have their own opinions instead of simply following the textbook. Students are required to be more creative and capable of contributing to the knowledge-based economy in the future.
Having said that, I must admit that I have only went through the Hwa Chong Integrated Programme and do not have a clear understanding of other schools. However, based on my observations, many other schools still follow the exam-based curriculum where the GCE 'O' Levels are the priority. Having brought this reflective journal to this point, I would like to discuss a little how I feel the Hwa Chong curricula incorporates both the American and Chinese perspective of self. Being a Chinese school, we are built with pillars of Chinese values. We value respect a lot- teachers receive the respect they are due in a Chinese perspective of self. In our "good values" JTIGERR and "core values" PIERR, "R" stands for "Respect". This shows the importance respect stands in our school. However, in the newly implemented "PIERR", there is a new component which reads "Innovation". We can infer that the school is embarking on promoting creativity in our school, part of the American perspective of self. Oral participation and independent studies are also evidences where the school encourages us to express our viewpoints while using the Chinese perspective of self to guide our character to having a "better moral self". I feel that this mix of both cultural perspectives of self does shape us to become better people- being able to express ourselves while having guiding principles to fall back on. I also enjoy the space given to us to embark on our own project according to our own interests as well as the opportunities to voice our views in class, especially in subjects such as Socio-Economic Studies which largely surrounds class discussion.
Personally, I prefer the American perspective of self as it allows for more room for creativity and expression. There is less boundary to confine my thoughts and actions. However, I am born and nurtured in a largely "Chinese perception of self"-supporting family and environment. Since young, I have been taught that I simply have to work hard and I'll get a decent job, earn a decent pay and continue the cycle. I have been taught that I should not question the seniors as that is disrespectful, and that creativity doesn't work in examinations thus I should not use it and I should use the best way to obtain maximum marks in a test. However, being educated in Hwa Chong and growing up with the influence of the American culture through media in the form of movies as well as the internet, I have grown into a person who fancies creativity and have opinions which contradict the Chinese perception of self. I believe that this is an example of many Singaporeans today- we are bounded by Chinese values but yearn to adopt the American perspective of self. The only solution out of this is to balance them, showing different sides to different people, also known as adaptation.
Thus, I would like to conclude with a point on adaptation. I believe we should be able to adapt to different situations as we grow up. While in a more "Chinese" situation, we should learn to adapt and respect their values, as they are still good values to follow and learn from. However, if one prefers, we can still adopt a more American perspective of self in other situations, and values such as creativity and expression are definitely worth treasuring.
947 words
Monday, January 30, 2012
Reflective Journal 2
In week 4, we were introduced to the working culture and management style in Google and Lenovo. To summarize what we discussed, the “Google Way” involves giving the workers lots of freedom and incentives. These motivate the workers in an environment that encourages creativity. Lenovo, a Chinese-based company, follows an eight-men executive committee and follows a rather strict hierarchy. However, the company has been trying to “free up” the workers and incorporate Western cultures into the company, in an attempt to compete in the global stage. Their attempts have arguably been successful, steering them to becoming one of the largest manufacturers of computers and hardware around the globe.
The “Google Way” of management very much reflects on the American society, in terms of freedom. Workers work at their own pace and are allowed to dedicate 20% of their time into their own creative projects for Google. The Lenovo way also shows much about the Chinese society, which is very much known for communism. As like communism, there is a strict hierarchy in which the top management calls the shots and the workers work without questioning the decisions of the management. Lenovo however, has an executive committee made up of some “Westerners”, with the company in hope of helping the company enter the global stage. However, as Bill Amelio had experienced, his Chinese colleagues’ reluctance to speak their minds and their preference to follow orders frustrated him. As quoted from what he told Wall Street Journal in 2008, “You don’t want everyone saying, ‘yes, yes, yes’ all the time.”
Personally, I would love to work in the Google environment, as it allows me to express my creativity without boundaries. Without tight schedules to fulfill and working at my own pace, work would definitely be more enjoyable and I believe this is how quality work can truly be produced. Of course, this requires a high standard of discipline, self-discipline. Only with self-discipline can one be able to have the responsibility to complete tasks even under such comfortable and perhaps distracting situations. Free food, massages, recreation centers- all these build up to a dream workplace for everyone. While all these seem like a heaven for a working place, disadvantages include being distracted by all the temptations and end up not completing the work. This of course, leads to the sack. Also, environments would be extremely stressful as we would feel obliged to complete more tasks for Google as we are given so many incentives.
Without a doubt, the Lenovo environment would be a pleasant place to work at too. Work there would most probably be more systematic, where everything is in place and all that we need to do is complete the assigned work in the assigned period of time. Nevertheless, working environment is constrained and there is no room to express creativity. Also, workers have no say over the decisions made by the superior, and we would still have to complete the tasks no matter how unhappy we are with the situation, leading to high levels of unhappiness working for the Lenovo. However, as I had mentioned earlier, the Lenovo management also includes Western ideologies of freedom and say, which broadens the boundaries of the circle.
The Lenovo system as compared to Google’s working environment, would be less stressful as we do not face being obliged to create something as we do not feel debted towards the company without all the incentives and freedom. Work is done and over with quickly, and we simply wait for the next assigned task to arrive. On the other hand, it might be more stressful as work has to be rushed out and completed in a fixed amount of time.
Of course, Both environments have its advantages and disadvantages, just like there are always two sides to a coin. If I were to piece together the advantages of both working environments, it would be where work is structured in which there is a clear and distinct amount of work to be done, but at our own paces, where we are able to express our creativity. Of course, the incentives Google provides shouldn’t be missed, as that would be a main source of motivation for workers.
To conclude, I would love to work in the Google environment in the future as it allows me to express creativity. Being a person who believes in allowing as much creative freedom as possible, I feel it would be the best working environment for me. Nevertheless, having a structure would be good for our working environment as work is assigned and we would not have to crack our brains too hard as there is a structure to fall back on when lost. I definitely look forward to our next Socio Economic Studies tutorial!
The “Google Way” of management very much reflects on the American society, in terms of freedom. Workers work at their own pace and are allowed to dedicate 20% of their time into their own creative projects for Google. The Lenovo way also shows much about the Chinese society, which is very much known for communism. As like communism, there is a strict hierarchy in which the top management calls the shots and the workers work without questioning the decisions of the management. Lenovo however, has an executive committee made up of some “Westerners”, with the company in hope of helping the company enter the global stage. However, as Bill Amelio had experienced, his Chinese colleagues’ reluctance to speak their minds and their preference to follow orders frustrated him. As quoted from what he told Wall Street Journal in 2008, “You don’t want everyone saying, ‘yes, yes, yes’ all the time.”
Personally, I would love to work in the Google environment, as it allows me to express my creativity without boundaries. Without tight schedules to fulfill and working at my own pace, work would definitely be more enjoyable and I believe this is how quality work can truly be produced. Of course, this requires a high standard of discipline, self-discipline. Only with self-discipline can one be able to have the responsibility to complete tasks even under such comfortable and perhaps distracting situations. Free food, massages, recreation centers- all these build up to a dream workplace for everyone. While all these seem like a heaven for a working place, disadvantages include being distracted by all the temptations and end up not completing the work. This of course, leads to the sack. Also, environments would be extremely stressful as we would feel obliged to complete more tasks for Google as we are given so many incentives.
Without a doubt, the Lenovo environment would be a pleasant place to work at too. Work there would most probably be more systematic, where everything is in place and all that we need to do is complete the assigned work in the assigned period of time. Nevertheless, working environment is constrained and there is no room to express creativity. Also, workers have no say over the decisions made by the superior, and we would still have to complete the tasks no matter how unhappy we are with the situation, leading to high levels of unhappiness working for the Lenovo. However, as I had mentioned earlier, the Lenovo management also includes Western ideologies of freedom and say, which broadens the boundaries of the circle.
The Lenovo system as compared to Google’s working environment, would be less stressful as we do not face being obliged to create something as we do not feel debted towards the company without all the incentives and freedom. Work is done and over with quickly, and we simply wait for the next assigned task to arrive. On the other hand, it might be more stressful as work has to be rushed out and completed in a fixed amount of time.
Of course, Both environments have its advantages and disadvantages, just like there are always two sides to a coin. If I were to piece together the advantages of both working environments, it would be where work is structured in which there is a clear and distinct amount of work to be done, but at our own paces, where we are able to express our creativity. Of course, the incentives Google provides shouldn’t be missed, as that would be a main source of motivation for workers.
To conclude, I would love to work in the Google environment in the future as it allows me to express creativity. Being a person who believes in allowing as much creative freedom as possible, I feel it would be the best working environment for me. Nevertheless, having a structure would be good for our working environment as work is assigned and we would not have to crack our brains too hard as there is a structure to fall back on when lost. I definitely look forward to our next Socio Economic Studies tutorial!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Reflective Journal 1
Socio-Economic Studies (SES) is a brand new subject for us this year, part of the CSE SMTP's curriculum. From the name of the subject itself, I had felt the moment I read the timetable that this would be an extremely enriching and interesting subject. The name of the subject suggested that this would be about the link between social changes and behaviors and the economic status and growth of the country, which seemed particularly interesting.
During our first lesson of SES lesson, Ms Yeo introduced the structure and syllabus of this module to us. Basically, we would be exploring how the different cultures of mainly the chinese and western cultures have led to their economical growth today. With China predicted to overtake the United States of America as the economical super power by 2016, it is definitely beneficial for us to understand how the United States of America have achieved the feat of being economical super power throughout all these years as well as how Chinese values have helped the Chinese to be able to potentially become the economical super power in 2016.
Assessment
For SES, there are no written tests nor examinations. Instead, these will be replaced by reflective journals and class discussions. Personally, I feel that this is a much better to grade our performance in class as it shows our true understanding and allows us to have more freedom to express our ideas, unlike written tests and examinations which are bounded by the limited amount of time we have and the tendency for us to write what we feel will get us to achieve higher marks instead of expressing our true opinion. In my opinion, reflective journals allow us to reflect on the lesson itself after class discussions, consolidate our views and have a better understanding on the topic. There would also be a term paper cum presentation for our assessment, which I feel appropriately replaces the "dead" examinations we have to take for other subjects. While we still have to follow according to the rubrics in order to achieve a better grade, presentations train us to be able to speak our point instead of simply writing, which allows us to convey our point in a more lively way. This definitely fulfills the Hwa Chong mission of nurturing leaders. Leaders are able to speak and convey a point in a way to convince others, not simply writing everything into a piece of paper and submitting it! The SES assessment, although "probably difficult" to score in, would definitely push us further.
Just yesterday (16 January 2012), we had our first SES tutorial, which exposed us to what Cultural Intelligence (CQ) was. Having read up on cultural intelligence before the lesson, I had a better understanding of it and definitely enjoyed the lesson. Cultural Intelligence can be measured from four different aspects: CQ Drive (motivation), the person's interest in and confidence at functioning effectively in culturally diverse settings, CQ Knowledge (cognition) , the person's knowledge on how cultures are similar and different, CQ Strategy (meta-cognition) , on how the person makes sense of culturally diverse experiences and finally CQ Action (behavior), the person's capability to adapt his/her behavior to different cultures.
Without a doubt, CQ is important for an individual. As mentioned by David Livermore, people with higher CQs tend to be consistently more personally and professionally effective, having an edge in the crowded job market and enjoy greater personal satisfaction and less burnout in all kids of multicultural situations. Leaders with high CQ are able to understand how to encounter new cultural situations, judge what goes on in them, make appropriate adjustments to understand and behave effectively in otherwise disorienting circumstances.
While I agree that CQ is important to everybody in today's society, especially to people who plan to be involved in the global economy, to strike businesses around the world or to be a leader in research, industry or government, I believe that CQ is more or less, as Ms Yeo mentioned, common sense. Is behaving appropriately in front of other cultures not common sense? While the formal structure of CQ is one which can help one be better able to understand what is expected of him, it is simply just another ideology which everybody should already know that this is "the politically right, right in terms of social normalities" thing to do put onto paper formally.
However, as I mentioned, the Cultural Intelligence test is still good for people who want to know where they stand in Cultural Intelligence. Personally, I scored badly for CQ Knowledge. This is probably because I have never really met people from differentiated cultural backgrounds, and have not read up much on them. I definitely hope to be able to meet people from other cultures to find out more about them and would make an effort in the future to read up on other cultures or even learn to appreciate songs from different cultural backgrounds.
I definitely hope SES would be as enriching as I hope it would be, and look forward to an enriching journey in the future!
Ng Aik Yang
3S2
During our first lesson of SES lesson, Ms Yeo introduced the structure and syllabus of this module to us. Basically, we would be exploring how the different cultures of mainly the chinese and western cultures have led to their economical growth today. With China predicted to overtake the United States of America as the economical super power by 2016, it is definitely beneficial for us to understand how the United States of America have achieved the feat of being economical super power throughout all these years as well as how Chinese values have helped the Chinese to be able to potentially become the economical super power in 2016.
Assessment
For SES, there are no written tests nor examinations. Instead, these will be replaced by reflective journals and class discussions. Personally, I feel that this is a much better to grade our performance in class as it shows our true understanding and allows us to have more freedom to express our ideas, unlike written tests and examinations which are bounded by the limited amount of time we have and the tendency for us to write what we feel will get us to achieve higher marks instead of expressing our true opinion. In my opinion, reflective journals allow us to reflect on the lesson itself after class discussions, consolidate our views and have a better understanding on the topic. There would also be a term paper cum presentation for our assessment, which I feel appropriately replaces the "dead" examinations we have to take for other subjects. While we still have to follow according to the rubrics in order to achieve a better grade, presentations train us to be able to speak our point instead of simply writing, which allows us to convey our point in a more lively way. This definitely fulfills the Hwa Chong mission of nurturing leaders. Leaders are able to speak and convey a point in a way to convince others, not simply writing everything into a piece of paper and submitting it! The SES assessment, although "probably difficult" to score in, would definitely push us further.
Just yesterday (16 January 2012), we had our first SES tutorial, which exposed us to what Cultural Intelligence (CQ) was. Having read up on cultural intelligence before the lesson, I had a better understanding of it and definitely enjoyed the lesson. Cultural Intelligence can be measured from four different aspects: CQ Drive (motivation), the person's interest in and confidence at functioning effectively in culturally diverse settings, CQ Knowledge (cognition) , the person's knowledge on how cultures are similar and different, CQ Strategy (meta-cognition) , on how the person makes sense of culturally diverse experiences and finally CQ Action (behavior), the person's capability to adapt his/her behavior to different cultures.
Without a doubt, CQ is important for an individual. As mentioned by David Livermore, people with higher CQs tend to be consistently more personally and professionally effective, having an edge in the crowded job market and enjoy greater personal satisfaction and less burnout in all kids of multicultural situations. Leaders with high CQ are able to understand how to encounter new cultural situations, judge what goes on in them, make appropriate adjustments to understand and behave effectively in otherwise disorienting circumstances.
While I agree that CQ is important to everybody in today's society, especially to people who plan to be involved in the global economy, to strike businesses around the world or to be a leader in research, industry or government, I believe that CQ is more or less, as Ms Yeo mentioned, common sense. Is behaving appropriately in front of other cultures not common sense? While the formal structure of CQ is one which can help one be better able to understand what is expected of him, it is simply just another ideology which everybody should already know that this is "the politically right, right in terms of social normalities" thing to do put onto paper formally.
However, as I mentioned, the Cultural Intelligence test is still good for people who want to know where they stand in Cultural Intelligence. Personally, I scored badly for CQ Knowledge. This is probably because I have never really met people from differentiated cultural backgrounds, and have not read up much on them. I definitely hope to be able to meet people from other cultures to find out more about them and would make an effort in the future to read up on other cultures or even learn to appreciate songs from different cultural backgrounds.
I definitely hope SES would be as enriching as I hope it would be, and look forward to an enriching journey in the future!
Ng Aik Yang
3S2
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