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.
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