Parochialism And Bigotry - We Are All Of Them And More

Here Is The Whole Clan Of The Next Generation
In chatting up my niece the other day, I couldn't help thinking she was the coolest cucumber in town. In fact if there should ever be a Nancy Drew detective sequel, I would pick her for the plump role.

She is one gal who distinguishes herself from the other galls I know.

I have even higher regards for my nephew, who is now working as a social worker for our prisons department after completing his Arts honours degree. The kinda low-paying, lowly status, looked down upon job but which he is slogging at because he is answering his calling.

My two other nephews are variously pursuing culinary and tourism studies, while another older nephew is actually working in the F&B trade. Both have been featured in the press.

I am sure they have done my sister proud and I am equally proud of them.

Another Wake-Up Call - Are Citizens Seriously Disadvantaged Here?
I am not sure what statehood means these days or how it has been redefined.

To me it means a certain amount of responsibility assumed by the state for ALL its citizens with regard to basics such as education, health, housing and jobs.

Increasingly, this seems to have been devolved to various private organisations. CPF monies(Medisave, Medishield and compulsory annuities) for one (it seems that the onus of healthcare have now passed to insurance companies) and even HDB concessionary interest-rate loan-outs are being outsourced to private banks.

It used to be that the HDB concessionary interest-rate loans are virtually extended to almost every citizen but now it comes with a slew of restrictions and eligibility criteria. Chief among which are the number of times you have taken such a loan and the housing subsidy, the size of your current or next flat purchased or sold, income and if you own a private, industrial or commercial property and if so, how many and do you run it yourself.

One bite of the cherry, as they always defend themselves with but as I have time and again highlighted, our SPRs (and Non-Citizens only in the resale market) seem to have multiple gos at almost every "single" (oops, pun unintended) spousal scheme we have in which they can jointly apply for a flat with a SC (Singapore Citizen) in various tenancy arrangements in both the primary and secondary market.

I am growing tired so I will not blog about the other basic responsibilities though I have briefly touched on health and jobs earlier.

Someone do the thinking and critique them.

School Rankings Based On Schools' Achievements
Yes the rankings have changed and now schools with similar "O" or "N" level academic aggregates (the L1B5 and L1B4) are banded together right along their other achievements in the various categories of best practices, academic value-add plus a host of others.

Each is graded with stars, the more boldened stars, the higher the ranking. But what each EXACTLY entails isn't really clear-cut because by just stating processes and outcomes or academic value-add simply do not define what they are.

I feel that the ranking should not have been necessary in the first place. Neither do getting the students into a flurry of signing up for various compulsory arts, sports or cca activities just to pull up the schools' rankings or gain credits.

In fact,half the 10 secondary schools who bested the table were all-girls while only 2 all-boys' schools did well enough. The rest were co-educational ones. What this means is that girls are probably better at this kinda airy-fairy, purely academic stuff and the boys' schools featured were probably wimps.

Unsound Premises On Which Are Predicated Some Of Our Policies And Thinking And This Will Bring On Long Term Disastrous Effects
It is precisely because that so many of our policies and thinking have been predicated on unsound premises and values that they signal confusion, loathe and kiasuism. The above citation is one fine example. Scoring points.

I envisage no ranking at all. But what I do envision is this: half the curriculum time being alloted to a dose of realism. That means getting students to experience, think about, write and espouse their stance and criticsms on various issues that will impact their lives even more.

Starting from schools, their schools' policies, to their jobs (part-time vacational ones for instance), the community they live in, at home, their interactions with the community and the state and its agencies and so on.

Real education for the real world

Bottoms Up - The Community Is The Devil And So You Will Deserve All That You Are Getting Now
By now I am positively sure it is the community who is at work here. They are the ones who because of various jealous streaks have agitated for what we are now beginning to see as a slew of prohibitions that are killing us the citizens and bringing in the foreigners.

If I do agitate, it will be for improvements and betterment but this does not seem to be what the rest is advocating.

Good for you people! You deserve everything you are getting now!

I Trust Myself And To Several Gods Higher Than Me
As I have warned my sisters, I will not listen to most of the coffee-shop talk that goes on. The falsities, the half truths and the untruths. The mis-information. The bad advice. The fuel to the fire.

The spirits and the gods. The superstitions. The uncles and aunties, the bengs and the lians. And a whole lot more.

Education and wealth measure nothing. Even among them, the educated and the highly educated and the rich and famous, things can be just as bad.

In myself I trust and in the God of The Information Age, The God Of Research and Of The God Of True Science And Of Logic And Good Reasoning.

Blogging Presents A Different Medium For Espousing Views That Traditional Media Shuns Or Are Afraid To Espouse
Blogs are written straight from the heart and good bloggers check their facts to ensure accuracy and up-to-dateness.

They write from experience from the ground. Usually something that journalists do not have first hand experience or knowledge of. Bloggers also write without fear and espouse viewpoints the mainstream media would not even dare think about, let alone write.

There is that element of political correctness which journalists have to observe while bloggers carry with them the "to hell with it" attitude

Bloggers can also come up with that 360 degree radical idea or proposition as opposed to the same few safe and tried standpoints that the traditionalists and conservationalists would toss around. Almost like flogging the same dead horse to its ultimate death.

So blogs play an important role if you wanna hear the true side to a story or a different, often radical but correct viewpoint or stand on an issue.

Not the same parrot parroting the same lines over and over again.

The Penal Code : Sexual Grooming
If I were to go by a reporter's article on sexual grooming, I have much to fear.

I mean I have caressed Ashley's hair more than a dozen times and ribbed him on so many occasions. I have blown into his face and variously expressed mock disgust when he mentions "galls", only to watch him squeal in delight and cracking up in laughter.

I have given him the purported gall's half of a McDonald's "Hello Kitty" toy and enunciated words in a high-pitch voice just for laughs.

Oh gosh, so is it just child's play or am I guilty of sexual grooming? Perhaps the mother would groom him worse, wouldn't she? Wouldn't Ashley pick up more of her traits than he would from me? All those women's traits?

I guess I am just carried away and being way off the mark. After all, sexual grooming is more like grooming someone for sexual exploitation like molest or rape, isn't it?