School life in China

The 德智体群美 aspect in Chinese education as observed from the school exchange in Shanghai.

Biology practical- Reflection

On 7 July 2017, we had our first hands-on practical. It is also the first time in a very long time that I had to turn on a Bunsen burner by myself. I actually had no idea the proper way to turn on a Bunsen burner and was very afraid of burning my finger if I as much as touched the sieve after the burner was lighted. This practice taught me the proper procedure; light the fire after the gas is turned on, then make sure the air hole is open. It would no longer burn if the burner was properly prepared. 

One other thing I found out when I was doing the experiment was that I became very flustered when I had to observe and write down the experiment, keep track of which test tube was which and at the same time, still follow the instructions about timing etc. However, I learnt a method that helped me track test tubes: to get test tubes with chemicals ready first, then place them in the test tube rack in the order of which the original bottle of chemicals were placed (on the table from left to right: Glucose solution, Egg Albumin solution, Starch suspension, Oil) so that at least I had a reference if I get confused. 

I actually did not expect the practical to be 'timed' with countdowns . As much as I found it stressful at first, it helped me complete my task timely because I’m someone who is slow and takes time to process and do work. A timed experiment helped me keep track of time and figure out if I was too slow or unsure at certain parts, as well as forced me to do the experiment in a way that made the most of my time (read practical while waiting for water to boil). 

The last takeaway was that teamwork is very important in practicals like this. Even though we have always been taking goggles together as a whole class, only this practical did we find out that it would be more efficient for us to take, not only goggles, but everything needed for practical for the whole bench or the pair, work together to help prepare and collect/keep things so that we save time and energy. This is important as our practicals are sometimes very time-tight. Through increased teamwork, we can increase efficiency, get the experiment done and have time to learn the materials. 

To Keep or Not To Keep? Preserving vs Modernisation

The house at Oxley Road. To keep or to demolish? 

Hi, in one of our recent CID lesson, we discussed preservation versus modernisation. While preservation of a heritage site is vital to the preservation of our culture and also attracts tourism and gives a unique feature to the history and culture, tensions between modernisation and preservation have been rising with different parties taking different stands. To decide whether or not to keep, different viewpoints must be taken into account. 

Former prime minster Lee Kuan Yew's house is one example. Upon his passing, Mr LKY's will and testimony was activated. In his will, he states that the house was to be demolished upon his death if his children (mainly his daughter) was to move out. However, there has been great debacle on what to do with the house. These are some of the viewpoints that create so many different opinions. 

LKY's family: To demolish. In order to respect their late patriarch, the family of LKY (or Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong) would choose of respect his wishes and prevent people invading their privacy. However, as people who grew up in the family home, not all the family would want to demolish a place where memories were formed.  

National Heritage Board and Tourism Board: To keep. The house is rich with history and heritage (PAP was formed there). Keeping the house means keeping the history and this can attract tourism. Tourism can also be used to make money. 

Singaporean adults: Maybe some would demolish, some would preserve. To demolish means to respect his last wishes. Mr LKY has already given his all to Singapore, so many people would choose to respect his last wishes as a sign of respect. However, knowing the house is full of heritage and history, some adults would also choose to keep the heritage as it would be a shame to demolish such a significant house. 

Personally, my stand is to keep the house. Although Mr LKY's house could be written down in history books or displayed as a mini model in a museum, without the house there, the ambience of the site is lost. The younger generation would not be able to fully appreciate the site where hard work and crucial cornerstones of nation building took place. Keeping the house means students can visit as an educational trip and preserving the physical roots of our nation's beginning. 

Sometimes preservation is good. However, in modern times like these, is it truly possible to keep everything in top-notch standards without upgrading or reconstruction? Would we sometimes need to add modern prospects in? Preserving a heritage site means tourists would start visiting. Carparks are added, toilets are added, water coolers are added. Modernisation need to take place in this case, in order to cater to the consequences of preservation. Would this, then, take away the former ambience, or the authenticity of the heritage site? 

Education: The Big Picture

Hey! We are finally done with economics!

In this blog post, we would be taking a look at China's education system.

Education is key to the society as it prepares children to enter in world of tomorrow, not only because many prestigious and high-paying jobs are reserved for the well-educated, but also because through interacting with other children while thinking deeply and develop team players and leadership. Also, education (i.e. Schooling) can keep children off the streets and educate them on right and wrong things to do. Therefore, education in important.

We first ask ourselves, what is learning? Is it blindly memorising facts from a textbook? Is it doing hours of papers and homework? Well, to me, learning means gaining knowledge. It's more than the simple 'know your facts' and rushing through homework. Learning means to be able to be able to solve and understand and to undertstand strangths and weakneses. We learn because we want to broaden our perspective, and not only in the academic areas. Who says playing a piano is not learning? Who says playing tennis is not learning? Who says leadership camps, initiative programmes, VIA projects are not learning? When we can apply what we've learnt into ur daily life and problem-solve successfully, we can safely say that we have learnt.

What then, makes a holistic learning in school? Well, a well-balanced, holistic learning for the (21st) century would be holistic learning. And not only in academics, because that would not be sufficient to prepare learners for the furture. 60% of the jobs 10 years from noe have not even been invented yet! Academical knowledge we pass down today may be meaningless in the future, but life skills like leadership, logical thinking, problem-solving will play a vital role throughout a person's life, regardless of day and age.

In China, due to the one-child policy, immense pressure is placed on the singleton. Academic results are extremely emphasised in, with high-stakes tests like the gaokao, which takes many teenager's lives every year. These tests are a one-shot attempt at getting a good future. As a result, many Chinese believe that if you are unable to get into a good university (because of poor results from the exam), your good future might as well be gone for good. That is why parents, afraid of the child not being able to do well in the future to support themselves and their parents, push their child to the extreme in order to study well. My cousin in China is taking her gaokao next year, and even with a whole year of schooling left before the exam, she has to attend school almost 7 days a week, with only the occasional Sunday break. Her school ends around 8.30 or 9 at night, where she would be in school doing her zixi in the supervising eye of her teacher. Another cousin just took his last year. I remembered that I was in China then, and the whole family was panicking. Even the extended family (my uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents, my parents) were panicking because he did not look like he was going to do well. My grandmother, an old lady into her 80s, insisted she walk all the way to my cousin's house to help him with his studies.

At various hotels around the city, students flock in to book hotel rooms to study in about a week before their exams. Billboard-like words flash across the entrance, reminding residents around the vicinity as well as those passing to keep their volume down. "Gaokao students currently staying in the hotels, please keep noise and honking down".

The whole China would be making up a fuss about the gaokao and Chinese social media and news platforms would be reporting news every day of the exam. "In XXX province, it has been revealed that the topic is XXX" "XXX is a previous gaokao scholar and her notes are up for sale!"

But are the gaokaos really fair? Well, each province is given different topics basedon their education levels in provinces. Universities enroll students in different provinces different cut-off points. Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou students have an edge above students of other cities because they are given privilege to universities in that region (especially since universities there are the best few). Those that do not do so well but with Guanxi are able to get in.

While there may be certain problems regarding the system, it does not look like ut is chnaging soon. But as we ask ourselves, are the students really receiving what we call a 'holistic education'?

Business Insider

Economics Pt5: Factory to the World

Last part of economics, yeah!

In the previous CID lessons regarding Economics, we discussed the importance of establishing good relations, cost of living and population crisis in Singapore. In this last part of the module, we will be talking about what has made China the factory of the world and the title's consequences.

Have you seen the logo 'Made in China' on your belonging before? I'm sure you have. In fact, I bet there is at least one object made in China in the very room you are in. This has earned China the title, the factory to the world. But one may be wondering, why is 'everything made in China'?

Well, if we stand in the shoes of a businessman, whose only aim is to make more money, what factors would you look out for to fulfil that criteria? Just to name a few: Availability of local markets, Easy access to local markets, Price of land, Currency strength, et cetera. Remember touching on industrial parks in Economics Pt2.? Well, they are almost the same! And these, not surprisingly, all occur in China's lands. So let's briefly go through some.

Easily accessible resources: China has a wealth of resources, not only natural ones but also in manpower. With lakes and rivers, mountains and great spans of land, China is where resources are plenty. Not to mention, China is the most populated country in the world, so plenty of manpower! With a great supply, costs will then be cheap. Cheap materials, cheap labour; companies flock to these places in hopes of profiting more. In other words, China had the capacity to industrialise, much more than other countries. 

Currency strength: China's currency has been increasing in strength throughout the years, but compared to countries like the US and UK, it is still considered weak. How does that help economy? Well, what happens when a shop goes on a 50% discount? More people purchase! It is the same theory behind a weaker currency. With lower prices, companies get an edge on those who do not have the same advantage. They are practically giving a 'discount' to consumers, and more would buy because of its lower price. As a result, exports are stronger. 

Lesser compliance: Compared to the West, China do not implement many basic guidelines in regards to business, due to varying reasons. Because of that, companies do not have to worry about being fined because they are not meeting certain guidelines, so they may not even implement these guidelines. Also, with fewer compliances, factories may be able to reach their full potential as money-making machines, as companies may not need to spend extra money cleaning polluted air or water, and they do not need to control how much they can produce so that they can meet the guidelines. Companies are essentially importing their problems into China, and exporting cheap goods out. They do not need to care about the consequences of their actions as long as the problems do not affect their own countries. Human nature. In China, they can do what they cannot in the West, and that leads us to our problem.

Becuase of lack/fewer laws implemented to protect the environment, companies cut down on doing so. For example, while companies cleaned polluted water before discharging into water bodies in the West in fear of being at the receiving end of environmental laws, companies in China can do however they wish. This could be why 16 of the top 20 most polluted countries the world are in China. Environmental problems like serious smog can lead to lung diseases and illnesses, ingestion of polluted water can lead to bacteria getting into the body. Poor environment leads to poor health, and while the economy is booming, health problems can become a setback as the government may need to pour more money into health services and treatment. 

There is a dilemma now: The blind pursuit of economic growth or protection of our environment?

Beijing, 4/5/17, Thursday

Economics Pt4: One Child Policy

Hi! In one of our CID lessons, we discussed birth rates, more specifically, the one child policy and how it affected and continues to affect China. And not only is birth rates related to the economy, population is an important aspect in the consideration of nation building and planning. Policies have been put in place to control birth rates, but the effects on the economy may deviate from the plan's original purpose and the outcomes are complex. In this lesson, a comparative study was pulled out to see the effects of China's one-child policy affects and Singapore's own two-child policy.

In the 1970s, China's population grew enormously, which lea to a multitude of problems in regards to general health, economical and environental problems, as well as increasing demands for water and other resources. China's one-child policy was introduced in 1979 in efforts to curb the rapidly rising population as well as the problems it brought along. The scheme worked, and population decreased. Previously stated problems decreased, woemn could now lead a better life now that they were the only child, healthcare improved.

From statistics, things looked rosy, but 30 years down the road, problems have already began to arise. China is now facing an ageing population.

And that brings us to the new problem: Ageing population. It occurs when the aged is taking up a larger portion of the society. And while China is not the country with the worst problem in an ageing population (Japan is!), it is above the world average (W.A. : 11.7% China: 13.9%). An ageing populatin may cause many problems. For example: An ageing population puts a lot of pressure on the working class. Because the elderly are old, they are more prone to injuries, and therefore need healthcare. The working class then needs to pay taxes, but with a larger population of the aged to support, higher taxes are enforced, and this puts greater financial pressure on the working class. This could be the consequence of the one-child policy. There are families in China with up to 4 generations of members, yet with only a single 4th generation child. What about economically? With increased aged groups to support, working class may not be able to sucessfully support! GDP many go down as a result, and that would be bad for the country! 

Potential social problems can be another negative consequence of the one-child policy. With only a single child, parents would be more likely to pamper their child and give him/her their best. They are given the best, with no need to share and are treated like the treasures of the whole family (掌上明珠) However, when they step into the society, where things are no longer always for and given to them, these 'little-emperors' would find it hard to get used to the fact that the world do not revolve around them. These singletons will end up not being team-players, selfish et cetera. 

Another problem would be the stress on the single child. Remember cultural forces? Confucianism calls for children to express fillial piety to their parents, so parents give their children their all, hoping that one day their will suceed in life and give them a good life in return. Therefore, families pin all their hopes and dreams on their children, especially in their studies, where most Chinese believed that you needed to succeed in for you to be accomplished in life. With tuition, assessment papers, assessment books, school 6 or 7 days a week until late in the evening (自习) for older students, education puts a lot of pressure on their everyday lives. And what if they are unable to cope? Suicide in the leading killer amongst children aged 15-34, and numbers have been increasing. Expectations from family coupled with the 'cutthroat school system', as put by the Wall Street Journal, may cause students to take their own life as an escape from reality if they are not given enough support. And that was just students. What about working/jobless adults who are unable to support their parents? Who will these elderly people, who have placed their all into their own child, turn to?

Back home, Singapore has once implemented a similar policy in 1972: The two-child policy, where the government only allowed 2 child per family. It might seem surreal now, what with our ageing population, but back then, it was probably required. With 7-8 children per family, the GDP per capita was also affected as a result, however, with the policy, there can be a controllable population size so that the economy can catch up to the population growth.

Although both bans have been lifted as of today (SG: lifted CHN: 2-child policy) population growth has been unable to bounce back to the 7-8 child per family growth. 

The government comes up with policies for the betterment of society, but sometimes, these policies have short-term gains but long-term consequences, just like the one-child policy. The purpose of the one-child policy was to improve the Chinese eonomy. Now, because of the one-child policy, the economical situation is declining. 

Ironic, isn't it?

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Data

Pre-trip Task- Economy: The cost of living

There was some mix-up regarding the blog posts, so there are quite a few blog posts this month.

Hi! In preparation for our imminent comparative trip to China, this is a pre-trip task in relation to some aspects of economy in 

Singapore.

	Description	Cost
	Cost of a standard 4/5 room HDB flat (around 90-100sqm) in Punggol	around S$400,000
	Current cost of Toyota Vios	around S$100,000
Supermarket	Cheapest $10 rice	around $3-$4
Supermarket	Cheapest 1 litre of drinking mineral/ distilled water	around $1
Supermarket	Provision and usage of plastic bags	Plastic bags are provided at supermarkets mostly for free, and shoppers use them a lot if they do not bring their own reusable bags, especially when different foods cannot be placed together.
Supermarket	Who the cashiers are and what services they provide	Many cashiers at nearby supermarkets look Chinese, with some Malay and Indian ones too. Most look in their middle ages, around 40-55.
Supermarket	Cheapest 1 litre of cooking oil	around $2.50
	School fee	$28 (government-funded)
	1 litre of petrol	$2.10 (changes over time: not set)
	1 movie ticket on a weekend	$9-$13 (depending on time of purchase)
	Average salary of Singaporean	around $40000
	Unit price of water and electricity in Singapore	water: $1.17 (first 0-40m3) electricity: $0.20/kWh

Note: There is something wrong with the table, so please highlight the dark part to see the words.