After the Nato bombing of the Chinese Embassy at Belgrade, university students in China, fuelled by fervent patriotism, demonstrated in front of the American Embassy. With increasing corruption in Indonesian politics and social instability, Indonesian university students took the lead in organising protests which eventually led to President Suharto's downfall.
Singapore has been an independent nation for 34 years but has yet to form a “Singapore Tribe”。 In a country such as ours, what are our university students concerned about？
I must hasten to clarify that I am not saying that shouting slogans and taking to the streets are the best means to solve the problems in society.
On the contrary, I am glad that all these years in Singapore, there has been no major issues which required a drastic social overhaul. However, this does not imply that university students in Singapore should be politically indifferent and be unconcerned about things around them.
In a forum held in the Nanyang Technological University , Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong pointed out that when other countries make offensive remarks about Singapore, there should be a sense of silent indignance amongst our university students. I am worried that we do not even have that kind of reaction.
Of course I am not saying all our university students are indifferent. In Singapore, there are of course university students who have contributed much to society. I merely wish to analyse what university students in Singapore lack by making comparisons with tertiary students elsewhere, by observing and thinking about the issue and by speaking with the people around me.
“Ask not what the nation can do for you, but what you can do for the nation.” It is so difficult to have this motto embodied in our university students. In the universities, there seems to be no sense of unity nor the love for the alma mater, so how do we even begin to speak of the love of nation？
Brigadier-General George Yeo once said, braving storms together will make a people more united. Judging from the current situation among university students in Singapore, this has yet to become a reality.
A manager in a computer firm once said that university students only emphasised what they could learn from the job and what they could get out of it during job interviews. Nobody has told him how he or she could contribute to the company. This shows the ascendency of individualism among university students here.
A friend of mine from Nanjing once said： “I don't like to speak with the Singaporeans in class, because they lack depth and are not very cultured.” What a sad fact of life this is！ Why is there such a phenomenon？ I believe, in the final analysis, that this is related to the reading habits and lifestyle of our university students.
The fact remains that textbooks, lecture notes and some entertainment magazines are the basic or even the only reading materials for university students here. Moreover, university students here are either busy with school work or are busy accumulating sufficient points from their extra-curricular activities so as to continue their stay in the hostels.
In their spare time, they would go to the disco, where they would drink, dance and make new friends. How could the busy university student in Singapore then find the time to enrich his mind？
From my own observations, I find that the university students in Singapore are a passive lot. Due to prolonged exposure under an education system which emphasises cramming and unidirectional teaching, most university students here do not like to speak out or ask questions in class.
I feel that this is a great pity, as not speaking out makes one lose a good opportunity to verify his or her opinions. Only by discussing and debating issues with teachers and friends can there be an exchange of views and wisdom. Actually, the root of the problem lies in the attitudes of the students themselves. If they are indifferent to everything, if they keep muddling along and not seek to develop their finer qualities, then they would inevitably become common people lacking cultural refinement.
Nobel laureate Professor Lee Yuan Tseh said that education can improve the quality of our future journey in life. As university students who have the opportunity to study at higher levels, we are more fortunate than 60 per cent of our peers. If we are not responsible towards our society, if we are studying only for the sake of “getting a degree and earning lots of money”, then are we not going against the very principle of a university education？
新加坡大學(xué)生關(guān)心何事？
作者是一名我國大學(xué)生,她對目前一般大學(xué)生對時事的冷漠態(tài)度深感失望,認(rèn)為他們應(yīng)發(fā)揮年青人應(yīng)有的熱忱和愛心。
北約轟炸了中國駐南斯拉夫大使館后,中國大學(xué)生帶著強(qiáng)烈的愛國精神涌到美國使館外**。印尼政權(quán)腐敗,社會*,印尼大學(xué)生便帶頭舉行*集會,終還導(dǎo)致總統(tǒng)蘇哈多下臺。
那么,在新加坡這個獨立了34年后仍未形成一個團(tuán)結(jié)一致“新加坡族”的國家, 我們的大學(xué)生究竟關(guān)心什么事？
筆者得先闡明一些基本觀點。本人并不認(rèn)為大喊口號或**就是解決社會問題的佳途徑。
相反的,我慶幸新加坡多年來并沒有發(fā)生過什么大災(zāi)大難,以致我們得來個什么大規(guī)模的社會改革。然而,這并不代表新加坡大學(xué)生就可以對政治冷漠,對周遭的事不聞不問。
吳作棟總理在南大舉辦的“總理論壇”上指出當(dāng)其他國家對我國發(fā)出攻擊性的言論時,大學(xué)生之間應(yīng)有一股“沉默的忿怒”。我擔(dān)心的是,我們連這樣的反應(yīng)都沒有。
當(dāng)然,筆者不欲以一竹竿打翻一船人。在新加坡,當(dāng)然也有大學(xué)生為社會作出了不少貢獻(xiàn)。我只愿從和其他地區(qū)的大學(xué)生比較中,從自己的觀察與思考中,從和周圍的人的交談中,來分析新加坡大學(xué)生到底缺乏了些什么。
“不要問國家給了你什么,問問自己能給國家什么”。這句話,是很難在新加坡大學(xué)生中體現(xiàn)出來的。只因在大學(xué)里,團(tuán)結(jié)與愛校精神似乎很缺乏,我們又從何來談什么愛國精神？楊榮文準(zhǔn)將曾說過：共患難能讓人們團(tuán)結(jié)起來。從本地大學(xué)生現(xiàn)有的情況而言,這似乎還未成為現(xiàn)實。
一位電腦公司的經(jīng)理曾感慨地說現(xiàn)在的大學(xué)生在應(yīng)征工作時只強(qiáng)調(diào)自己能從工作中學(xué)到什么,獲得什么,卻無人告訴他自己能為公司做些什么。從這點可以看出,個人主義在新加坡大學(xué)生中是如此地強(qiáng)盛。
一位來自南京的朋友曾說：“我不喜歡和班上的新加坡人講話,因為我覺得他們沒什么深度,也沒什么文化修養(yǎng)?！倍嗝纯杀默F(xiàn)實！為什么會有這樣的現(xiàn)象呢？歸根究底,本人認(rèn)為這主要是和我國大學(xué)生的閱讀習(xí)慣與生活方式有關(guān)。事實上,課本、講義和一些娛樂性雜志是多數(shù)新加坡大學(xué)生的基本或的精神糧食。
而且,新加坡大學(xué)生平時不是在趕作業(yè),就是拼命爭取課外活動分?jǐn)?shù)以便繼續(xù)住宿舍。有空時,他們還喜歡到舞廳去享樂、喝酒、跳舞、結(jié)交朋友……新加坡大學(xué)生這么忙,哪里還有多余的時間去充實自己？
從我的觀察中,我發(fā)現(xiàn)新加坡大學(xué)生是比較被動的一群。由于長期被困于填鴨式與單向教學(xué)的教育制度,一般的新加坡大學(xué)生都不愛在課堂上發(fā)言、發(fā)問。
筆者認(rèn)為這極為可惜,因為少發(fā)言會使你失去了印證自己觀點的良好機(jī)會,而不斷地與師友討論、辯論,思想與智慧才能交峰。
其實這個問題源于大學(xué)生的態(tài)度本身。如果他們對每樣事都投以冷眼,如果他們總是得過且過,不積極地去發(fā)揮所長,他們終也將淪為庸俗的一群。
李遠(yuǎn)哲教授說過：教育使你能更好地走下一段人生旅途。身為大學(xué)生,我們比同齡的其他百分之六十的人還要幸運,能有機(jī)會讀這么多書。如果我們不負(fù)起對社會應(yīng)盡的責(zé)任,如果我們只抱著“隨便考一張文憑,將來賺大錢”的心態(tài),我們不是違背了大學(xué)教育的基本意義嗎？
Singapore has been an independent nation for 34 years but has yet to form a “Singapore Tribe”。 In a country such as ours, what are our university students concerned about？
I must hasten to clarify that I am not saying that shouting slogans and taking to the streets are the best means to solve the problems in society.
On the contrary, I am glad that all these years in Singapore, there has been no major issues which required a drastic social overhaul. However, this does not imply that university students in Singapore should be politically indifferent and be unconcerned about things around them.
In a forum held in the Nanyang Technological University , Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong pointed out that when other countries make offensive remarks about Singapore, there should be a sense of silent indignance amongst our university students. I am worried that we do not even have that kind of reaction.
Of course I am not saying all our university students are indifferent. In Singapore, there are of course university students who have contributed much to society. I merely wish to analyse what university students in Singapore lack by making comparisons with tertiary students elsewhere, by observing and thinking about the issue and by speaking with the people around me.
“Ask not what the nation can do for you, but what you can do for the nation.” It is so difficult to have this motto embodied in our university students. In the universities, there seems to be no sense of unity nor the love for the alma mater, so how do we even begin to speak of the love of nation？
Brigadier-General George Yeo once said, braving storms together will make a people more united. Judging from the current situation among university students in Singapore, this has yet to become a reality.
A manager in a computer firm once said that university students only emphasised what they could learn from the job and what they could get out of it during job interviews. Nobody has told him how he or she could contribute to the company. This shows the ascendency of individualism among university students here.
A friend of mine from Nanjing once said： “I don't like to speak with the Singaporeans in class, because they lack depth and are not very cultured.” What a sad fact of life this is！ Why is there such a phenomenon？ I believe, in the final analysis, that this is related to the reading habits and lifestyle of our university students.
The fact remains that textbooks, lecture notes and some entertainment magazines are the basic or even the only reading materials for university students here. Moreover, university students here are either busy with school work or are busy accumulating sufficient points from their extra-curricular activities so as to continue their stay in the hostels.
In their spare time, they would go to the disco, where they would drink, dance and make new friends. How could the busy university student in Singapore then find the time to enrich his mind？
From my own observations, I find that the university students in Singapore are a passive lot. Due to prolonged exposure under an education system which emphasises cramming and unidirectional teaching, most university students here do not like to speak out or ask questions in class.
I feel that this is a great pity, as not speaking out makes one lose a good opportunity to verify his or her opinions. Only by discussing and debating issues with teachers and friends can there be an exchange of views and wisdom. Actually, the root of the problem lies in the attitudes of the students themselves. If they are indifferent to everything, if they keep muddling along and not seek to develop their finer qualities, then they would inevitably become common people lacking cultural refinement.
Nobel laureate Professor Lee Yuan Tseh said that education can improve the quality of our future journey in life. As university students who have the opportunity to study at higher levels, we are more fortunate than 60 per cent of our peers. If we are not responsible towards our society, if we are studying only for the sake of “getting a degree and earning lots of money”, then are we not going against the very principle of a university education？
新加坡大學(xué)生關(guān)心何事？
作者是一名我國大學(xué)生,她對目前一般大學(xué)生對時事的冷漠態(tài)度深感失望,認(rèn)為他們應(yīng)發(fā)揮年青人應(yīng)有的熱忱和愛心。
北約轟炸了中國駐南斯拉夫大使館后,中國大學(xué)生帶著強(qiáng)烈的愛國精神涌到美國使館外**。印尼政權(quán)腐敗,社會*,印尼大學(xué)生便帶頭舉行*集會,終還導(dǎo)致總統(tǒng)蘇哈多下臺。
那么,在新加坡這個獨立了34年后仍未形成一個團(tuán)結(jié)一致“新加坡族”的國家, 我們的大學(xué)生究竟關(guān)心什么事？
筆者得先闡明一些基本觀點。本人并不認(rèn)為大喊口號或**就是解決社會問題的佳途徑。
相反的,我慶幸新加坡多年來并沒有發(fā)生過什么大災(zāi)大難,以致我們得來個什么大規(guī)模的社會改革。然而,這并不代表新加坡大學(xué)生就可以對政治冷漠,對周遭的事不聞不問。
吳作棟總理在南大舉辦的“總理論壇”上指出當(dāng)其他國家對我國發(fā)出攻擊性的言論時,大學(xué)生之間應(yīng)有一股“沉默的忿怒”。我擔(dān)心的是,我們連這樣的反應(yīng)都沒有。
當(dāng)然,筆者不欲以一竹竿打翻一船人。在新加坡,當(dāng)然也有大學(xué)生為社會作出了不少貢獻(xiàn)。我只愿從和其他地區(qū)的大學(xué)生比較中,從自己的觀察與思考中,從和周圍的人的交談中,來分析新加坡大學(xué)生到底缺乏了些什么。
“不要問國家給了你什么,問問自己能給國家什么”。這句話,是很難在新加坡大學(xué)生中體現(xiàn)出來的。只因在大學(xué)里,團(tuán)結(jié)與愛校精神似乎很缺乏,我們又從何來談什么愛國精神？楊榮文準(zhǔn)將曾說過：共患難能讓人們團(tuán)結(jié)起來。從本地大學(xué)生現(xiàn)有的情況而言,這似乎還未成為現(xiàn)實。
一位電腦公司的經(jīng)理曾感慨地說現(xiàn)在的大學(xué)生在應(yīng)征工作時只強(qiáng)調(diào)自己能從工作中學(xué)到什么,獲得什么,卻無人告訴他自己能為公司做些什么。從這點可以看出,個人主義在新加坡大學(xué)生中是如此地強(qiáng)盛。
一位來自南京的朋友曾說：“我不喜歡和班上的新加坡人講話,因為我覺得他們沒什么深度,也沒什么文化修養(yǎng)?！倍嗝纯杀默F(xiàn)實！為什么會有這樣的現(xiàn)象呢？歸根究底,本人認(rèn)為這主要是和我國大學(xué)生的閱讀習(xí)慣與生活方式有關(guān)。事實上,課本、講義和一些娛樂性雜志是多數(shù)新加坡大學(xué)生的基本或的精神糧食。
而且,新加坡大學(xué)生平時不是在趕作業(yè),就是拼命爭取課外活動分?jǐn)?shù)以便繼續(xù)住宿舍。有空時,他們還喜歡到舞廳去享樂、喝酒、跳舞、結(jié)交朋友……新加坡大學(xué)生這么忙,哪里還有多余的時間去充實自己？
從我的觀察中,我發(fā)現(xiàn)新加坡大學(xué)生是比較被動的一群。由于長期被困于填鴨式與單向教學(xué)的教育制度,一般的新加坡大學(xué)生都不愛在課堂上發(fā)言、發(fā)問。
筆者認(rèn)為這極為可惜,因為少發(fā)言會使你失去了印證自己觀點的良好機(jī)會,而不斷地與師友討論、辯論,思想與智慧才能交峰。
其實這個問題源于大學(xué)生的態(tài)度本身。如果他們對每樣事都投以冷眼,如果他們總是得過且過,不積極地去發(fā)揮所長,他們終也將淪為庸俗的一群。
李遠(yuǎn)哲教授說過：教育使你能更好地走下一段人生旅途。身為大學(xué)生,我們比同齡的其他百分之六十的人還要幸運,能有機(jī)會讀這么多書。如果我們不負(fù)起對社會應(yīng)盡的責(zé)任,如果我們只抱著“隨便考一張文憑,將來賺大錢”的心態(tài),我們不是違背了大學(xué)教育的基本意義嗎？