Complacency of the Young

Most have fallen into the trap of glass is full thinking their degree certs is the end of the road to learning. There is a joke i come across that says As work for Ds, Cs work for Bs, Bs work for As. D being the entrepereneur who is not good in studies. I think there's some truth to it.

Those who acknowledge early in life & still possess fighting spirit know they need to avoid the academic dogfights & focus on something else they are good in.

With the influx of foreigners with unknown paper certs in recent years, many locals are shocked about the value of their paper certs that they attach much value to that don't seem to give them an advantage.

Bill Gates among others commented that: 'current education system is broken. System arose during shift from agricultural to industrial economy & served needs of that time by pumping out literate, skilled, docile factory workers. But development of educational system has not kept pace with subsequent changes in society & economy. In context of today's knowledge-based economy, it feels more than antiquated as if it had been designed specifically to squelch creative thought.'

Is not surprising there's no passion for learning for many people due to 'forced' learning in the 'paper chase'.

Young S'poreans content with being just good, not the best
NUS survey finds many believe they do not need to learn

By FELDA CHAY

A SURVEY has shown that most younger Singaporeans aged 19 to 23 are satisfied with just being good & not the best, & that many believe they do not need to learn - even though most believe that learning is the key to success.

In the survey, the National University of Singapore quizzed 270 young people to find out how driven they are. It found that while 56.3% always want to win, only 3% are extremely competitive when it comes to winning.

The 3% rated their desire to win at nine or 10 on a 10-point scale - on which one meant 'strongly disagree' & 10 meant 'strongly agree'.

But 6% of those surveyed appear not to care about winning at all, having given a one or two-point rating to the statement, 'I always want to win'.

Most survey respondents are also willing to settle for just being good, & they would not go the extra mile to be the best.

About half of respondents said they would settle for being good & not seek to be the cream of the crop, with just 6% expressing a strong desire to be the best.

Another surprising result is that 54.1% of those surveyed disagreed that they need to learn - even though though 53% believed learning is the key to success.

And none of the respondents agreed strongly that they need to learn more.

While the results appear worrying, NUS business school associate professor Ang Swee Hoon, who did the study with a student, said there is a silver lining.

'That we also have a segment of youths who are not so competitive may appear disconcerting initially. However, if everyone strives to win all the time, then there will be disenchantment in some quarters,' she explained.

'Moreover, organisations have leaders and followers. Having a group of determined leaders followed by others more moderately driven & those less so makes for smoother running of most organisations.' Prof Ang said the apparent the lack of passion to learn - as compared with a keener desire to win - could mean young people here are 'satiated already given our education system'.

'A break in studies, like when they start working, may re-energise in them a yearning to learn,' she said.