TO ALL My Dear Students,
Thank you for the 14-odd weeks that we spent together. You had written a letter to me to educate me on what are your takeaways; I should return the favour by telling you how I felt teaching this module.
It is not an easy module to teach although if I have a choice, this is the one class I hope Ngee Ann will always assign me to teach. As it isn’t an easy module to teach, I do make a lot of mistakes So, if you’ll humour me, let me get start with a few apologies:
1. I apologise for the frequent interuptions to your presentation (thanx for the heads-up Juliet!)
a. But, I hope you understand I do so to try and push you to think on your feet.
2. I apologise to those group who presented on-time for the slackness in ensuring that others do the same as well.
a. But, I hope you understand that don’t want the possibility of grading interfering with any groups ability to learn important lessons.
3. I apologise my rambling lectures that might have confused you.
a. But I hope that I am trying to ake some horizontal connections for you that you might have missed otherwise.
4. I apologise to the discomfort that I might have caused all of you as I pushed you to analyse things outside your comfort zones (such as seeing things from another ethnic community’s POV).
a. But I hope that by putting yourself in the shoes of another, you will start to understand, rather than simply assume.
5. I apologise for freaky loss of temper. There is no excuse for that. My apologies to those whose dignity and esteem I have damaged. Sorry.
6. I am sorry that I don't have any ice-breaking activities.I should have but I suck big time at this so I didn't. I am sorry.
7. Most of all, I would like to apologise for making some if not all of you frustrated with the constant assertion that there is no answer in this class.
It is not true that there are no answers. There are answers. It is just the answers we have often gets outdated very fast. What is true for my generation may not be true for your generation and yet we never question in a country like ours. We just simply accept what textbook tells us, what newspapers tell us, what 'cher tells us etc.
Updated answers are not easy to find. But it doesn’t mean we do not try. The question is, how do we equip ourselves to see that the society we live in, be it here in Singapore or the country that you reside in, have hidden cracks that may come right out in the open in bad times? We do so by asking our selves questions. We do so by assuming that even in good times, there is work to be done. We do so by analyzing the world we live in by looking at its problems. If those problems are hidden, then we try and dig them out by looking extra-carefully, or asking people who could help us understand. Communicate. That’s the key.
From Nazi Germany, we know the danger lies not in one single mad man, Hitler but in the millions that chose economic and political stability over racial injustices. We also learn from that episode that there is more than a passing and uncomfortable resemblance between our society and the pre-Nuremberg Race Laws German society. This similarity is not just in the way the government control the various aspect of our lives but also in the political apathy that we show. We need to learn to provide feedback to the government to provide certain checks and balances in a political system that has no opposition parties. We need to learn to help speak up for the voiceless, the under-privileged and not just assume that this is solely the job of the government. We understand this because we have seen that in Germany, when a good government suddenly becomes bad, our political structure like theirs would become more of a curse than a bounty.
From France and USA we learnt that while globalization is a wonderful thing, it has also resulted in cultures colliding and it brings up both the good and bad of such collisions. We saw how when countries open their borders to new immigrants but does nothing to help the indigenous (local) population accept them, tragedy happens. In LA, the Americans who happens to be Korean and in Paris, the French who happens to be northern Africans are both treated as foreigners despite citizenship. Is this what is happening here in Singapore? How many times have we heard the term “foreign imports” described of our new citizens n the forms of our national athletes? In good times when we do not see them as stealing our livelihoods, it is time to see our own imperfections and figure out what to do to change our prejudices or we can easily become another Paris, another LA during an undated, unforeseeable future e where there might be a bad economic times.
From Thailand, USA and France we also learnt that if a community is chronically poor and can be traced within a racial line, there is nothing to stop the community from feeling that they are discriminated against or stop other community from stereotyping this community as “less than equal” ( in intelligence, hard work or otherwise). When this happens, communication stops. Communication stops, mutual ignorance builds up. Is this a wall of hate? Is Jemmah Islamyah a product of this wall of hate? The challenge that we, like all these other countries have is how do we as individuals find a way to “give” more equality instead of always depending on our government?
From Iraq and Sudan, we see the ineptness of international organizations like the United Nations to ensure world peace. So we mustn’t depend on ASEAN or the UN when things go wrong here. We also learn that the competition for scarcer resources will trigger wars and conflict. While we have no oil, we do need water. Will we ever go to war over water? If we do go to war over water and the “enemy” is a neighbouring Muslim country, will we be mature enough to treat our Muslim Singaporeans the same way as before that war? We ask questions and seek the answers now so that when the unthinkable happens, we can say that we already have the answers and not look for them then.
I hope some if not most of you will remember some of the issues that we touched on and understand in time to come why I took this class so seriously. I also hope that you will be able to analyse the “patterns” that we see in other country and use these patterns to understand our own society. It is easier to look at others than ourselves, so we use this to our advantage. Look at others, understand what they go through, and then ask ourselves are we guilty of the same mistakes or are we at risk of the same problems in our future. Keep thinking and asking. Never stop. Thank you for time and attention.
Your teacher and co-learner in life,
Ching Liang
PS. I leave you with an excellent speech from Robert Kennedy, an US politician who was assassinated in 1968. This speech focus on how society must heal its divisions. This speech was given following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr in 1968. Click here to access that audio clip.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Reflections on April2008 Class Reflections.
TO ALL My Dear Students,
Thank you for the 14-odd weeks that we spent together. You had written a letter to me to educate me on what are your takeaways; I should return the favour by telling you how I felt teaching this module.
It is not an easy module to teach although if I have a choice, this is the one class I hope Ngee Ann will always assign me to teach. As it isn’t an easy module to teach, I do make a lot of mistakes So, if you’ll humour me, let me get start with a few apologies:
1. I apologise for the frequent interuptions to your presentation (thanx for the heads-up Juliet!)
a. But, I hope you understand I do so to try and push you to think on your feet.
2. I apologise to those group who presented on-time for the slackness in ensuring that others do the same as well.
a. But, I hope you understand that don’t want the possibility of grading interfering with any groups ability to learn important lessons.
3. I apologise my rambling lectures that might have confused you.
a. But I hope that I am trying to ake some horizontal connections for you that you might have missed otherwise.
4. I apologise to the discomfort that I might have caused all of you as I pushed you to analyse things outside your comfort zones (such as seeing things from another ethnic community’s POV).
a. But I hope that by putting yourself in the shoes of another, you will start to understand, rather than simply assume.
5. I apologise for freaky loss of temper. There is no excuse for that. My apologies to those whose dignity and esteem I have damaged. Sorry.
6. I am sorry that I don't have any ice-breaking activities.I should have but I suck big time at this so I didn't. I am sorry.
7. Most of all, I would like to apologise for making some if not all of you frustrated with the constant assertion that there is no answer in this class.
It is not true that there are no answers. There are answers. It is just the answers we have often gets outdated very fast. What is true for my generation may not be true for your generation and yet we never question in a country like ours. We just simply accept what textbook tells us, what newspapers tell us, what 'cher tells us etc.
Updated answers are not easy to find. But it doesn’t mean we do not try. The question is, how do we equip ourselves to see that the society we live in, be it here in Singapore or the country that you reside in, have hidden cracks that may come right out in the open in bad times? We do so by asking our selves questions. We do so by assuming that even in good times, there is work to be done. We do so by analyzing the world we live in by looking at its problems. If those problems are hidden, then we try and dig them out by looking extra-carefully, or asking people who could help us understand. Communicate. That’s the key.
From Nazi Germany, we know the danger lies not in one single mad man, Hitler but in the millions that chose economic and political stability over racial injustices. We also learn from that episode that there is more than a passing and uncomfortable resemblance between our society and the pre-Nuremberg Race Laws German society. This similarity is not just in the way the government control the various aspect of our lives but also in the political apathy that we show. We need to learn to provide feedback to the government to provide certain checks and balances in a political system that has no opposition parties. We need to learn to help speak up for the voiceless, the under-privileged and not just assume that this is solely the job of the government. We understand this because we have seen that in Germany, when a good government suddenly becomes bad, our political structure like theirs would become more of a curse than a bounty.
From France and USA we learnt that while globalization is a wonderful thing, it has also resulted in cultures colliding and it brings up both the good and bad of such collisions. We saw how when countries open their borders to new immigrants but does nothing to help the indigenous (local) population accept them, tragedy happens. In LA, the Americans who happens to be Korean and in Paris, the French who happens to be northern Africans are both treated as foreigners despite citizenship. Is this what is happening here in Singapore? How many times have we heard the term “foreign imports” described of our new citizens n the forms of our national athletes? In good times when we do not see them as stealing our livelihoods, it is time to see our own imperfections and figure out what to do to change our prejudices or we can easily become another Paris, another LA during an undated, unforeseeable future e where there might be a bad economic times.
From Thailand, USA and France we also learnt that if a community is chronically poor and can be traced within a racial line, there is nothing to stop the community from feeling that they are discriminated against or stop other community from stereotyping this community as “less than equal” ( in intelligence, hard work or otherwise). When this happens, communication stops. Communication stops, mutual ignorance builds up. Is this a wall of hate? Is Jemmah Islamyah a product of this wall of hate? The challenge that we, like all these other countries have is how do we as individuals find a way to “give” more equality instead of always depending on our government?
From Iraq and Sudan, we see the ineptness of international organizations like the United Nations to ensure world peace. So we mustn’t depend on ASEAN or the UN when things go wrong here. We also learn that the competition for scarcer resources will trigger wars and conflict. While we have no oil, we do need water. Will we ever go to war over water? If we do go to war over water and the “enemy” is a neighbouring Muslim country, will we be mature enough to treat our Muslim Singaporeans the same way as before that war? We ask questions and seek the answers now so that when the unthinkable happens, we can say that we already have the answers and not look for them then.
I hope some if not most of you will remember some of the issues that we touched on and understand in time to come why I took this class so seriously. I also hope that you will be able to analyse the “patterns” that we see in other country and use these patterns to understand our own society. It is easier to look at others than ourselves, so we use this to our advantage. Look at others, understand what they go through, and then ask ourselves are we guilty of the same mistakes or are we at risk of the same problems in our future. Keep thinking and asking. Never stop. Thank you for time and attention.
Your teacher and co-learner in life,
Ching Liang
PS. I leave you with an excellent speech from Robert Kennedy, an US politician who was assassinated in 1968. This speech focus on how society must heal its divisions. This speech was given following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr in 1968. Click here to access that audio clip.
Thank you for the 14-odd weeks that we spent together. You had written a letter to me to educate me on what are your takeaways; I should return the favour by telling you how I felt teaching this module.
It is not an easy module to teach although if I have a choice, this is the one class I hope Ngee Ann will always assign me to teach. As it isn’t an easy module to teach, I do make a lot of mistakes So, if you’ll humour me, let me get start with a few apologies:
1. I apologise for the frequent interuptions to your presentation (thanx for the heads-up Juliet!)
a. But, I hope you understand I do so to try and push you to think on your feet.
2. I apologise to those group who presented on-time for the slackness in ensuring that others do the same as well.
a. But, I hope you understand that don’t want the possibility of grading interfering with any groups ability to learn important lessons.
3. I apologise my rambling lectures that might have confused you.
a. But I hope that I am trying to ake some horizontal connections for you that you might have missed otherwise.
4. I apologise to the discomfort that I might have caused all of you as I pushed you to analyse things outside your comfort zones (such as seeing things from another ethnic community’s POV).
a. But I hope that by putting yourself in the shoes of another, you will start to understand, rather than simply assume.
5. I apologise for freaky loss of temper. There is no excuse for that. My apologies to those whose dignity and esteem I have damaged. Sorry.
6. I am sorry that I don't have any ice-breaking activities.I should have but I suck big time at this so I didn't. I am sorry.
7. Most of all, I would like to apologise for making some if not all of you frustrated with the constant assertion that there is no answer in this class.
It is not true that there are no answers. There are answers. It is just the answers we have often gets outdated very fast. What is true for my generation may not be true for your generation and yet we never question in a country like ours. We just simply accept what textbook tells us, what newspapers tell us, what 'cher tells us etc.
Updated answers are not easy to find. But it doesn’t mean we do not try. The question is, how do we equip ourselves to see that the society we live in, be it here in Singapore or the country that you reside in, have hidden cracks that may come right out in the open in bad times? We do so by asking our selves questions. We do so by assuming that even in good times, there is work to be done. We do so by analyzing the world we live in by looking at its problems. If those problems are hidden, then we try and dig them out by looking extra-carefully, or asking people who could help us understand. Communicate. That’s the key.
From Nazi Germany, we know the danger lies not in one single mad man, Hitler but in the millions that chose economic and political stability over racial injustices. We also learn from that episode that there is more than a passing and uncomfortable resemblance between our society and the pre-Nuremberg Race Laws German society. This similarity is not just in the way the government control the various aspect of our lives but also in the political apathy that we show. We need to learn to provide feedback to the government to provide certain checks and balances in a political system that has no opposition parties. We need to learn to help speak up for the voiceless, the under-privileged and not just assume that this is solely the job of the government. We understand this because we have seen that in Germany, when a good government suddenly becomes bad, our political structure like theirs would become more of a curse than a bounty.
From France and USA we learnt that while globalization is a wonderful thing, it has also resulted in cultures colliding and it brings up both the good and bad of such collisions. We saw how when countries open their borders to new immigrants but does nothing to help the indigenous (local) population accept them, tragedy happens. In LA, the Americans who happens to be Korean and in Paris, the French who happens to be northern Africans are both treated as foreigners despite citizenship. Is this what is happening here in Singapore? How many times have we heard the term “foreign imports” described of our new citizens n the forms of our national athletes? In good times when we do not see them as stealing our livelihoods, it is time to see our own imperfections and figure out what to do to change our prejudices or we can easily become another Paris, another LA during an undated, unforeseeable future e where there might be a bad economic times.
From Thailand, USA and France we also learnt that if a community is chronically poor and can be traced within a racial line, there is nothing to stop the community from feeling that they are discriminated against or stop other community from stereotyping this community as “less than equal” ( in intelligence, hard work or otherwise). When this happens, communication stops. Communication stops, mutual ignorance builds up. Is this a wall of hate? Is Jemmah Islamyah a product of this wall of hate? The challenge that we, like all these other countries have is how do we as individuals find a way to “give” more equality instead of always depending on our government?
From Iraq and Sudan, we see the ineptness of international organizations like the United Nations to ensure world peace. So we mustn’t depend on ASEAN or the UN when things go wrong here. We also learn that the competition for scarcer resources will trigger wars and conflict. While we have no oil, we do need water. Will we ever go to war over water? If we do go to war over water and the “enemy” is a neighbouring Muslim country, will we be mature enough to treat our Muslim Singaporeans the same way as before that war? We ask questions and seek the answers now so that when the unthinkable happens, we can say that we already have the answers and not look for them then.
I hope some if not most of you will remember some of the issues that we touched on and understand in time to come why I took this class so seriously. I also hope that you will be able to analyse the “patterns” that we see in other country and use these patterns to understand our own society. It is easier to look at others than ourselves, so we use this to our advantage. Look at others, understand what they go through, and then ask ourselves are we guilty of the same mistakes or are we at risk of the same problems in our future. Keep thinking and asking. Never stop. Thank you for time and attention.
Your teacher and co-learner in life,
Ching Liang
PS. I leave you with an excellent speech from Robert Kennedy, an US politician who was assassinated in 1968. This speech focus on how society must heal its divisions. This speech was given following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr in 1968. Click here to access that audio clip.
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