K for Komplexity...

Elitism

The word elitism hardly rings a bell to me….

There’s been many blogs going around about the Elites in Singapore…

Seriously…why do the elites get so much limelight in Singapore? I just don’t get it!

Is it cos they are smart? Hardworking? Rich? Or simply too opinionative?

You see…I think I’ve grown up pretty simple. I’ve gone to neighbourhood schools, had the opportunity to study abroad and now, working in a one of the big five consulting firms. Does that make me an elite?

If I earn more compared to my peers, does that make me elite too?

How does one decide which caliber do u belong to? Who determines this? And why?

Maybe I’m wrong, but sometimes the society we grow up from makes a difference.

People of my batch will remember this….

At the tender age of 9, we had to go through a series of Gifted Programmes- this was introduced to bring out the “gifted” kids and to groom them to be elites.

Then there’s another Streaming done at age of 10-this is again to “re-arrange” the kids into different batch- EM1,EM2 and EM3. They claim this will help teachers groom the talented and better focus on the stupid less talented kids.

And even when it comes to the PSLE, there’s still all the aftermath scrabble of parents trying to get their kids in the “elite” schools. From all kinds of briberies voluntary donations to volunteering work in schools, parents try so hard just so their kids can have a better future.

And then there’s the JCs and Polytechnics path to determine if a diploma is elite enough. Within these selections, there’s also a classification of the elite choices.

Even then at Univerisities, people who can study medicine or law are usually termed as the elites….

But is all these realistic? If u study in the best schools, have the best results and get the most expensive scholarship, you are automatically elite?

IMHO, society plays a huge part. Society emphasize too much on papers, on grades and elitism. The stereotype mark is too clearly affirmed that if u can’t do well in school, you can’t do anything else…

Why do some companies employ people with only first class honours? Why do companies pay two times the price for a fresh graduate with no working experience but with a A* certificate? Why do society judge people by their certifications?

Elitism doesn’t mean u will always succeed in life. I don’t know about others but I feel in that in Singapore, being top in schools does not necessarily mean u get to face all the aftermath of the real world when u get into the working world.

Well I must agree if your studies are fantastic in Singapore, people will automatically brand u as the cream of the crop. Companies offer these people the best jobs, best pay, hoping they will help excel again and help contribute to the organization. Of course, there are people who are really capable who could make a difference, but there are always the black sheeps….

In the real world, book smart doesn’t get u anywhere, it’s also about working smart and knowing the ways to manage the people around you.

With my 1st 1 and a half jobs(they were more like casual jobs), my bosses were horrible. One was so claim to be an entrepreneur, but he was a “heartless” man. He was unfeeling towards his staffs, stingy and totally un-gentleman. The second one, to my knowledge, came from elite school background, went to the best university etc, but similar to my first boss, he couldn’t manage his staff, too emotional and talks faster than his brain can think. He could literally make something dead look so alive vice versa, but his words can pierce hard into u as well.

I’ve studied in neighbourhood all my life. I did very well for my ‘O’ levels, but when I went into JC, my results flopped. With the thanks of my parents, I had the opportunity to further my studies overseas and start anew. I studied very hard in Aussie and even went to obtain my Honours degree, I didn’t want to disappoint my parents nor myself again. Even then I had to choose a less expensive Uni, but you know what, I still got myself an executive job with my own perseverance and today, I am proud that I made it to one of the big five consulting firms. These are all my own achievements, there were no scholarships, no bribery and no “elite” schools to help me with my career path. It was all just me. There’s really no need to go around bragging about your own elitism, there’s nothing to be snobbish about. Should u put your heart and mind to everything that you do, I think anyone can be elite too!

Blabbered by KaiRiNu at 5:18 PM