I REFER to last Saturday's commentary, 'Scoring high in grades but not in values'. While it rightly pointed out that values such as empathy and humility need to be taught to students, it singled out those from elite schools as needing this most.
Meritocracy has provided opportunities for many deserving students, regardless of their background, to come together to pursue their goals in these elite schools. Is it fair to say that all these students lose perspective and label them as intellectual snobs just because they are highly geared to take on challenges? I am certain there are other admirable traits of creativity, confidence and perseverance among these young, well-adjusted individuals.
The issue raised involves students in general, from elite schools or otherwise. Society has evolved and students today simply take things for granted. Their expectations are high, be it acquiring branded goods, the latest gadgets, or demanding vacations at exotic destinations. Many choose to be ignorant or are genuinely unaware of the concept of earning a living. Having parents who indulge them exacerbates the problem. In addition, they are exposed to media, both old and new, where they are encouraged to adopt a global outlook and to be competitive, and are introduced to images of the ideal person, foreign talent or otherwise.
I appreciate the fact that most schools have community involvement programmes which take students out of their comfort zone to touch base with reality. However, a lot more can, and should, be done by schools.
Most of these students are at an age when they are greatly influenced by their peers. It is a known fact that students spend most of their waking hours with their peers in school or on school-related activities outside school. The teachable moments available to parents have been considerably reduced.
Thus schools can and should take a more proactive approach in helping parents shape and mould these young minds to embrace the right values. This change of mindset needs to be nurtured, and led by example, to effect a positive response.
Lastly, these students should not be expected to apologise for wanting to excel and there is no need to drop 'proper English' just to fit in. They have a long way to go, and learning is a lifelong journey.
Phyllis Christe (Ms)
Utter bollocks.
Intellectual snobbery is an entirely separate dimension from creativity, competitiveness, confidence and any other apologistic rubbish that this woman flings about like so many red herrings. To put it simply, just because a person is creative, competitive and confident, does it mean that he or she is not an intellectual snob?
Being well aware of the irony here, I don't see any point to this woman's inane rambling.