[Fifty-first] Lowering standards of Chinese

Seriously I think the people who write to newspaper forums are getting more senseless.

Argument in the newspaper: Less focus on mother tongue for PSLE to retain the talents in Singapore and educate them in Singapore.

If the student can't even score well in mother tongue for PSLE, at such a low level, how can they expect him to excel in university when he lacks the basic skill to commmunicate with others efficiently? A talent needs to be all rounded, equipped with knowledge as well as knowing how to communicate their ideas. And why is it that students can score well for PSLE English paper then? Is the paper too easy? Or is it that students have more exposure to it, which results in more frequent usage of the English language, thus gaining better results? Therefore by decreasing the difficulty of the Chinese paper, or reducing the weightage of the paper will not solve the root problem of having little exposure and usage of the Chinese language outside the classroom.

This lack of Chinese oratorical skills is detrimental to the society as well because China is a blooming country, and Singapore having such close ties with China, much of the business deals may have to be discussed in Chinese thus emphasizing the importance of Chinese. Although one may say that the Chinese are getting more literate in English, they might jeer at us for not knowing our culture, not knowing about our language and takes the Chinese language as an unimportant subject. Now how would they feel? They are passionate about their own language and culture, and the way Singaporeans respect their language is a total opposite. This could create an invisible barrier between business partners as there is a sense of detatchment. However if Chinese was used in negotiating, the Chinese businesses may feel more attached and can relate to us better, thus increasing the chances of a good outcome.

Furthermore there's a trend to decrease the standards of Chinese by various means and teaching methods, like focusing more on oral and using English to teach Chinese. That's just ridiculous. I'm so infuriated that Chinese people are losing their interest in mother tongue and regard Chinese as unimportant.

CONCLUSION: LOWERING STANDARDS OR WEIGHTAGE OF CHINESE AS A CRITERIA FOR HIGHER EDUCATION SHOULD NOT TAKE PLACE. SOLVE THE PROBLEM BY PUTTING EVEN MORE EMPHASIS ON IT, SO PEOPLE WILL WORK HARDER ON IT AND NOT PROCRASTINATE BY COMPLAINING THAT THE SUBJECT IS TOO DIFFICULT. SERIOUSLY STOP COMPLAINING. IT'S SO SAD TO SEE THE CHINESE CULTURE DYING IN THIS SOCIETY.

Side note: People are also getting more interested in foreign culture, especially the Korean culture. They are motivated to learn more about their language and culture... Why can't this be done for Chinese? Singapore wants to be in the forefront of everything, so why are the standards of Chinese decreasing where it should be increasing? I remember this when I was studying social studies: Do what is right, not what is popular... I cannot figure out whether this lower standards are the voices of the majority, or that this could be right? Or both plays a role? Anyway I simply think that this is an insult to the Chinese language. Might as well not learn it since students are learning the bare minimum.

Assumption: Many people view the Chinese language as unimportant. Maybe the majority are fine with Chinese? Let's just hope that is true. (:

Last words of the day: I wanted to post this on my fb status... but it was too long as I got carried away so I transferred it here (: