Time to redefine academic success

One of MOE’s newly minted mission statements assures the public – particularly parents whose stress levels are matched only by their determination to secure a bright future for their children – that ‘every school is a good school’. Yet, cries of indignation are abound that inequalities persist between the quality of education in ‘brand-name’ schools and lesser-known ones (“Time to redefine academic success”; Thursday).

Perhaps it is time for us to redefine our perceptions of success in general – not just academic success.

           

It is particularly telling that a key decision-making criterion for parents when it comes to choosing secondary schools is the number of Overseas Merit Scholars and medical students among the school’s alumnus. Evidently, our perception of success, and by extension, what constitutes a good school, tends to be shaped with an exclusive focus on academic excellence.

            

I think that such a view of success is unnecessarily restrictive and stressful. A person’s ability cannot and should not be quantified in a single number, be it a PSLE tee-score, or the number of A-level distinctions. Rather than trying to fit a square peg into a circular hole, we should embrace the multitude of human talents, and allow people with abilities that stretch beyond academic achievement to also succeed in life.            

            

This is precisely why polytechnics exist alongside junior colleges (JCs). Some students are more suited to an academically rigorous curriculum, while others prefer a more technical and hands-on approach to learning. Given the divergent nature of diverse human talents, different paths to success must also be divergent – not convergent in medical school. Not all roads lead to Rome – as we adopt different paths to success, we can only expect that we will end up at completely different destinations.

          

Ultimately, I believe that the fundamental problem lies in societal norms and prejudices. We cannot wait for the government to tell us how success should be defined, for it is a highly personal issue that we as a people must decide for ourselves. We should learn to capitalise on our unique abilities, broaden the definition of success, and not blindly trudge along the path which promises the best monetary gains or which is most popular in society. As Robert Frost famously declared in his poem ‘The Road Not Taken’: “I took the [road] less traveled by, And that has made all the difference”