Paper-chase excellence makes paper-thin thinkers
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Mar 30, 2011 - ST Forum
MRS Sylvia Lee lamented that our students needed to develop skills and qualities beyond just academic excellence ("Packed syllabuses won't make thinkers"; Monday).
Our current generation of students are all IT-savvy and know all the latest technology but, sad to say, most of them read only what is necessary to pass exams. The school culture does not seem to inculcate in them the need to socialise widely and learn skills beyond the textbooks, classrooms and lecture hall.
We need students who can think out of the box and not merely take the line of least resistance. The best advice comes from the 1938 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, Enrico Fermi, who said, "There are two possible outcomes: If the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you've made a discovery."
Our students should not imbibe knowledge passively from their teachers and books but should question the validity of what they have learnt in schools and colleges.
Heng Cho Choon
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is this referring to the new batch of candidates?
