Giving Up On Singapore

Apologies for the hiatus the last two weeks. A lot has been on my mind since attending Hakuba Forum. Spending four days with thirty progressive educators discussing school as a center for well-being was invigorating, but also made me reconsider how I should be spending my time.

Which ultimately led to this LinkedIn post declaring that I am giving up on Singapore.

I did not expect the strong reactions - both positive and negative - this post would generate. My friend Calvin Soh calls it the algorithm of outrage. Haters are outraged, which attracts supporters who then become outraged, which makes people act.

I am not so social media savvy to have planned for this to happen. I only intended to explain why Doyobi is not going to work in Singapore and put out a call to parents and educators outside of Singapore to connect if they are interested in what we are building. Many people have criticised me for blaming the system for my own failures. This comment, for example.

I did not say the system is bad. I said it's deeply entrenched. The system is great for academic rigour and PISA scores. But is that what our kids need? Nor am I blaming the system. All I am saying is that I cannot change parents' mindset, which, like it or not, is shaped by the system. My inability to change parents' mindset is my failure. I own that.

I am giving up on Singapore because education is broken all over the world. Everyone I met at Hakuba Forum is trying to fix education. It is a complex system with multiple stakeholders. The problem is huge, and the need to fix it is urgent. If I cannot change Singaporean parents’ mindset about learning, I should take my solution elsewhere and try to make a difference there.

So what is wrong with the education system?

It is a complex question with a simple answer. Kids are suffering their way through an education that does not prepare them for the future. Kids who are already bored and disengaged in school are made to attend endless tuition classes after school and on weekends. Parents tell their kids the sacrifice is worth it if they can get into a better school, a better university, land a well-paying job. The typical Asian childhood is about sacrificing present day happiness for future rewards.

Last Saturday I was at a cafe. On my left an angry mother slammed an assessment book on the table, verbally abusing her son for not getting the question.

On my right a middle aged man was gleefully telling his friend how he’s going for job interviews after getting his bonus so he can squeeze a raise from his boss.

A microcosm of Singapore as a society.

Parents putting relentless pressure on kids to get better grades, with the expectation that someone, somewhere will keep delivering high paying jobs.

What parents are not realising is that the world is changing way faster than mainstream education can keep up. Most of the jobs our kids will do ten years from now do not exist today. Yet, our kids are still memorising the periodic table and doing calculus drills over and over. Schools are doing very little to equip kids with the skills to take on jobs that do not exist now. In the age of AI and robotics, we need to double down on human skills like creativity and empathy. Skills that help our children stay adaptable and resilient so they can take on future jobs that will be invented over the next ten years.

Parents are worrying about their kids not doing well in school when they should be worrying about about how their kids will cope in a VUCA world. To use an analogy, that is like going backcountry skiing and worrying about whether you have buckled your ski boots tight. Worry about the snow under you and whether an avalanche is coming!

I doubled down on my initial post with this message.

This is the 50th issue of Education & Catastrophe. Thank you for reading.

If you like to support my efforts to develop adaptability and build resilience in kids, please reach out.