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Mind Is Not a Vessel to Be Filled, but a Fire to Be Kindled

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Mind is a not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled. Discuss.

“Education” may be an ordinary word to most people, but very few actually understand the deep meaning beneath it. In this dynamic world, we need to be equipped with the necessary skills and hard work to survive. Understanding the education system is integral to allow students to understand the purpose of studying, the purpose of going to school everyday. Is education in Singapore really “holistic”? Are there flaws?

What is education? By definition, it would be something along the line of “ transferring knowledge”. I beg to differ. In my opinion, education consists of more than just knowledge. From Kindergarden to University, students are put through the daily …show more content…

If education in Singapore is so perfect, why would such disgraceful incidents occur?

Let us look at some possible reasons. Memorizing dictionaries, memorizing textbooks, doing thousands of assessment books, attending endless tuitions and supplementary classes… These are some things most pupils in Singapore are going through. They have my sympathy. Everything I have described until now is about passive learning, which revolves around results and lacking in true meaning of education.

Now, let us zoom into another aspect. Imagine this : a child who does his work consistently, revises on daily basis, reads newspapers everyday. Everything without being told. Seems like a utopian child? No. It is possible. The only thing he has compared to other students is the passion. The burning passion inside him to learn, to absorb knowledge. This drive pushes him to do everything on his own. There is no tuition, no supplementary classes, reasonable number of assessment books. Yet, this child is scoring ‘A’s for his subjects.

In Singapore schools, Ministry of Education is encouraging a whole new approach towards “holistic” education. Co-curricular activities, Community Involvement Program, Civics & Morals Education… these are programmes put in place after much effortful planning of the education ministries. There are even more recent policies such as

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