(written by Jennifer Coupland)
A Day in the Life of a Hwa Chong Student
As we arrived to Hwa Chong, that resembled more a college campus than a high school, we were overwhelmed by everything it had to offer. Not only that, but the dynamics of how the school is run is very different from what our American customs are in a school setting.
Guys, there's no more gross cafeteria food where the hot dogs bounce when you drop them. They have two or three different restaurants, on the campus, for you to choose from. Not only that, but they have everything from local dishes to western cuisine. Sounds like a dream, right?
But, ladies and gents, there's something that we have taken for granted over the years of going to a public high school: our leniency in our rules. For instance, ladies, if you were to have your hair touching your shoulders at school they would ask you to either get a hair cut as soon as possible or tie it up in a pony tail. Also, you are NOT allowed to wear make up. You cannot wear open-toed shoes, only sneakers of some sort. There are absolutely no playing cards allowed at school, they will confiscate them and so on.
Their schedules change every day, much like that of a college student. They all wake up every day around 5:00am and head off to school where some stay until 9pm. From there, they must find time to fit in finishing their mass amounts of homework and doing extra-curricular activities.
Another thing to keep in mind is that in their graduating class alone, there are about 1000 plus students. Even our beloved SCA President, Daryl Wilkinson, could not go around and know every person there. We realized how difficult it must be to hold school sponsored events outside of school; until we saw the Artemis Faculty Outing.
I feel like this deserves a blog entry for itself. Guys and gals, this was held in a club. Not only this but they had the freedom to talk about PMS on stage, quote one of Katy Perry's famous, but inappropriate, songs, and play songs such as "I'm On a Boat" uncensored. Now before we all get the wrong idea, because this was a school sponsored event, there was no drinking, no inappropriate dancing, none of that. But it is pretty interesting that for such a conservative society, they would hold such events in a club, and play music uncensored.
As everything slowly comes to a close I will forever be fascinated by school dynamics at Hwa Chong Junior College (aka high school).
Zai Jian!
Jennifer
I find it interesting that the singaporeans seem to have stricter rules yet greater freedoms. I feel jealous towards their eating options, yet I would feel somewhat constricted due to requirements and the time schedule. I suppose a country that has a large population in a small area must have larger student numbers in each class. (Kyle P. [Rodgers 6])
ReplyDeleteThis blog I feel connects to me because of my Asian background. The circumstances that they're put under are things i am not new to. Although i grew up here, the Philippines has similar values. For example, the uniforms of the students are held highly there as it is a sign respect for the idea of education and school. I can really feel the "switch" here as we do not have such thing. I agree with Jennifer of her idea of leniant our school is, despite the complaints and numerous rules; after reading this it brings back values that i hold sacred to myself and relate to the American society I was raised in while still having my Asian ideals
ReplyDelete-clarence Castro
Thats preety cool how they have restaurants on campus because cafeteria is horrible. What was your favorite thing you ate? How much american influence is there in Singapore? Katy Perry <3
ReplyDeleteAdity C. (Rodgers 6)
ReplyDeleteHey Jennifer, that all sounds crazy. I can't even imagine the administration at Dominion going around telling girls to cut their hair, and not wear open-toed shoes. I respect Singapore's school system, it is just very different than what we are used to, so I agree with you that we have taken our many freedoms for granted. I feel that their rules are used for disciplinary purposes, which would explain why they are dedicated, focused, and polite people (which I observed when exchange students from Singapore came to Dominion). I can't wait to hear more interesting stories.
It's really interesting to see how diverse their culture is from ours. I'm jealous that they get to have events in clubs with music that everyone listens to and that their administration trusts them enough to not get out of hand and keep the event fun for everyone. But I'm not sure I would be able to handle having my hair that short, i'm suprised about how strict that rule is. Other than the those regulations, it seems like an awesome place to live and be. Enjoy the rest of your time there
ReplyDeleteTheir school sounds like it would be hard but at the same time, it would be interesting. I knew some schools could be strict but I never thought long hair wouldn't be allowed. I like how big their graduating class is too.
ReplyDeletePam C. Rodgers 6
Wow. I always knew that the schools were more strict there, however, I had no idea that they were that strict! I never knew that you had to tie up your hair and can't wear open-toed shoes. It's interesting how they serve really nice food there. I want to go there!
ReplyDeleteAminah A. (Rodgers 6)
It sound very interesting .It nice that you tell guy about this country because then we can learn.
ReplyDeleteAstrid
I find it surprising that there is such a discrepancy between the imposed behavioral limitations enacted by the government and school and the leniency afforded to the students and faculty via the outing experience. The fact that students are required to observe strict attention to rules and regulations while also having the ability to expess themselves in ways that Western schools and society might deem inappropriate shows that students are trusted enough to be given a high degree of autonomy in their time outside of their education. From this, we can infer that Singapore has a "work hard - play hard" mentality that fosters emotional release alongside intense study and learning. It also illustrates the fact that Singaporian students are more disciplined than American students, at least in general, since while American students are given more latitude when it comes to activities, those activites are more closely monitered thus limiting the freedom that we have at school activities.
ReplyDeleteSean G. (Rodgers 8)
(Sorry if this was submitted twice, blogger is lagging hardcore)
It seems to me that kids there are treated less like adults than we are here, but that may just be my american definition of "adult" conflicting with that of the meaning in Singapore. Yeah there's plenty of options as far as food goes, and there's a very serious schedule that only those who are mature could handle, but, because of being raised in america, I don't find this to be adulthood in the slightest. Adulthood for me fits within personal direction, deciding what to do and how to handle it, in one's own unique fashion. I'm not saying that I think sigaporean's are boring and have no personality or sense of personal direction, I just mean to say that in America the basis is personal direction with an emphasis on structure, whereas, and only from this brief description, the basis is structure with and emphasis on personal direction. I don't favor one or the other, I was simply brought up in one over the other. (Nick Grad, rodgers 8)
ReplyDeleteAfter reading about singapore through this post, it seems as if the cultural differences are both similar to American society and quite different as well. There are certain laws there are taken as offense and illegal that would be perfectly fine here. As well as the schooling, Hwa Chong, was said to be very similar to a college campus and there are even restaurants on the campus alone.
ReplyDelete:) Jesse Chantharangsy (Rodgers 8)
I think that the strict rules in Singapore add to the country's positive global reputation. I think that perhaps the recent lenience in the American school system is the reason for our dropping test scores. Perhaps we should take from this exchange the valuable lesson of appropriately controlling youth.
ReplyDelete-Molly M.
After reading about the differences in the Singaporean and American school systems, I'm quite amazed with how lenient we are compared to those abroad - and I appreciate even more just how much more lenient our system is. It amazes me how students can listen and sing to an uncensored "I'm on a Boat," but girls cannot have their hair worn at a certain length. Singaporean students must have incredible physical and mental abilities in order to make it through a 5 to 9 pm school day, not even including the massive amount of homework and extracurriculars they also have to balance. I am very impressed.
ReplyDeleteJR Franks (Rodgers 8)
I think coming from Dominion we take advantage of how small each of our graduating classes are. I have had friends in graduating classes of about 600 people. I think it is cool that the students there get a large choice of food while at school, however I am not jealous of our "short" school days. The thing I wonder is how different their classes are from ours?
ReplyDelete-Colin O.
The rules of Singapore seem quite interesting. It must be strange to experience collage life during high school. Though its complicated it looks like it could be fun.
ReplyDeleteThis seems quite interesting. Its like collage mixed with catholic school. It looks like it would be a really difficult experience for us in America. I wouldn't mind the food possibilities, but would have serious violations.
ReplyDeleteZac Schulz
well, I wasn't very suprised when I read this blog post. I guess becuase I came from Korea and we have very silimar culture. I always had to wear uniform wth short hair. And we had to come to school Saturday too! I couldn't imgaine about dye hair and wear shorts in school. I think here U.S. has more open mind with clothes or rule. Now, I had been dye my hair into brown and pierced ear!
ReplyDeleteShinyu J.(Rodgers 2)
Their school days seems very different and would at first take some getting use to. The food is definatly one of the bigger benefits, but the strict dress code policies would be a down fall. I guess growing up in a society with such strict rules, you would be use to dressing in that manner. I would not enjoy staying at school until 9 pm and then having to get back up at 5 am. I give the students in Singapore many props because it takes alot to do what they have to do everyday at school.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea how strict the schools over there are. We do take our school system for granted. Now that i know that our school is less strict i'll appreciate it more.
ReplyDeleteVictor Valencia
I think it is very interesting that they go in at 5:00 am and sometimes stay late till 9:00 pm. That would be very hard for me to get used to because i would not be able to handle getting up early and staying that late. Also the food choices is very cool, better than here.
ReplyDeleteBrendan G. (Rodgers 2)
were very lucky to be at a public school with less rules like them. they are really strict and you cant even have your hair touching your shoulder because they would ask you to cut it. and something is else that is intersting is that they have different classs schedule.
ReplyDeleteVeronica S(Rodgers 2)
It's very interesting that they would have so much leniency at a school sponsored event. Especially after hearing about how conservative they are, without even being allowed to wear open-toed shoes and stuff. I think it's funny how our society is considered very lax for allowing things like makeup, but the things that they did at that outing would be completely inappropriate in America.
ReplyDeleteKayla F. (Rodgers 2)
I believe that often time we complain about the adminstration in the school such as the dress code policy and how we're not allowed to dance inappropiately in the school dances. But we dont realize that some school such as the ones in Singapore the rules are more stricter and dont have much freedom in expressing themselves. But i am jealous on how they have better and cafeteria food and how their hard work get paid off by their social events.
ReplyDeleteLaura M (Rodgers 2)
I did'nt know that the schools there were so strict about the students appearances. I dont think I'd be able to go to a school with such a strict dress code. However I think it's interesting that they trust their students enough to work in clubs on their own, when the other rules are so strict.
ReplyDeleteMarissaK.2
I think thats just rad! I feel like they have given students more of a choice in school when it comes to music and food. Though I am confused about their hair policy completely and not playing cards.
ReplyDeleteBejan
I find it interesting that their schools have such strict guidelines in aspects that seem so insignificant to us. It would be nice to have the dining options that they have, but not if it meant having to endure these sorts of rules and greatly extended school hours. It is also interesting that even with such a large graduating class, they are still able to organize and hold school events.
ReplyDelete--Jake Ashworth
That's so cool that they have those different food options to chose from unlike over here.It's also really surprising that some stay at school until 9pm. I would not want to be at school for that long. I didn't know that they their dress rules were so strict. They can't even wear open-toed shoes! Although they have those rules, it seems that they have other nice priveleges such as that event that they held.
ReplyDeleteEmily C. (Rodgers 2)
I'm really jealous of the fact that they actually have quality choices as to what they are going to eat. It's really interesting that girls cannot have their hair touch their shoulders though, I wonder why thats a rule? I do think it's really cool that they can play what ever music they want and not have to worry about what the administration has to say about it, it shows how much the administration trusts it's students not to repeat the language in every day conversation.
ReplyDeleteNadya Syed Rodgers 3.
People here say that our school is strict, but in comparison to what you've said, it is nothing! I can not imagine having to be limited to only wearing certain shoes and being told to have a certain hair length. If that occured here, people would be outraged, because they would say it infringed on their personal liberties. Yet, I can see how less focus on small, petty things can bring more focus on things like education.
ReplyDeleteLauren A.
That school seems to be a lot more intense than American schools. Not olny does it seem like their are a large number of rules that most Americans (including myself) never really think about, but the students' days seem to be a lot more busy than ours. It sounds like schools in Sinapore offer a different type of learning experience and enviornment than the American school system.
ReplyDeleteAndrea R. (Rodgers 3)
It is interesting to me that Asian schoolkids go to school from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. For me, I would never be able to deal with that level of commitment to school. I need other activites to be a part of, and that amount of time at school is just ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to me that Asian schoolkids go to school from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. For me, I would never be able to deal with that level of commitment to school. I need other activites to be a part of, and that amount of time at school is just ridiculous.
ReplyDeletestefan vanburen
I think this sounds like such a great experience! Singapore sounds like a really great place to go to. I think it's really cool that the people get to choose what restaurant they want to eat at everyday and how they have choices and good food. I think it's also kind of crazy how strict the rules are there like how you are not able to wear open toed shoes! I think Singapore sounds like a really cool place to visit because there's so many interesting things to learn about there.
ReplyDeleteKatrina R (Rodgers 6)