This morning Mrs. Rodgers and I had an excellent opportunity to learn more about the Singapore political system from Hwa Chong students in Ms. Huo's English Studies Class. The students compared the political culture of the United States and Singapore concerning the influence of women on public policy and the portrayal of women in the media. One difference the Hwa Chong students observed was the fact that American media focuses more on women's physical appearance and Singapore media focuses more on the merit of the individual. After pointing out many similarities and differences between the two systems, students became political consultants. In groups they created "Pokemon candidate cards" to show the characteristics valued in female candidates in Singapore and the United States. Mrs. Rodgers and I are very grateful to the English Studies class for their excellent participation in today's lesson. It was a wonderful experience to spend two class periods with these thoughtful and gracious students. They were very open to learning about the U.S. political system and sharing with us valuable insight into the Singaporean political system.
- To read more about the opinions of these Singaporean and American students, take a look at the discussion between Dominion and Hwa Chong Students concerning women in politics at this blog set up by Mrs. Rodgers, http://www.dominionandhwachong.blogspot.com/
Thats very interesting, I think its very true that women politicians here are more concerend with their appearence, and so are everyone else in America. Then they are with what they are actually doing and their merit. So its quite the difference that in other countries, the focus is the exact opposite.
ReplyDeleteI find it odd how in singapore women play such a different role in polotics. In america, it's pretty rare to see a woman, though the number is rising.
ReplyDeleteI agree American media focus' more one womens looks than their poltical background when in it comes to running for office. I find it interesting that the US doesnt really take into account a womens political background and merit as much as the Singaporeans do.
ReplyDeleteI find this topic quite interesting. I agree that American media focuses on women's physical appearance while Singapore media focuses on the merit of the individual. Putting the whole concept into pokemon cards is pretty creative; it is a very good way to compare and contrast the two distinct perspectives.
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