The “What School” Question
Perhaps one of the most telling indicators of elitism and stereotyping in Singapore is the question “What school were you from?” Even primary schools are taken as indicators of character and intelligence. Employers routinely insist on knowing which secondary school and JC you were from, even if you have tertiary qualifications. In casual social interactions, the question is used as a springboard to a slew of generalizations. “Oh you were from X? Then you must be such-and-such!” Not always spoken aloud of course.
Apparently, even our Dear Leader falls prey to this irrational tendency to evaluate a person in the light of her educational qualifications. He asked a journalist at a press conference what school she went to, even though she’d asked him a question completely irrelevant to education (and, indeed, irrelevant to her education in particular). One hopes that he was simply being mean and doesn’t really think that information was at all relevant to the issue at hand. Yes, this is what one is reduced to hoping for from our leaders.
That was just to deflect the question with flavour of intimidation.
Comment by saintmoron — January 20, 2008 @ 4:28 pm
And she was fast enough to bounce back. I am wondering how many people in the room were actually glad that the Dear Leader was placed in a uncomfortable position for once and did not have the upper hand.
Comment by camper — January 22, 2008 @ 4:21 am
What it bespeaks, entwining with and reinforcing the elitism, is a total lack of social imagination or interest in individuality. God forbid anyone’s story ever be told by anything other than following the standardised instructions to assemble the standardised Identikit pieces into the standardised configurations.
Comment by Jol — January 22, 2008 @ 4:50 pm
Senior minister LKY asked: What school did you go to? He is implying to the young & IGNORANT journalist that she probably had lousy schooling in what ever school she attended (even the best) to be asking HIM the senior minister such a dumb qn at a press conference! It is NT a case of elitism dear A*star researcher!
Comment by Karin — February 11, 2008 @ 10:07 am