Responding to that ITE student's rant

I have been discussing the issue of elitism with my reader Neurotic Ramblings and whilst I cannot possibly respond to every story I come across on social media but I simply had to respond to this story about an ITE student Naomi in Singapore ranting on about how she is sick of JC students looking down on her. TherealSingapore invited their readers to give her some words of encouragement and OMFG, there were some well intentioned but pretty stupid comments left on Facebook. That's the problem with social media - there are just too many idiots out there using social media so you get comments even from stupid people. Firstly, I want to respond to some points she made in her piece and then I want to deal with some of the misleading but supposedly encouraging advice offered to Naomi.

Now let me deal with Naomi's piece in the first instance.

"some JCs student when they board and saw us seating will stare at us, and some mumble that we should be giving them the seat instead as they got more rights(Being they are smarter)."

Groan - if you are buay song with some asshole who makes such snide remarks, then challenge them on the spot. Ask them, "oi what the hell do you mean by that? Who the hell are you to think you deserve this seat?" You will probably see then apologize and run away in fear. But no, instead you just sit there and allow yourself to be insulted and you want to feel sorry for yourself? Duh.

"I even had a ex school mate which I fancied a lot and after I went to ITE, she looked down on me and said that I am in ITE and she is in JC we are in a different world."

If this person genuinely felt like that, why do you care about what she thinks? There is this famous quote by Eleanor Rooservelt, "Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent." You can waste so much time, energy and effort over people like that when really, you should be focussing your energy on improving yourself. I say, just write this person off and ignore her - there must be plenty of others in your life who are worthy of your attention.

"Well if tuition grant is not enough to impress them then how about in terms of facilities wise? The estimated amount to build a polytechnic is approximately a few million of dollars, whereas a JC cost only about 50k."

This is incorrect. Facilities vary from JC to JC, some JCs have much better, newer facilities than others - but S$50,000 will get you very little. Even primary schools in Singapore would have facilities that cost far more than S$50,000. A few million dollars does not go very far in terms of trying to get some decent facilities like a state of the art drama theatre, an art studio, science labs and sports facilities. I would invite you to go have a look at the RI campus in Bishan - they have outstanding facilities which other JCs are desperately envious of.

Do you have any idea how much a swimming pool costs?

Naomi, please get your facts and figures right before you sound off like that - it is very easy to lose your credibility if you mess up on something as simple as this. 

"And to those JC students with superior attitude, do you think when we go out to the workforce you are able to cope and think fast? Lastly to the employers of various companies out there, hopefully you are able to answers the public question, why is it the ITE Higher Nitec, and poly students has a higher starting pay then JCs student?"

Let me speak as a much older man who is in the position of employing people - I do not really care what route the applicant has taken in their academic life, whether they go to a JC or a poly really makes little difference to me. I am looking for the young person to have shown me that they have managed to do something to prove that they are special, that they have shown initiative to do something independent and original. Too many students (both in polys and JCs) are simply spoon fed every step of the way by the system, I am looking for someone who can demonstrate to me that they have done something outside the system. Such people are those who are the ones who have the most potential to shine in the workplace because of their ability to think outside the box. 

What makes you special? What makes you better than everyone else?

If you are thinking that simply by going to a poly, that somehow their curriculum will give you everything you need to succeed, then you're mistaken. There's so much you need to do yourself to prove that you're better than everyone else out there you are competing with. By that token, being in a JC doesn't give a student any advantage per se, it is just a shorter route to a degree at the end of the day. 

As for the pay difference between an ITE Higher Nitec/poly vs JC student, that's a stupid question. Nobody goes to a JC with the intention of joining the work force upon getting their A levels - the A levels are but a stepping stone for those intending to get a degree. Those armed with a degree from a good university will always have a higher starting pay than those with ITE/poly qualifications. 

Graduates are often paid more than diploma/NITEC holders. 

"Just want to say that we as true Singaporean, shouldn't we be as one be it Chinese, Malay, Indians or Eurasians. May we be holding a PSLE, N, O, A levels cert, Nitec, Higher Nitec, Diploma, Higher Diploma, Degree,Master Degree or PhD work together see each other as equal for who knows you who is looking down at me now thinking that you deserve what I have now may be your future boss?"

It doesn't work like that in real life, time for a does of reality Naomi. Life is extremely unfair, society is not equal - that is why some people are driven around in beautiful cars whilst others have to wait in the rain for the crowded bus. You are fooling yourself when you talk about some kind of socialist utopia where everyone is equal regardless of their education or wealth. As I have said in my previous post, it doesn't matter how educated you are - what really matters is how rich you are. Our capitalist society is extremely unequal whether you like it or not and you're not going to be able to change it singlehandedly by complaining about it. No Naomi, it doesn't work like that - there is instead a system of meritocracy which creates a highly unequal society where some towkays earn millions whilst others slog long hours doing menial labour for peanuts. Why is there such a huge difference? Why are some people so successful and others such failures?

There may be things that you have done that could impress me Naomi, things which may impress many people and earn you their respect. But instead of talking about your achievements to show us why you deserve our respect, you somehow insist that everyone is equal regardless of their achievements? What planet are you on Naomi? That is not the way human societies work. Get real - wake up and smell the coffee. 

In life, respect is earned, not demanded. You cannot go around life telling people, "don't look down on me, I may become you boss one day". People would simply turn around and say, "oh yeah? Prove it." I am not looking down on you Naomi, but you are a student today - you are an untested entity, you are a young person who has yet to prove herself in the working world. Granted nobody should write you off and condemn you before you even join the working world, nonetheless you should be humble enough not to demand respect before you have even earned it. 

"After reading this, just reflect and think about it yourself does it matter where we came from? Is this kind of attitude good for the future of us Singaporeans?"

Well Naomi, it is time you grew up and realized just how unfair life is. This kind of snobbery stems from the fact that we live in a meritocracy, where everyone is trying to make more money than the next person. Perhaps some ITE student may become a CEO one day and there are a number of success stories of ITE students who have gone on to do great things. But make no mistake - these successful former ITE students have my respect because they have achieved great things. You, Naomi, have yet to do so anything worthy of my respect. You cannot claim that because some other ITE students have achieved great things so we must respect all ITE students by association - it doesn't work like that. You want respect, you have to earn it first. Welcome to the real world. 

Respect is earned, not demanded. 

Now time to deal with the stupid but well intentioned 'encouraging remarks' left on Facebook. 

Willie Tan Who know one day the JC or Degree graduate students might work for u 

I hardly think that a sentence beginning with 'who knows' is an encouraging endorsement of Naomi's future. Who knows what the future holds? Who knows if Naomi would become president one day? Who knows if she will become a billionaire? Who knows if she will end up unemployed and bitter? Who knows if Naomi will ever be in a position to hire anyone? Who knows if Naomi will even find a job in the future? Who knows if Naomi will be a great success or a total failure? Who knows? (Willie Tan doesn't know.) Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. 

Happy Jack ITE students can survive better, if given the chance, they most likely will become their own boss, don't worry about what others think of you because it doesn't matter, it's what you think of yourself that will propel your forward. Life is never fair, make the best out of what you have with an open mind, success is not measured by money, after you made it, remember to pull the next guy up when they are down.

Oh that's just complete bullshit - ITE students can survive better? Most likely to become their own boss? On what basis? You can big up ITE students till the cows come home, but it doesn't change the fact that the best Singaporean students still always go for the JC-university route after secondary school. If ITEs provided an education that ensured that their students 'survive better' and are most likely to become their own boss, then surely the top students in Singapore would shun JCs and universities and opt for the ITE route instead. Duh. 

The only part of Happy Jack's comment I can agree with is that you should worry about what others think of you because it doesn't matter, it is what you think of yourself that matters and that life is never fair. However he is very wrong when he said that success is not measured by money - oh pullease. Get real kid. I don't think success should be measured by academic achievements, it should be measured by money and I don't care how you make that money, just make sure you get rich and everyone will respect you - problem solved. 

Show me the money.

Charlie Liau To all ITE friends: U are the master of your own fate! Somedays those JC arrogant bastards will have to bow down & acknowledge U as their boss..... if U have a dream that's big enough to make it happen!

I don't approve of arrogant JC kids who make fun of ITE students, but what makes you think that ITE students will someday become the bosses of those who took the JC route? They tend to lead to very different career paths. Let's get real here - their career paths are unlikely to cross given that their tertiary education choices are very different. It would be highly unlikely that they would end up doing the same jobs in the same industry despite having vastly different education. Get real here Charlie - sure ITE students may go on to do great things one day, but it is quite unlikely that they will work alongside those who have taken the JC route.

What is most likely to happen if Naomi is successful, is that she will climb up her career ladder and find herself one day managing others who have taken the ITE/Poly route. Those who have done the JC-university route will climb a very different career ladder and end up managing others who have taken that JC-university route - even if Naomi turns out to be very successful, she will never be managing say someone with a medicine or law degree from NUS. Their career paths just wouldn't cross, not unless people end up doing a job totally irrelevant to their education and training. 

Richard Yip You are studying real skills that can help in your career. JC maybe book smarts but can they do a real job now.

Not necessarily true Richard - yes ITE qualifications are extremely useful in helping you get a real job, but JC students are on their way to university where they can get degrees in anything from medicine to engineering to law which also lead to extremely well paid professional careers. The JC experience is but a stepping stone to prepare the students for university and you should just the JC students by their degree rather than their A level results. A graduate from Oxford university with a degree in law or medicine is in a far better position to launch a far more successful career than any ITE graduate - such is the reality of the working world. More on degrees in my next post. 

A good degree can launch a very lucrative and successful career. 

Jet Jie Te Moreover bill gates aren't degree holder but his employees are. Didn't u heard before the undergrad work for smart people who aren't one

Bill Gates is an exception to the rule - by that token, why don't you all drop out of school and not bother with any qualifications and just follow Bill Gates' example then? Why even bother with ITE? Bill Gates made it to university but dropped out before he graduated - he isn't stupid, he just didn't bother completing his degree. The fact is Bill Gates is a brilliant man with or without a degree. 

Kintan Talib Don't bother wat people think about ITE. There's lot of ITE students who excel far better then JC student. I agree with Richard Yip. Just believe in yourself

So why are the top Singaporean students choosing to go to JCs to do A levels when so many ITE students 'excel far better' than JC students then? Hmmm. Why don't the smartest students go to ITE then? Have you opened your eyes and looked at the system in Singapore and observed what actually goes on?

Most companies prefer to hire graduates from excellent universities. 

Gades Chan encouraging words? Sure! You guys can get jobs faster and hang on to it faster than those people from JC!

On what basis Gades? Are the brightest students in Singapore turning their backs on the top JCs and opting for ITEs? No? Then how are they going to get jobs faster? And how do you hang on to something faster? You hang on to something longer, not faster.

OK now's it's my turn - you want encouraging words? I am going to speak to you as an adult. What do you want to hear? Do you want me to tell you that ITE students are the brightest in Singapore and that they are so much smarter and better than the students who go to the top JCs in Singapore? Who are you trying to kid? Let's get real here Naomi.

Do you want to be like this ostrich or do you want a dose of reality? 

You are young, you have many years ahead of you and so many opportunities to do amazing things that will earn not just my respect but the respect of everyone you meet. If you want to be respected and admired, then start working hard and make plans for the great things you wish to achieve. Make something of yourself so you can be proud of yourself, so your parents will be beaming with pride when they talk about your great achievements and your friends will feel proud to know you. Maybe you have already done some pretty amazing things already but you didn't talk about those.

You live in an extremely unequal country where some Singaporean adults are extremely rich whilst others are very poor - and you want to tell me that everyone should be treated equally? You need to open your eyes and look more closely at the adults you know - why are some of them earning so much more than others? Are they all equally ambitious, capable and talented? Hell no. Guess what? Life is incredibly unfair, some people are born with obvious talents whilst are born with so little - those who are born with little have the odds stacked against them in life whilst those born with huge advantageous (like wealthy parents) have a much easier life. Not everyone is born a genius or talented - some people are on the wrong side of the IQ bell curve and the odds are stacked against them from the start. In life, you get what you're given and you have to make the most of the chances you are given. 

I say girl, get real. You want respect, you have to earn it. Do something amazing to impress me and I will respect you for that. Stop demanding respect like a spoilt brat, you get nowhere with that childish attitude in the working world. You have a lot of growing up to do and let me summarize this by making this very clear: Limpeh would never look down on anyone from ITE. Limpeh has a lot of respect for ITE as an institution that provides excellent vocational skills and training. Limpeh is an Ah Beng from Ang Mo Kio at heart. Limpeh doesn't even think that a degree is important at all - but Limpeh believes fundamentally that respect is earned, not demanded. 

As usual, please let me know what you think - do leave a comment below, kum siah.