What is with the bloody weather?

I think it's time for a good rant. Let's see, what is available? How about education? Or rather the value of education. No no, how about the way people are judged based on their education?

It's a common enough lament, especially in Singapore, that people are too easily judged by the level of education they have received. I hear it all the time, that ITE, polytechnic, O Level graduates or whatever find themselves pigeonholed. In recent years, the university graduates have started to complain as well, that employers are unwilling to take them on for jobs requiring qualifications below what they hold. It seems unfair to insist that the O or A Levels are the ultimate arbiter of your ability to succeed in life. Some people have talents in other areas that are not quantified by the standardised examinations students are subjected to. Perhaps some people are better at music, or art, or drama, or sports, or any number of other areas not examinable by Cambridge. To dismiss these people as useless and less capable than the university graduate seems unfair.

Well, I personally think that's pretty much bullshit.

Education is a good measure of your abilities in particular applications, that is the aptitude for memorising things, for doing math, for composing words, and so on. If that is what the employer wants, then what else is he supposed to use as a measure? Your height? If I want to employ an accountant, I ask that the person I choose be good at accountancy. What does that entail? Good math skills, the ability to express himself clearly and professionally. What measures these things? Education.

You may claim that you were lazy earlier in school, and that's why your L1R5 was 43, not because you're dumb. Well, too bad for you. I didn't ask you to be a lazy student, did I? If you couldn't be bothered to work hard back then, why would I be convinced that you will work hard now? If you are motivated now, as opposed to before, you can always go and retake your O Levels, get your straight A's and expunge the record of 43 points, and nobody will ever have to know. If your talents lie in other areas, then go out and prove it. Don't sit there and complaint that nobody knows how smart you are, just not academically inclined. I can accept that you're not academically inclined, but you have to prove to me that you're smart. The usual avenue of proof, academics, obviously didn't work, so if you want to convince me, go find some other way of doing it. How? Not my problem. The burden of proof is not on me, employers or the government, it's on you. You cannot prove it? Then too bad.

Oh, one more thing. If you claim to be not academically inclined, but talented in art, music, sports or whatever, then GO BECOME AN ARTIST, MUSICIAN OR SPORTSMAN. Don't come and ask me to show you sympathy for not being good at something others are good at but refusing to do what you claim to be good at.

The way I see it, if you're good at hitting the books, it can mean one of three things about you. Either you're hardworking, smart, or hardworking and smart, in which case clap yourself on the back and go have a good career. If you're not, then either you're dumb, or your talents lie somewhere outside of academics. If you can't prove, or can't be bothered to prove the latter, then I'll just assume you're the former. In which case, you're probably lost in the snarl of language by now and need help deciphering it. Here's a tip for these people then, SCROLL UP.