The Ancient Vault: The Woe of School Societies

(This post was written in 2003. It is part of the blog's one year anniversary celebration. I was obviously writing based on my life then.)

5 to 10 years ago, being in school societies and holding a position in it is a major priority of students, especially the senior ones. They were required to join clubs and uniform bodies as part of a wholesome upbringing in school. Fast forward to the new millennium, and you see most students avoiding taking positions of responsibility and commitment.

Why?

For one, the Education Ministry has enforced the merit system whereby university admissions will be governed by how well you perform in public examinations. Involvements in societies only became a tie-breaker, and there really aren't any ties to break.

But that is just the crux of the problem. Students attitude towards the importance of societies have a much bigger impact. As a student myself, I am very well aware of the average student's mindset. They want the easy way out; they want to wipe their hands clean of any responsibilities. They do not want to be bogged down by responsibilities. Even before they go out to the real world, they want to be "home-free".

Rubbish.

When these students go out to work or to study, they will fully feel the impact of the mistake that they have done. In school, they have the chance to make mistakes from their decisions and learn from it. In the real world, you can't afford too many mistakes. In result, those that are really capable, i.e. those that were responsible and sensible enough, will be the ones to thrive. And when those stupid students can't seem to achieve success, who do they blame? Everyone but themselves.

There are also other implications that are present at school. Those that are "good", those that teachers view as responsible, capable people are always chosen for high positions like President, Secretary and so on. What happens? These capable people are overloaded with commitments and as a result, their academic performance suffers. Even then, with the negative mindset youths hold these days, the "capable" people are just the best of the worst. It's no different than choosing the apple with the least worms from a basket of bad apples.

Moral of the article is: Young people are constantly given the opportunity to learn and lead but they have a misconception that it means wasting time. If you have the chance, go for it and maintain a healthy balance. You can't go wrong, and if you do, you now know better than to repeat it again.