Singaporean in Singapore: The Role of Public Education System in Creating Our Identity

Compulsory public education in Singapore takes at least ten years to complete, from primary through secondary. Those are the greatly formative years of a child, and they contribute plenty to the creation of a national identity of sorts. It is a somewhat common memory that Singaporeans can relate to, even though each experience is unique. The ten years not only impart knowledge, but also teach us what is socially acceptable in Singapore by most Singaporeans who have been through this system. It trains us to be more socially apt, in ways that we are more sensitive to people who might be different. It creates the mainstream Singapore that you and I know. A Singaporean of the main system can tell right away if another is not from the same system almost right away, from the way he or she talks and thinks.

A friend of mine has been consistently making remarks that came across, to me, as jarring and inadequate. Certain comments were unnecessary, yet was thought of by that friend as perfectly normal. It was hard being tolerant and accepting such differences, because I would never expect a Singaporean to say such things or behave in this manner. There, I have to understand one key difference. That friend did not go through the same public education system as the people I know did. I used to consider myself different for having gone through 6 years of school without many Malay friends, coming from a Chinese Christian school followed by another Christian junior college. But there's an entirely different system out there that really sets this real minority group apart from the 'Singaporeans' we all know.

A Singaporean would not comment on the situation in Iraq by saying that "Muslims are killing Christians", but say "The Islamic State Troopers in Iraq are killing Christians". To just say the former is offensive and insensitive, but the latter puts the comment right back into context. The public education system forces us to learn about other races properly, tolerate with them by being sensitive. It is imbued into us without many of us even realising it.

A Singaporean identity? I would say it is sensitivity to other Singaporeans who don't look like us but behave just like us.