Reflective Journal 3: We have discussed and debated on the Chinese and America perceptions of self. Reflect on the impact of these beliefs in your life.
I must admit that the Chinese and America perceptions of self has made some impact in my life. Hwa Chong is often stereotyped as the school which produces more "Chinese" students. This is very true as I have heard many talks on Chinese values during the assemblies. However, one must also agree that America perceptions of self has also impacted some areas in HCI. For example, during assemblies, students allowed to participate in discussions and also feedback sessions.
Personally, I feel that the Confucian values has caused me more disadvantages than advantages. We are to respect our elders, no matter how we are related. I have been influenced by this and it has become a part of me. Practices such as bowing to an elder(for example, a teacher) comes naturally to me and I don't have to remind myself to bow. However, this respect has also caused me some problems. For example, when talking to an elder(except relatives), I am always not being myself. I always change my words which I normally use or tend not to speak up because I am afraid of offending them. This causes me feel awkward and nervous and this is also why I do not speak to elders much.
Another important Confucian value that has impacted my life would be "大同". In class, during discussions, I do not often speak what's on my mind unless I am 100% positive(which I am not most of the time) because I am afraid that my view is wrong as it is different from what many others think. I believe the reason for this is mainly because of "大同" which makes me afraid that I am different from the norm.
Now onto, America perceptions of self, I feel that this has not caused much impact on my life. Besides using those social platforms, such as Facebook, to express my view on certain things on the internet, I do not think that the America perceptions of self have had much impact on me at all. At this age, I am still not mature enough to vote or anything. Thus I have very little connection to elections and stuff which many people deem as very important and do not even bother to find out what's happening, same goes for my parents as they cannot vote even though they meet the age requirement. Furthermore, there has not been any big situations where I have to fight for my own rights. Singapore is a very peaceful country. There isn't much bullying in school, crime rate is quite low and I have not been a victim. I do not have to fight for own rights in any situation, it is a given. At most, I ask my teacher to change my marks if there's a calculation mistake of things like that. However, I am not sure if I can fight for my own rights if the situation arises. There have been a lot of dialogues during the assemblies and I find this very useful in helping me to speak up and fight for what I want.(especially during the HSC feedback)
I live in Singapore and am very lucky to have a blend of both China and America's
perception of self. This will surely help me to survive and thrive in the society in the future.
(584 words)
Dear Jin Hui,
ReplyDeleteI feel that you contradicted yourself when you talked about Hwa Chong stereotyped as the school which produces more "Chinese" students and you agree to it. When you say that something is a stereotype, you meant that it is a false generalization, so you agreeing to it contradict. I feel that you feeling that bowing to an elder is natural is because of the teachings by your parents, and reinforced by schools asking for it as a sign of respect for the teacher. Without a total of nine or more years of education in Singapore, it became your habit. In another words, the Chinese perceptions affected you unwittingly since young. I agree with you saying that the need of having respect to elders forces you to adjust the way that you behave and that the part of you telling you not to be the odd one out makes you speak less in class and not as confidently. This is definitely one of the down sides of this perception. For the American perception of self, the self is not just fighting for one’s own rights, but more of freedom to speak, to express one’s opinions. This is displayed through asking students for feedbacks for events held, having panel discussions, etc.
Boshen