The President's Scholarship is a scholarship given to the top students in Singapore, who have the best grades in the high school leaving examinations (actually, the Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Advanced Levels) who display leadership potentials and sound character. This is an award given out by the President of Singapore in the framework of Singapore's Civil Service. It can be funded to students who can then study in top institutions around the world, to have the opportunity to learn, network and form bonds with other aspirant leaders of the world.
I note that one President Scholar volunteered time with the Autism Resource Centre (ARC), a quasi-governmental organization set up to provide services and resources to autistic individuals and their stakeholders (parents, caregivers, teachers, etc) in Singapore as well as to advocate for people diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), to maximize their potentials. The current president of ARC is a Member of Parliament in Singapore, whereas the Patron is the wife of Singapore's Prime Minister.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1146719/1/.html
It appears that Singapore is doing pretty well to cater to the needs of autistic individuals, no? Even the most motivated of students, from what it appears, seem to have an interest in helping autistic individuals. In addition, even the wife of the Prime Minister cares enough for autism. So are Singaporeans in a better position to really empower their autistic citizens to lead lives that maximize their potentials?
I would leave you to decide for yourself whether Singapore does her best for its autistic people.
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There is a program for potential scholars in ARC. Applicants apply to get a no-pay internship to volunteer in ARC. Only students with top-notch potentials need apply.
Not that autistic individuals are not tippy top on their own. They are, but perhaps not in Singapore. There are a million things to do for Singaporean students studying in Singapore, that are too much for the usual Singaporean student to handle. But they still do them, anyway.
The best Singaporean students are, actually, talented and gifted in all ways possible. They entertain their classmates, old folks and children with songs, dances and music. They clean up the environment in their school, in beaches, in public dpaces and other places. They initiate entrepreneurship projects that raise funds for all causes imaginable, from the school expansion fund to the orphanages overseas and cancer foundations. They organize events such as blood donation drives and school parties. They do intramural sports. Boys even serve 2 years in the military. All these are counted holistically in the School Graduation Certification, by the time they leave high school.
The odds of success are quite high, despite the high bar imposed on Singaporean students, Singaporean students still do rather well in international mathematics, science and English language tests around the world. Singapore sent good teams to International Olympiads in sciences. Singapore indeed has a good school offering International Baccalaurete (IB), and it recorded the highest numbers of perfect scorers globally for a school. (And it's a public, taxpayer-funded school, not the famous United World College).
As if this is not enough, we're talking not just about the top 20% of Singapore's population. We're talking also about the next 60% of Singapore's students - who may not eventually do as well, but are known to be effectively multilingual (the usual Singaporean knows at least English and Tamil/Mandarin/Malay, and many others know other languages and regional dialects), adapatable, and adept in various tasks given to them. The job market, even without the influx of foreign workers into the Singapore labor market, is already quite globally competitive.
Despite all these gifts in the average Singaporean, however, undercurrents underlie beneath the shine of the land.
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It ends up that 20% of students end up with no hope of even thinking of getting involved in the effort of getting a SGC - as they are deemed as unable to work. I know one perfectly capable young man who tries hard to do his best - he was shut out totally from thinking of furthering his opportunities, because of - guess what - moderate autism. He tries hard, no matter how slow he does, to do what he can do best. Yes, he fails, and this is the sad reality of life - he has to fail. But out of the national obsession to be an all-rounder, he doesn't even know his strengths and his standing in society. But he still works hard.
And still get stuck in the trap of uncertainty and under-investment, with no chance of even acknowledgement for their efforts.
And with globalization, there is increasing certainty in our economic security (because of our current lack of even land to support our population, given that we have 5 million people cramming into 300 square miles of land), and we can't have a good standard of living.
So it can be said that Singapore is already an inhospitable place for the poor, the disadvantaged. With further opporutnities for the able rich plus stagnating situation for the poor, it only suggests a widening rich-poor gap.
The vibes I get from other Singaporeans is that, the top 80% of the population, on the right side of the Bell curve, on the better end of achievement, have lost the ability to even grapple the issues of the disadvantaged.
I am even starting to think that the able people 'help' the disadvantaged for personal, selfish reasons, just to add to their own glory, just to pad the resumes and no sincerity to really solve the longstanding issues of the autistic people -
I suppose even those involved with ARC work might not be brave enough to admit that, there is all the talk of all-inclusiveness, there is all the talk of inclusion of autistic individuals, there is all the talk of all the good - but in the end, they are nothing but a small group of people who just gets pushed, push things and do things without much thought...
Is this the type of autism organization that is really helpful to our autism community, even with all the dazzle and sparks around our community? You decide.
I note that one President Scholar volunteered time with the Autism Resource Centre (ARC), a quasi-governmental organization set up to provide services and resources to autistic individuals and their stakeholders (parents, caregivers, teachers, etc) in Singapore as well as to advocate for people diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), to maximize their potentials. The current president of ARC is a Member of Parliament in Singapore, whereas the Patron is the wife of Singapore's Prime Minister.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1146719/1/.html
It appears that Singapore is doing pretty well to cater to the needs of autistic individuals, no? Even the most motivated of students, from what it appears, seem to have an interest in helping autistic individuals. In addition, even the wife of the Prime Minister cares enough for autism. So are Singaporeans in a better position to really empower their autistic citizens to lead lives that maximize their potentials?
I would leave you to decide for yourself whether Singapore does her best for its autistic people.
--- --- ---
There is a program for potential scholars in ARC. Applicants apply to get a no-pay internship to volunteer in ARC. Only students with top-notch potentials need apply.
Not that autistic individuals are not tippy top on their own. They are, but perhaps not in Singapore. There are a million things to do for Singaporean students studying in Singapore, that are too much for the usual Singaporean student to handle. But they still do them, anyway.
The best Singaporean students are, actually, talented and gifted in all ways possible. They entertain their classmates, old folks and children with songs, dances and music. They clean up the environment in their school, in beaches, in public dpaces and other places. They initiate entrepreneurship projects that raise funds for all causes imaginable, from the school expansion fund to the orphanages overseas and cancer foundations. They organize events such as blood donation drives and school parties. They do intramural sports. Boys even serve 2 years in the military. All these are counted holistically in the School Graduation Certification, by the time they leave high school.
The odds of success are quite high, despite the high bar imposed on Singaporean students, Singaporean students still do rather well in international mathematics, science and English language tests around the world. Singapore sent good teams to International Olympiads in sciences. Singapore indeed has a good school offering International Baccalaurete (IB), and it recorded the highest numbers of perfect scorers globally for a school. (And it's a public, taxpayer-funded school, not the famous United World College).
As if this is not enough, we're talking not just about the top 20% of Singapore's population. We're talking also about the next 60% of Singapore's students - who may not eventually do as well, but are known to be effectively multilingual (the usual Singaporean knows at least English and Tamil/Mandarin/Malay, and many others know other languages and regional dialects), adapatable, and adept in various tasks given to them. The job market, even without the influx of foreign workers into the Singapore labor market, is already quite globally competitive.
Despite all these gifts in the average Singaporean, however, undercurrents underlie beneath the shine of the land.
--- --- ---
It ends up that 20% of students end up with no hope of even thinking of getting involved in the effort of getting a SGC - as they are deemed as unable to work. I know one perfectly capable young man who tries hard to do his best - he was shut out totally from thinking of furthering his opportunities, because of - guess what - moderate autism. He tries hard, no matter how slow he does, to do what he can do best. Yes, he fails, and this is the sad reality of life - he has to fail. But out of the national obsession to be an all-rounder, he doesn't even know his strengths and his standing in society. But he still works hard.
And still get stuck in the trap of uncertainty and under-investment, with no chance of even acknowledgement for their efforts.
And with globalization, there is increasing certainty in our economic security (because of our current lack of even land to support our population, given that we have 5 million people cramming into 300 square miles of land), and we can't have a good standard of living.
So it can be said that Singapore is already an inhospitable place for the poor, the disadvantaged. With further opporutnities for the able rich plus stagnating situation for the poor, it only suggests a widening rich-poor gap.
The vibes I get from other Singaporeans is that, the top 80% of the population, on the right side of the Bell curve, on the better end of achievement, have lost the ability to even grapple the issues of the disadvantaged.
I am even starting to think that the able people 'help' the disadvantaged for personal, selfish reasons, just to add to their own glory, just to pad the resumes and no sincerity to really solve the longstanding issues of the autistic people -
I suppose even those involved with ARC work might not be brave enough to admit that, there is all the talk of all-inclusiveness, there is all the talk of inclusion of autistic individuals, there is all the talk of all the good - but in the end, they are nothing but a small group of people who just gets pushed, push things and do things without much thought...
Is this the type of autism organization that is really helpful to our autism community, even with all the dazzle and sparks around our community? You decide.
