My Journey In Tertiary Education
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Shall share with y'all an essay I wrote for one of my mods, ESL407. I only received a B+ for this ):
We were tasked to write an Illustration Essay and could choose between writing about our Passion or a Rite of Passage. So, I chose Rite of Passage because I honestly don't know what I'm passionate about.
I must admit, I didn't do a great job writing this essay because I did it at the last minute and didn't think it through properly. Oh well ~
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“Rite of Passage”
is different in every country, culture and religion. Every individual perceives
it differently. What you might think of as a “Rite of Passage” might not be
deemed as one for the next person.
However, in whichever context you view it in, it means the same thing; it is something, be it an action, process or event, whether it is deemed ordinary or ceremonial that an individual undergoes to pass from one stage of their life to the next, in most cases, to adulthood. Personally, my “Rite of Passage” was during my Tertiary Education as even though it was a difficult journey, it nurtured and prepared me for adulthood.
However, in whichever context you view it in, it means the same thing; it is something, be it an action, process or event, whether it is deemed ordinary or ceremonial that an individual undergoes to pass from one stage of their life to the next, in most cases, to adulthood. Personally, my “Rite of Passage” was during my Tertiary Education as even though it was a difficult journey, it nurtured and prepared me for adulthood.
For me, I started
my tertiary education journey at Temasek Polytechnic after completing my
O’levels, where I started pursuing a Diploma in Business, at the mere age of
17. Tertiary education is extremely different from being in secondary school
and it was such an initial culture shock for me. The teaching schedule in
polytechnics are much more hectic than that of in secondary school. In tertiary education, you only learn subjects,
or modules, that are related to the course you are taking and you learn at
least 5 different modules every semester, which lasts 5 months or so. This is
different from secondary school in the sense that the same subjects are taught
for a whole year. You are also expected to take examinations at the end of the
year for every subject taken in secondary school however in polytechnic, not
all modules have examinations. Some lecturers grade you based purely on your
assignments and projects.
Independence was
one of the key factors and learning skill I managed to pick up during my
tertiary education journey. In secondary school, I was sheltered and taken care
off for everything I did. All the textbooks were provided, or rather our
parents bought them for us, ‘model answers’ for questions were provided and we
simply copied those answers word-for-word. It was a whole new ballpark in
polytechnic. Majority of the modules had notes. However, it was up to each
individual to download them and print them out yourself. For the modules
without any notes, you were expected to pay attention to the lectures and
create your own notes. When the lecturer goes through the tutorial questions in
class, the questions are simply discussed and you were expected to come up with
your own answer based on what was said during class. No model answer would be
provided. It was this type of independence that I found extremely difficult to
adapt to initially and I was so used to being ‘babied’, receiving everything on
a silver platter and being constantly spoon-fed. Even though all my peers were
facing the same problem as me, I forced myself to adapt quickly to this need
for independence. After all, I had to take ownership and responsibility for my
own education and grades and my future was at stake.
The polytechnic’s
main function is to shape and mold all the students and prepare them with
skills that will be useful for when students join the workforce. Hence,
students in polytechnics are treated like young adults. The school does not
seem like there are any school rules to adhere to, like in secondary school,
where school rules are extremely important and enforced constantly. Any rule
breaking resulted in detention, a warning letter, suspension and in some severe
cases, expulsion. In polytechnic, students are somewhat expected to know the
school rules and act like mature young adults. Whether you attended classes was
also up to you, and occasionally there would be an attendance sheet passed
around. Some students would sign the attendance for their friends who weren’t present,
as it would affect your grades. Hence tenacity and honesty were extremely
important factors.
As some modules
are assignment based, you were forced to do projects with other people. Every
individual is different and have different working and learning styles. Hence,
you have to be able to adapt to them or it would be difficult and arduous to
complete the project and conflict will definitely arise. I encountered my fair
share of group mates who wanted to be in-charge, those who simply showed up for
group meetings but did not contribute at all and those who produced haphazard
work. I took all these problems in my stride and learnt how to deal with such
individuals over my 3 years, as I knew it would not be easier in the working
world.
One major turning
point in my polytechnic education was when the school sent all the students for
Student Internship Programme (SIP). We were all attached to a company for 3 to
6 months as interns. The school picked out a company for me and I was sent to
the National Environment Agency (NEA) under the Schools and Youth Department
where we interacted mainly with schools and youth in Singapore. We conducted
events and workshops. Even though I was merely an intern, I was still given
work like a full-fledged employee. There was also a certain colleague who
constantly asked me to do work for him and I had no choice but to abide to him
as I was merely an intern and my internship was graded. Hence having difficult
and hard to handle group mates were nothing compared to difficult colleagues.
However I felt that this shortcoming had really shaped me to become a better
person and mature in my thinking. In the past, with my childish mindset, I
would more probably have complained to my parents and they would have helped me
handle the situation. However, I decided to be an adult about it and took it
into my own hands.
I am really
thankful I chose to take the polytechnic route rather than the junior college
route as this journey has really provided me with intangible skills that can be
applied in real life as well in jobs. I have also grown so much as a person and
have matured and feel like I have officially transitioned from being a teenaged
and entered adulthood, thanks to my tertiary education journey, despite it
being extremely challenging and difficult initially. And that, was my personal
rite of passage.
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