Studentship, scholarship, and some musings on surviving in Singapore’s academic jungle

(The following is the full text of a short speech I delivered during the Barrio Fiesta/Meet the Scholars of the University of the Philippines Alumni Association Singapore on Sunday, 31 August 2008. Before I did an oral reading of my typewritten speech - something I would normally discourage in my public speaking classes back home - I clarified that I did not think I was the best person to give advice to new Filipino students on what to do and what not to do when in Singapore. I just couldn't say no when one lazy Friday afternoon while gallivanting at Vivo City with friends I got a phone call from the UPAAS Vice President Minnie Lau requesting me if I could give a very short speech on student life in Singapore. The rest was history. Charing!)

I came to Singapore with the following assumptions in mind:

 

1. That higher studies in a highly rated institution of higher learning (a “global knowledge enterprise”) would enrich and expand what little I k now in my academic areas of interest;
2. That it shall keep me abreast with the developments in these areas;
3. That it shall help me establish contacts/ connections with superstars/ major personalities in the field; and
4. That it would increase my potential for publishing in refereed journals, now a major requirement for tenure and especially promotions in the University of the Philippines.

 

So far, NUS has not disappointed me although I am miles and miles away from being prolific in terms of publication in top tier, international refereed journals.

The library is fantastic – and I mean not just the physical but also the virtual one. It’s actually a haven for researchers in the social sciences and the humanities.

 

It shouldn’t, however, surprise anyone that Singapore as an educational hub in Southeast Asia offers more than meeting the expectations I mentioned earlier.

 

In my one-and-a-half-years in this city-state, I have been immersed in a student culture that is highly competitive and very conscious of achievement. I’m sure most of you have heard of the term “kiasuism” or the Singaporean’s fear to lose. Let me refresh your memories with a classic case: When a local student thinks you are a potential A student, he is going to make sure he is an A plus.  

Kiasuism can be so overwhelming that even if you are already inundated with nine chapters of required readings for the week, you’ll feel that you have to read more and beyond the requirement as your classmates would surely drop foreign sounding names and esoteric issues from their “outside” readings. 

But no worries. My Filipino friends and I have discovered that we are as kiasu as the locals. In fact, we can be so competitive our enthusiasm can get easily dampened by a B+. I was actually told by a Filipino friend who earned his PhD from NUS that most of my predecessors in the English Department got straight A’s for their coursework and that they expect no less from me. So the pressure doesn’t really come from THEM (the locals); it comes from US (the small community of Filipino students in Singapore). So on behalf of the Filipino student community, I am pressuring the new students to get straight A’s. We expect no less. (Of course, do not commit suicide if you fail. Yes, sulk in despair and when you are done, move on.)

 

Getting an A and A+ isn’t easy. It does require the proverbial blood, sweat, and tears, not to mention a lot of hair fall (even if you are using a shampoo with Pro-V treatment).

 

I think I am getting a dose of my own medicine.  Back in Los Baños, I kept telling my students, when they complain about the difficulties of their academic requirements, this:  “You are meant to suffer. Life is not an entertainment; it is a struggle.”  I guess, what goes around comes around. Let me tell you that I suffer a lot and that studying is a struggle. It definitely heightens the stress level.

 

But then again, that is what studentship is all about. There is aesthetics in sufferance as flowers bloom from the rubble or (this one is corny) a phoenix rises from the ashes.

 

So I am not going to tell new students some schmaltzy words of advice. Instead my advice, without meaning to sound more popish than the pope, is: Burn your midnight oil, suffer, kick some ass, go get you’re A’s and A pluses.

 

And it’s always good to remember: We are as good as our last performance.

Photos courtesy of Ms. Angeline "Angie" Wong - dear friend, honorary Filipino, and photographer par excellence