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Thursday, April 30, 2009
The Math Challenge to parents
See how deluded I've become? Well, rather than wait for that pipedream to turn into reality, here's a better suggestion: prepare your kids for the eventuality. And by prepare, I don't necessarily mean teach. I mean prepare them psychologically and emotionally and most importantly, support them.
The best form of empathy is to walk in the footsteps of the other person and that's what Lilian and I did. Well, Lilian did it first. She actually printed out the Nanyang Primary School p6 prelim math paper 2007 and DID the paper. Then she urged me to do the same, which I did, based on allocated time and everything.
Guess how we performed? I amassed a dismal score of 73/100. Even more mortifying, I made four careless mistakes (the thing I'm always nagging Lesley-Anne about!!) which cost me 8 valuable marks. (I had to mention this because I'd like to think that I could have scored over 80/100 which wouldn't be quite so embarrassing.) I'll let Lilian decide whether she wants to reveal her score but here's a hint: she performed even worse than I did LOL (sorry Lilian!!) Her son Brian, on the other hand, managed to score 82/100 and mind you, this is without having ever attended formal math lessons on most of the p6 topics! Brilliant lah, Lilian. Luckily he's the one sitting for the exam, not you, hehe.
I learnt plenty from this exercise, mostly that when you have a time crunch, it's extraordinarily difficult to think clearly and it's all too easy to make careless mistakes, especially when you have very complex questions with multiple steps. I didn't have time to check - I had the grand total of 3 minutes left for the last problem sum which didn't matter anyway because there was no way I could have solved it. 5 marks out the window.
It is a very stressful and draining process, even more so for our kids because they know how much is at stake. So today, I'm issuing a Math Challenge, especially to parents whose kids are taking the PSLE this year - walk in the footsteps of your child. Since Lilian and I took the Nanyang Primary School p6 prelim math paper 2007, this can be a benchmark (plus I'm curious to know how other parents will fare!) You can print out the paper here. Give yourself 2 hrs 15 mins, no breaks. I'm even ok with giving you a handicap since some of you might protest that you're rusty when it comes to maths formulas - you're allowed to refer to your kids' p6 math textbooks.
Nanyang Primary School is one of the local primary schools known to have the toughest maths papers, so don't be discouraged if you can't do some of the sums. But I guarantee you that after that exercise, you will gain a newfound respect for what our 12-year-olds have to go through. And when you understand better how it feels to be them, I'm sure you'll be better able to guide and coach them in their education journey.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Are boys really better at math and girls at languages?
Well, guess what? A study by a team of scientists conducted on SAT and math scores from 7 million students in the US found that this belief is actually fiction, not fact. Whether they compared average performance, the scores of gifted children or students' ability to solve complex math problems, girls measured up to boys.
So why does this misconception persist? According to University of Wisconsin-Madison psychology professor Janet Hyde, the study's leader, cultural beliefs like this are "incredibly influential." "Because if your mom or your teacher thinks you can't do math, that can have a big impact on your math self concept."
It makes sense. Sometimes when a friend of mine says her daughter is struggling with math, I spout this glib reply, "Girls lah, they're not as good in math." So slap me now because apparently, not only am I wrong, I'm reinforcing the stereotype and adding to the self-fulfilling prophecy of these young girls - "I can't do this math paper because I'm a girl, I'm not as good in math. I'm not as good in math, so I won't be able to do this math paper." Doh!
I think it has partly to do with our eagerness to embrace the left brain-right brain theory, ie boys are more inclined towards left-brain work (logical, analytical) and girls are more right-brained (creative). That's why along with the boys-are-better-at-math belief, we have the girls-are-better-at-languages theory.
But you know what? The part about girls being better at languages IS true, at least in the early years. Researchers have found that this is due to the way words are processed. Girls use the language decoding portion of their brains, enabling them to decipher abstract information. Boys however, rely more on vision and hearing to process information.
Doug Burman, an aneuroscientist at Northwestern University's Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory in Evanston explained, "For girls, it doesn't matter whether you are reading or hearing the words, the information gets converted into an abstract meaning, an abstract thought. For boys, the research suggests it's really going to be very important whether they're hearing or reading words. That is going to determine how well they're processing the language." These results explain why girls consistently score higher than boys at language tests. But this advantage may taper off after secondary school.
While these findings warrant a separate post on catering to the different learning styles of boys and girls, for now, the lesson here is not to be so quick to dismiss your kids' learning difficulties as biological. Everyone is different. I guess I should have realised this from my own experience - I don't fall clearly under the right brian or left brain style. I'm reasonably good at math but suck at science. People tell me my English is pretty "powderful" but I couldn't learn Chinese to save my life.
So what does this mean? It means that human beings are so complex that we can't compartmentalise them into neat boxes. Even if something holds true for the vast majority, it may not hold true for us. We all have our unique strengths and weaknesses that are largely tied to our interests. If our kids are struggling in certain subjects, let's not be so quick to believe that these are beyond their abilities and instead, try to stir up interest in those subjects. Evidence has shown again and again that the kids who tend to do well eventually are not necessarily those who have the best talents but those who keep persevering.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Learning about Singapore's history under GEP
Under GEP, Social Studies is an examinable subject and the kids have to garner at least a 50% pass to maintain their GE status. The curriculum is very extensive and detailed, with particular focus on Singapore's history. The exams test in-depth understanding of the topics and are mostly open-ended questions.
I'm guessing that this is part of MOE's determination to cultivate social and political awareness among this group of kids, as well as foster patriotism and nation-building. A few of us mothers sometimes roll our eyes at what we deem as "national brain-washing" but at heart, we agree that it is very important for our kids to grow up with an understanding of how this country evolved.
The textbook for the Singapore portion of GEP Social Studies is Understanding Our Past - Singapore from Colony to Nation, MOE Singapore, Times Publishing, 1999.
In my opinion, it's quite well written. History books are usually so dull but this one is written in a casual narrative style that's easy to understand, yet is very informative and detailed (it's almost 260 pages). It also has loads of pictures and the visual layout facilitates reading. Another reason I like it is that it keeps largely to the facts, none of that preachy propoganda that some of the primary level social studies materials tend to feature.
Note: GEP Social Studies doesn't just entail Singapore history but I estimate that this makes up about 75% of the curriculum.
The Singapore portion is studied at the various levels as follows:
p4 - Origins of Singapore, World War II
p5 - Post-war, Merger and Separation, Independence
p6 - Industralisation, Modern Singapore
Most of the lessons are supplemented with worksheets and go beyond superficial awareness of events. In p5, the topic on Singapore Independence leads to an interesting discussion on what is involved in building a national identity.
When the kids are learning about racial riots with the Maria Hertogh Riots as a case study, they don't just study what happened. They have to examine the surrounding circumstances and the different points of view in order to come up with a more complete understanding of the implications of such an event. In addition, they have to discuss an article about the event, analysing the author's purpose of writing based on the way the information was presented, his own interpretation and inferences. This part of the study I feel is very important because it teaches the kids that writers have their own biases and opinions, and they shouldn't just take everything they read at face value.
This is followed by a worksheet where they have to write their own reflections on the event.
In case you can't read it, the instructions are:
Write a reflection on the Maria Herogh Riots. Your reflection should include
- an outline of the causes and consequences of the Maria Herogh Riots
- the lesson learnt from the riots
- recommendations to schools nationwide to advise the youth the importance of promoting racial harmony in Singapore
The causes of the riot was that the Malays felt that there was no respect for them. The consequences that then followed was that a curfew had to be imposed for two weeks before the police could gain control of the situation and 18 people were killed and 173 were injured.
The lesson learnt was that we have to preserve racial and religious harmony as racial disharmony can disrupt our daily lives. The media also had to exercise more discipline in the coverage of sensitive issues.
My recommendations to schools is that they should tell the students about the cultures of different races so they can be sensitive to each other. They should also tell the students about each others religion so that they can be sensitive too. This can promote racial and religious harmony.
This is only my personal opinion but I feel that the mainstream kids would benefit from the same focus that the GEP places on Social Studies. Or maybe it will be introduced to them at the secondary school level. I hope so. Afterall, understanding our history is a critical component of knowing who we are and being able to plan for our future.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Let's be AWARE... and use some common sense
But there's one thing about the whole ruckus that bothered me deeply on a personal level enough for me to put my fingers to the keyboard. This was succinctly summed up by a writer to today's Straits Times forum: "The tragedy is that two innocent groups will be the real losers: women and Christians." This is true no matter what the eventual outcome of this battle is. And even though I'm on the side of the old guard for many reasons, this alone would have been reason enough.
Because of what this group led by Thio Su Mien and Josie Lau has initiated, the image of women has suffered an irreparable rift. "You see? Women can't get along with each other!" seems to be the predominant sentiment. For over 20 years, AWARE and other advocacy groups have fought hard to empower women in a whole gamut of domains - education, work, marriage, relationships, etc. Now all these very important issues have been buried beneath the trivialisation of women and their cattiness.
As for Christianity, I'm sometimes amazed that when it comes to religion, even the most intelligent individual can display such a lack of common sense. The entire debate now seems to centre around whether AWARE is pro-gay. AWARE has already stated categorically it supports ALL women and that includes lesbians, that neutral-gay is not the same as pro-gay. But people are still nervous. And the idea that it goes out to "recruit" young girls to be lesbians? I mean, seriously!
Anyway, you've probably all read the debate and arguments flying about so I won't go into them. We can argue all we want, to me, I'm just vexed that Christianity is the loser. The new guard claims it is not doing this out of their Christian values but I don't buy it ("oh, we just all happen to come from the same church!" Come on.) But whether they are or not, that is beside the point. In the public's eye, they represent Christians. And unfortunately, their behaviour has been so far from godly that if their original intent was to "save" young girls, I'm afraid they have probably already pushed thousands of souls further away from God.
Yesterday, I wrote on my Facebook status in frustration: "Monica Lim is sick and tired of people invoking Christ's name and then engaging in deceit, hypocrisy and bullying. They're not doing themselves, others... and God any favours." Tolerance is not the same as compromise. AWARE is a secular organisation - it has every right to take a stand that is in accordance with its constitution, that all people should be treated equal, regardless of sexual inclination. Now, as a Christian, the Bible tells us homosexuality is wrong. We are free to believe that. But that doesn't entitle us to take over the runnings of a secular organisation that teaches otherwise just so we can change it to our liking. Common sense!
I will never claim to be the person closest to God. Some people may say I'm not as fervent as the next Christian because I don't go up the MRT and preach the gospel to anyone who happens to sit next to me. But here's what my common sense tells me: at the end of the day, Christianity is about saving the lost and loving thy neighbour. When we leave this earth, we will be judged by how well we've done both. And if by shoving the gospel into people's faces, you alienate them, make them hostile and turn them AWAY from Christ, I don't care how good your intentions are, you have failed. Common sense. Instead, I will try (the operative word being 'try') to live my life as sincere, honest and Christ-like as I possibly can and yes, I will try to love my neighbours in words and deeds (even though sometimes I feel like throttling them!)
Here's what Josie Lau and company have done - spout moral superiority, seize control using surprise tactics, spread propaganda, claim martyrdom. Sounds familiar? No, it's not Christianity at all. And I certainly do not want my children learning that as Christians, they have the right to impose their beliefs on others via under-handed tactics.
Let's love God, love our neighbour... and exercise some common sense.
*I know this is a controversial topic, these are my views on the implications of the saga. I will not publish any inflammatory or adversarial comments.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Adventures in Reading... 30 years in the making
It was easy for me even back then, but that was a much simpler time where parents actually sent their kids to primary school to learn how to read. Compared to today where you need to know how to read before you enter primary school otherwise you're toast.
Each page only had a few lines with several words used repeatedly, I guess to reinforce learning of the words. The stories were so simple that they didn't register with me at all, but I do remember being quite captivated by the pictures because they were so vivid and vibrantly coloured.
Rummaging through my cupboard, I found a stack of my old exercise books and whadya know! My p1 English exercise book was one of them. Flipping through it brought back a flood of memories. As part of English work in class, we had to copy out a page of text and the accompanying picture.
Below is my copy of the textbook illustration and text above.
Funnily enough, the highlight of my English class was not the English but the drawing! I loved drawing the pictures. Looks like I even got a star :D But one thing's for sure, my penmanship has definitely deteriorated over the years!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
The value of money
My friend Eunice previously blogged about the importance of teaching our kids to manage money. I couldn't agree more. In our relatively affluent world, many kids these days have no awareness of how to manage money. Most of the time, the reason is simple: they have too much of it.
When Lesley-Anne was in p1, she packed food for recess, so we gave her a token 50cts a day. Since she hardly bought anything from the school canteen, it became more of a hassle than anything, trying to find the loose change and remembering to give it to her. After a while, we stopped bothering. But one day, when I casually mentioned this to a friend, she said, "If you don't give her money, she will never learn how to manage it."
The truth hit me like a ton of bricks. So from then on, pocket money to our kids was carefully calculated (not based on the going rate). We give our kids enough to buy a meal but they'll have to think about whether they want to spend the remaining amount on a drink (which I consider an extra since they bring water) or an extra snack or just to save it. But they won't be able to do all three. That's the principle of management - to plan what you want to do with the finite amount of resources you have. Too much or too little and there's no management involved.
Related to this is the value of money. I'm sure we've all read horror stories where kids chalk up atrocious bills on credit, spend beyond their means and expect their parents to bail them out. Even young adults spend like there's no tomorrow, without thought as to how they will pay off their debts.
And I will say this unequivocally, often it's the parents' fault. If you think, "oh, my kids will learn to manage money when they're older", think again. If they can't manage $2, they won't be able to manage $2,000. If you have always doled out money to feed your children's needs and wants, how would they have learnt to value money (or things for that matter)? It's not about whether you can afford it, whether you are rich or poor. It's about responsible parenting. It's about teaching your kids that money is a commodity that needs to be earned and should be used with thought.
Both Lesley-Anne and Andre have been trained to value money. If we enter a toy store, they know better than to badger me to buy something for them. My rule is that us parents will pay for necessities, extras come out of their own pockets except for the occasional treat that we initiate. Interestingly enough though, I've found that the value of money can differ from person to person simply based on differences in character. My sister and I were brought up the same way, but I'm much more careful with money, she's more liberal.
I'm seeing this trend with my kids - Lesley-Anne plans for the future, Andre lives for the moment. When I brought Andre to the bookstore, I told him I would only buy him one Beast Quest book, if he wanted more, he had to pay for them himself. Immediately, he said, "ok! I have $40. How many Beast Quest books can that buy?" I was a little miffed - somehow the point of valuing money is lost if he's so willing to part with it.
But then I thought about it and realised that it may not be such a bad thing. You see, Andre has a very generous spirit. Although he knows that money is valuable and cannot be wasted, he doesn't love money. If that sounds contradictory, it's not. The lesson here is that we need to value money, ie not treat it carelessly, but not love money, ie be consumed by it. Money is, at the end of the day, only the means to an end. The bible is full of verses which warn against the love of money, not because money in itself is evil but because the love of it can lead to many evil thoughts and deeds. Another friend once told me, "Saving money is not the same as hoarding money." Very perceptive.
In sociology, we learnt a simple truth: wealth is not defined by how much you have, but how little you want. The Nigerians are one of the poorest people in the world, but they are also the happiest.
"Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless." - Ecclesiastes 5:10
So it's a volatile balance we need to achieve - value money but don't love it. Simple to understand, hard to execute. Now we just have to teach it to our kids.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
I'm not fat! I'm just vertically challenged
For those who don't know what TAF club is, it stands for Trim And Fit club - it's an initiative by MOE to try and whip overweight kids into shape. Unfortunately, the powers that be had zero foresight and it took kids all of 2 seconds to figure out that TAF spells FAT backwards. (Or maybe it was a deliberate, cruel joke). Anyway, what has happened is that over the years, TAF club has led to so many fat jokes and ironically, kids growing up with eating disorders because of the stigma they had faced in TAF club. So after many complaints, MOE has removed TAF club and left it to the schools to implement their own health programmes.
The programme in Andre's school is not called TAF club, it's Health and Fitness Club or something innocuous like that. I don't remember because I decided to exempt Andre from it (it's now no longer compulsory). Not because I don't see the value but because he's already active enough (badminton three times a week, soccer every recess, cycling, swimming, etc) and I didn't see the point of him skipping recess to do exercises. Although he does have a pouch, I figured that part of the reason he's considered overweight is because he's short for his age.
But it did make me more conscious of his eating habits, which are far from exemplary. Just a couple of years ago, he was so scrawny you could see his ribs when he inhaled hard. But from p2, his appetite suddenly surged and he developed the typical Singaporean love for makan-ing. Hokkien mee, satay, oyster omelette, char guay teow, grilled chicken wings, he attacks them all with relish.
I never realised how much he thinks about food until we had this conversation in the car on Saturday afternoon.
Me: Andre, you've got to watch your diet, cannot eat so much fried food.
Andre: Ok. (pauses as we drive by Temptations) Hey! Can we buy the blueberry cheesecake for tea?
And that's my little puffball.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
The magic of squares
Lilian's boys have an extraordinary ability to grasp mathematical concepts, fueled by her very imaginative way of teaching (and obvious love of maths herself!) In one of her older posts, she wrote about her method of explaining squares, which I thought was absolutely brilliant.
This method helps you find the answer to large squares without doing long multiplication, but really, that's not the point. (If you want to find an answer fast, use a calculator). It helps you see very clearly how squares work and how the answer is derived.
She starts off with the basic premise of a 10 x 10 square, which in pictorial form, is basically 10 columns x 10 rows (right pic). Most kids will know 10 x 10 = 100 (which is also the area of the square).
Now, say you want to find out what is 15 x 15. Visually, what this means is that you add another 5 columns and 5 rows to your basic 10 square (right pic).
And don't forget that little square in the right bottom corner which consists of 5 columns and 5 rows. Your final 15 x 15 square will look like this (bottom pic):
Now we just need to add up all the different areas of the square. We already know that the basic 10 square = 100. Each of the additional 5 rows/columns is 5 x 10 = 50. That corner bit is 5 x 5 = 25 (bottom pic). Add all of that up and you get 225. Therefore, 15 x 15 = 225.
Just last week, I came across another intriguing pattern on squares, thanks to Adeline's precocious son. He discovered while doing some multiplication, that when you multiply any two numbers that are two apart, the answer is always one less than the square of that middle number. (Ok, ok! I know that sounds very confusing!) Let me show you what I mean:
4 x 6 = 24
5 x 5 = 25
5 x 7 = 35
6 x 6 = 36
6 x 8 = 48
7 x 7 = 49
See the pattern? This is true no matter how large the number. For instance,
246 x 248 = 61,008
247 x 247 = 61,009
(I used the calculator lah, what did you think??) There's a very simple explanation to the pattern, which I will attempt to show visually.
Here is a basic 8 square - 8 columns x 8 rows (right pic).
To change it into a 7 x 9 rectangle, you essentially take one row and move it to a column.
You'll find that you have an extra square (bottom pic) because the number in the column will always be one more than the number of rows (which has been reduced from the original by one).
See? It's so simple I don't know why I never saw the pattern before. And it took a 6-year-old to point it out :P
Once again, seeing this pattern probably won't help your kids do their sums any quicker but I believe it facilitates understanding of how squares work.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Home made chicken pie
Ingredients (pastry):
500g plain flour, sifted
190g butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
milk or water as needed
pinch of salt
Ingredients (filling):
1 cup water
1 can Campbell's Cream of Chicken Mushroom
10 pcs chicken thigh, remove skin and bone, diced
4 potatoes, diced
2 carrots, diced
3 tbsp peas
2 hard boiled eggs, quartered (optional)
Oil and garlic
Chicken Pie
- Fry garlic in oil until golden brown.
- Add chicken, stir fry for a few minutes.
- Add potatoes, carrots, peas and water. Bring to a boil and simmer until all ingredients are cooked.
- Add Campbell's soup. Stir until mixture is thick and creamy.
- Leave aside to cool while making pastry.
- Rub butter into flour until mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Add salt.
- Stir in egg (leave a little aside) and milk, combine into a firm dough.
- Knead until smooth.
- Shape pastry into base of mini pie moulds.
- Add hard boiled egg if desired, pour filling into moulds.
- Shape pastry to cover mould and crimp sides to seal.
- Use a fork to poke holes on top of pie.
- Use remaining egg mixture to brush top of pie.
- Preheat oven to 210 degrees celcius.
- Bake for 35 mins.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Education is a marathon, not a sprint
We've been struggling with the same issue (notice I said "we"!) for three years now and it doesn't seem to have improved much. So I'd told myself that she just has to perform her best and whatever will be, will be. But then last week, I had a sudden irrational attack of kancheong-ness and decided to set her a few sums for revision because I figured if she did badly for the test, I'd be kicking myself for not doing more.
As a result, we had one of our classic Mum-Lesley-Anne blow ups. I had only set her a few sums but she managed to make several careless mistakes. Which led to screeching (me), tears (her), sulking (her) and head-on-wall banging (me). I'm at my wit's end because it seems like in her case, practice doesn't make perfect. In fact, that incident probably just made her more nervous. And I was thinking, this is only April and I'm already so tired. How to tahan until PSLE?
Then Lilian happened to mention that a friend's daughter, who is homeschooled and also taking her PSLE this year, is so stressed that the skin is peeling from her soles and she's having ulcers. You see? It's the system! Even homeschooler also not spared! I've talked to enough parents to know that if you're in the Singapore education system, you WILL be kancheong. Cannot escape.
A case in point: I have a friend who's the most laid-back parent I know. Before his son entered p1, he was the biggest critic of kiasu parents - his take was, why succumb to the pressure? There are more important things in childhood like learning how to fish and play soccer. Tuition is over-rated. And so on. By the time his son was halfway through p1, he was completely stressed out by calls from the teacher that his son could not keep up with the work. He quit his job, coached his son at home and sent him to Kumon for maths tuition. The last time we met, he told me that he had discovered a great method for explaining maths models and that his son had scored 94/100 for his maths test. You see? Cannot escape! I'm not very gracious, I did the "I told you so" routine.
But having said that, I've always maintained that the education journey is a marathon, not a sprint. What I mean is that our children's education will last anything from 12 to 18 years. Yet we don't often think beyond the next exam. Instead of focusing on study skills, we usually zoom in on last-minute cramming.
Of course it's easier said than done. When my kids do badly for a test, I can't help feeling disappointed. But I have to remind myself what I keep telling others - marathon, not sprint. Honestly, in 5 years' time, would you care that your kid didn't ace his math CA1 paper in p2? What's more important is that in 5 years, your child still enjoys learning and has not become so demoralised or disheartened that he totally hates school. This is very real - when I hear about parents putting extreme pressure or setting unrealistically ambitious targets for their kids ("must get 100 marks for every paper!"), I wonder whether they realise they are doing more harm than good.
Exams are important. But if we take a step back and think about it, no one single exam is EVERYTHING in the entire journey of life. Yes, even the PSLE. We all want our kids to be in the best schools, to be in the best class, to be in the best programme. But looking at the whole scheme of things, even if they didn't, it wouldn't be the end of the world. Really. If you look around, many of the adults we admire today never went to the top schools and probably had done badly in some exam or other.
At the end of the day, no one singular path can guarantee our success in life (however we define success) and certainly not one school or one programme. So I'm now reminding myself (again!) to get some perspective over the stress I'm facing with Lesley-Anne. Yesterday, she initiated revision for the test on her own and I'm comforted by that. I have to allow her to take responsibility for her own studies and to do the best she can, nothing more. Train our kids for the marathon, not the sprint. If you let push them to go too fast too soon, they will only run out of steam.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The pursuit of beauty
I will confess now that I am a closet makeup addict. I love to experiment - glitter eyeliner, crimson lipstick, turquoise eyeshadow - it's all so whimsical and fun! (and so contrary to my usual understated preferences). And it's washable afterall, so no need to angst over a temporary change. But there aren't many opportunities to experiment, afterall you can't go for meetings looking like a teenager wannabe, so I usually just end up putting on my "safe" face - the one that I know makes me look awake without being overdone.
Beauty is not as shallow an issue as it may seem. It does require some thought, especially as mothers because the way we view ourselves physically has a huge bearing on the way our kids (especially our daughters) view themselves. To overstate the importance of beauty can be detrimental to our kids' physical self-esteem. But to say beauty it not important at all is just being hypocritical.
I've had this debate on beauty before. In fact, I wrote an article for the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations (SCWO)'s 25th Anniversary coffee table book back in 2005. Since this topic came up, I guess it's timely to reproduce the article here. I'm curious to know your views, so fire away!
The Pursuit of Beauty – Emancipation or Entrapment?
Helena Rubinstein once declared: "There is no such thing as an ugly woman. Only a lazy one." It is as if by virtue of being female, it is our duty to be beautiful. This concept is rooted in the age-old belief that a woman's power lies in her appearance. Throughout history, odes have been dedicated to women who have conquered men with their beauty, from Yang Guifei to Helen of Troy.
With the rise in women's independence, we have seemingly risen above this antiquated notion. We know now that we want to look good for ourselves, not just for others, and certainly not in order to attract a mate and protector. We have been emancipated in our pursuit of beauty.
Or have we, really?
UK Fashion editor, Lowri Turner once said: "The truth is, most women dress for themselves some of the time, for men at other times and attempt a sort of compromise for the rest. If we dressed only for ourselves, we'd all wear leggings and baggy jumpers all the time."
Beauty as a concept is almost always tied to others' perception. While beauty and fashion magazines no longer explicitly tell us how to dress in order to snare a man, they still dispense truckloads of advice telling us how to project a desired image, whether "sexy" or "sophisticated" or "natural" (the last ironically requiring the most effort!)
To add to the confusion, the beauty industry is a fickle one, and trends move faster than the stock market. Right now, waif is out, curves are back. Neutral is passé, glamour is in. Faux bronze is the new tan. Pink is the new red. Wait, by the time you read this, melon would be the new pink.
So where lies this elusive line between emancipation and entrapment in the pursuit of beauty?
I pride myself on being a new age feminist, comfortable in my own skin. However, I am far from immune to the lure of beauty promises. Despite being fully aware of the industry's gimmicks and high profit margins, I find myself succumbing frequently to the newest range of lipsticks. I know I am paying $29.95 for two inches of red dye, yet that little gold tube buys me a little spring in my step for a day or two.
That does not mean I am a slave to beauty. While I hope the new lipstick will step up the glamour quotient for a night out, I do not expect it to miraculously turn me into a Julianne Moore. That new face cream may erase a few wrinkles, but it will not erase the fear of ageing. Each purchase is a trifle to be enjoyed for the moment, nothing more.
And that's where the insidiousness of the whole issue lies.
As much as the beauty trade empowers women to look good for themselves, the same industry thrives on the insinuation that left on our own, women are not beautiful, not perfect, not ideal enough. Priscilla Presley purportedly went to bed with her makeup on so that her husband would only see her at her best. A beautiful woman draped on the arm of a man is still perceived as a status symbol, an accessory. Scores of dutiful wives worry that once their beauty fades, they will be cast off in favour of pretty young things half their age.
There is a whole multi-million dollar industry waiting to cash in on these insecurities. For every advertisement offering women choices in fashion and beauty, there seem to be three which exclaim: 'Get bigger breasts and a happier husband!" As quickly as women are gaining economic independence, enterprises have sprung up to exploit this new spending power.
Beyond cosmetics, there is plastic surgery. I am as much in favour of women holding the keys to their own enhancement as the next woman, and I see nothing intrinsically wrong with plastic surgery. It is the way in which plastic surgery is viewed which disturbs me. Plastic surgery used to be a phrase whispered behind closed doors, implying shame and a Machiavellian audacity in trying to manufacture beauty which was not your birthright. But these days, plastic surgery has become a buzzword.
I have a macabre fascination with the reality programme, Extreme Makeover, where each week, candidates are whisked off for a buffet of face lifts, liposuction, implants and laser treatments. My discomfort lies in the fact that many of the candidates are there not simply to change parts of themselves that they don't like. Many of them appear to have defined themselves and their entire lives based on their physical appearance. They seem to believe that they can physically carve away their past by being stitched, lifted and tightened into a new life, a new self.
Yet, each of these candidates claims they have not abandoned their old selves, merely embraced new improved versions. My concern for this and future generations of women is that the "extreme" nature of plastic surgery has been reduced to a decision as casual as changing one's hair colour. I realise there are no easy solutions, but in an age where everything has become disposable, I say: let's not dispose of ourselves so readily.
And that's where I think the line between emancipation and entrapment lies – whether the pursuit of beauty aims to reflect one's self-worth or in fact, to acquire some. It's a thin line but it makes all the difference.
In the movie Shrek, after receiving love's first kiss to break her enchantment, the princess finds herself still an ogre. She says in puzzlement: "I don't understand, I'm supposed to be beautiful." And the pot-bellied, disarmingly lovable Shrek affirms: "But you ARE beautiful." In a world of synthetic beauty, perhaps what we need are more reminders that there is real beauty everywhere - we just have to look for it ourselves and on our own terms.
- reproduced from "Her Story", Tisa Ng ed., SCWO, 2005.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Parenting that empowers
But one girl in particular, caught my eye. She had a quiet confidence about herself and she was so down to earth and sensible. All this I gathered from the board games that the girls played, where I also learnt that she is an adventurous person, cares about the environment and is a staunch Christian. Yet, she didn't come across as a prissy goody-two-shoes (which can be equally annoying) - she's friendly and was very at ease with the group. According to Lesley-Anne, she's well liked since she's genuinely nice and doesn't gossip behind people's backs like some of the other girls.
At the end of the party when the parents came to pick the girls up, I found out she had to make her way home herself. She explained, "my mother says I can't take a lift from others because I have to learn to be independent". She then asked me where the bus stop was and what bus she could take to the interchange as she had to be home before 6.30pm to help look after her baby sister. (Her parents even entrusted her with finding out how to get home).
Well! I was even more impressed by her and her parents after that. You know I believe in bringing up independent and responsible kids (you can read my post on it here). I wrote this post because this girl is a clear example of a wonderful, well-adjusted kid who exemplifies such values. And I believe that parenting played a big part in the kind of person she has turned out to be.
Of course no two kids are the same, but it was very encouraging to me that when you set out to teach your kids independence and responsibility, you can possibly see such positive results. I won't point out which girl she is (just in case, I don't know who reads my blog!) but I hope it will serve as an encouragement to you. This is what I call parenting that empowers - it really does breed great kids.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Good Friday and Lesley-Anne turns 12
Lesley-Anne loves animals but giraffes in particular, so I printed out an invite card with a giraffe. She invited only the girls in her class (by age 12, the gender divide has become practically unbridgeable). There are 8 of them in total, excluding herself. Only 2 couldn't make it.
Right from the start, I was quite relaxed, unlike with Andre's party last year. Organising a girls' party is a walk in the park compared to a boys' party which is like trying to run 5km while juggling.
The girls arrived, played with the hamsters and then just SAT AROUND CHATTING. No jumping, fighting or screaming. Sometimes I marvel at how one little chromosome can make such a difference in behaviour!
Lunch was served. I figured since it was a small group and I could trust them to be mini civilised adults, the girls had a sit-down lunch at the dining table.
And here's the menu - two types of pizza, coleslaw, garlic bread and my trusty shepherd's pie.
I'm very happy to say that there are no anorexic nibblers in this group - these girls have hearty appetities and they walloped everything!
Here's one of them polishing up the shepherd's pie which she declared as "addictive". If you want the recipe, it's here. Honestly, this one is tried and tested!
After lunch, it was time for games. Again with 12-year-old girls, no planning is required. I just brought out the Imaginiff board game, taught them how it's played and left them to their own devices.
It was a big hit. Because the girls are all very bright, they learnt very quickly and it was an interesting social experiment to see how the other girls viewed them and how they viewed themselves. I was a by-stander and it was fascinating to me how I could figure out each of the girls' personality so clearly just by watching the game. For instance, I quickly gathered who was the diplomat and who was the leader, who was sharp and who was clueless, who was thick-skinned and who was sensitive. This is a very revealing game.
After the game, it was time for cake. We ordered a modest chocolate fudge cake from Temptations. My baby is 12!
The sweet photo.
The siao photo (I love this one!)
And here's a family shot. One reason for Andre's big smile is that he earned a free pass to play Wii at my sister's place. It was a move to prevent him from disrupting the party and was the highlight of his day.
I cut generous hunks of cake and no protests - the girls dug in. I tell you, they can really eat! One of them said, "This is the best chocolate cake I've ever eaten" and another ejected, "This is heavenly!"
I'm beaming all round - I have to admit, Temptations makes a fail-safe chocolate cake.
After that, I brought out another award-winning game we bought from the US, called Gift Trap. Like Imaginiff, this is another social game but where you give and receive gifts from other players. Winning the game depends on how well you know the likes and dislikes of the others. Again very revealing. The ones who are perceptive tend to give gifts that are better matches but it's the ones with stronger personalities who tend to get the gifts they want. The challenge is to both give and receive good gifts.
When organising a party, my main concern is always whether the kids had a good time. This party was a runaway success, evident from the fact that most of the girls were so reluctant to leave that they rang their parents to ask if they could stay longer. Don't say I not shy lah, praise myself - a comment I overheard from one of the girls: "Lesley is known for having the best birthday parties." Wah, who can ask for a better compliment?
The best part was, it was completely fuss-free. We didn't even have a mess to clean up! Unbelievable.
The final touch - in the spirit of Easter, each of the girls were given a chocolate bunny to bring home.
Since we'd already thrown Lesley-Anne a party, we didn't get her anything fancy or expensive. Just a little stuffed giraffe and a book from the Warriors series by Erin Hunter, at the recommendation of one of the mothers who visit my blog. (Thanks LL!)
And here's the birthday girl with the rest of her gifts. Most of them are very thoughtful. Home-made cards and lots of giraffes (that huge giraffe stuffed toy is from her best friend). Childhood memories should be made of these.
Happy birthday, Lesley-Anne! You may be 12 but you'll always be my baby girl :)
Thursday, April 9, 2009
All the better to see you with, Mummy
At the shop, he tried out several pairs of frames. I picked out a pair for him which I thought framed his face perfectly and the bronze hue made him look so intellectual and demure. Look at how enthusiastic he was.
Unbeknownst to many, Andre is actually very vain. To him, his glasses are a fashion statement. Apparently, the bronze glasses said, "I'm boooring." Then he caught sight of a bright blue pair that was so shiny it could blind you. Now, THIS one shouted, "I'm cool!" (It's bluer and shinier in real life than in the picture).
No amount of cajoling would move him. Even when I told him he looked like a motor-cycle riding pai kia (on hindsight, that probably served as a further impetus). After collecting his glasses, in the car all the way home, he was musing to himself:
"Do you think my friends will know I changed my specs?"
"I think they will since my old one is round, this one is square."
"Maybe I'll ask them if they noticed anything different."
Oh vanity, thy name is Andre!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Les P'tites Poules... in Chinese
One of my quarrels with Chinese fiction books for children is that they either tend to be very moralistic or just plain boring. But this series is different (maybe because it's not originally written in Chinese!) The pictures are brilliantly animated, very reminiscent of the style of the Nicholas books (incidentally also by French author and illustrator). The storylines are so comical that you can't help laughing when you read them.
For instance, in Book 1, the story tells of Carmela the chicken who was not interested in learning how to lay eggs like all the other chickens in the coop.
She dreamed of going out to sea in search of magical creatures so she ran away one night. Unfortunately, she was caught by a pirate ship whose crew wanted to eat her, so she struck a bargain to provide them with eggs everyday if they would spare her life. Which she almost couldn't deliver since she never practised laying eggs! Hilarious.
Eventually she managed to find her way back to the coop with a rooster mate and they produced a little rebel of their own, Carmelito, who decided he wanted to own a star... and that's Book 2.
I estimate the books to be pitched at the lower primary level, so they're just right for Andre now. I have no idea what's the name of the series in Chinese but the title of the first book is 我想去看海 under the author Jolibois. I think there are 8 or 9 books in the series. At the library, if you find the first one, you should be able to find the rest.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Shel Silverstein - writer, illustrator and philospher
Silverstein's laid back, whimsical wit is truly one-of-a-kind. To me, he is a package of contradictions - his stories are super short, yet tell tales of epic proportions. They are simple, yet hold weighty messages. The books are for kids, yet adults love them. He's like a minimalist Dr Seuss, for lack of a better description.
Three of his books I have and love are:
The Giving Tree
This story is about a relationship between a young boy and a tree in a forest. The tree loves the boy so much she gives him everything he asks, even to the point of letting him cut her down so he can build a boat to sail away. When the boy becomes an old man, he returns and the tree says, "I have nothing left to give you." The boy says he just needs a place to sit down and rest, and the tree which is now a stump, happily obliges.
This book has sparked controversy on whether the tree is selfless or self-sacrificing, on whether it teaches kids to be selfish or about unconditional love. Personally, I feel the the book depicts the complexity of life and relationships - it's not meant to prescribe a moral lesson, the interpretation is up to the reader. But it reflects Silverstein's genius that such a simple story can stir up so much emotion and discussion.
The Missing Piece
Once again belying its simplicity, Silverstein creates a powerful message using just a circle. The circle has no name, it's merely refered to as "it". The story starts: "It was missing a piece. And it was not happy. So it set off in search of its missing piece." The story tells of a circle who goes in search for a piece to complete itself, much like an individual looking for a soul-mate. After many failed attempts, it finds a piece that fits exactly but realises that when it is "complete", it loses part of itself.
A very thought-provoking story and it's amazing how Silverstein can inject so much expression in a simple circle. Some say the book condones divorce, others say it celebrates the acceptance of self. I say, read it and interprete it for yourself!
The Missing Piece Meets the Big O
The sequel to The Missing Piece, this book continues with the theme that life is a journey of constant evolvement and depicts how people often treat others as a crutch or as a means to deflect their own deficiencies. Again, naysayers have criticised the book for playing down relationships, but I believe that the stronger message is that to be happy in a relationship or friendship, it is important to be your own independent person. The last page of the book shows two circles rolling together, so I think that's pretty clear.
If you want to see extracts of Silverstein's books, go to his website under Shel's Books - each one features a quirky animation that will give you a pretty good idea of what the book is like.
Apart from his stories, Silverstein also wrote a few collections of poetry - many of these poems are hysterical, nonsense rhymes accompanied by his signature line drawings. We have Where The Sidewalk Ends and Lesley-Anne LOVES it. Here are two of the poems in the book:
The only downside is that the books are not cheap. All of them are hard covers and I believe over $40 each. Silverstein was very particular in this respect and chose the type, size, shape, colour and quality of the paper himself. As a serious book collector, he felt the feel of the paper, typeface of the stories and binding of the books were very important and was actively involved in these decisions. He did not allow his books to be published in paperback because he did not want his work to diminish in any way.
So they're not cheap. But these are keepers, not something you'll want to borrow from the library and read once. Maybe wait till you have a discount coupon or something, but my view is that they are true gems worth having.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
If music be the food of love, play on!
Letting your kid learn music (or anything for that matter) is a commitment that your kid has to agree to. I feel, and this is again only my opinion, that if you feel the interest is not there to begin with or your child won't be able to put in the requisite time, then DON'T START. Otherwise, you'll be caught in the dilemma later as to whether to force him to continue against his wishes or allow him to quit, which sends the negative message that quitting is ok when things get difficult or boring. Once your child understands and agrees to the commitment of having lessons, do persevere even if at times, it may be tough going. That's how you build resilience and determination.


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Special Award for High Country Excellence08 October 2014
NEW ZEALAND - The conviction of New Zealand's high country growers combined with the collaboration of two leading primary sector companies was recognised as a winning combination at the 2014 NZ Food Awards.
Alpine Origin Merino Ltd (AOM) received the 2014 KPMG Export Innovation Award for its branded SILERE alpine origin merino.
Launched three years ago, AOM is a joint venture of Silver Fern Farms and The New Zealand Merino Company (NZM) whose vision was to develop a premium product to the world's most discerning diners.
Initially prototyped in domestic markets, the programme is now gaining momentum exporting into five markets: United States of America, Emirates, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Sliver Fern Farms, Chief Executive, Keith Cooper said: "The markets are growing in the right direction; domestically we are 28 per cent above last season/year to date and internationally we are approaching a key window, for the following reasons: China is expected to buy more aggressively for their winter period, traditionally a higher period of consumption, and we expect sales to gather momentum following this month's launch in the Middle East and Dubai.
"We also continue to grow the market in the United States of America where there is an established New Zealand market for niche premium products."
The New Zealand Merino Company, Chief Executive, John Brakenridge spoke of the dedication of growers to quality and their commitment to the market driven business model.
"Growers have committed to the development of a programme for their long term sustainability. Their hard work to deliver the very best quality product has resulted in SILERE alpine origin merino entering markets and growing market share," he said.
TheMeatSite News Desk

subset: commoncrawl


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About SRK: Staff
Fred Kelly, Severn Riverkeeper – Fred Kelly is an environmental attorney with over 30 years of experience. He began his environmental career as the first attorney for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. His defeat of the nuclear power plant proposed for Douglas Point on the Potomac adjacent to the most important Striped Bass spawning area on the East Coast and the five-year moratorium are credited with saving the Chesapeake Striped Bass fishery.
Fred launches the Severn Riverkeeper boat from his home on Saltworks Creek where he resides with his wife, Nancy. He patrols the Severn with his Cavachon, Sadie (a.k.a. "The Foo"). He enjoys hearing from people who care about the Severn and want to work together to save the river!
Fred has a B.A. in English from Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., and a J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore.
Sara Caldes, Restoration Manager – Sara has background in land use planning and in historical preservation. At the beginning of her career she was involved in the commercial revitalization of Wilmington, N.C. Locally she worked for an economic development public interest group in Washington; as a project manager for a developer doing specialized hotel renovations and historic rehabilitations; and as a yacht broker for the last seven years. She has worked for the SRK since 2004.
Sara began boating at the age of seven. She, husband Roger, and son Nate have lived on the Chesapeake (on the South and Severn Rivers) for the last 25 years. They especially enjoy sailing with their dog, Salty.
Sara earned her B.A. in American Studies and History from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Dr. Pierre Henkart, Scientific Advisor – Pierre retired from his position as Chief of the Lymphocyte Cytotoxicity Section of the Experimental Immunology Branch of the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health in 2006. He volunteers his time with the SRK supervising the water quality monitoring program. He is the author of the annual Severn River Monitoring Report, which is submitted to the Governor and his agency heads as part of SRK's SevernStat Report. [Photo by Pam Wood, The Capital]
Pierre stays involved in science with various consulting gigs, but also enjoys cruising the Chesapeake in his catamaran with wife, Danalee, and traveling the world. He is the President of the Anne Arundel County Bird Club and an avid photographer. He lives on Saltworks Creek where he launches his rowing shell several times a week.
Pierre has a doctorate from Harvard in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and conducted his post-doctoral research in Marine Biochemistry at the University of California San Diego.


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On Mar. 12 the Elon Musk-chaired SolarCity (SCTY) notched a substantial gain, correcting the downward momentum the red-hot tech play had experienced during the week.
While the wide-ranging solar industry includes a variety of diverse components, companies either tangentially or directly involved with solar energy tend to move in the market as a monolith. While this might not be entirely fair assumption, the closely-aligned market movement of the major North American solar plays in the first week of March gave credence to that assessment.
Disappointing guidance coupled with a major project delay sent shares of Canadian Solar (CSIQ) down sharply, and along with it, the other major North American solar plays fell over the last five days. First Solar (FSLR) dipped 8.37 percent, SunPower (SPWR) dropped 10.01 percent, and SolarCity fell more than 11 percent over the week.
The bloodletting came the week after SolarCity released their fourth quarter earnings report that showed the tech play beating expectations slightly. SolarCity ran up in the aftermath, adding value to a company that had gained 29.09 percent on the year already.
While most solar plays dropped last week, only SolarCity has rebounded, ostebnsibly because of a deal with Best Buy (BBY) . But a lot of SolarCity's upward momentum, on Mar. 11 and before, has to do with SolarCity's special status as a "story stock."
That's how Raymond James analyst Pavel Mochalnov referred to SolarCity as far back as May 2013. Investors love the story of the self-made entrepreneur Musk, and Solar City and the Musk-helmed Tesla Motors (TSLA) continue to trade at astronomical levels. To Pavel, story stocks are not tied to reality, and "valuations don't matter."
In short, SolarCity might have been drawn down by Canadian Solar, but a dismal report from one solar company can't overcome the megawatt power Musk seems to have on the market.
SolarCity notched a 4.96 gain on the day to hit $76.99 a share.
DISCLOSURE: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors, and do not represent the views of equities.com. Readers should not consider statements made by the author as formal recommendations and should consult their financial advisor before making any investment decisions. To read our full disclosure, please go to: http://www.equities.com/disclaimer


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James J. Valentini has served as Dean of Columbia College and Vice President for Undergraduate Education since September 2011. Affectionately called "Deantini" by Columbia undergraduates, he has been a member of Columbia's faculty since 1990. Under his leadership, Columbia College is developing a strategic plan and recently launched its first campaign devoted exclusively to Columbia College students and faculty. The College has also initiated the Presidential Global Fellowship, offering a funded summer study abroad experience to rising sophomores, and expanded its commitment to entrepreneurship, joining the Columbia Startup Lab and sponsoring the Columbia Venture Competition's Undergraduate Challenge.
As the chief academic and executive officer of the College, Dean Valentini's central focus is to support and develop the College so that students and faculty have the best possible experience. The dean oversees the College curriculum, which includes the Core Curriculum as well as the academic and programmatic services and policies that contribute to the undergraduate experience inside and outside of the classroom. He is a member of the Executive Committee of Arts and Sciences, which has major decision-making authority for the Arts and Sciences and its constituent schools. He frequently attends student events and hosts meals with students to discuss their undergraduate experience.
Before becoming dean, Dean Valentini served as chair of the chemistry department and director of the chemistry department's Undergraduate Studies Program. He also served on numerous College and University committees focused on curriculum matters, undergraduate affairs, alumni relations, and faculty governance, diversity and tenure, and was instrumental in creating
the Science Research Fellows program.
Dean Valentini earned his B.S. in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh, his M.S. in chemistry from the University of Chicago, and his Ph.D. in chemistry from UC Berkeley, and completed postdoctoral work at Harvard. Before coming to Columbia, he was a member of the research staff at Los Alamos National Laboratory and a professor of chemistry at the UC Irvine. He has taught many undergraduate and graduate chemistry lecture courses and developed and taught research seminars for first-year students and seniors. He is a fellow in the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.


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"Globalization is the process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas and mutual sharing, and other aspects of culture" (Wikipedia)
SONGSOPTOK: What are you views about globalization? In the country and the society you live in, is globalization a threat or an opportunity?
ADRIJ: "Globalization and free trade do spur economic growth, and they lead to lower prices on many goods" - Robert Reich
"If you're totally illiterate and living on one dollar a day, the benefits of globalization never come to you" - Jimmy Carter
Globalization isn't a very blatant concept. While some argue it's a direct derivative of the age old doctrine of imperial colonialism, few others embrace it as a newfound method to bring about global unity and economic convergence. The country I hail from is still developing socioeconomically. While as an optimist I'm inclined to debate for the better side of globalization, as an economics enthusiast I need to take into account the deleterious effects it entails. My society is yet to resolve some of economics' most basic issues (biological poverty being the most profound). Having a society which is yet to define what 'good economics' is in proper fashion as my background, I can only stay as ambiguous as I can when I share my mind on what I think of globalization at this stage. I fail to come to a resolution on a generic basis because I am as much an economist as a social scientist. While I do realize the practical base of a globalized world, I cannot ignore the stem of dominating occidental mentality that founds the crux of the nascent concept.
SONGSOPTOK: To what extent is the society you live in is globalized? What are the outward manifestations, if any, in the everyday lives of the citizens?
ADRIJ: I hail from India. India has been making striding efforts to match the pace of the giants. The term which is used here, 'society', is very important. The biggest contribution that a globalized world can make is to obliterate the very term from the face of the earth. When one speaks on a unified world, the societal factors take a backseat. So, I take the liberty of using the word 'economy' instead of the term 'society', as globalization has never really, in all seriousness, taken into the equation the social variables, only the economic and the political ones.
Globalization in India has played a very big role. The signs of unified political economics started to show pretty early when the Indian economy was on the verge of destruction and the Mahalanobis-Nehru plan (or any Five Year Plan for that matter) had no idea what needed to be done. Dr. Manmohan Singh, erstwhile Minister of Finance, foresaw the doom that could've befallen us and he opened up the economy to the outside world. This had a threefold effect on our finances. The foreign exchange rate was derived in a proper manner and the highly instable Indian Rupee (INR) found its deserving place in the world map; the trade balance was addressed and the deficit accounted for (which provided the Indian planners with an opportunity to strategize their next move); the value of India's international trade had become more broad-based.
Globalization has had an effect on the everyday life of the population, and in a more positive way for the urban sector. With the proliferation of market mechanisms, the influence of the Smithsonian economic paradigm is finally showing. People now choose the commodities from a plethora of options, with variations and choice-making attitude that ensure only efficiency in the country. Undoubtedly, the cultural aspect of globalization has had tremendous effects on the Indian population. The free flow of ideas and the exchange of cultural views play prime roles in determining the mentality of the people here. From music and theatre to fashion and administration, globalization is the model which touched myriad lives simultaneously, bound them together and changed them forever.
SONGSOPTOK: In your opinion, has the process of globalization improved the quality of life in your country? In what way?
ADRIJ: Globalization indeed has changed the lives of many for the better. In our country, the globalized market has done more good than harm. The impact on national economies of larger, transnational markets characterized by free, convertible currencies, open access to banking, and contracts enforceable by law has shown.
Growing interdependence of nations and their activities on one another, fostered by the depletion of natural resources, misdistributions of arable land, mineral resources, and wealth, as well as overpopulation is found in India. Our country needed the capital, technology, and brainpower of the wealthier countries, while the First World economies are progressively dependent on the natural and human resources. The biggest positive effect globalization had on our economy was this: A free exchange of resources which accelerates growth and brings about development and public welfare. In all actuality, this has been realized, and there has been a sharp rise in general public welfare mechanism. Modernizations in bubble communications, science and technology have contributed actively toward planarization. This has had a large-scale effect on the population which would only get accentuated in the long run. Globalization has had a great effect on the ecologies and environments of the country which are needed to be safeguarded; and lessen the negative effects rather than exploiting without regard to such concerns.
SONGSOPTOK: One of the major effects of globalization is the significant increase in the volume of trade and monetary transactions between the different nations. Do you think that your country has benefited from this? In what way?
ADRIJ: The process of globalization has changed the industrial pattern and social life of global people, and it has had an immense impact on Indian trade system. The globalization of the economic, social and cultural structures has happened in all ages. Previously, the pace of process had been slow. Today with the start of the information technology, new ways of communication have made the world a very small place. With this process, there is a big market place. Globalization has resulted in increase in the production of a range of goods. MNCs have established manufacturing plants all over the world. As a new Indian middle class has developed around the wealth that the IT and BPO industries have brought to the country, a new consumer base has developed. International companies are also expanding their operations in India to service this massive growth opportunity. International companies that have done well in India in the recent years include Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Star Bucks, McDonald's, and Kentucky Fried Chicken, whose products have been well accepted by Indians at large. Globalization in India has been advantageous for companies that have ventured in the Indian market. By simply increasing their base of operations, expanding their workforce with minimal investments, and providing services to a broad range of consumers, large companies entering the Indian market have opened up many profitable opportunities. Indian companies are rapidly gaining confidence and are themselves now major players in globalization through international expansion. From steel to cinema, and from cars to IT, Indian companies are setting themselves up as powerhouses of tomorrow's global economy.
This was marketing. Let's look at economics now. Post globalization, multilateral agreements in trade have been signed, which have even taken on new agendas as environmental and social conditions. New multilateral agreements for services and intellectual properties, communications have been under the talks which would go on to provide a very lucrative position to India in the coming days. Market economic policies have spread around the world, with greater privatization and liberalization than in earlier decades. India can now execute trade services globally – from medical advice to software writing to data processing that could never really be traded before. Globalization in the economies have taken Indian open market policies as they were and then shot it up to mammoth percentages. Huge growth markets have been realized, and numerous variables have been accounted for in the analysis of costs and benefits. In India, variables like cost advantage, customer satisfaction, government policies et al. have been addressed like never before.
SONGSOPTOK: Do you think that globalization serves to make the already strong economies even stronger and weaker economies weaker and more dependent? Can you give us a few examples to illustrate your answer?
ADRIJ: This goes without a saying. If we look at the theoretical part of globalization in economics, we notice that globalization is founded on the basic premise of international trade and finance. Now as we know all too much, trade is viable when goods and services are exchanged. But if that is solely the case, then globalization would not be the new thing on the table. Globalization feasts on the intricacies of international economics. When we consider an open economy with no rigidity as such, we often take to calculations deriving the balance of payments of the countries involved. We take into account two of the most important things regarding said countries: Their respective productivities, and the factor of production they have in (relative) abundance. These are the primary variables for international trade, and thus globalization. Here, basic trade theory would always state that trade proves to be beneficial for the factor in abundance, and detrimental for the factor in shortage. But the countries export only the goods which are intensively manufactured by using the abundant factor of production. Here, the relative quantity plays a very important role. This is the theory which guides trade and global exchange. Globalization has proved to be a boon for a few countries like Republic of Korea (South Korea) and Singapore, which have embraced the open economy with calculated strategies (involvement) and a careful intervention policy of their respective governments. But almost simultaneously, the Sub-Saharan African nations have lost their resources to globalization more often than not. So it really depends on the mode and method of globalization that is being addressed here.
"…even when there are new opportunities for jobs opened by the integration into the international economy, old jobs and occupations disappear, and there is no doubt that such 'churnings' in job reallocation and dislocation raise anxiety and hostility among many workers worried about job security. In many poor countries there is very little effective social protection available from the state. International organizations that preach the benefits of free trade should take the responsibility of funding and facilitating adjustment assistance programs in poor countries that can help workers in coping with job losses and getting retrained and redeployed."
- Pranab Bardhan (Does Globalization Help or Hurt the World's Poor?)
Now Dr. Bardhan would also go on to state the current comparative statics the countries display when dissected, and then analyze their fiscal laws and austerity measures for the better good. This actually goes on to show the relevance of globalization in the world.
For instance, the large decline in poverty in China, India and Indonesia (countries long characterized by massive rural poverty) containing about half of the total population of developing countries. Between 1981 and 2001 the percentage of rural people living below the above-mentioned poverty line declined from about 79 per cent to about 27 per cent in China, from about 63 per cent to about 42 per cent in India, and 55 per cent to 11 per cent in Indonesia.
Some might point out: In China it could be, to a large extent, due to internal factors like expansion of infrastructure or the massive 1978 land reforms or policy changes relating to grain procurement prices or the relaxation of restrictions on rural-to-urban migration. That the spurt in agricultural growth following the 1978 decollectivization and land reform may be a large factor in the poverty reduction in China is suggested by the fact that a substantial part of the decline in poverty in the last two decades already happened by mid-1980's, before the big strides in foreign trade or investment. But one cannot deny the fact that most of the economic decision-making in our time is based directly or indirectly on the global dictation. It doesn't even have to be a compulsion. Smithsonian economics clearly states that the market mechanisms automatically edit and adjust to the flow, and oftentimes direct the flow toward the maximum efficiency.
Again, as another example, let me take countries like Mexico. In general global market competition rewards people with initiative, skills, information, and entrepreneurship in all countries, and poor people everywhere are handicapped by their lack of access to capital and skill formation to be able to adjust to the changing market. Workers in these developing countries are losing their jobs in labor-intensive manufactures which are now produced in poorer countries in Asia. But foreign investment has brought new jobs in the factories at the northern border of Mexico, and there is evidence that low wage poverty is declining in the regions in Mexico that are more exposed to the international economy than others (even conceptualizing from the fact that more skilled and enterprising people migrate to the northern part of the country improving incomes there).
So we see, globalization has the ability to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. But how much of it is seen in all practicality? Dwelling in the present scenario, it's imperative that we understand the power we hold. Both the examples go on to portray the positive (and the more profound) side to the concept. The view stays, the interpretation is what matters the most at the end of the day. How you choose to use it, depends on what you need out of it. The human rights violating cases of Africa, of blood diamond and blood gold, mining and the influence of illegality, are just other forms of the same doctrine. We cannot deny the fact that it still remains, very much real. But if used judiciously, globalization just might blur the discrepancy between the developing and the developed nations. Analogous to nuclear technology, a boon for all if used the way it's intended.
SONGSOPTOK: What, according to you, is the role played by the major multinational companies in globalization? Do you think that the entire process was actually put in motion by the large MNC's for their personal profits or do you think that there has been a trickle-down effect to the economy of your country?
ADRIJ: The multinational corporations (MNCs) are both a cause and a result of the globalization process. One can view the seventeenth-century Dutch and English India companies as a teaser of what was to come. By any measure, it is clear that MNC's are large and important, and that their role and influence have expanded as they have rapidly grown in recent years. Coincidental with this growth, the questions that people are asking about MNC's have also become more numerous and varied. The underlying premise behind globalization is that the transfer of wealth from the developed countries to the developing countries would eventually result in a scenario where those at the bottom of the ladder in the developing countries would benefit from the wealth flowing into their economies. The theory has been used to justify neoliberal policies and globalization and is the driving force for all entrepreneurial activities in countries like India. However, this theory is now being questioned as the trickle down effects are now being held as negligible, with those at the top earning more and more and those at the bottom earning less and less. Hence, there is now a tendency to question the basic tenet of globalization and neoliberalism and it remains to be seen as to which theory would ultimately stand to gain. The point here is that the widening income inequality has led to protests from those at the bottom since they do not see any marked improvement in their lives even when they support the army of educated and skilled employees of the manufacturing and service sector companies. However, there is a question of benefits to the local economy outside of those who actually work. It is understood that trickledown economics might not have been very wrong. Now, what is needed is a greater flow of wealth to the bottom and this can be done by equitable growth and democratic policies that strive for betterment of all. One cannot ignore that the concept of globalization is still afloat because it is the bread earning mechanism for many MNCs. It wouldn't have survived the test of time had that not been the case. But it also remains that general welfare is being recognized throughout the globe as a direct derivative of the concept in question. So I might as well say in this case that globalization has been the brainchild of the erstwhile MNCs in the wake of World War II, which earns them mammoth amounts of personal profits. Simultaneously it entails economic growth all over, (when redistributed) bringing in development for the countries associated with it and providing the masses with general welfare. In conclusion, true growth manifests when all sections of the society benefit and not only those at the top. Globalization has been proving to balance both together.
SONGSOPTOK: Many economists claim that globalization is a major factor for disseminating knowledge and technology across continents and borders within a very short time. Do you support this view? Has your country benefited from this? Can you give us some examples?
ADRIJ: Traditionally services are viewed as domestic activities due to direct contact between producer and consumer and government monopoly in infrastructure sector. The emerging globalization concept brought in a new variable: digitization. As technology spread throughout the world, concentration of knowledge ceased to exist. Global digitization has altered the perception. The ascent of information and communication technology has given rise to e-commerce, e-banking, e-learning, e-medicine and e-governance. Because of that nowadays factors like common knowledge, information sharing, data matrices, and overall education have turned out to be a commodity of international trade. It is no more a public good on domestic scale, but a private good on global scale. Globalization brings education to the front lines. In the prevailing discourse around the world on globalization, education is expected to be the major tool for incorporation into the "knowledge society" and the technological economy. So the point is ultimately that: globalization is a major factor for disseminating knowledge and technology across continents and borders within a very short time, but at a cost.
India has indeed benefitted from this. Globalization of multinational corporations has been bringing several new jobs to India's destination cities such as Hyderabad, Bangalore or Mumbai. As a result, there has been a massive increase in employment. New jobs naturally are engaging in nature and are benefiting the national accounts. Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Export Processing Zones (EPZs) et al. are set up across the country for which hundreds of people are hired. Since labor is cheap in India, developed western countries like USA and UK outsource their work to Indian companies. This in turn creates more employment. Since globalization is at work, the levels of compensation have been higher than what domestic firms would have provided at similar level of professional experience and qualification. This leads to a change in management structure. Workers are pacified with salary hikes to keep them motivated during management re-structuring.
India is a developing nation. According to the macroeconomic model of Solow, it would make use of newer resources more efficiently than developed countries with an existing set of capital resources already in profusion. In the wake of globalization, huge amount of wealth generation in Indian cities have been going on which is leading to the development of businesses. Few cities are also developing with higher purchasing power for those who are working with foreign organizations. Even the domestic organizations are encouraged to pay higher compensation to their employees who enhance people to live better quality lives. Thus these cities are witnessing better living standards and also development in business besides economic growth. This mirrors a positive sign in not only the Indian national treasury, but also in the optimistic minds of the Indian planners and strategists.
SONGSOPTOK: Do you think that globalization actually breeds a homogenous culture? What, if any, has been the effect of globalization in the cultural sphere of your country? In your opinion, has it been positive or negative?
ADRIJ: Definitely positive. Despite its root principle, we must never forget that globalization is a concept which should not be limited to finance. It is to go on to touch cultures and economies; to influence people and markets alike. Globalization is the first step to universal-ism as one of our professors calls it. When we address culture with the globalization point of view, we can find many punch holes of westernization and mixing of other traits and cultures into a beautifully woven blanket. The Indian culture has been open to newer faces of the world, and has been absorptive at that. Be it values, practices or norms, globalization is that wind which blows in with tremendous force. The most prominent change in the Indian culture has been its openness. It has opened itself to a lot of new ideas and designs. The face of the demography has surely changed. This reflects in myriad situations we face: be it a tête-à-tête, or a public claim. The youth dreams and the youth vision have changed. They are often more outward than not, which actually is extremely progressive in places. Sociopolitical issues in the country are being handled differently, owing to the newfound thought process that has tiptoed in as a part of globalization. The biggest take away from this globalized India is its change in its orthodox mentality that often rests on dogmatic norms. Global awareness has definitely stepped in, thus influencing the population in different rungs of the society. The effects on the rest of the world due to India have almost been similar. As India gradually gains prominence, the Indian population, its cultures and values are increasingly being introduced to the outside world. The interaction between seemingly two diverse worlds brings about newer knowledge, ideas and efficient outcomes in the globe. Indian food, clothing and languages are as varied as they can be. It is only for the better does the world at large now recognize the Indian cuisine, fashion and tongues, and does come out to deliberately be inclusive of the rich culture and heritage they uphold. The way the foreign languages are getting prevalent in India like the French, German and Spanish, right from the school level, is the example of how much importance these languages are provided in Indian system. Slowly but constantly, there is therefore a growing convergence of world cultures and civilization structures. The human breed, however diverse they might seem at the outset, is evolving towards the commonness in way of life; and globalization is the path they have chosen.
SONGSOPTOK: What, in your opinion, is the impact of globalization on environment? Do you think that the capitalistic growth model used by the large multinationals have a negative effect on the environment? In what way?
ADRIJ: The impact of globalization is profoundly spread throughout the world like branches of a tree. So it's implied that globalization has had an effect on the environment some way or the other. Economic globalization impacts the environment and sustainable development in a variety of ways and through a multitude of channels. Globalization contributes to economic growth and thereby affects the environment in many of the same ways that economic growth does: adversely in some stages of development, favorably at others. Globalization accelerates structural change, thereby altering the industrial structure of countries and hence resource use and pollution levels. It basically diffuses capital and technology; depending on their environmental characteristics relative to existing capital and technology, the environment may improve or deteriorate. It transmits and magnifies market failures and policy distortions that may spread and exacerbate environmental damage; it may also generate pressures for reforms as policies heretofore thought of as purely domestic attraction to international interests. While it improves the prospects for economic growth worldwide and increases overall global output, globalization could conceivably reduce economic prospects in individual countries, sectors and industries; such marginalization of economies and people may result in poverty-induced resource depletion and environmental degradation.
When the impact of globalization is discussed addressing the MNCs, the first person that comes to mind is A.C. Pigou. He was the economist who addressed welfare scheme and equated it with environmental degradation and effects.
"The gravitation constant is the same always. But the economic constants — these elasticities of demand and supply — depending, as they do, upon human consciousness, are liable to vary."
- Arthur Cecil Pigou
Even for a country like India, where globalization has had tremendous effects, the deleterious effects that the latter entails cannot be overlooked. The capitalist growth model only rests on one principle: Profit maximization – Cost minimization. In order to achieve this target, the model takes into consideration growth and prosperity variables and often misses out the social factors that are involved. The various measures that have been taken (Pigovian taxes, social cost disparity, implied costs) were implemented only because there loomed a threat to the society if the multinational companies had indeed followed their growth models to the T.
SONGSOPTOK: Is it possible to imagine a world today with an alternative mode of production and consumption? Is it at all necessary? If so, will you share your ideas with us? How can we, as ordinary citizens, contribute to such a model?
ADRIJ: "The first lesson of economics is scarcity: there is never enough of anything to fully satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics." – Thomas Sowell
A world today is a very convoluted one. While there is always a scope for improvement in the social sciences, what economics has taught me is that one will never be able to get satiated. So, even if I tweak a variable or two and come up with a newer model, there will always be a faction unsatisfied. But that is exactly what economics is all about. Every discipline has a goal. Economics' is satiation and equity with efficiency. But as we know all too well, satiation is an impossibility, and there exists a trade-off between equity and efficiency. Every model has a restructuring, every doctrine its correction. But what drives economics forward is its need to reallocate resources such that there is no excess, or dearth of any commodity. Globalization, like myriad other doctrines, is one. As economists, and most importantly fellow human beings, we can only drive ourselves to infinity, for at infinity, we achieve perfection.
ADRIJ. is currently in his undergraduate level, pursuing Economics, which happens to be one of his favorite things to spend his time reading (other than Batman comic books, guitar lessons, and reports from United Nations). He is deeply fascinated by the functionings of the economies around the world, world trade and finances: so basically everything related to the velocity of money. He also loves to debate it out in Model United Nations, dealing with international sociopolitical issues. He loves to spend a quiet evening by the sea all by himself with ABBA's 'Voulez-Vou' and 'Our Last Summer' on a loop.
We sincerely thank you for your time and hope we shall have your continued support.
Aparajita Sen
(Editor: Songsoptok)


text:
Open Thread: It Happened to You
This is your place to talk about the funny, sad, outrageous things that are happening in your life -- whenever you're ready.
I can still taste the bitterness in my dry mouth and smell my kurta, a traditional Indian dress. My plane landed at dinnertime on a Saturday night in late July. My belly was empty; I was restless from the 16-hour flight and anxious to take a shower and sleep off the reverse culture shock.
I was also anxious for my reunion with my father.
He greeted me with daisies and a long hug. I hopped into the car, and after I threw my floral Vera Bradley suitcase into the truck of his green Jeep, his body tensed up and his demeanor grew nervous. The words slipped out of his mouth as the beads of rain smacked the roof of the car.
"If you don't live with me and you live with your mother," he began, emphasizing your mother in a tone of hostility, "then I will refuse to pay for your junior year of high school."
I curled up in a fetal position and rested my head on the window with my eyes squeezed shut. I braced myself for a long car ride of him screaming and me sinking deeper and deeper into myself — something I've learned to do ever since my parents decided to get a divorce.
One month later, I enrolled into my local public school and decided to join the field hockey team. My mother and I went back and forth about my plan for the upcoming school year, and I decided to stay optimistic and find the best in this awful situation. I called my friends from my old school and lied about my circumstances, saying it was due to financial reasons that I couldn't return; after the phone calls, I fell to the ground and sobbed.
My 16-year-old self didn't understand why the only stability in my life was being ripped away.
During preseason field hockey practice in late August at my new school, I tried my best to immerse myself with my teammates, but I found it impossible. I couldn't explain to them why I rarely smiled and had this cloak of sadness over me. Everyone was kind and welcoming to me, but I felt distant from them; I also felt distant from the beloved sport that I played varsity in at my old school, while now, I could barely hit the ball.
September came and I went to the first day of school with a forced smile. I kept telling myself it would work out, and I believed it would. I stayed positive. The highlight of my day was field hockey, and as my first game approached, I felt excited and determined to prove something to my coach and teammates.
But that all ended once the field hockey stick struck my left cheek, causing me to black out and be carried off the field in a blood-stained shirt. My mom rushed me to the hospital where I got stitches, an MRI, and CAT scan. After almost three weeks of requested leave from my doctor, I returned to school. I was behind academically, which I told myself I could catch up on; but what hurt the most was being behind socially.
As I walked through the halls alone with a huge bandage on my face, I heard a guy say, "It looks like she got beaten," and laugh. I remember running to the bathroom and crying in the stall. I felt alone, lost and hopeless.
I walked out of the school after and vowed to never go back.
I got a full-time job at a local Italian restaurant and fell into a routine. My mom was working full-time an hour away, so I rarely saw her. I wasn't speaking to my dad. My sister was busy with college. I didn't see any of my friends; they didn't even know I'd dropped out of school. I felt secluded from my family, friends and even myself.
One night, I came home after a long day at work and went upstairs to wash my face. As I looked in the mirror on that December night, I saw a girl that wasn't me. The light in my face was faded and my smile, crooked. I was unhappy with my life. I felt so hopeless, and my coping mechanism was to forget that I was hopeless. I told myself this was my life now and I had to accept that, but it wasn't until that moment that I told myself I'm in charge of my life — not my father, not a bruise on my face, not even my sense of hopeless. I told myself I can control my future and my happiness.
I knew I had to get out of that situation because it was draining the life out of me.
I ran downstairs, grabbed my computer and spent four hours applying for a program that would change my life forever — Where There Be Dragons — to study abroad in China for three months during the spring semester of 2015.
Two weeks later, I got a phone call after work. The woman on the phone told me I'd been accepted and they were willing to give me a generous scholarship; the rest of the funds could be paid off with the money I'd been making. I twirled and danced on the porch of Starbucks in my black waitress uniform with my sauce-stained apron tied around my waist. I couldn't stop smiling while tears streamed down my cheeks.
China was the best experience of my life and changed me in ways my 16-year-old self couldn't imagine. I traveled within that beautiful country for three months with three mentors and nine other students. We trekked through mountains to villages where we created unbreakable bonds with the locals, prayed in Buddhist monasteries at the peak of sunrise, practiced tai chi in misty fields of evergreens, ate delicious dishes where the Sichuan spices danced on our tongues, rigorously studied Mandarin (which I'm proud to say after two years I speak exceptionally).
I lived the most authentic experience possible in a county that opened my eyes and heart to a new perspective on what I went through. I still hold so much pride that I got myself out of that situation by my own merit and ideas.
After crying with my instructor about how I ended up in China and how I was afraid of my future, he said, "If you must decide to walk through a forest or walk on a path, you should choose the forest. The path requires one direction, while the forest allows you to choose your path."
I remember looking up at the field as my peers played soccer with young monks. I decided to live then and take in that moment. I decided to take in China with every part I had in me. I breathed in, held my breath as the breeze kissed my face, and exhaled.