pay it forward

While walking around Arab Street recently, I chanced upon a quaint cafe. I was paying for my takeaway when the woman at the cafe blurted excitedly: “Is that you, Madam Intan?”

I did a double take and asked, “Did I teach you back in Woodlands Secondary School?”, to which she said that I taught her mathematics, and that she enjoyed it. I recalled her name, and that she was a bubbly girl who played netball.

She and her business partner had been running the cafe for seven years. This was after seven years of working as a nurse at a healthcare institution.

She was driven by an ambition to run her own food business, to try something different before she got too old or too settled in her career so that she would not live to regret not having tried it.

She recalled my constant advice to the class then, that they should not be afraid to try. Fail if they have to. But they must try. We took a few photos and hugged.

Mentor magic

Throughout my school years, I was fortunate to receive guidance from exceptional and nurturing significant adults. I’m not just referring to my parents or grandparents.

There were teachers and coaches – through primary and secondary schools, junior college and even university – who showed genuine care, offered good advice and encouraged me to pursue my interests and leverage my capabilities. Their positive impact was among the reasons that made me decide to be an educator.

I have always believed that the role of an educator is not just to transmit knowledge or teach, but to mentor, nurture and inspire those under our care.

This had a major influence on me as I took on the role of a mathematics teacher at Woodlands Secondary School, where I taught students from various backgrounds and differing academic abilities.

I was strict with attendance and school work, but also fair and empathetic, and encouraged the students to break the glass ceiling set by others and themselves, and not be afraid to fail if that means just trying again and do better thereafter, and to be sure to fail forward.

I was thrilled to see the improvement and the potential of these students.

Often we hear about young people – Gen Zers and millennials – boldly chasing their dreams and aspirations and giving up traditional, stable, well-paying jobs.

It is a different mindset from the older generation like mine – Gen X – and baby boomers.

My husband and I were allowed to pursue further studies based on our interests and proclivities, but we were still expected to find a job, earn a living, settle down and raise a family, preferably in that order.

In the last few years, information, notably from social media channels, has increasingly shaped the mindsets and choices of our youth, and this has been amplified by the influence of social media personalities or influencers.

Yet, this relationship often lacks personalisation and reciprocity.

On the other hand, interactions and engagements with significant adults or mentors build a more personalised relationship that involves conversations, mutual understanding, mutual respect, open communication – and even disagreements.

These interactions become pivotal in shaping the youth’s mindsets, experiences, perceptions and aspirations.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Long-term mentoring scheme takes off for six-year-olds from low-income families

Mentoring office launched to connect youth with mentors

Who is a significant adult?

Studies have shown that the period where young people transition from youth to adulthood, roughly between the ages of 14 and 24 years, is a period of immense possibility and potential – and this is where the mentor can play an important part.

Significant adults are individuals in a position of influence, authority or caregiving to young people. Examples beyond our immediate families include other relatives, such as aunts and uncles, guardians, caregivers, teachers and coaches.

Some of us may ask: Aren’t parents sufficient to play the role of a significant adult for a young person? It is more about complementing than replacing.

According to studies, significant adults, other than parents, in a young person’s life increase the likelihood that they will flourish and become productive adults themselves, and that young people interact differently with non-parental adults in their lives.

Young people have a tendency to listen more closely to adults, other than their parents, on certain matters and are more likely to accept advice or challenges from non-parental adults compared with their parents.

These adults can provide love, care, safety and guidance to the young people under their watch.

A 2021 US study titled Stabilising Young People Transitioning to Adulthood found that it’s at this stage of their lives that young people acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and life experience. It is also when they require the support needed to take on increasing responsibilities, form their identities, and learn how to succeed on their own.

While parents and grandparents usually provide for a child’s needs when it comes to physiology, safety, and love and belonging, young people also look to other adults in their lives to reaffirm their other higher-level needs such as esteem and self-actualisation.

The role of significant adults is even more critical for young people who come from less privileged backgrounds with little parental support, social capital or social networks.

They are especially crucial in building resilience and resourcefulness among those least resourced, and in providing the necessary psychosocial support and helping them manage their mental and socio-emotional well-being.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Mentoring SG to expand opportunities for youth; new accredited course for mentors

She struggled in school and financially, but is now a data analyst who mentors youth

Mentoring opportunities

As young people transition into adulthood, there is much for them to learn about relationships, responsibilities, leadership, social interactions and engagements, and politics, among others.

The significant adults in their lives can share their personal lived experiences and lessons learnt, and help them navigate the potential challenges and uncertainties.

Singapore schools and institutes of higher learning (IHLs) have extensive training programmes to help educators assume the role of mentors or coaches to their students. Examples include the Structured Mentoring Programme in mainstream schools, and the coaching and mentoring programme for IHL academic staff at the Singapore Institute of Technology.

Non-profit organisations and corporations have also introduced mentoring programmes to help young people ease into the world of work and to provide opportunities for their own staff to share their experiences, such as Elements by the Halogen Foundation.

As Singapore becomes an increasingly aged society, there are immense opportunities for seniors or retirees to play the meaningful role of mentors or significant adults to the youth.

Seniors and retirees have a wealth of lived experiences and wisdom that they can share with young people to help them better understand contemporary issues and contexts, and navigate unfamiliar surroundings.

Programmes such as Intergenerational Mentoring by the Mentoring Alliance Singapore must be lauded and supported.

In fact, organisations and corporations can implement similar mentoring programmes to get senior employees to mentor and nurture younger or new personnel.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Having a mentor helped me through life experiences: Poly grad on NTUC initiative

Young & Savvy: How to find mentors at work and in life

Being grounded

Sometimes, it’s that inexplicable connection that makes a mentor or coach a source of motivation for a student. But certain traits and behaviours in communication are required in such roles.

For instance, it is important for significant adults who are older mentors to keep in mind that as they share their experiences with young people, they should not be patronising or condescending.

As American poet and activist Maya Angelou once articulated: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

We want the young to learn and shape their own expectations, not instil fear or doubt in themselves or their opportunities or potential.

But while we want the young to remain optimistic and hopeful, we must also help them stay grounded in reality and have a good grasp of real-life challenges and obstacles. That needs to be done in a manner that is neither judgmental nor dismissive.

While inspiring and caring significant adults allowed me to become aware of my strengths and gain confidence in my abilities, there were, of course, significant adults in my life who were harsh detractors.

As my confidence and self-esteem developed, I did not allow those detractors to crush my optimism. Instead, I channelled those criticisms towards improving myself, amending my strategies and expectations, and fuelling my motivation to prove them wrong.

It is certainly not an easy task to balance both realism and optimism.

As I have benefited from the magnanimity and kindness of significant adults in my life, I hope to do the same for the young people I interact with. We must pay it forward.

Associate Professor Intan Azura Mokhtar is director of the Community Leadership and Social Innovation Centre at the Singapore Institute of Technology.

emotional intelligence is crucial

SINGAPORE – Feeling burnt out can have a significant impact on all areas of life.

“A person may feel depressed, irritable and express cynicism. They may want to be more isolated and lose interest in everyday activities that they previously enjoyed,” says Dr Felicia Neo, director and clinical psychologist at Neo Cooper Psychology Clinic.

Psychologists share six ways that people can prioritise their mental well-being and lead more fulfilling lives at work.

1. Know what is important to you

Many people might feel immense feelings of dissatisfaction without realising that they might not be fully aware of what values are important to them, says Dr Annabelle Chow, principal clinical psychologist at Annabelle Psychology. 

“For example, we might believe that we would be happier if we got a raise or promotion. But we do not realise that the values most important to us might be recognition of our hard work by peers and colleagues, and not a raise or promotion,” she adds. Hence, take some time to think of the values that are important to you.   

2. Ask yourself if the job scope aligns with your values

Take stock of whether your job scope aligns with your values. Speak to your manager on whether there might be opportunities to take up other roles or responsibilities that might be more in line with those values, advises Dr Chow. 

“You can ask if adjustments can be made to various parts of your job to feel more satisfied and fulfilled by it,” she suggests.

3. Raise your concerns

Issues related to job skills, clarity of your role and feeling unrecognised can first be raised with your manager, says Mr Benjamin Low, a clinical psychologist and corporate wellness consultant at Psych Connect.

“It is not uncommon for us to put on a front to show that we’re managing things well. This may mean that those around us may not know there’s a problem until they’re told,” he adds.

4. Set healthy boundaries 

You can set healthy boundaries at work by letting your supervisors know if there is too much work on your plate.

For example, Dr Chow suggests that employers can tell their managers: “Thank you for entrusting this task to me. I would not be able to complete this task in the allocated time as I have other pending tasks to complete. Can you please help me prioritise which task you would like me to complete first?”

5. Manage your time well

Work hard at completing tasks during working hours and not during non-working hours. 

Dr Chow says this might not always be possible, depending on the nature of your work. 

If you must work during non-work hours, make sure you set aside sufficient time for rest and relaxing activities. 

“Setting these boundaries are easier said than done, but with practice, one will gradually improve at achieving a harmonious blend of work and personal life,” adds Dr Chow.

6. Companies have a part to play

Dr Neo says there are steps that employers can take to look out for their workers’ mental health.

These include reviewing current wellness programmes, reducing the stigma of accepting mental health support, building connections through check-ins, and modifying policies and workplace practices that encourage and facilitate work-life balance. 

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

S'poreans stressed at work: Spotlight on mental health issues at the workplace

Companies in S'pore in danger of losing talent over mental health and fatigue woes

loneliness is something we should pay attention to

“Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown” – that famous line from William Shakespeare’s King Henry IV would likely resonate with many corporate honchos. A common assertion is that it is wintry and lonely at the top of the workplace, but the fact is that workplace loneliness is likely to run from the top to the bottom rung of the ladder.

Half of the chief executive officers interviewed in a Harvard Business Review survey said they had experienced loneliness on the job. There is a corpus of research showing that this is a special source of unhappiness for corporate leaders.

Among those who have publicly acknowledged being afflicted with loneliness are Mr Elon Musk, one of the world’s richest men and the boss of social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, the late Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs, and his successor Tim Cook.

Their loneliness does not come from physical isolation and the deprivation of human company; theirs is that existence trope of “being lonely in a crowd”. Their loneliness comes from a lack of deep human connections.

It seems that most subordinates do not much enjoy being with their bosses, let alone bonding with them. In a 2004 study by the Nobel Prize-winning psychologist and behavioural economist Daniel Kahneman and his colleagues, 909 working women were asked to describe their feelings about what they were doing, and whom they were with the day before.

It emerged that these working women enjoyed themselves most while socialising and relaxing, and during time spent with their friends, relatives and spouses. And the topmost negative interaction was time spent with their bosses. No specific reason was given for this, but it is not unreasonable to think that they were leery of being seen as brown-nosing their bosses or feeling – either real or imagined – that they were being scrutinised and evaluated at close quarters by these same bosses.

There is a certain irony here, because CEOs and other visible corporate leaders are subject to scrutiny for their performance. To continue to rule the roost, they may feel the need to maintain a facade of unflappable confidence and be the embodiment of control and strength, which practically means strenuously concealing any insecurities or feelings of anxiety and doubt. When the inevitable criticisms come, it would feel particularly cutting and unfair, and make them feel misunderstood and lonely.

And there is that perverse nature of power to distort and undermine those psychological processes that normally nurture close connections. Sociologists David Riesman and Nathan Glazer suggested in their book The Lonely Crowd that leaders are lonely because their successful exercise of power requires the Manichean manipulation and persuasion of others, so they objectify their subordinates and treat them as a means to their ends.

Journalist and author Robert Caro, biographer of former United States president Lyndon B. Johnson, compared power to a sword, but a very unusual sword: “Not only does it have a sharp blade but a sharp handle. So it cuts into not only the people it’s being used against, but also into the people who are using it.”

Among power’s baleful effects, it may alter the perception and beliefs about others. Individuals in a powerful position know they are more likely to be a magnet for opportunists, strivers and hangers-on. They would understandably be wary of any importuning and conniving. Hewed to this sceptical alternative explanation of the motives of others, they would be suspicious of any overtures, even if these were sincere and well-intentioned – a mistrust that would repel all but the most determined.

Loneliness of workers

With all that focus on the loneliness of those in the C-suite, it is easy not to think of those who are further down the corporate ladder. There is a palpable difference in our perception of a CEO declaring that it is lonely at the top – a crown of thorns to be borne with heroic stoicism – and an employee who admits to being lonely at work and risks being seen as pathetic and whiny.

Employees do not like to advertise their loneliness. After all, there is a stigma that surrounds it, and no one wants to open themselves up to pity or derision from their colleagues and bosses.

While there is much more awareness and discussion of mental health issues in the workplace these days, workplace loneliness is seldom mentioned, despite research showing that this is a real problem.

Lonelier workers perform more poorly, quit more often and feel less satisfied with their jobs. A study of over 10,000 individuals across 14 countries found that loneliness predicts developing a work disability. It can also lead to an array of various mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, and alcohol and other substance abuse.

It may even be lethal. Loneliness and social isolation can rig our physiology and trigger inflammation and changes in the immune system, making us more vulnerable to stresses. Loneliness is purportedly more dangerous than obesity, and just as damaging to physical health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. And it is associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, stroke and premature death (it has been estimated that it increases the likelihood of mortality by 26 per cent).

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

The Life List: 6 tips to boost your mental well-being at the workplace

We could do with more emotional intelligence in a tech-driven workplace

Researchers have proposed some contributing factors to workplace loneliness. Other than physical separation from co-workers, as in working in a remote or virtual environment, there are some personal factors at play.

First, there is the extent of one’s desire for social relationships, which might be related to the individual’s inherent characteristics, like shyness and introversion. Second is the range and type of social skills that people have at their disposal: Those who are more adept at communicating and socialising with others are more likely to develop satisfying relationships.

And certain types of work or professions might predispose one to loneliness. Doctors and lawyers are among the loneliest workers in the United States, followed by those who work in engineering and science, according to the Harvard Business Review.

The hunger of loneliness

Training to be a doctor takes years of cloistered study in medical school followed by even more years of specialist training, which leaves those in the profession having little in common with anybody other than fellow doctors. And as patient care becomes more fragmented among primary care physicians and specialists, there is a lack of opportunity, time and space for talking to each other – especially for those in a solo private practice.

Communication via electronic health records, e-mails and text messages has taken that more intimate human element out of interactions. And the long hours that doctors keep leave little time to hang out with friends, let alone make new ones. The net result is a lonely crowd of doctors.

At the heart of loneliness is a lack of meaningful connection. Real human connection allows us to relate to others, feel supported and validated by others. Pioneering loneliness researcher John Cacioppo once described loneliness as a “perception that one is socially on the edge”. What this means for someone living at this precipice is to be bereft of these human connections and to exist in a state of being unhappy while alone, having nobody to talk to, not bearing being alone, having no one close they can turn to when burdened, and feeling misunderstood and isolated from others.

And there we have it. Strong meaningful connections. Not the number of associations one has, but it’s the quality of these connections that matters more.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

How loneliness is damaging people's health

All the lonely people: How I’m trying to make friends in my 20s

In my own work, there were plenty of times when my resolve and resilience were tested – medicine after all is a trying and stressful profession, but my bonds with my colleagues have often lifted and carried me through the struggles.

The late Professor Cacioppo had also likened loneliness to hunger – a visceral compulsion that all humans have – which drives us to establish mutually beneficial relationships that meet social needs essential for survival. He wrote that while loneliness “feels like… a hunger that needs to be fed – this ‘hunger’ can never be satisfied by a focus on ‘eating’. What’s required is to step outside the pain of our own situation long enough to ‘feed’ others”.

Although it may seem counterintuitive to help others when we are feeling lonely, extending help to others and allowing ourselves to receive help is one of the most tangible ways we experience our connections with one another.

And maybe my work as a psychiatrist has benefited me in another way too: Through caring for my patients and attending to their needs, I might also be keeping at bay whatever loneliness that I might otherwise have felt.

Professor Chong Siow Ann is a senior consultant psychiatrist at the Institute of Mental Health.

sleep is crucial

When I was first invited to comment about the importance of sleep for overworked people, I initially declined. I was tired of re-threading a worn tyre and offered to reconsider, if something worthy came to mind. And then, lightning struck.

I recently made an arduous but satisfying long-distance trip whose preparations were demanding. However, as the presentations were well received, and I could take a break after working so hard, I had expected to coast along from there.

Unexpectedly a combination of challenges which, in isolation, seemed trivial at the time, befell me: a flu-like illness, cumulative sleep loss from jet lag, and a personal matter. These elements working in tandem sapped my hard-earned health reserves.

Through the leisure portion of the trip and extending to my return home, my heart-rate-related markers showed a gradual but clear loss of exercise capacity, exceeding what I had experienced after contracting Covid-19 some time back. Regardless, I tried to keep life going at my accustomed, fast tempo. Mind over matter, right?

The saying goes that bad things happen in threes, and so it was that I caught another infection soon after. However, the new symptoms appeared only after tests for an annual health review were performed. This could have affected the results, but at the time, without benefit of hindsight, the findings of my health review freaked me out.

My doctors could not provide me with a clear answer as to what was going on, told me to take some medication and to wait a month for the outcome. I who jealously guarded good health, had met with the unexpected.

For life must go on?

The ancients had an expression: “Mens sana in corpore sano” (sound of mind, sound of body), penned by Juvenal over two millennia ago. It urges people to embrace the value of mental well-being and health. Written in Latin, this phrase headlined a pithy and wisdom-filled Roman poem.

In our youth, we often discount such wisdom. For isn’t that a time to pursue dreams with little concern for the impact of our choices on health and well-being? Even when hearing of someone close unexpectedly falling very ill, such news might arrest our attention and elicit sadness, but only for a short time. For life must go on.

We return to striving and the making of inconsequential comparisons between ourselves and others. Such concerns weigh on our hearts and minds, stealing more time than we care to admit.

Many relegate self-care to the back-burner, giving the excuse they have no time. Yet almost anyone who is not in dire straits has some control over his time. Despite this, when we feel well and are doing well, even a poor family health history or concerns about black swans remain buried.

As work eats sleep

While passing time and mulling on the possibility that my health could be compromised, I chanced on, in separate encounters, well-compensated professionals who related how their sleep was impacted by their work.

The first went to bed at 2am on average because his clients wanted him to answer questions till then. They felt that they had a right to his time because they could afford to pay him. He was constantly fatigued but was not shaken enough to change his behaviour.

A second slept an average of four hours a night and fuelled himself with coffee to function, until he developed palpitations and hypertension.

Both these men recognised that sleep was important, but neither was looking to substantively change his schedule, perhaps constrained by keenly felt obligations.

A third person was so affected by job demands, she fell into a depression, which was associated with physical pain that limited her mobility. This also affected her sleep robbing her of the ability to enjoy activities she had previously taken delight in.

Often, it takes a personal scare to awaken our appreciation of health and mental well-being. Additional investigations following my check-up revealed a lesion that, while not life-threatening, carried with it unpleasant possibilities. I was told to try something and wait – advice unsurprisingly poorly received by someone who was adept at navigating challenges and resolving ambiguity promptly.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

How dangerous is insomnia? How fear of what it’s doing to your body can wreck your sleep

Doc Talk: The link between sleeping too little, or too much, and cancer

A dark place

For weeks after, I found myself in a dark place I could not extricate myself from. Accumulated effects of real or imagined issues, which individually would not trouble me, wrecked my sleep.

An irrational fear of loss started to grossly distort my perception of reality. While my head reasoned that the psychological churn was not justified, feelings trumped rationality when I was at rock-bottom.

Externally, I seemed normal. An outsider would not see through my distress, as decades of experience helped me mask such signs in formal situations. Further, my interactions were mostly brief, and I had some control over them.

However, when alone, my thoughts, what I chose to read, view, listen to, think about, and express were all affected, and the reverberations of these amplified the private torment.

Whatever was distressing me was reflected in resting heart rate and exercise markers. Healthy mind, healthy body and conversely, troubled mind, upset body. Here I was, someone well-equipped with knowledge, but still caught with an exposed Achilles heel and experiencing first-hand, the stark reality of that adage.

During that dark period, there was no achievement, no source of pride that could lift me from the crashing waves of distress that struck, withdrew and then struck again. The thoughts permeating the substratum of my psyche also temporarily transformed me into a younger, unsure version of myself – someone lacking in confidence, with none of the psychological defences one acquires after years of adapting to hard knocks.

Fortunately, almost as rapidly the final fusillade of negative arrows cratered my psyche, the onslaught beat an unexpected retreat. Over the weeks of waiting, my health problem resolved, and I made peace with the reactivated traumatic thoughts. I was both shaken and stirred, but left a fresh appreciation of sleep, health and well-being.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Sleeping much, resting little: My exhausting search for restfulness

Will a sleep tracker help you sleep better?

Nothing new yet everything changed

Looking back, I wonder what if I had dispatched my commission to write by simply admonishing everyone to confine work or work-related communications, unless critical, to work hours as far as possible? Or to encourage each worker to reciprocate in kind to collectively shift the status quo?

Similarly, I could echo warnings about how social media, while connecting us, can also be an inescapable plague if we don’t develop clear ideas on how to deal with upsetting messages, especially those received close to bedtime.

I could also parrot some choice sleep hygiene tips. But there have already been a multitude of advisories. If only these were acted on!

But there is nothing truly new to be said, except perhaps to warn that the business of sleep is heating up to meet a crying need pushing the desire to profit to overtake a beneficent spirit.

I could also proffer some science – like about how, in an extreme mouse experiment in 2023, changes to Prostaglandin D were induced by extreme sleep loss resulting in the annihilation of the immune system and subsequent death.

I could also have expanded and embellished each of these corporate friendly bullet points, but fate hurled this commentary onto a different path.

I leave you with this lesson gained: Facts and principles are good to know, but unless we are truly moved, few of us will change our habits. In promoting mental health, we have been led to think technology makes us exceptional, and that apps, devices and training packages might provide plausible solutions for life’s ills.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Can coffee or a nap make up for the lack of sleep?

Want better mental health in 2024? Take a look at what the pros are doing

Yet the emotional brain has an ancient and highly conserved architecture that embodies the essence of our humanity. What supports our ascent to dizzy heights of pleasure and satisfaction can also cause us to sink into deep and seemingly inescapable despair. Such a precious thing must be taken care of, not relegated to algorithms, curated workflows and shallow relationships.

If this resonates, pause to consider how you might reapportion your time to care for your health and mental well-being and make provision for sleep. You will be happier, a better companion, as well as a more productive and healthier worker for it. And if you benefit, be sure to pass the good along.

Michael Chee is director of the Centre for Sleep and Cognition at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore.

education beyond grades

I often get a mixed look of bewilderment and amusement when I urge my students to develop and nurture the ability to teach themselves while in university.

In response, the cheekier ones would say they had paid good money to attend law school and the role of their teachers was to ensure that they get good grades that will then set them on the path to making a good living as lawyers.

My rationale for urging students to learn to teach themselves is simple: Every discipline evolves, and there is no alternative if they are to thrive and enjoy what they do professionally.

What we learn in formal education will be overtaken by new discoveries and knowledge. If we are to maintain our competence, not to mention the mastery, there is no alternative to continual learning.

However, education is often seen as attending an academic institution to be taught. But in today’s fast-changing world, we must embrace self- and lifelong learning such that it becomes second nature.

Perhaps the focus on wanting to be successful, which is not an inappropriate motivation in and of itself, has resulted in Singaporean students focusing on achievements at the expense of accomplishments. Studying often speaks to achieving while learning is about accomplishment and passion.

Achievements and accomplishments

American writer Adam Gopnik puts it well in differentiating achievement from accomplishment. Achievement is “the completion of the task imposed from outside – the reward often being a path to the next achievement”. In contrast, accomplishment is “the end point of an engulfing activity we’ve chosen, whose reward is the sudden rush of fulfilment, the sense of happiness that rises uniquely from absorption in a thing outside ourselves”.

Too often, our society prioritises achievements over accomplishments. Hence, in an education setting, getting an A grade in an examination is perceived to be more important than learning well. A short-term objective against the long-term goal.

To be sure, earning a good grade in a subject and learning well are not mutually exclusive. But as an educator for 25 years, I have also seen how a singular focus on achieving gets in the way of learning. This often manifests in a preoccupation with course content, “right” answers, and fear of making mistakes.

Learning is reduced to studying strictly for the purpose of doing well in examinations. Essential skills like reading, analysis, reasoning and writing are often not given due attention despite their outlasting course content.

Credible examinations and, more crucially, wicked real-world problems do not lend themselves to regurgitated rote-learnt information, but instead require sound problem-solving skills augmented by the ability to adroitly apply one’s knowledge to novel situations. Where there are no answers, asking the right questions can help reduce the uncertainty while learning from ambiguity.

This learning mindset, by comparison, is less concerned with getting the right answers. It avoids invidious comparisons of achievements but accords due attention to applying concepts, principles and ideas to novel situations. In the legal field, this extends to recognising what the law ought to be and the limits of the law.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

'We don't focus on grades': Parents on what has changed in their approach to kids

S'pore education should move beyond focus on grades to a meritocracy of skills: Chan Chun Sing

More importantly, it moulds a craftsman-like mentality to outdo one’s previous best even if it means falling short, and trying again with new confidence. These are the accomplishments of learning, with achievements such as a good grade a bonus.

Given the speed at which technology, especially artificial intelligence, or AI, develops and how society evolves, there are and will be novel and thorny issues.

In the legal world, this can happen even in well-established areas, disrupting age-old regimes of rights, responsibilities and interests.

Consider how the law should regulate harmful speech created by non-human beings? What about the liability of bots, that lack criminal intent, in committing a crime? How can copyright law be fit for purpose with large language models capable of creating novels and AI video generators churning out movies?

The legal profession will not be the only one that will be affected by these rapid changes. We should expect that every industry and facet of life will be disrupted by technology. In education, technology has impacted how we teach, learn and assess. Memory recall, for example, is less relevant when search engines can not only jog our memory faster and better but update us on new developments.

An inordinate focus on achievement gets in the way of a student persevering to acquire mastery or even to explore new fields of inquiry. If competence in the form of a top grade is seen as good enough, why go further? Worse, it also generates the desire to persist in doing things one already does well rather than trying new things.

Purpose of education

So we return to the age-old question of the purpose of education. There is certainly the pragmatic dimension – that our students can compete well in an increasingly competitive world and secure good jobs.

In this vein, education is a means by which to train workers in a world where technology, such as AI, will play a bigger role. However, we should not confine and short-change ourselves by being mere cogs in the economic machine.

It all boils down to whether we see education as an end or as a means. But it should be both.

Education should not only be to enable our young to reach their full potential, but also fulfil their larger role as good citizens with a strong sense of self as well as of possibility – how they can best lead fulfilling lives and not one denominated only by workplace achievements and material gains.

As Education Minister Chan Chun Sing put it in a recent interview with this newspaper, the real definition of success for the education system is how a person can thrive on his own in the next 50 years of his life – and not how well one fares on standardised testing and rankings.

The drive to promote lifelong learning cannot hinge solely on Singaporeans attaining more and more credentials after school. It must embrace personal flourishing, growing the innate sense of curiosity, and finding purpose at work and in society.

This is a necessity as technology and the advent of AI have raised questions about what and how we must learn and if certain jobs will remain relevant in years to come.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Minor Issues: Focus more on learning, less on grades

Minor Issues: My son failed maths, but got an A for effort

Focus on values with rise of AI

This is where values play a significant role with education as their wellspring and formator.

If we have a generation of Singaporeans who only dwell on their personal economic value and what value others bring, then we are on our way to imperilling what it means to live in and contribute to a community. This socially disconnected quest for personal achievements would alienate care and concern for others to the wayside.

It has already been observed that some Singaporeans who have done well have attributed their success to their personal effort and their belief that anyone who puts in enough work will succeed too. But this ignores the fact that our success is partly enabled by the system and the network of people who have contributed to our growth and development.

The purpose of learning is only going to be even more complicated in an AI age. How will human intelligence and AI interact, and what is the proper role of AI? How will it affect attitudes towards learning and the values of education?

The past year was replete with reports of AI’s potential benefits, no doubt boosted by the growing immense capabilities of generative AI such as Open AI’s ChatGPT. We’ve also witnessed the downsides and pathologies of the technology where it’s used for nefarious activities that pose a threat to national security and personal well-being.

An achievement-centric mindset and an approach towards technology that is devoid of values could well result in our being contented to be mere adopters of technology accepting whatever it dishes out and deploying it indiscriminately. In this potential reversal of roles, technology is the user and we the tool.

On the other hand, an accomplishment mindset founded on values of human dignity and community will direct us to examine how we should deploy technology that gives voice to the values we hold dear.

If the use of tech is driven by an unfettered quest for achievements and success is determined by the ability to achieve goals, then any goal could be programmed into a superintelligent AI agent that could stop at nothing to achieve that goal.

The consequences can be destructive; we would have arrived at what AI scientist Stuart Russell describes as “a highly competent machine combined with humans who have an imperfect ability to specify human preferences completely and correctly”. In a similar exhortation, sociologist-philosopher Richard Sennett urges that: “The enlightened way to use a machine is to judge its powers, fashion its uses, in light of our own limits rather than the machine’s potential”.

The inordinate focus on the value of transformative technology can blind us to the importance of human values and our common humanity and how to have technology work for, rather than against, us.

AI must enable, not disenable, humanity. How our students perceive education and the values they associate with learning will have a significant impact on how they interact with this technology for years to come.

Students from primary to tertiary educational institutions have begun a new academic term.

May they learn well and increasingly become confident with learning independently, nurture their innate sense of curiosity, strive for meaningful accomplishments, imbue themselves with purpose and keenness to develop themselves holistically, and learn to live, work and play with others!

Eugene K. B. Tan is associate professor of law at Singapore Management University.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Minor Issues: A dad’s apology to his son for being a jerk about PSLE results

No good grades, no good jobs: How China’s youth are chasing their dreams in an uncertain future