Our Preconceptions

Design Theory lecture today for me, reinforced the notion as to why I decided not to pursue my studies in Singapore.

We are all bounded by the misconception that everything is based on a set formula. You get the formula right, and everything moves swimmingly for you. That's what we are taught in Singapore. Study and memorize. Know what the teacher wants. Once you've got that basic formula, your results will reflect accordingly. Everything boiled down to how much you think you know, or rather, how much the teacher wants you to know. We don't challenge views, we don't question enough. Singaporeans are best at sitting and listening. We are followers. Whatever is fed to us, we do. The fear of not conforming often drives us to the point where we feel that it is safer to just blend with the majority.

That might be fine for Primary, maybe Secondary education. What about tertiary education? Junior College? That is the time where we grow into what we are, how we think, what we perceive is right. Is it wrong to challenge the norm? Society says yes. Why bother doing extra when you've got a set of rules that works, and more often than not, yield results? What we are not seeing is that instead of an education system that grows and evolves as we progress, it has become narrower as we go. Its a reverse funnel effect, with the narrow end on top.

Education is supposed to get more diverse as we progress. That is why when we go to poly, we specialize and go in depth into a certain field. And as we go further into Uni, we encounter a wide spectrum of materials that wasn't available to us before. However, by following the current education system, all it is doing to us is narrow our vision.

Picture this. You have just completed Secondary school and have opted for a tertiary course of study. You graduate in 3 years with say, a Diploma in Engineering. You are good at it and say to yourself, "hey, I can do this for a living. I'll improve my skills in Uni and emerge a qualified professional engineer that will contribute to society."

Therein lies the problem. You have already visualized your end point. You will emerge a qualified engineer. But ask yourself this. How many engineers do we need? Are there enough vacancies to fill? More often than not, one will find themself doing something outside their field of specialty. Such is the economy now that no one is guaranteed a position.

I am taking a course as a designer. Specifically, communication design. What would I expect myself to be in 3 years? A graphic designer? Are there really that many vacancies to fill?

Education, for that matter, should be a process of learning of practical skills that one can make use of. I do not condone the "memorize" method. Where has that gotten anyone? Will you be better at a job because you can memorize something? Would your client be impressed if you could memorize all 52 states in America? Rather, education should be more of an open learning journey. One where you get to explore possibilities. Not to go by the book because you know that will get you the A. The A will be irrelevant when you go out into the workforce! Who'll give you that A? Your client again? No way! Exploring possibilities like how this would work if I've done it some other way. Challenging the norm, dismissing preconceptions. If you don't do it now, when will you have a chance to do it? I'm absolutely sure no client would pay for their project to be "experimented" on.

Here's something from my lecturer -
"Creativity is defined by whether you accept something, or affect it's outcome."
"Anyone can do wonders on Illustrator. I can teach a monkey do great work if I feed it loads of bananas. But nobody can teach my Mac to dream."

By taking the initiative and taking the reigns on your education will define who and what you will become in the future.

Am I ready to challenge myself?