This brother got balls!
Vital to question
I WAS delighted to read Professor Ngiam Tong Dow's article on Tuesday, 'Fostering the freedom to think'.
The Chinese equivalent of learning or scholarship means 'learn and question'. A school is usually seen as a place where one's questions are answered, when it should be a place where one learns to ask more questions. If a student leaves a school with fewer questions than when he enrolled, he should demand a refund. A teacher who cannot answer all his students' questions is a poor teacher, and one who can, has poor students.
The Chinese model of a great teacher is a famous teacher who produces top students. A lifelong teacher will have failed if he does not produce a single student more prominent than himself.
Shouldn't a good leader also foster creative thinking and encourage questioning? Isn't it a sign that a great leader should step down when he starts to believe that wisdom stops with him? I believe this: Do not crown yourself. Let others do it. Do not allow others to remove your crown. Do it yourself.
Ee Teck Ee
Vital to question
I WAS delighted to read Professor Ngiam Tong Dow's article on Tuesday, 'Fostering the freedom to think'.
The Chinese equivalent of learning or scholarship means 'learn and question'. A school is usually seen as a place where one's questions are answered, when it should be a place where one learns to ask more questions. If a student leaves a school with fewer questions than when he enrolled, he should demand a refund. A teacher who cannot answer all his students' questions is a poor teacher, and one who can, has poor students.
The Chinese model of a great teacher is a famous teacher who produces top students. A lifelong teacher will have failed if he does not produce a single student more prominent than himself.
Shouldn't a good leader also foster creative thinking and encourage questioning? Isn't it a sign that a great leader should step down when he starts to believe that wisdom stops with him? I believe this: Do not crown yourself. Let others do it. Do not allow others to remove your crown. Do it yourself.
Ee Teck Ee
