Good Son Fights For All Neglected Parents

"Xiao" Filial Piety In chinese

"Filial piety" is considered among the greatest of virtues,the term "filial" in chinese (meaning "of a child") characterizes the respect that a child, originally a son, should show to his parents.

Besides sons, daughters must also show filial piety towards their parents and elders. Parents are the ones who brought us to this world, they are the ones who gave us our lives. Without them, we wouldn't even exist. They are the ones who take care of us since the moment we were born, they took on the responsibility of our lives.

There is a saying that "There are no parents on earth who doesnt love their children", we should never forget the love they have for us that last forever.

In my opinion , filial piety is a virtue but most people view is as a "debt". That it is what we owe our parents. Yes we do owe them, but it if not filial piety if we do not treat them the right way through love.


Done By: Edena Tay 101867P

Good Son Fights For All Neglected Parents

To quote Confucius, "Filial piety is the root of virtue and the source of civilization.”

It is importance to honour and respect our parents, who have brought us to this world and provide us with their unconditional and unlimited love, care and concern. When we are young and innocent, it is our parents who took great care of us, from providing us shelter to feeding us food; we are given meticulous care inside out. When our parents aged, it is only right that we take on the responsibility of providing and caring for them, like how they did when we were young.

In today’s society, filial piety is a fading virtue. This is evident by the fact that the law has to be implemented to ensure that the defendless elderly are taken care by their children. This is saddening to hear as filial piety should come from a willing heart and not on forced will.

“Love cannot be a legal obligation, and genuine concern cannot be commanded by a court order.” - Alice Chen Yan

Despite the government implementing the Maintenance of Parents Act to help the elderly people, there are still cases where people abandon or ignore their aged parents. Hence, the government has come up with strategies such as television advertisement, to promote filial piety. But will such commercial have any impact on young people and adults?

I believe a more effective method would be imparting filial piety at home and learning it through social interaction. Schools should get children involved in more community projects, such as visiting old folk's homes regularly or helping the less fortunate to clean their homes. Interacting with less-privileged Singaporeans, especially old people who have been "dumped" at homes would create awareness and have a deeper impact on young people than a television advertisement.

As the saying goes, “treat others the way you wish to be treated.” One day, we will definitely grow old as well. Would you want to be abandoned or be treated with warmth and love? The decision lies with you.


Done By: Kwek Wan Ling
Admin Number: 103503L

Credits:
http://news.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20100624-223717.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?Classic-of-Filial-Piety&id=2119747

Good son fights for all neglected parents

The majority of us will face a day when our parents need extra help in their old age. Then some day, it will be our turn and our children will have to decide how much involvement they will have in our care. A Child should never find their parents a burden. We must not forget of all the sacrifices they when through to provide us with all the education, and taught us all the values that has made us who we are today.

I was really touched upon reading the article regarding, PAP Member of Parliament and NTUC FairPrice super-market chief Seah Kian Peng who takes care of his 81 year old father despite his tight schedule. Singapore’s government has come up with an act called Maintenance of Parents Act. The purpose of this Act is to provide Singapore residents aged 60 years old and above, who are unable to subsist on their own, to claim maintenance from their children who are capable of supporting him but are not doing so. Parents can sue their children for maintenance, in the form of monthly allowances or a lump-sum payment. The Act also establishes the Tribunal for the Maintenance of Parents to decide on applications made under the Act. I feel that it’s rather shameful that an act had to be organized in order for children to take care of their parents.

In my opinion, a child should not be forced upon taking care of their parents, it’s something that they should do willingly. Adult children should be responsible for caring for their parents. It's the right thing to do, and many times, it is a blessing in disguise. It is an opportunity to give back for all the parent has given you and it's a chance to resolve any issues before it's too late. Just because they are old does not mean that they will have to give up everything and keep sacrificing for their children. They have wishes too, the wishes they earlier put away to make us happy and to stand on our own.

Commented by: Vandana Devi

Admin number: 105152D

Good son fights for all neglected parents!

I truly respect Mr Seah Kian Peng for emplifying filial piety and setting such a good example for the people. It is true and very real that in this day and age today, we have a generation that seems to be degrading in morality and values. Being filial to our parents and truly taking good care of them has also become an issue and problem for our society today. Why is that so? We have had many reasons or rather excuses such as being really busy with work thus having absolutely no time to care for the aged, not financially stable enough to provide for them and many other reasons. But I feel that no matter how hectic or unstable life can be, we still ought to take responsibility for our own parents who brought us to this world, took good care of us and shaped us to become who we are today. This responsibility should not be done out of obligation, but out of love.

I think that the government has done a good job by promoting videos such the this and circulating them around the nation for filial piety awareness.



The above video is the latest installment of National Family Council's Family campaign, Filial Piety: Father & Son revolves around the ups and downs of a three-generation household, with the heart and soul of the campaign captured by the line, "How one generation loves, the next generation learns." I feel that it conveys a very strong and powerful message for the people in Singapore. It is true that we should always be thankful for who we are today because of our parents.

In conclusion, i feel that the government should keep up the good work of encouraging filial piety and also create more events and programs for families to spend quality time together. Bonding is important to strengthen family ties and relationships. When relationships are being strongly built, it is going to cause the children to become naturally willing to take care of their parents when they age. Schools and the education sectors should also emphasize and teach the young the importance of showing respect and taking responsibilities for their parents. Being thankful and grateful should always the key reason that drives us to love and take good care of our parents.

Commented by: Rebecca Ho Tsuey Zhen (107063N)
Sources:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybxNkpS5q-g

Elite Schools or Not, Doesn't Matter - PM Lee

“Which school are you from?”

“I’m from Raffles.”

Does it ring a bell? When you hear names like Raffles, Hwa Chong and many others, it may be verbal or a secret inside, but most will definitely give a “wow” should they be from a neighbouring school. Why is this so? In Singapore, paper qualifications and education are highly regarded. As Singapore only has human as her resource, the government spent much money on educating its citizens. From young, we are instill with the mindset that going to elite schools would have better future prospects as many thought that elite schools offer better quality education.

Most of us want our lives to have meaning. We want to add value, at least in some small way. We want to be admired. Thus, we have this mindset that going to elite schools promise us a better future as they have better reputation and have produced outstanding role models.

So does going to elite schools really matters? Whether it matters or not depends on the way you see it. Personally, I feel that it does not matter. Should one perform well in a neighborhood school, it is better than one failing in an elite school. Researchers Stacy Berg Dale and Alan Krueger found that admirable character traits -- persistence, imagination, energy -- produce success in life no matter which college a person attends. Hence, what matters most is ones’ attitude. Should one be persistent and give his best, he would definitely be successful one day.

In addition, it is proven by numerous successful people that going to elite schools or not does not matter. One very good example to cite is Bill Gates. He dropped-out from school but now, he is one of the richest man in the world, who is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people and was the wealthiest overall from 1995 to 2009, excluding 2008, when he was ranked third. Many would have thought that his future was bleak. Nobody would have expected his achievements today when he dropped-out of school.

It can not be deny that elite schools do not offer special programmes to their students. Elite schools do offer different education and have certain “privileges” such as exemption from Cambridge O-Levels Examination. Students in elite schools are also taught knowledge that are a level higher compared to neighborhood schools’ students. This widens the “knowledge gap” as the elite students get smarter and smarter while students in neighbourhood schools make small improvements at a time which are difficult to catch up.

In conclusion, I feel that it does not matter if one is from an elite school or not. Although the school names are stated on the certificates and paper qualifications, it does not reflects the character and ability of one. What matters most is the attitude one has. Should one have the will to learn and strong determination, one would be successful in anything one does.


Done By: Kwek Wan Ling
Admin Number: 103503L

Elite Schools or not Does not Matter

I completely agree with what Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stated in the article “Success hinges more on what one makes of the opportunities given”. Being it from a well known school or from a neighbouring school, one has to have the COURAGE, DRIVE and DETERMINATION to live up to their dreams.

One very good role model which we all can relate to, would be our very own favourite soccer player Fandi Ahmad. He was like anyother ordinary guy who attended a neighbouring school in Serangoon Garden Secondary and then furthered his studies in Singapore Vocational Institute (now known as ITE Balestier) where he enrolled in 1977 for a Mechanical Servicing course. Unknown to him at that time, he was to be Singapore's favourite soccer son and a warrior most feared by his opponents for his unmatched deadly tactics. Now at the age of 48, Fandi Ahmad runs a tight daily schedule, shuttling between the sports stadium where he coaches the team from Singapore Armed Forces Football Club and Anugerah Kencana Auto, a car dealer company where he is a partner. He was awarded the ITE Alumni Achievement in Sports where he mentioned that ITE gave him the opportunity to earn technical skills and gave him ample room space to display his soccer skill in many tournaments. Despite earning all the fame and glory, Fandi Ahmad was never arrogant about his success and continued striving for more with no expectations of return in the end.

One of my favourite quotes is “Falling down is not defeat, real defeat is when you are refusing to get up". This is absolutely the truth. You have to think like a winner to be a winner. Having a good attitude is the single most important key to success in anything. Remember, you choose how you define success; it’s all in the mind. School is where we are taught of recognising our skills and being motivated in perusing them. The journey from there is all up to us. I persoanlly feel that the opportunities that are offered to us in schools be if from neighbouring schools or from a well know schools are somewhat the same. It’s all about how we make use of the opportunities given and having the “never give up” attitude in excelling.

Resources:

http://www.ite.edu.sg/~alumweb/success_stories_fandi_content.htm

Commented by: Vandana Devi
Admin no: 105152D

Elite schools or not, does not matter - PM Lee

I strongly agree with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong when he said, "... You don't have to go to the best schools in Singapore or the most popular school in Singapore in order to get ahead." Of course, many might argue about the teaching methods and that the range of unique programs and ciriculums offered in elite schools are much wider as compared to neighbouring schools, but i still feel that learning boils down to an individual's attitude. You can have the best programs and teachers available, but still fail to perform if you take them for granted and are not willing to learn.

I have read many awesome life testimonies about those who came from humble backgrounds, who attended low profile neighbouring schools and are yet able to reach the highest peak and achieve the same outstanding results as those in elite schools. Their testimonies have greatly encouraged and inspired me including this young man's testimony here.

Daniel Poh (above, right) 21, a former ITE (Institute of Technical Education) student, and now a Singapore Polytechinc (SP) Biomedical science student was being selected to complete an internship at the Harvard University's medical school. It was at ITE, where he was enrolled in a biochemical technology course, that he found his calling in science research. He has then emerged top in his course with a perfect grade point average (G.P.A) of 4.0. Today he has a satisfying G.P.A of 3.6 in Singapore Polytechnic and together with his strong passion and willingness to learn about biomedical research, the school has given him this rare opportunity to complete his internship at the Harvard. It is indeed such a privilege.

In closing, i feel that everyone has the equal chance and ability to do well and acheive. Elite schools or not, it does not really matter. What is more important is how much are you willing to set aside time to understand, practice and learn, how much determination and will-power you have inside, and how strong your passion is for learning. If you believe, there is always a way.
The only limitation and barrier is when you decide to give up.

Commented by: Rebecca Ho Tsuey Zhen (107063N)
Sources:
http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20100614-221993.html