TMJC GP InfoPack Youth and Education Package (JC1 2023)

GP @ TMJC 1 Youth & Education Tampines Meridian Junior College JC1 General Paper 2023 Reading Set 1 (Youth) Page 3 Reading Set 2 (Education) Page 14 Reading Set 3 (Challenges in Education) Page 19 Reading Set 4 (Snapshots of Education Systems Around the World) Page 27 Case Study on Myanmar Page 33 Relevant Essay Questions Page 34 Millennials Challenges in Education Education: Value and Functions

GP @ TMJC 2 ● An Overview ● Youth and Education Inquiry Questions: 1. Do young people enjoy a better life today? 2. Do young people have what it takes to succeed in the future? 3. Does education really improve people’s lives? 4. Can education prepare students for today’s economy? Conceptual Lens 1 Change/Continuity/Adaptability (Individual) Conceptual Lens 2 Socialisation/Values Inclusivity/ Diversity Conceptual Lens 3 Change/Continuity/Adaptability (System) Unit Strand 1 Youth & Identity Unit Strand 2 Value of Education Unit Strand 3 Evolution of Education Concept 1 Identity Concept 2 Knowledge & Values Concept 3 Adaptability Topics 1 Characteristics, Attitudes, Values Topics 2 Job skills, Inequality, Meritocracy, Socialisation, Active Citizenry Topics 3 Technology, Job skills, Competition, Skills upgrading, Gig economy Generalisation 1: Generalisation 2: Generalisation 3:

GP @ TMJC 3 Baby Boomers Born: Between 1946-1964 The defining experiences of this generation include being born during the post-World War II baby boom and before Singapore gained independence. In Singapore, those born in the 50s are known as the Merdeka Generation. They lived though the Independence struggle, racial riots and the fight against Communism. Generation X Born: 1965-1980 The latchkey children of working families and divorced parents, Gen Xers are highly educated but much more cautious and pragmatic than their parents. Millennials/Generation Y Born: 1980-1995 Born into the digital age, Millennials are technologically savvy, open-minded and more likely to accept different subcultures in society. Gen Z Born: 1996-2010 Gen Zs are considered digital natives or even reliant on technology, independent, politically progressive, creative and have shorter attention spans. Inquiry Question: ✓ Do young people enjoy a better life today? ✓ Do young people have what it takes to succeed in the future? Students should be able to: ✓ Explain the improvements and opportunities young people enjoy today as compared to the past, as well as the challenges they face (education, workplace, family, relationships, etc). ✓ Explain the qualities/values/attitudes/ skills/knowledge young people need in order to succeed in the near future. ⚫ Youth ⚫ A generation is a group of people born around the same time. While every individual is different, people in this ‘birth cohort’ tend to exhibit similar characteristics, preferences, and values over their lifetimes because they experienced similar trends, cultural shifts or major events at appr oximately the same life stage and through similar channels (e.g., online, TV, mobile, etc.). Below is a look at the recent generations: Note: Years are approximates and there can be overlaps because there is no standard definition for when a generation begins and ends. The next two articles examine some of the characteristics, actual or imagined, of young people today (usually referred to as Millennials/Gen Ys). As you read the articles, fill in the table on page 8. Reading Set 1

GP @ TMJC 4 Concepts: Youth, Identity, Youth Culture Article 1: How Singapore sees its millennials (and it’s not a pretty picture) By Derrick A Paulo, Sara Grosse and Tracy Marie Lee | CNA | December 22, 2020 SINGAPORE: They get their fair share of criticisms from the older generation, and now, a nationwide survey has found out what Singaporeans really think of millennials. Impatient, overconfident and materialistic — these are among the top perceptions of those aged 19 to 36 years old. This demographic ranked the lowest — versus Generation X and the pre -independence generation — for being disciplined, loyal and taking owner ship of work. Being cautious or hardworking are not seen to be millennial traits either. The stereotypes one hears most often are: Millennials are “entitled”, “lazy” and lack respect for traditional institutions of power. But Dr Janil Puthucheary, a Senio r Minister of State, is worried it is a generation that feels neglected, with no voice in an ageing Singapore. He has also noticed “increasing divisions between the young and old”. And while “no one’s really explored” Singapore’s generation gap, it is a fault line that cuts across race, religion and class, he highlighted. IN THE MIND OF MILLENNIALS In the door -to-door survey Dr Puthucheary commissioned, which he worked on with CNA, only 15 to 17 per cent of people thought millennials were disciplined or loy al, whereas 84 to 91 per cent thought so of the 55 -72 demographic. Some 27 to 32 per cent saw millennials as taking ownership of work and being hardworking, traits the middle and older generations scored the highest on respectively. But at local content creator SGAG, where the oldest employee is 38, its millennials disagreed, citing the overnight and weekend shoots or seven -day working weeks, for example, they sometimes have. “Everyone has a generalised view of the millennials, like how we seem to have a ge neralised view of the elderly,” said SGAG senior content strategist Nadia Ongkowidjaja, 26. The survey showed, however, that millennials think of themselves in a similar way. For example, only a fifth of them see their generation as disciplined, while 83 to 84 per cent agree that they are impatient and materialistic. “I love to buy things. I’m pa rt of the 84 (per cent),” attested SGAG senior content strategist Ee Chiou Huey, 29. As for their impatience, she put it down to the “instant gratification” they can get today, for example from food delivery apps. “I don’t even have to stand at the side of the road to flag for (a taxi), like how we used to,” she said. Ms Ongkowidjaja added: “We always try to fit a lot of things into our schedules. We don’t want to just do one thing … so we might seem a bit impatient in that sense.” There are bound to be “so me differences in behaviour” and expectations of it, even between millennials and Generation X, owing to the “huge shift to digital disruption”, said SGAG co -founder Karl Mak. “I see millennials as a generation in transition, from pre -internet living to ba sically being digital -first natives. I think that transition isn’t necessarily one that the world has seen before,” the 31 -year-old said. “For example, dating is on the mobile phone: You swipe left, you swipe right. You don’t need to go out and buy somebod y a drink in a club to have a conversation. “The digital way that we approach every single area of life … is naturally going to cause a bit of conversation and a rift.” Singapore’s most educated generation is, however, also the least socially gracious, acc ording to surveys done by data analytics platform Milieu Insight. “For example, helping the needy cross the road, giving up seats to the needy on the train and greeting your neighbours. Millennials scored lower than the other generations,” said the company ’s chief executive officer and founder Gerald Ang, 35. “Maybe millennials get lost in the digital world (in such a way) that sometimes they lose touch with the real world.” The problem is “situational awareness”, rather than negative intent, though he agrees that it “needs to be fixed”. DIFFERENT VIEWS ON SINGAPORE? What worries p