SINGAPORE: In a country where students routinely ace exams but freeze at the sight of a tax form, a Singaporean on Reddit has sparked a fresh debate: Should our schools stop obsessing over algebra so much and start also teaching actual, real-life skills?
Posting on r/asksg, the local wrote, “In the past, I believe that our educational system in Singapore placed more emphasis on academics, such as algebra and essay writing, and memorisation, than it did on the kinds of skills that truly help you deal with everyday life.”
The Singaporean questioned why subjects like workplace communication, stress management, personal finance, and CPF literacy still don’t feature in the curriculum. “Many intelligent people I’ve met struggled with adult issues after they started working or living on their own, despite doing well in school,” he noted.
He then posed the question that ignited the comment section: “If you could redesign the curriculum and add one subject that would prepare students for adulthood, what would it be, and why?”
Turns out, other Singaporeans collectively do have thoughts about them, and there are a lot of them, such as the ones below:
- “Financial literacy, both personal and basic profit and loss and balance sheet statements.”
- “Singapore law — employment and contract law, Sale of Goods Act.”
- “Critical thinking, self-introspection, and working in F&B to deal with difficult customers.”
One even called for “relationship building skills with parents, colleagues, networking circles,” and added a request most therapists would cheer: “Emotional stability for regulating emotion with healthy strategies, reframing to positivity.”
Another suggested a subject so deceptively simple it might just change lives: “How to learn things yourself.”
Other recommendations included cybersecurity, moral values, social etiquette, civic respect, “and the fact that adults are not always right”, and the underrated daily habit of “five minutes of meditation before assembly.”
From this colourful chorus, the focus is quite straightforward — Singaporeans don’t just want a smarter next generation, they want a more self-aware, financially capable, emotionally resilient, and genuinely prepared one to survive whatever Singapore throws at them.
After all, there’s no use solving what’s for x if you can’t solve what’s for your own stress.
