Black Holes and Revelations Subheader
At present the page has over 3,000 likes; from some of the posts it appears that not all those following the page are current students, some are outsiders or even old Rafflesians. What do you think this does for the school’ s reputation?
At the end of the day, the majority of the posts do reflect what is actually going on in the school. It’ s part and parcel of a typical JC environment..
I think it was during the first two weeks, when some parents, at that point, were thinking,‘ Should this be allowed?’ I think Mrs Lim reassured those parents that it’ s really nothing that we should be too concerned about.
What were parents actually concerned about?
“ Should my Year 2 son be aware that there’ s such a thing as boy-girl relationships?”
‘ Isn’ t it a bit young, at JC level, to be thinking of romance when they should be studying?’ It’ s a typical reaction. It’ s also an eye-opener for these parents, if they haven’ t thought about this issue with regard to their own kids …
You do see some generational concerns there.
Occasionally, there are some more controversial confessions posted on RJ Confessions like LGBT issues, family problems, complaints about the school etc. What do you think about this?
It is what it is— it’ s a snapshot of school life, and it really is, perhaps, a more true to life, a more nuanced, complex, picture of school and society that’ s emerging from these pages. These are things that, as a school and society, we should learn to grapple with rather than entertain a very simplistic notion of what life is. In that sense, I regard it as a pretty important educational tool, not in the sense of having a fixed curriculum, tests, things like that— but in the broader sense of education.
Based on Ms Ho’ s and Mr Chua’ s candid responses, one sees a picture far different from that often painted by many a complaining confessor— far from being overly restrictive and against the confessions pages, one instead sees members of staff who are more receptive towards and in fact encouraging of student voices. While the cynics among us may be sceptical, perhaps this is a sign of changing times as the school increasingly adapts to social media. As Mr Chua puts it, if confessions are actually‘ given due consideration and weight’ the confessions pages will provide a useful and effective platform for vocal students with much to say about the way our school is run, but no formal avenue to do so.
A confession of errors is like a broom which sweeps away the dirt and leaves the surface brighter and clearer. I feel stronger for confession
In Conclusion
It must be acknowledged that neither absolution nor requital is the defining goal of the confessions page; rather, we are witnessing the positive effects of anonymity in encouraging honesty. We see this as a near-absolute good: it allows everyone, including the school, to get a better handle on the true sentiments of Rafflesians. Even where questionable opinions or behaviour are put on display, we can trust in the wisdom of the Rafflesian crowd will to tear down the bigoted, praise the deserving, and lift up the depressed and down-trodden.
Rafflesian Times
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