Socratic seminar reflection

What is a socratic seminar?

You might be wondering: what is a socratic seminar? A socratic seminar is when the class brainstorms their views and opinions about a certain topic.

What is the purpose of a socratic seminar?

It is to...

• Foster analytical skills that will be applicable to us in the future
• Enable us to read extensively and be knowledgeable about important issues affeting modern societies
• Enable us to express our views regarding theese issues
• cultivate confident oral communication with articulate voicing of opinions and authentic conversations between students and stakeholders.

Formation

 A socratic seminar is held once a week an d the positioning of the class is as follows: The class forms an inner circle of 8 and an outer circle of 8 while the rest are the audience. The people in the inner circle are those who will be sharing their opinions and views while the outer circle acts as judges and grade how well the people in the inner circle do, as for the audience,  they don't really do much until the discussion is open to the floor where everbody can comment and rebutt. A leader is appointed and he will lead the discussion with a summary os 3 articles and an opening question. The opening question is answered by the person on his right and he will then ask another question and pass it on to his right. In other words, the discussion goes in a clockwise direction. After the round is completed, the dis cussion is opened to the floor.

My first socratic seminar

Today was my first socratic. I was part of the audience ^^. Anyways, the topic was " what does it mean to be a Singaporean?" and the openning question was " do you think the government or the citizens should create national identity? Why and how?"

Key ideas

It started of by saying that Singaporeans complain to much. They complain about taxes, they complain about erps, they complain about GST. There were some mixed viewpoints about this topic. Some people think that the taxes were good as it was used to improve the development, safety, and basically improve our enviroment, which is indirectly bennifiting us. However, some think that the taxes are too high and the government should not impose such a high tax as some people might not have savings. They compare it to other countries which have much less tax. To me, i think we need a balance. Without tax, our nation cannot maintain its cleanliness, security, and development as all this money for all this comes from the tax money. Contrary to this, I think that high tax is not the way to solve theese issues. With too high a tax, we are unable to lead a comfortable life. I think the government should also consider a person's level on how good their lifestyle should be.
What defines Singaporeans? Is it the language? My classmates thinks that it is not language, but about Singaporean's attitude. Singaporeans might like to complain, but in the end they always get the job done, they always want to do well for their country. Maybe complaining is a way of passing the time. Also, to me, food, singlish, kiasuism are also traits of singaporeans.

Another controversy: does foreign talent dillute Singapore's attitude? It might. Right now, only about 65% os singapore's population are singaporean citizens while the rest are foreigners. Most foreigners do not have a stake in the country. When people from other countries are offered schloships from Singapore, most accept, come to Singapore, get the degree, and desert the couuntry. Think of it this way. A domestic worker comes to your house to help you clean. They don't have any blood relationship with you, their aim is to take the money and go home. Do you think they would rather stay here miles away from home? It is the same thing. Foreigners come to Singapore as a stepping stone, their ultimate goal: the U.S, or their homeland. They do not really treat Singapore as their country, morever, they treat it as their hotel. I'm not saying that all foreigners behave this way, but most do.

This is what one of my clasmate said: "foreigners are taking up jobs and Singaporeans therefore, do not have enough jobs."

Some of my classmates think that this is not true. They say Singapore is based on meritocracy, and foreigners with higher merits deserve the job. My opinion is that this is indeed true. Employees prefer foreign workers as they accept lower pay and will take them in even if they have the same merit as a Singaporean. Why can they afford a lower pay? This is because workers come from countries like China and India. The exchange rate for 1 singapore dollar is much more in ren min bi and rupee. After a few years of work, it is enough for them to go back to their homeland and rest. Whereas Singaporeans cannot afford to have such low salaries as they live in Singapore, using singapore currency, and a higher cost of living.

How did the seminar influence my views

The seminar made me think: Why is the government not putting a rule for foreign talents? I always thought that the government was fair and just. But this made me think: Is it right not to protect citizens of Singapore? Should we be like japan, where the best things are in for their own citizens?

Connections

I think that this job issue has made many Singaporeans jobless, and the government doesen't do enough to protect our citizens. Many of theese jobless citizens have very poor living conditions and i have experienced it myself when I see some of the old, rundown HTB flats that people are living in. I think it is very pitiful that Singapore is sacrificing its citizens for faster development. I think the government needs to take action as this condition will not get any better.

I couldn't really voice all my thoughts and opinions as I was in the audience, in the next seminar, i hope to be able to say all my points as we take turns to be the audience and the inner circle.