Alright, let’s face it: we live in a society that is divided according to how much one earns, how many one owns and so on. We are constantly asked about our salaries at family functions, thinking about how we will pay off that mortgage. On and on it goes…

If there’s one thing that’s clear to Singaporeans (as if it already hasn’t been): It is that money is everything. It has always been about the money. Look beyond the monetary issues and you can see where the problem lies: the never-ending need to prove oneself and excel academically.

Don’t get me wrong, that is good and all, but aren’t we taking that just far too seriously? I mean, do you know of any other place where parents will spend dozens of dollars on stacks of paper in the grand hope that those same stacks of paper are the way (if not, the only way) to help their child ‘top the cohort’?

Why don’t I see parents encouraging their kids to go paint a picture, take a photo of the setting sun? Or how about parents who willingly shell out thousands of dollars on a music mixer or a drum set?

Actually, I do. But only on television in advertisements where the kids are happily painting pictures, playing a piano or making elaborate sandcastles while their parents are basking in their balcony overlooking a photo-shopped sea view (and where is the maid?).

Truth be told, I do know people who started chasing their artistic dreams since young… but all of them are either pretty wealthy and could afford to do so, or had parents that cared more about their son or daughter’s artistic abilities than academic results (never mind cognitive reasoning or rational thinking that some kids seem to lack). Some of them later on worked and took whatever they earned to fuel their passion.

The point is, why not encourage more parents to have their kids ‘go the way of the artiste’? Schools should be more active in talent spotting: how would you know if a student of yours is better with rhythms than numbers? Even if you did, what would you do? Force him/her to forget the musical notes and concentrate on mathematical notations?

Alas, at the end of the day, it all boils down to the parents. The last thing on a parent’s mind is whether their mee siam has cockles in it.

It’s all about the money (and stacks of paper).