Reviving my alma mater

During last year's National Day Rally, the Prime Minister announced the formation of the National Institute of Early Childhood Development (NIEC), which will take charge of training teachers for the preschool sector.

Unfortunately for my old school, the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Temasek Polytechnic, this means the diploma programme in Early Childhood Studies it currently operates will likely be shut down once the NIEC is up and running.

This will leave it with only two diploma courses, in Psychology Studies and Gerontological Management Studies.

It's going to be difficult to justify having a school with only two diploma courses, so the school's management needs to act quickly to start new programmes if the school is to survive.

I thought it'd be fun to think of some possible diplomas they could introduce, and came up with the list below.

Diploma in Heritage Studies

The school is called Humanities and Social Sciences but there's nothing particularly "humanities" about it. This new diploma, the first of its kind offered by a local polytechnic, will fill that gap, providing a more traditional "arts" option for students who like that sort of thing. It's also industry-relevant as graduates can work in museums, tour agencies, research, and public service. Opportunities for further education are readily available both locally, such as in the National University of Singapore's (NUS) History department, as well as overseas.

Diploma in Social Work

Career prospects for graduates from this course will be fantastic as Singapore is facing and will continue to face a manpower crunch in the field of social work. The only other polytechnic that offers this at the moment is Nanyang Polytechnic so demand from secondary school leavers should be sufficient to fill up the places in the new diploma. Further studies can be done at the NUS Department of Social Work, or at the various private and overseas institutions.

Diploma in Music Studies

The Yong Siew Toh Conservatory at NUS is the natural progression pathway for graduates from this diploma and advanced standing can be arranged between the two institutions. Graduates can also choose to go to the National Institute of Education and train to become music teachers instead. Alternatively, they can enter various jobs such as enrichment providers and media production.

Whatever the new diploma may be, I hope one is launched soon, so that my alma mater won't cease to exist!

Scientists are overrated: A semi-serious rant

Seriously. What do scientists do every day?

Oh, for sure they've achieved some great things like sending people to the moon, but so what? They fail abysmally at solving the pressing fundamental day-to-day real-world issues, like finding a way to get rid of the disgusting diluted bit at the bottom of the McDonald's Coke cup.

I got my annual flu vaccine recently. The worst part about it for me is not the injection itself, because I've been jabbed so many times I'm more or less immune to the pain (pun totally intended), but the aftermath. You know, the dull pain that flares up when you press the wound site or move the affected limb too vigorously? I get it 10 times worse because I'm so thin the needle practically goes right through to the bone. For more than two weeks after a vaccination, I can't put any pressure on the wound site or there'll be a searing pain. It sucks.

When I was a kid, I hated going for injections. I would scream and cry and beat my tiny fists against my mother's bosom every time I was about to get vaccinated. Once, my mother got vaccinated at the same time as me to try to comfort me, but her clever plan didn't work. I screamed even louder at the hapless doctor because to my reptilian child's brain, not only was he about to inflict grievous harm upon me, he had also had the nerve to hurt my family.

There was hope for the future, though, when news emerged of a new kind of flu vaccine which could be administered orally similar to the polio vaccine. No longer would my mother have to drag me squealing like a pig in a slaughterhouse all the way to the doctor's office. If the flu vaccine became a drop of liquid that I could just drink, there would be no pain and no tears.

Almost two decades later and nothing has changed. We still put dead viruses into vials filled with egg white, and pump the resulting mixture into our bodies by piercing ourselves with sharp implements. You'd think we're still in the medieval era.

Don't get me wrong. I think scientists have their uses. For example, they're making wonderful progress in sequencing the human genome, which will allow other scientists to create cures for deadly diseases such as cancer. But they really need to pull their heads out of the clouds, get their priorities straight, and realise that some of the problems this world is facing demand their immediate attention.

In the meantime, I'll avoid the disgusting diluted bit by requesting for "no ice" at McDonald's.