RVHS II

 

The RVHS news has left an indelible mark on the soul of the nation. Most are still reeling from it. 

Today’s news confirms that the 16-year-old had attempted suicide in 2019 when he was in secondary 2. He was admitted to IMH then for a psychiatric assessment. That was revealed in the preliminary hearings yesterday. 

The boy is currently held under remand at Complex Medical Centre in Changi Prison for psychiatric evaluation. Our Law Minister said: “Preliminary investigations suggest that he purchased (the axe) online. But we will know the full facts only after investigations are completed.”

I will leave it as that. I believe due process should take its own course. What however caught my attention is some comments made about the incident in ST today. 

One human resource practitioner said: “We are not equipped as students in this competitive society. We are very focused on the typical Singaporean path to success - to graduate and find a job. People aren’t interested in mental health matters.”

Another commentary from a project manager in her 40s said: “I’m worried for my nephews and nieces. It reminds me of what happens in Western countries.” 

She may have in mind the divisive society in US, resulting in numerous gun incidents in schools. I guess there is a potently dangerous mix between one’s mental state, which is largely genetic/hereditary, and the trigger points one faces over time, which is largely environmental. 

And I wonder, what is “the typical Singaporean path to success” anyway? To graduate and find a job? 

Is that our kid’s main preoccupation, with the other curriculum activities merely a form of diversionary means to getting extra points in order to meet the endgoal of getting good grades, finding good jobs, earning good pay, and snapping up good class bungalows?

Is that typical path to success no different from turning us into competitive race horses from the get-go as early as primary six with blinders tightly attached so that our kids’ focus is mainly one-dimensional? 

Now, I have to caveat (to some extent) that my musing above has nothing or little to do with the RVHS incident, because I still believe that it is a one-off event. 

But, having said that, and acknowledging that one sparrow does not a summer make, should we then play with chance and leave out seriously (and not superficially) reassessing the various trigger points in society en route to making sure that our kids excel academically first, beyond and before engaging in other soul-enriching pursuits that usually take a longer timeline to develop or mature? 

I guess, on an alarmist mindset, if we are on a collision course to creating an alienated, atomised and one-dimensional society, where we are still deeply biased towards meritocratic achievements for our kids, while paying lip service to other equally (if not more so) meaningful pursuits, then we cannot discount the grim reality that such one-off event may become a little more frequent over time. 

Yet, this is surely a case where “one-off” is one too many, and we cannot afford to put our innocent child (playing to our pre-canned script) to such heartbreaking future prospect. Because that child the next time round may just be our child. 

Alas, one sparrow may not a summer make, but it may just be that one canary in the coal mine to seriously warn us about a possible unfolding of a future we as parents would dread most should it ever come to pass. Mind you, every event, one-off or otherwise, has a beginning, however innocent, and every beginning has a lesson, however routine, and every lesson calls for our due diligence. Is our diligence to act due yet? 

I guess “continuity is a human right”, and it may also lead to a human wrong, and by that time, I hope it is not too late. 

Let me leave you with a father’s concerns for his son in a book I bought yesterday, entitled “The Unbroken Thread - Discovering the Wisdom of Tradition in an Age of Chaos” by author Sohrab Ahmari.

“Here, then, is the dilemma of a young father. How do I transmit to my son the value of permanent ideals against a culture that will tell him that whatever is newest is also best, that everything is negotiable and subject to contract and consent, that there is no purpose to our common life but to fulfill his desires? How do I reinforce that fragile thread linking my son to a life of human obligations and responsibility? To a life anchored in stable and unchangeable ideals? To a life, in other words, filled with the goods secured by tradition?”

Mm...existential food for thought for your mid-week.