Living and Learning

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you've had a good break. I certainly have.

I've decided I'd like to close this blog... for a few reasons, which I'll probably explain in my next and (probably) last post. Before that I really wanted to write about one topic which I've come to realise most issues revolve around: living and learning.

Most of us who signed up for the UTCP (previously UTRP) in colleges like Tembusu, were sold on this idea of 'living and learning'. What I remember being told, and what I tell my friends, juniors and prospective student-residents is that these colleges are places where the boundaries of the classroom are blurred. It is a space where people are interested in learning, where knowledge and skills outside of the textbook are valued, an environment for growth.

In some sense all these things are true, but that is not what we really mean by living and learning. On some fundamental, we all are 'living and learning' without the college anyway, particularly as Singaporean students. From young we are taught that school is our life. Homework and study are as essential as food and water, and failure is death. We invest our souls in CCAs, projects, and examinations. We put all our time and energy into these ends. That's a place of living and learning too. School is for life; home is for homework.

So 'living and learning' is not simply a matter of the two activities happening at the same time and place, but rather what these two concepts mean in such an environment. 'Living and learning' has specific connotations in this context, of course in some degree of plurality.

On a basic level, 'living' means residency. It means being accommodated in a room, groomed in a washroom and fed in a dining hall. To the resident, it carries more meaning. For one, liberation. Staying away from home (usually) without financially supporting oneself places one in a very comfortable position.

More importantly, 'living' in Tembusu is about the social. Emphasis on "having a life" rather than "being alive". There seems to be an importance on being 'known', to be seen in the dining hall, talked about, in this community. Keeping a social life in Tembusu seems to constitute an involvement in events and Interest Groups. Preferably including high consumption of alcohol and supper. There are obvious advantages for such: particularly recognition and opportunities.

In many ways this idea of 'living' corresponds with the notion of the "hall life", which is strongly associated with camaraderie and fun. What's also important to how we seem to value 'living' in Tembusu is a sense of community, meaning a sense of belonging. All too keen are many of us for a sense of identity for the community too, which sometimes is not so distinct from registering Tembusu as a 'brand' as well. So 'living' is about a certain lifestyle, and the images it projects.

'Learning' also has its slants in meaning here. It favours intellectuality. This leaning has of course been reinforced by the college. This academic year was declared by Prof C as "the year of the book", in hope to revive an interest and passion for reading. The college places much emphasis on events like Tembusu Forums, Teas, and Work-in Progress Seminars where intelligent sounding conversation is celebrated.

Of course 'learning' has to involve the classroom, which is fulfilled by the five module requirement of the program. But such a program prides itself in having three modules ungraded to support less grade-driven learning. I reckon many students tired and sceptical of the local education system come to the college with a similar hope to engage in their interests rather than/ on top of their marks. Interestingly, I get the sense that the ungraded modules don't quite satiate such a desire for less structured, more free-flowing, and ungraded learning – but that is another topic on its own.

The idea of 'learning' as intellectuality is also reflected among the students. Just take a look at the CSC structure: "intellectual" activities constitutes a portfolio in the committee. Also, the way I've heard some people describe Tembusu as "like Cinnamon, but more fun" is quite telling.

Regarding this point, I found it most poignant at the 3rd CSC elections when a senior wrote an open letter asking for more balance between intellectual activities, and rah-rah fun. The binary seems to have stuck. It broadly sums up how he, and many Tembusians, now roughly divide living and learning as intellectual vs (mindless) fun.

I've written about the dangers of such a binary before: mainly that it disregards the possibility of learning as fun, and fun as learning. The result is a treatment of education that can be too serious, as well as fun as stupid, which need not be the case. But that is not all. The other problem is that we could easily fall into the trap of excluding even more ways of living and learning.

One example is I feel there is a lack of appreciation for skills in Tembusu. We have many talents, in sport, music, food and so on. These interests and abilities are more readily considered to be "fun" rather than learn-worthy. There is not much contact with the realities of working life either, like the importance of soft skills, life skills and such. The ironic conclusion is that there is more to learning than we think.

To take all this into perspective, it is actually quite useless to call Tembusu, or any of the colleges, a place of 'living and learning'. It's ambiguous, and understates our actual understandings and intentions for our education culture. Perhaps it lets us get away without committing to any one particular ideology, but then again it could also distract us from a reality of being trapped in one, like "learning is about being intellectual" or "having a life is about having fun".

My suggestion? For the college to drop the 'living and learning' gimmick and just spell out what it is really trying to achieve.