We admit.Even though we do whine and bitch occasionally about the dearth of school spirit, the sleep-inducing lessons, the superficiality of some people, we love our school, and we won't take accusations lying down.

 

 

Much Ado about the Hype

Jovine Loy & Seetoh Zhimin

 

Reading "Does SMU really live up to all the hype?" left us with more than a pair of raised eyebrows. Haven't we all had enough of the perennial SMU-NUS-NTU debate that pervades every form of media and which has conveniently stereotyped the SMU student as being 'different' and the NUS-NTU student as being 'down to earth and traditional'? Just when media drama has quelled, the debate was dug up with this article, and it is much to our chagrin as well to have to contribute to this discussion because we cannot bear to see this issue close without an open-minded perspective.

 

The question of whether SMU lives up to its hype begs some soul-searching on the part of potential freshies. While the university emphasizes on an open learning environment, a refreshing and effective pedagogy, and a vibrant student community, the effectiveness of this environment for the student depends largely on what the student makes out of the dizzying varieties of opportunities. Perhaps the marketing team and the entire family of faculty and student representatives at the Open House didn't highlight this fine print sufficiently – Note: The satisfaction of the learning process and your university experience depends on You. Future marketing campaigns might do well to include this intuitively obvious but less-heeded truth.

 

The focus on an open participatory learning environment stems from the university's aim to nurture independent learners who are articulate and confident. Excellence in management requires one to be adept in the boardroom presenting yet at the same time adroit in performing business analyses. Theoretical knowledge ensures the latter, but training in speaking up, presenting and articulating one's views are necessary for the former.

 

SMU's pedagogy necessitates that teaching takes on a new approach; learning also requires a new paradigm on the part of the students. The quality of classroom delivery and discussions depends on both the deliverer and the students of the class – and therein lies the beauty and flaw of it. Open discussions turn into lively exciting debates or boring monologues depending on the quality of class participation, and learning becomes an interactive student-focused process, where independent thought and the diversity of opinions offered by students from varied disciplines are valued. A worthy skill honed from such discussions is to be able to sift through comments and discern robust reasoning from feeble attempts of arguments masquerading as class participation.

 

Learning is not confined to the boundaries of the classroom. It extends to the interactions with faculty and one's college mates, to the many corners of the world where we go to for exchange programmes and study missions, to the many opportunities that a programme centred on student learning offers.

 

At the end of the day, SMU may provide us with the opportunities and environment to excel and learn the skills of life, but whether one emerges as a confident, outspoken and capable individual is largely determined by how one seizes the learning opportunities.

 

We are not static recipients of knowledge and if we used to be, many of us learn to change that over the course of our undergraduate years. We must remember that if we want to be treated as dynamic young individuals; let us strive to make the best of an environment that lets us thrive.