Assignment 3: Decision Analysis (Yvonne Ong)

1. Weekly Update of work done

The two most “impactful” activities that I took part in the last week will be the HOPE integration programme meeting as well as the packing of goodie bags.

Esther asked if I wanted to join the HOPE integration programme (HIP) committee and I thought, since I will be clocking OT hours (being practical) and I’ll still have to attend the meetings anyway, so why not? What I didn’t expect was that my interest in the programme did increase a lot more after I joined the programme. It was a sense of belonging as well as responsibility that made me want to contribute more, instead of being a mere onlooker throughout meetings. In addition, my impression of the volunteers did change after I joined the committee. Perhaps I had a bad impression of them during the previous meeting as I felt that I could have had better use of my time instead since my opinions did not really matter since I wasn’t even part of the committee. Thus it was a good thing that Esther asked me to join the committee.

I was also the facilitator for the goodie-bag packing last Fri. as all the interns should know. Haha. As usual, there were many opinions and suggestions flying all over the place. And more often than not, there will be better solutions than my own. I had to decide within seconds whether or not to adapt to their ideas or to persist with my own. So in the end, I adopted some and rejected others. Did it in a more diplomatic way than I ever had, I think. I was amazed by the fact that I did not turn frantic like I normally would. I would have to attribute my patience to li ling.. thanks darling =) yep, she helped me A LOT along the way. I also learnt that when I kept my cool, the people around me will be my biggest strength. However, had I flared up, they will be my biggest source of failure.

2. Give an instance of when you or have friend have acted in a pro-active instead of reactive way?

The immediate “pro-active” event that came into my mind was what happened to my good friend, Sabby last year.

Sabby was not doing well in her studies last year, which was a big worry as A levels were drawing close. However, she was a recognized for her ability to think on her feet and for being a very good speaker. And so, the teachers recommended her for a quiz that required 2 weeks of intense training. The quiz was a prestigious one and anyone would have jumped at the opportunity.

However, Sabby did not do so. She consulted the teachers of the commitments involved, consulted her subject teachers about being unable to catch up and cope should she get herself involved in the quiz. She weighed the pros and the cons and finally she decided to give up the opportunity. She did not let the prestige associated with the quiz cloud her vision but instead, acted in a pro-active manner by gathering as much information as possible, searching for alternative solutions and finally deciding that she did not want to take part.

Her decision did not stop at that. She made sure the decision made was a right one by spending her time doing what she deemed as important. The decision was a good one although we do not know the outcome yet.

3. Do you think our educational system teaches student to make good decisions?

The only 2 areas that I can associate with decision making will be CCA and the choosing of subject combinations in secondary 2 and in JC 1. However, there are flaws in both systems that limit students’ ability to make a wise decision.

In choosing our CCAs, we often face a limited choice as well as inadequate information. There are many CCAs which cannot be described using merely words. These CCAs require hands on experiences. However, although there are things like tryouts and the like, they often clash due to days called “CCA days.” This makes us unable to experience all the CCAs that we take an interest to, and hence stumps our ability to make a wise decision. On top of that, our decisions are seldom what we really really want due to the clash of academics like 3rd language and other CCAs. The rigidity of the entire system that restricts the CCAs that we can take on proves to be detrimental in enabling students to learn how to make good decisions.

When we first entered JC1, we were allowed to choose our subject combinations. Although “choose” is supposedly an indication of our liberty to make our own decisions, reality isn’t really so. Insufficient manpower to cater to our combinations, difficulties in scheduling time tables, inadequate students to form a subject class and so on limits our alternatives. Besides, we are made to choose our subject combination almost immediately after listening to talks by the various departments. This does not allow any possible well-thought-of decision at all. At the end of the day, we make a decision on impulse. Is that considered a good decision? I would say no.

Thus, I feel that the current education does not allow us to make good decisions.


4. Choose a real-life example of a difficult decision you are in the midst of making a decision for?
The only decision that has been bugging me will be the course that I intend to major in in university. The main obstacles that I face will be not knowing where my interest lies and what exactly the courses available are and what they are about.

Although I agree with Kelvin when he said our interests will keep changing, I still need to decide what course to enter. There must be a driving force that will sustain my interest in the field I decide to enter. Yep, so the difficult decision I’m in the midst of making a decision will be the course to take up in uni.

-Yvonne Ong