"Kids mirror adults. That's why we need to behave well before we can teach our kids manners." This is a quote taken from The Straits Times, page B12, 4 Oct 08 issue.
In the full page article, it mentioned that Singaporeans need to brush up their social graces. It seems like it is a phenomenon in Singapore at foodcourts to see patrons leaving the table with dirty trays, drinks spilled and food scattered on the table.
Typical Singaporeans in general has this perception that they are patronising the food court to fill their stomachs, rather than cleaning up. To them, the job of cleaning up belongs to the cleaners. Thus, The Straits Time has come up with the 'Goodness Gracious Me!' campaign, in hope that Singaporeans would learn to be more gracious and civic-minded towards others. The underlying purpose of this attribution is to improve the well-being of the locals, through how people behave and relate to one another.
As seen above, a gracious society covers culture, heritage, education and civics. To start of, education plays an important role. The first picture shows that the mother teaches her son to be 'gracious' by actually not clearing their mess so that the cleaner can do their job to clean up the tables. Children see their parents as role models, and thus often model after their behaviours and actions. As such, it is not surprising that Singaporeans are not as gracious as expected.
The environment also acts as a non-verbal stimulus. All it takes is probably for a few person to take initiative to clear their own trays and food, leaving a clean table for the next diner, to start the ball rolling. There is then a high chance that others will follow suit. For example, at IKEA restaurant, customers are encouraged to clear their own tray. There are some initiative customers who do that but majority still doesn't. Perhaps, IKEA restaurants need to have more banners placed at a more prominent place so that more people will get to see it.
Whether this campaign to work towards a more gracious and civic-minded society, depends a lot on us. Furthermore, with the integrated resorts coming soon and a expected increase in the number of tourists to Singapore, there is certainly a need for us to work on that. Ultimately, how these tourists view Singapore is based on our attitude and character. Everyone should play a role to help preserve the good reputation of Singapore!
4 comments:
Hey, i think its really true that singaporeans like to make their moneys worth by letting the cleaners do their jobs. in fact i used to be guilty of it. till recently i noticed i group of strangers clearing their tables after their meal at macdonalds. i felt that it can really help the next customer and the cleaners. this way our society will be come a better one
singaporeans are generally smart people but we lack social grace somtimes. it's not that we are heartless or want to be inconsiderate but i guess we got so used to our ay of life that we tend to be nonchalant about such things. perhaps it's because we've been too comfortable in our bubble-wrapped life. however, i do agree that we can do better to make our community a better place
yeah, my sentiments exactly. it didn't occur to me to be considerate till recently i saw a foreigner eating at mac donalds. he was eating alone and cleared his own tray after his meal. it then struck me that even non-locals could display such public courtesy, how much more we singaporeans going to "show" our ungracefulness? it won't probably improve or worsen the economy(by means of cleaners losing their jobs..), but rather its good practice too, for the next consumers of that table. ^_^
such acts of graciousness is like saving the earth: everybody knows they have their part to play, but everyone thinks that what they do is too little a contribution to have an effect. allow me to illustrate with a story.
Once upon a time there was a wise man that used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking along the shore.
One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.
As he got closer he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?"
The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish into the ocean."
"I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?"
"The sun is up, and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."
"But, young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach, and starfish all along it? You can't possibly make a difference!"
The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said, "It made a difference for that one."
i hope you find this insightful!
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