appeal to and connect with human emotion if it's not aesthetically pleasing or if it's not meant to be enjoyed it does not create, , uh curiosity it doesn't create uh interests it doesn't create and or a perfect example would


be churches churches are extremely beautiful places and the reason why they're such magnificent artistic monuments is because they are meant to strike you with such awe they're meant to, uh


to be enjoyed and by enjoying such art you are actually enjoying the higher ideals of life this is so beautiful because this can be none other than god's work that's why it's so beautiful


so it cannot be any other purpose, would you agree with this


so I will be proposing that books are dead and we films are the way to go, now the interesting thing about my the the thesis statement here is the films are the way to go


this, may not be an insistence of, that it is, films are better but it is the way to go because that is how society is changing now when we talk about books we have to first understand that


the, written paper okay or paper itself is a construct of the fourteenth century, and once man was able to write with the latin alphabet it became the the the medium to convey information and and stories


having said that just like how in the stone ages such stories were actually more visual because they were actually painted or carved on the wall we are also entering the twenty-first century where


they've might be now a different medium to convey whatever it is we want to see be it stories be it information, and given like anything in society that advances


the, technological advancement of the twenty-first century is something that continues and with everything in society that is a economic value or, price to it books are indeed dead because there is just no more market for people to continuing running bookstores or continuing to write books when there are other mediums


that they they can they can do, and if the purpose of let us start from a position where we talk about, uh, fiction there was a point of time where uh watching uh reading a book a a good fiction book about spies


uh about about, fairies was was the only way that people could enjoy them self, or could rather gain an insight into a alternative world that was we have to remember that that was the only way in a time where such imaginary tales written in the written word can be then produced in CGI


to actually give you a visual picture of, of what it is that you are reading isn't that a greater or much more interesting way for us to, to, view and see things


if think about it how many people have actually read tolkien's the lord of the rings it is such a fantastic story, and, the tolkien series has been in existence for the longest of time it was only after the movie was made that so many people uh actually decided


to, firstly knew there was such a story and what is interesting is having watched the movie they then realised that oh maybe I shall, read uh the book, if they had not even seen the lime adapted from the novel by tolkien they wouldn't have known that such a book existed and we see numerous examples


of this in many many uh instances game of thrones was a book, but no one knew or rather I mean it is fair to say that there are there is a group of people who who would have known such a book existed but for for the general masses it was it was a show


and it managed to if the purpose of such works are for people to enjoy then definitely films are the way to go because it has a wider reach it is scalable, , once this show is so called digitised or produced then it can be broadcasted to to people of all ages and that that is the definitely the way to go because


what you do is you are bringing uh very special stories or interesting works of art to speak to a wider audience, which you would not, have been able to if uh


uh they they they weren't produced uh therefore making films is definitely, uh the way to go, maybe you have something to say about that


while that is true don't you think what then would explain the shift from see when we say books we have to give in to the very traditional sense of a book


what is actually a book we think of libraries a bookstore paper bag, the problem is what is the reason do we still get the same uh uh uh feel of a book or the written word when it translates into a e-book in the form of a PDF


and then from a e-book in a PDF we now have what the problem is society changes if the books are not dead and everybody still enjoyed the book there will be a lot of people buying books, the


in the last twenty years five of the biggest publishing houses in the world have actually declared bankruptcy, maybe the reproduction or movies of books written in the past do no justice but the thesis is films are the way to go if you were going to


uh, make if you had a story now or rather, you were thinking of writing a story such as money heist would you have written a book in twenty twenty called money heist or would you have gotten netflix to produce your show


the the question is books are dead in the sense that we are willing to to take, a a a cut in the sensory experience or rather let's get the best of both worlds and here's the thing about e-books there are e-books that just look like


books on a digital device and their e-books now which have certain animations on the side you know, I I feel that people this is a way for to ease people into a a so called digital era but it doesn't change the the the question that


if now in twenty twenty you had a choice of either writing a book or conveying your story in the form of a book or would you do it in a movie, the problem is as he said it always goes back to economics like it or not it might be safe to say given the the statistics because books need to be published there are publishing houses and they are uh so called book agents who actually pick good stories


and then get the publishing house to publish uh these books uh this whole process or this whole, act of doing this is actually business so if you think about it in a society where there needs to be a price there needs to be a market for it if this business activity of actually picking good stories and deciding to publish it


you must remember that JK rowling was wrote harry potter, many many many years ago, in fact, the only reason uh someone decided to take a chance on her and publish it so the question here is


uh books are dead because there is no longer a business for books, the publishing houses and these are a a lot of issues with this there might come a point of time where people are going to say that books are environmentally not friendly when there is a another medium uh of of producing this information


and and what happens at that point of time is you are then going to pick what is the best way, for me to convey uh information I think we can both for the purposes of this debate, we can focus on fictional works because uh that is the only uh way we can move forward in terms of of films so uh no one wants to see a film about trigonometry or social studies


so let's let's speak fiction and I think the money heist example was perfect because, this is a show that was quite a global hit everybody was was wearing the mask and the outfits that's the thing you see there is such a visual aspect


to, to to such shows and I think you always see the most during halloween, if there's no visual representation, I mean , infinity wars the marvel universe has been around for ages the comics which are in fact books have been around but if there's no film if there's no hype in today's society if it's not visually represented


there there is no uh no traction I mean think about it marvel comics have been around since the eighties, but why why isn't everyone, uh you're right there are anime there are comic cons and there're things like that but in a grander scheme of things they're actually a very small


uh, small number these are what we call the purists uh who they are interested in the it doesn't matter whether it's a a book or or or film what they're interested in is the the integrity of the story and the characters


if the film does it justice they're okay with it you see the problem is yes time is a constraint uh but but, the the anime uh the animations and the comic cons uh


people or people follow these things they're very particular about whether there's historical accuracy or authenticity uh, films will definitely be the way to go in the future because it just has mass appeal and that is what society is driven for no one wants to write a marvel book now just want to make a marvel movie


so films will be the way to go


okay thank you Satya so although I do agree with some of your points I still believe that art is still necessary in our life and they are not a waste of time so as you have mentioned earlier we define arts as


in uh visual arts literature works dramas plays and orchestras, I do agree that, for some of them it is actually, very hard to to actually pursuit they are quite, hard they are quite difficult industries to actually pursuit


and therefore a lot of people feels that since it's quite difficult , not many can actually become masters, and actually reach , achieve a much more noticeable reward, in that sense


so like you mentioned earlier the COVID nineteen, statistics where sorry what was it arts the arts industry wasn't, deemed essential uh it does uh it does reflects that singapore is quite a materialistic society but during this period


there are a lot of artworks and, and you know visual arts that were created during this period, so for instance a lot of the advertisement that, the government actually, you know pushes for the general public to see, so for instance how to wash your hands correctly


reminders to wear mask, all that are actually visual arts created through computers or, you know it could be, videos audios as well, , musics were actually created during this period as well to


sort of, give people a more optimistic outlook, in this in this pandemic, another point where


parents and most most of the time students when they are choosing their higher education studies they are most likely to choose more practical works practical fields, this is actually more of the mentality that has been brought down through generation X where singapore and most of the country are in a much more difficult times and most of the time these families are actually looking for financial stability so money is definitely


the, priority at that point of time, I guess as we get , , as as, the younger generation starts to, get older for generation Y and Z


arts is actually one of the few, that is being noticed as well , , so for instance okay


in, the as we, go, for secondary schools , students are required to take up co-curriculum activities and in, and during


those times many of the arts, many of, the CCA's that were available, are, art based such as bands chinese orchestra you know art club et cetera, and


the government actually encourage students to go for such, , go for such such activities so we have something called the DSA, where performers of this


groups of students who are perform well not just academically they are able to secure , education at, university, JC's or polytechnics of their choice


at the end of the day monetary pursuit is still quite important


I guess when you say it's traditional art that is a, that is quite a, niche area, because for a piece of traditional art, , for it to be recognised it takes a lot of time, and effort for this to happen and like what you said this is only


and most probably for the wealthy because it has now became because it is, up to individual perspective and, individual preferences, for this form of art


however I guess art has quite a broad range so for an, and for for art, I will say they are a group where, it's more common like what we see every


day the advertisement that we see the videos , movies or shows that we watch, all these people at the end of the day even though you're looking at , advertisement at the train station that is being you know advertised by the government the government is actually paying this group of artists to produce such work


however you've you are looking at the, a group of, the the group where it's more traditional artworks, those will be more, niche and not many people will appreciate that


I do agree that more traditional art are only meant to be enjoyed I would say so for art that were created there there is a group of


artworks that will be created for this purpose so it's meant for people to see, things in their perspective and their views and you know trying to share that particular beauty with other, viewers , however I would say in more recent times


art is actually is present in, our life throughout as, a way to instruct and influence people, from simple artworks that we can see from


young okay so instead of talking, about, more traditional artwork like what you mentioned, , all the van gogh paintings and so on you I will see simpler arts are what we see from young so for example picture books we learn about shapes we learn about you know charts all the educational videos and games for a kid they will not appreciate or understand what


a, a what a traditional painting is trying to convey they wouldn't, understand any of, those and even in that case what they only see are colours I guess you can learn you know colours from paintings and, I guess that is what they can take from that but besides that, in more you know in


other times all these educational, , videos , all these picture books they, are what artists and, you know creatives come up with to actually best convey these messages best convey a topic


and convey a idea, to actually instruct people on how to understand certain things, so because teaching, people through, you know instructing any, people of any age a certain


idea putting it, towards may be difficult and teaching through arts by showing them pictures with colours, you know with, with all that concepts visually, it's actually easier for people to understand


I agree on what you say about art is art in the way most of the time it's for people to enjoy but it is definitely not only meant to be on enjoyed so


yes although they are enjoyable but you do get a very straightforward outcome where you you would have learnt something by by by this process


, it does not reduce its usefulness for being a form that actually instruct or influence people


regarding your point about the rebels and you know the revolutions


art is actually at that point of time used as a social advancement it is meant to influence other people to, fight for a change it actually you know it's it triggers emotions for people to as as a form of influence to trigger people to actually


go towards a particular goal together so for instance kathleen ni houlihan it's a play that actually sparks the irish rebellion where they actually fight for independence that triggers the irish movement and started uh the uh nationalist movement


, so I was saying art is not just meant to be enjoyed another outright example that is quite clear would be how the chinese language came about initially all the language are just pictures which are a form of art


and they slowly it took many many years for these art, for these individual pictures to slowly turn into characters so it's also it's a way where, it it influences the


the the the, the a particular language and it became a it's it's a way to teach people of a particular language as well


I will, for your first point regarding the technological advancements in this twenty-first century this actually does not stop books from prospering I guess you could say that yes maybe they're lesser bookstores now


but books have turned, digital as well there're e-books you can read it on your phone there's kindles and there's many ways for you to actually access to those books this has actually given, , writers more flexibility and give them more opportunities as well to you know showcase their work and their stories


, and regarding your point about fictions lord of the rings and you know game of thrones these two, series actually had a huge fan base before the movies were even made at those you know comic


, conventions or you know book conventions they already had a huge fan base the films did bring it to a wider audience but there were also quite a bit of controversy because books are definitely more detailed so besides the narration of the story line where it's more in-depth there're more details


films there is no way for films to cover all of this because one of the biggest shortcomings for films is that there are there is a budget, and there is the time constraint as well as the abilities and, the


and the actors that they are able to find books are able to actually bring readers into the story, you know where the reader, can become a observer that actually have more insights to a particular character's thoughts and feelings


so instead of a two hour film or you know a couple hours because it is a series , it there is no way for the film to actually cover hundreds or even thousands of pages of description that is actually in a book


, one of the example I would like to bring up would, be artemis fowl, this series is a very good series of book and they have plenty they have a huge fan base many book review sites have rated them quite


highly, three, four out of five, three point five out of five, so due to its popularity in books this series has been made into a movie, but it was, it it did very badly because of how much they actually removed from the original story line


and you know, how certain actors are not suitable for the roles itself, , the movie flopped and they only got a nine percent on rotten tomatoes and four point one on IMD, B


there is another, thing about, commercials which also compromise on the quality because films at the end of the day are very revenue-driven a lot of work has been put into it whether is technology actors you know sounds et cetera et cetera as well as paying royalty to


, the original author if it's derives from a book itself so a lot of filmmakers are focusing on making money from this film itself instead about caring about it's you know the quality or the original story line which a lot of


, a lot of fans are actually not agreeable of so some of the authors for popular series have also spoken for example percy jackson it is a very popular series of book and


the movie did, alright it wasn't fantastic because they only got about it didn't even hit five uh it didn't even did not even past fifty percent of rotten tomato, the author himself rick riordan has already said he have actually never seen


the films, because this will actually influence the way he , he, he sort of think about the characters and how future book should be written because once you see a film instead of your own imagination the details


and, the image are already fixed in your mind whereas if you read a book it is up to your own imagination and it could be


okay ready, debate topic one,


okay can uh nothing sure


stressed


hello, position play uh yes okay err oh wait okay


yes that's correct


ya ya mine is running too, oh I'm the one okay I starting is it okay


with the fact that err there's no such thing as a bad art I mean


actually depends cause art can be classified into many categories it can be performing arts it depends what you said it can be performing arts it can be paintings it can be, , paintings can be uh uh arts it can be can be paintings it can be err performing arts it could be


uh tattooing like what he mentioned , so it really depends and I'm sure there's a , err uh there is definitely a for tattoo err I would agree to a certain extent that it, is a good is not a good is it is it is it is not a totally bad


because they're they've been the err, read that that I've seen in many videos on social media also that you know uh it's more of a traditional thing those err it those people that are those inhabitants you know those err people who are , err from the village side and all those


, they they used they till now people go there just to get their err, that get inked by those traditional way you know those uh pins and , hammer and all so it's definitely not a bad thing but the so social stigma that goes around it I guess so there's a reason why people


a lot of people even uniform groups majority of them they do not, appreciate, tattoo people is it because I don't know is it because is it related to gang is it related to rebellious is it related to is it is it is it referred to as being a hooligan you know I don't know what is it really about but it's definitely a lot of places definitely a lot of


places, do not really appreciate, tattoo maybe it's just, uh they are not as open minded or, uh people generally get an opinion about them very fast without even talking about, talking to them so that's one point


then second point I would like to put across is the fact that, the fact that, art, uh paintings in general, err good art


uh could mean uh that they're they're they're different paintings I'm sure , uh some would some even some the social stigma is just very strong and this even can be seen in paintings you know those nude photos these are actually considered even paintings it is because is an art but some people you you'll will be surprised that even some people right now they do not even appreciate it as an art they think it's more like


they they think you're they think of it as more like an insult you know to the body there are people like that so definitely there's a very big social stigma , that , that's going around this thing where, where a particular thing is referred to as a bad art


, I would agree to quite a bit of extent that it is a bad art there's a reason why people refer to this as a bad art because, because it because err, it's related to it's related to all these thing like tattoo you know


err drawing drawing on photos and you know publishing it publishing it to other people to see as paintings you know are are draw so it's definitely to me I think it's a very, to me , an art has its own boundaries so you cannot cross


that boundaries if it would if it crosses definitely it's referred to as a bad art , many of times people do not know what's the boundary so they go , beyond that, so like tattoo for example uh I'm sure there are many many type of tattoos there's dragon there's that one but


people go ahead and they have tattoos of people err putting their partner's name or that that is fine definitely but putting gang slogan putting err you know all this type of thing err rebellious thing or that that's promoting hatred and and and err


hatred and you know uh uh err religious you know religious err, err, discontentment you know all this type of sensitive issues that they pin down in their hand, it's just very very err bad lah it's just not good


it's just very bad sorry it's just very bad and, oh shit okay so


there's some wifi failure, okay , so, that's about it yes that's my that's where I end that's that's that's that's my point


I have nothing else to say, ya, Balaji there, oh god your okay err


ya I think there's some connection issues ah okay okay, can you hear hello can you hear, your webcam your webcam having some problems be ya want to check on that, you okay


don't know webcam nevermind just let it be lah it's okay I think, ya yeah hello hello hello


ya carry ya just carry on, so what's the


just have to wait err, cannot hear you


oh no I cannot hear also


okay thank you Balaji err so definitely there's no such thing as a bad art like what I agreed just now with you that's definitely nothing and then uh there's there's no such thing as a bad art it's the intention behind it for sure but apparently err


you can't stop people from judging things and not a lot of people really, okay don't disturb don't disturb don't disturb, and not and not a lot of not a lot of people


not a lot of people come on lah not a lot of people err, think did not not a lot of people would agree with with with with that you know not no no no such thing is as a bad art can give you one example there was this


err, band I I I don't really remember what's the exact name but they were somehow promoting hate culture so they hold they have they had uh having a concert here in singapore , I don't remember what's the name exactly , but it was some time back at least a month or two back eh eh sorry at least a year back correct me if I'm not wrong if I'm wrong at least a year or so back so our law minister K shanmugam one he actually uh banned this band from singapore they did their tickets were literally sold out but they are having a closed concert


I don't really remember like I say I don't remember the name of the band but they were somehow promoting hate culture so, the uh the hate uh their wordings were of hate it's like it's called gang okay there's this cause rapping have their own extent so this was part of like a gang a is considered gang uh rap so it's like it's like for for when whenever they go for gang clash or something that it's it's just for gang


got a lot of vulgarity all this type of thing and it promotes a lot of err it it tackles uh you know racial, racial thing so , people use this people call this as a art, people do call this as a art and, they they think it is a art as as it's a performing art you know it's taken it as a performing art so


definitely, definitely the statement, is not true, that there is no such thing as a bad arts, ya there's definitely the statement is not true there's no such thing as a as a bad art


game one, that there are there are there are thing there are bad art there are definitely bad art for sure , err so that's about it I guess, !haiya! but that


okay uh probably uh okay err I would I still would disagree totally because there's a reason why the government banned, these things because they recognise the fact that there is uh such a thing as a bad art definitely maybe the things that we don't see the government see as a long term to uh uh jeopardize our harmony in singapore that is the reason why they


band such a thing they banned such bands you know from creating disharmony and maybe would potentially uh causing another racial riot that happened in nineteen sixty four and and way back it will be during err our, or during during our past you know so there's a reason but maybe we we don't see it but the government sees and they recognize the fact that


art, can be consider as good and can be considered as bad like what I said there's a boundary that has cannot be crossed once that boundary is being crossed that is considered a bad art, but, it's supposed to send


a message to the community that you know it is supposed to send a message be it whatever at least a good message but not hatred not disharmony people's supposed to take it as a hobby as a fun thing as to as something to enjoy not not creating disharmony you know


so definitely the government recognize it and probably what we see , what we don't see the government see , so uh with that I think that, there're categories in art that we need to draw boundaries to thank you


okay time's up all goods, yes debate topic two, okay sure


okay sure sure


, can hear me can hear me can hear me


err can you hear me, okay okay I would I would err agree to a certain extent that singaporeans do appreciate a bit of theatre


dance or music , they do appreciate, but, unfortunately, they do not have their own, err dance, music culture or even theatre or some something that is very well recognized it


all around the world so they have to rely on other countries, theatre dance style or music, our uh uh artist, to get their entertainment


I hope you understand I'm saying hello, ya, so singaporeans, definitely appreciate that's the reason why they, there's a reason why, daily vivant music is so important


but uh, this cannot be said for dance and theatre, definitely this, from a singaporean mindset this is, and hobby which can never be turned into a passion we can it's it's a it's a hobby driven by passion


which will not generate, a stable income, and as such, so much importance, isn't placed on this type of arts because they are not generally thought


to generate as much income, to support a family, compared to the traditional jobs so this definitely definitely they do appreciate, but they do not, want to make this as their career and as such


the performing arts, in singapore even the music culture in singapore remain as it is there is a minimum, thing that even our, only, media company mediacorp


can do, to promote singaporean films singaporean local based music in NDP that's the maximum they could go or even our dance style in fact there's none if I can remember right now there's none no dance competition not much


shows err that, not much done shows that that promote dance dance is more like a CCA more like a it's just more like a cult it's more it's more like a interest thing , rather than, rather than you know something that will, err


give them income so they do appreciate but they know their limits they will not go and pursue this as their as their as their as their as their you know as their uh livelihood so the culture in, this will pretty much remain stagnant and maybe maybe in even years to


come we have to rely on other countries dance , uh dancing style maybe that dancing style err music uh albums uh art err artist music albums or theatre groups to, provide us with the necessary entertainment , I would like to bring across this film that actually was very popular which is called crazy rich asians well that is more of a theatre although not a theater play it's more like a movie which singapore


was part of that , of that of that uh shooting place, but it actually, didn't really uh from the world point of view everybody were very proud that !wah! singapore is like that but, it actually didn't show anything good about singapore it just showed more often stereotype which people think which is true


so that, is the reason why, people will think, that, singaporeans do not appreciate theatre, dance or music let alone people even me I don't think that singapore appreciate these things a lot because


apparently money is the most important thing, and get getting a stable job from nine to five is an every is an everyday routine that people forget how to enjoy these little little things, so definitely I feel that singaporeans do not appreciate


enough of these things , and let uh if they did if they do appreciate why are they not, making their own theatre dance or music , because that then the the the the reason cannot be just people don't want to accept people people don't want to look at it unless you


create it advertise it that's how, that's how it will become popular if we do not even do that , you don't even make in the first place and let's say the dance swag or any music artist, apart from the normal NDP albums that our our artist our singaporean based artist err sing for you know our national day songs so err


it will never go ahead of that it will still be as it is, that ends my argument, I'd like to pass my time now to Balaji, would you like to comment anything


okay so thank you for can you hear me, okay so thank you for phrasing what you just said singapore do appreciate I you you gave the example for , err concerts overseas artist coming to singapore where their uh concerts are being sold out


so this is the uh this is a, this is evidence that err singaporeans do appreciate theatre, uh !ee! but, uh they do appreciate theatre for sure they do appreciate, but it's it's just err it's just, part of an entertainment it doesn't


it it it is not it it they do do not err want to make this their livelihood , and you would argue with with with the point that you not necessarily you need to uh err to you need to uh to you you need to make to appreciate things you need to make it your livelihood


but, I'm sure you could I'm sure you could try but mostly people do not try they don't even most of them at do not try they straight away go, for a job uh and they do this as a passion we never a career and it's never a it's never like it's never a career so


the appeal of a glamour the glam the appeal of theatre dance and music these glamour is always in every part of the world but, it's slightly less, in singapore, than other countries , you could name it, due to many reasons such as population or whatsoever but


if we were to think about population , uh ya Youtube channels are going for millions and millions of views out of which majority of them are not even out of which you can see the majority of them are not only not not not singaporeans majority of them are from other countries malaysia


you can do a quick check on Wahbanana you can see how many of their subscribers are malaysians majority of malaysians from other southeast asian countries so it is recognised, internationally but singaporeans do not, take these do not really appreciate such things this is the reason why they they do this as a entertainment and singaporeans like it because uh


majority of these things tackle social , issues uh not really social issues more like a norm I would say norm or you know a stereotypical mindset , that make this Youtube, popular Youtube videos popular so singaporeans watch it because of that but like what I said in a previous one arts you need to know the limit you cannot go beyond the limit if not it becomes a bad art


but majority of them the reason why they become so popular is because the reason why they become so popular , is because they show this stereotypical singaporeans stereotypical mindset which youtube is a perfect example


it's a perfect it's a it is a perfect platform to put and let the world know, how we act how we do things how we think so, err ya, I feel that singaporeans, they do not appreciate or they do not know the value actually of this theatre dance music or performing arts in general they don't know the value how powerful it is how impactful it can create


and ya uh and and and, it's uh foreigners mindset about singapore in general apart from the first star you know country rating or whatsoever, so I feel that err the appreciation uh the value in general appreciation which means you value


among us for these arts, is just, is is just too little , do not know how powerful it is and generally singaporeans do not appreciate these things


ya, you got anything to say about that, hello you got anything to say about that


okay


okay, debate topic three, err


this is the proposition you start first, uh


I would not totally disagree with what, you just said arts are luxury and not a necessity well, arts are, artists' arts are expensive we're not denying the fact that they are not expensive but


and you you you you did you did say it but you did not mention ah that, a lot of these tickets , from EDM concert ultra festivals you can call that as a art EDM festivals or ultra coldplay concerts you name it whatever concerts that happened as ports up in general


all of the tickets are sold out, well then you could say, well then but majority of them are not singaporeans well, so more than half of them are not ah in the art so you will say more than half of them are not singaporeans at least fifty percent will be singaporeans more than fifty percent will be singaporeans I'm sure


because this play this people in general they go to uh like for coldplay take coldplay for example they go to every country nearby the, nearby a continent indonesia maybe no maybe singapore all the southeast asian countries not only singapore was their stop place so


err, probably uh probably , I would say that singaporeans, can pay this amount of money so they're not it's not really


it is not really a luxury because they think it as a necessity that's why they feel they need to pay, for such amount of money let me tell you that at least the ticket for that to cost up to a hundred or so dollars they think it as a necessity that's the reason why they do not mind spending and there's a reason why such more concerts always get sold out


let it let let coldplay because coldplay is arguably a very popular band and probably from all around southeast asia and even around the world people will come talk about army concert army concert, army concepts is among among old people most uh mostly old people uh old people err elderly in general uh do not


really uh uh elderly people in generally do not , from other countries they will know they will not travel really because of err, because of a concert you know in general but you'd be surprised that the tickets has sold out why because majority of them are singaporeans because elderly people think that this are a necessity entertainment is very important in their life and that's the reason they don't mind paying no matter how expensive the tickets are so I will totally disagree with you that expenses


are not being that expenses is being considered, when we think about, arts, as long as there is and as long as people are entertained they do not mind spending no matter how much it costs second thing online you you had highlighted a point about online having concerts online well


I'm sure you do know not only pinoy concerts or whatever festivals , err night to light festivals was there was this festivals that promoting art and culture you'll be surprised if majority of them are singaporeans well how do I know that because I work there that's why I know that I knew the I knew majority of the crowd were singaporeans they were very little foreigners although they were targeting the foreigners majority of the people turn out there were actually singaporeans


and not only this , imagine putting such a festival or even putting concerts online , don't you think, it will totally spoil the experience of being there itself, I mean definitely it will for you even if if if you were to think about it so people do save money they do work so they have things to enjoy and probably


uh arts, is not a luxury but it's more like a necessity I feel and that's the reason why they don't mind paying no matter how, hefty other tickets, why do you have to say about that, mister Prem uh do you hear me yeah yeah


so you you still, think that uh arts are a luxury, but it's not a necessity , but, definitely, uh uh it for some, it is considered a luxury but for most it is not


what can you say about, uh, uh amei type of concert amei I'm very sure you uh amei you know it's it's an elderly singer it's an old singer , where old people listen to their songs , uh elderly people from other countries


they do not even have the energy probably to travel to another part of , of the world you know itself like singapore if let's say to do like concert so majority of the guys majority of the of the people at there are actually, , singaporeans and they don't mind spending because


they think it is is it's a necessity, they think it's important to entertain themselves, because I'm sure you know singaporean the ratio of, elderly to working adults to youngsters to teenagers definitely singapore is an old it's a ageing we have an aging population so elderly people just think this as a necessity rather than a luxury because they need some kind of entertainment if such


concerts, fail to provide this type of entertainment, then probably wouldn't be spending the tickets, but they do provide them that entertainment their satisfaction to see their favourite singer singing on stage and that's the reason why they buy it and that's the reason why they why they buy so tickets at such a hefty prices some can reach up to three digits


they are not even double digits they can go up all to up all the way to two digits that three digits or even four digits for the premium seats mind you about that okay second think, why arts are always why arts are considered


a necessity because, like what I said singaporean we we we we are in a we we are in a country where elderly , where we where we have a ageing population and they have work the tall their whole life


and that's the reason why they do not mind spending tickets on performing arts , or doing things that they like arts could mean anything like we discuss earlier it could be tattoo it could be anything with tattooing it could be , , it could if a tattooing more away for the young people


arts more for like the arts such as amei concert more for the elderly and, , for uh for uh for working adults and teenagers maybe those old school band like, coldplay , backstreet boys so, they arts cater to a wide range of age group


not only, it not only to us they cater to a wide range of age group and, definitely people, earn so they can enjoy and , they they the reason the the the biggest evidence is this


concerts, most of the time , are in high demand, I'm sure you have read news on their whoever in google where the sports hub websites have crashed for such popular concerts , and


it it could uh this this, is the reason why, you can see, that people think it as a necessity, so that is my point you have anything to say about that


yeah


I would I would disagree with you on uh, I I would disagree with you this point is, not a that die hard their die hard fan because I know that people people that wait hours and hours uh for their south korean even actors or you you wait they come to singapore for tour they wait for hours and hours probably a day before camping just to catch a glimpse of their of their


favourite actor, or actress and uh, I'm sure you've heard of the news about it , so definitely , people are die hard fans, and that's the and and and these are singaporeans be that wait you know


okay clicked already, debate topic one, okay I try okay sure so okay so


err I would like to start up the debate topic for today means actually there's no such thing as bad art, bad art, as a preposition as me Prem as for the opposition will be Hitesh, okay I'd like this start up from the point


from art lah art is a, is actually a form of uh creation, of ideas okay and, a a display of actions, that come out of it, okay !ee! I don't consider !aiya!


anything good or bad as just by looking from, the ideas because it's very subjective, err whether is it, good or bad to different types of people as one example will be, on the case of tattoo okay tattoo is been a creation for many years uh it's it has existed from ancient times K had has been served different purposes okay it can last time it was used for err like kind of


uh war, like for war fighting as the branding one person okay err it's a kind of , a significant for especially for a tribe or a group of people, where tattoo actually marks the person of that individual group so at that point of time err tattoo wasn't uh considered as a bad thing or as a but it's actually a symbol for different types of group but however when it


went into this new pop culture this modern culture what happened was tattoo was used for actually for more of a fashion purposes and sometime it was use vulgarities sometimes it have shown its negative sides too


so as an art people have manipulated it as a bad side and a good side however the art itself is not bad itself, so it could be used for good purposes as well so therefore I think err there's no such thing as art so next point is


err also will be in terms of, dancers and songs, where the new modern culture okay, uh has improved okay from err those err , those type of music that existed very long time back and it has created different forms from those uh uh conservative classical forms but those older generations may not find it some older generation may not find it like err


will remain conservative okay they they not they may not find it, quite, err as intimidating as well as not well-received, oh well, I would say that it's a it's a case that can't be well


it couldn't be actually , unlike there's no right or wrong based on it but more or less it's the development of the art has taken new forms and which is we can't which we can't stop, eh last time there wasn't any case of


err, movies that were arts such as dramas okay uh songs musics plays !wow! we were in this new, kind of err evolving world there's a difference where there is


this classical kind of acts which it has improved into the things like films and and new movie, not find it as bad as good thing


K where part people have started to adapt to it but that's why in twentieth century we can't see anyone who doesn't enjoy films like everybody enjoy films it's also a kind of art, but initially in this err err twentieth century people didn't uh may not have received it well they know it's just a waste of money going to theatres all this


but it have improved so there's no such thing as bad thing it will just takes some time to get used to people, and over and the way we use people and most importantly when we have arts that we can actually educate good things which actually in the previously last time was used for some bad stuff now it can be used as a good stuff why not the art turns into a thing that's neutral


it's the way how we it's similar like an internet we can use it for useful stuff I mean you said there's a negative sides of it as well, yeah, so with that I would like to move on the plan, to Hitesh to discuss further eh


ya I cannot control lah, err I think, okay I try lah okay err I try to control it over here okay wait a minute ah uh


ya yeah understand okay err just wait a minute ah, should I like what should I do should I stop the recording or not


okay sure sure, ya yeah, !aiyo!


yeah problem solved K can okay uh sorry about that !huh! yeah yeah all good all good all is running ya all running ya (hmm) ya ya you start your turn okay sure uh should I make my point next ya putting here okay shall I move on first ya sure should I connect hello hello hello ya okay sure err shall I continue first okay


so we okay thank you, mister Hitesh okay for your points, okay now I would like to, now look at this point eh err and, elaborate which I actually don't know about, but agree with okay so he said that err in in terms of arts okay uh there are some arts that's being actually not err accepted by the society okay which I agrees to okay err there are some arts which are not agreed by the society actually okay and there are some arts you will find it actually very wrong err like it's


okay ah there had been arts such as nude art, uh such as nude arts okay which err was actually condemned by a lot of society all this, ya so let me actually on this arts, okay so some arts that has been very


condemned okay err some are like err some gang sign tattoos okay nude arts err , uh plays and musics okay songs, okay err, that actually have, used vulgarities on there okay and


this all these arts has been actually you can't call them err straight away as, bad art because, okay when we let's talk about nude arts okay where okay let's use for nude arts where it was actually initially, okay when in like


very long time okay they have used it as a not only to actually, uh not actually not to condemn people but actually, these arts were actually used, okay as a form of purity so when uh one example will be


and some of the arts have we use it for religious some arts have been show and we used it as, for purity but people, accepted it okay this were all looked as paintings, or those types but when this times, where arts were used they were used it as


vulgarities okay uh some err some arts were used it for wrong purposes err or for uh such as pornography all this kind of arts so so it actually depends on the purpose or on the the reason why you conduct such a


art and the intention behind it rather than the art, itself yes I agree that people don't understand because most of the people which they look at art they only look at the surface or it doesn't conforms the idea that it's as a bad art at what's as what Hitesh have mentioned ah it it goes beyond that okay and there's there's much more to arts that err we can't categorize it good or bad types it's just like a it's like a open book it's how you want to write it as uh if you want to write good things or bad things you can't condemn the book for saying that I the book is a bad book because of how the people use it how they uh actually conduct the act as so the if the art has been used for the wrong purpose it's definitely it will be condemned by the society it is a bad art but there's but the art itself okay okay we cannot without we must look at the intentions first before coming down into conclusions ah ya that's what I want to say next I would like to err pass it out to Hitesh okay err I think I would like to take on your point that


okay you must say that's your explain that, err from the minister case that he actually highlighted that there are bad things err there are there was actually uh paintings err which actually showcase the gang signs that's like okay shows the gang signs and he actually banned it


I'll definitely agree why do I agree, because it is a case of not it's not a case of an art it's a case of whether will it err jeopardize the racial harmony in singapore only


it's not about whether the art, is good or bad it's just about whether err sorry it's not racial sorry is it is it going to be err is it based on the the security of singapore or not ya, it's not based on the


uh or whether it's an art or not it's just based on so you can't, take a look whether is it a good, or a bad art it's not applicable in our case actually because, if you take a look at as an art, art point of view it's definitely if it's it's not a bad art because when you look it from an art point of view


there is just going to be a, err your it's just, and you take a look a look a look at the, art err the art piece err from artistic point of view it's not going to show you any bad stuff or it's you can't look it from good or bad


you're not going to look at the features around it you're you're not going to look at to the to the actual meanings of, the the what is it you want to uh say to the whole society okay but you're looking it in from a artistic point of view, okay where when if with all people of singapore I'm very artistic means okay they're just going to look it as a


okay normal art and we're just going to move on but, in actual humans we are not like this because we actually, we actually pursue this art and actually apply whatever we learn from the art into our lives, yeah that's where it goes wrong, because it's


it's the adaptation of humans, so we can't blame it is it a good art or bad art because the art itself, how unique is it how creative is it that's what we are looking at, from art okay it can be showing err one of the gang signs or, vulgarities people may look at it


but the thing is from artistic point of view it's it's definitely okay but from a human point of view when we look at and want to adapt to it ya definitely it's wrong, but as a art you can't consider it's also, bad art ya that's my point okay so


okay I mean I think I would like to state the point again lah but I agree with the point that Hitesh says that it's definitely err the government doesn't supports it or, okay had taken some measure to take err to take it down, yes I agree because it's going to actually send a bad message


but but it's just, but just because you're sending a bad message okay how they pervive it we can't consider that as a, bad art because a bad art, basically it's a representative that means the art whatever you drew okay


it doesn't make sense, that means you can't understand that's the situation where you call it as a bad art rather than if there's a message and there's a, where, uh for me I personally feel that whenever the art actually has a, greater outreach and can send a message


it's a good art but as a moral point of view it's wrong, uh I think we have to look at it in that way where is it a moral point of view or is it going to be at a err artistic means point of view whether it's good or bad but I think as a artistic point of view it's good but err when some arts in terms of a moral point of view they're definitely bad because they will they do send out negative details


debate topic two yeah sure


okay now we'll go, on to the next topic which means err which is singaporeans appreciate the appeal of theatre, dance or music in our society, proposition would be me Prem opposition will be Hitesh so as a proposition I will start off first okay singaporeans


appreciate the uh appeal of theater dance, and music in our society, which I agree because, as an asian society we'll start up from, from our from our foundation okay the art, not only for asia I think it it belongs to the whole world


okay we have started up, from the basis on theatre dance or music and these are all which is which have developed in our entertainments, even to the extent of gaming also because even in gaming we need some kind of entertainment in itself


kind of err kind of a, music saw we need a plot, to play around we need a kind of a, uh action all this uh all have rooted all from our theatre dance or music okay some have been adapted from our previous generation but majority of the contents is all from the theatre dance music which we have


which is all these arts which we have is, autodidact from many many many centuries so from that okay that's where singaporeans actually started up, K even for now even to the basis on filmmaking, the first was some of the first few steps and item or they actually takes this actually


this will be the start from my theatre, theatre err place err and for and there's, a lot of uh use which I know okay actually they go through they actually used a they actually have dance or music making as their hobby


actually so yes as for singaporeans, definitely there's a lot of people who are actually involved in theatre, dance music okay just like an example like the okay in okay this is a abtract from


from from the singapore, from the national arts council website which is actually states that, the traditional arts scene which err, which is this is a err it's a event in singapore okay host thousand four hundred


activities and performance held every year okay they are all are, are consist of all err different uh uh, they are all err tributed by the different traditional arts, companies okay err which are basically chinese music chinese dance chinese opera theatres while it music and dance and asia music and dance and these are all err example that which shows us actually that that there are still


err important, err art err arts err this theatre, err dance and music err are still being cultivated in singapore and even in traditional music, we we not even need to touch on our


on then, the new culture and a modern theatre dance and, music even for traditional that's still not even art that means demand sorry, there's a lot of people who actually enjoy this, and their and they want to join it and learn the history


and for modern culture I think we don't need to say we can never see anyone, doesn't watch film doesn't, see anyone who actually not enjoy err plays all this, in the modern view definitely we're, all these foundations are all theatre dance and music when they want to start and start a career it's a lot of people have


okay want to start a career in film these are the basics, ya and when you want to go into this eh entertainment industry, theatre dance music, okay these are the three basic foundations, where you need to get one


to wait and that's how we start your your career or even as your hobby so that's why I that's why I feel that this err this three err different aspects of arts is very, very very appreciated


in singapore and would be continued to be appreciated and and a lot of people uh may even, reach global heights, and this through the uh three different aspects with that err I'll pass on to Hitesh ya ya


okay thank you Hitesh for, supporting my point okay, so I would like to first state the, question of this topic which actually really uh says that singaporeans appreciate the of theatre dance or music in our society which he has answered easily that


yes it is appreciated, but yes yes you brought up a, very important point that singaporeans, does not make it are not majority of them are not taking the lead, into the careers, err of this err this industry as I and I would like to performing arts okay and and and and a leap and to start off to entertainment okay so the reason is is quite simple it's because singaporeans is just


our history itself okay even though we have, talking about err the bicentennial years okay but our history for our err cultures actually is comes from a lot of other countries that we have not built up our own err heritage much of a big rich culture compared to other countries like err china india okay or the counterparts because they have a lot of history okay they have


they have a head start just with and before our independence day were starting out with their own, modern cultures of arts and we were still struggling our way and when we start to make our foundation, okay they were very very


up ahead and it's new for us definitely so there's definitely a a struggle in singapore in actually accepting as this err err industry as career aspects and, limited by our size, okay and our opportunity within ourselves we can't it it's it's very tough okay because of the we can't because not everybody okay is able to afford okay to uh start up your company and go to international and uh go to international levels and start up your own err careers in terms of performing arts every time go then you get settled outside one example is mister jack neo ya so there is a lot of err competition between singapore and there's not a lot of exposure which I believe but


this doesn't refrain them, from being uh on unappreciative to theatre dance and music in singapore for example in terms of our Youtube for the users and our and our ya


just I think we can just look at the Youtube itself, okay how many videos does singaporeans, actually post because it's very cost effective and to post a minute cause it's free, you don't need a very high expense you don't need a very very, err high range high quality very good all this system okay to post up a video and get likes no it's not


it's not that difficult you just get a decent a good quality camera, okay uh if you can even use your mobile phone okay have a good recording system, it's good enough okay you can post a video it becomes unlikes you you very, because a hit like something like Wahbanana's that


their method is slightly different, I'm talking about err , even though it's not really related to performing, arts but it's still kind of on a, err entertainment industry shows right, err that them so


there is definitely a lot of appeal and traction within singapore where they are struggling actually, to do well in their countries and ya definitely the government is trying to help out but, that's very limited the reality is it's tough, okay to accept that we really cannot step into these err careers but this doesn't refrain them from appreciating because appreciation is not based on whether you go inside the industry or not but it's the claps the applause we get from all and the responses we get from all these different kind of performance


which I still believe in singapore, it it will not die out because we we like, these things we are we are, people that really enjoy err these entertainments err uh, treat theatres dance arts all


kind of new things and, and there's a reason why there's a lot, of err like all our western counterparts come to singapore to perform err not only western counterparts but in terms of err chinese counterparts err err indian counterparts they do come to singapore to perform because they know there are a lot of fans in singapore


and they really can make money because they there's so much fans that really appreciate their work, even though it's overseas okay so that's it this just proves how how much singaporeans just they just don't appreciate what what's happening in singapore they really appreciate what's happening outside singapore which is uh far more richer and definitely we cannot decide how much they they appreciate ya so Hitesh you got anything for me ya ya err check I think ya mister Hitesh you are you you have said that it's a tough thing okay in singapore to establish but


overall I will have to say that, it's tough because because, we are it's just our, our lifestyle and such okay and because at singapore we are always targeting okay err they are they're always have made as a people as a fan person and and for them the creation of the art which is


that's the that's the that's the reason why I believe you have said so, because err, being a fan person that's what that's what majority of singaporeans want they want to enjoy the art okay they love how people do it they are not be linked to because the situation in singapore exists okay if there's a platform ah that the opportunity they could definitely do that but that's but there seem that the singaporean are for in terms of singapore there's there's kind of a restriction to it okay err because of uh demographics okay that we even though we all appreciate it's difficult to break the boundaries so then they have made this event club so there's but this doesn't deter lah as say they really appreciate it okay their there's there's a lot of fan clubs they manage to push on it but it's just they don't take the step err in fulfilling their passion ya that's all


can read debate topic three three, okay


ya I think uh Hitesh will start first ah, okay, okay good start okay, okay so for this deeper topic will be based on the art will be dead


the arts are a luxury and not a necessity, and discuss just with you, this view we have reference to your society interests guess from singapore okay err proposition will be me Prem and opposition will, will be me Hitesh so I would like to start of okay that arts


is a luxury and it's not a necessity, there's necessity in the case of our singaporean society okay, so arts I'd like to state out what, arts has been done from the start of all time okay start


err from the start of err human's race okay there's always a deed there uh, uh for entertainment to actually make our, society to be, they're entertained and make sure that we don't fall out of stress and so that we have the motivation that


next day when we woke up uh wake up to we to go for work and we'll be energetic so that's how the entertainment thing came along it's also used as as a instrument of recording history eyes on record and, and they use it to


err use it even for treatments medical treatments too so then they've served a lot of purpose but now parts have been changed as purely as a entertainment, okay and now the case of singapore K, entertainment has


become slightly expensive okay compared, to err last time where we can, last time there were used to be, err, err stage dramas okay, at last time okay that


it wasn't as expensive as, like today where we actually have to need to spend what what err forty dollars fifty dollars even if if in the case of err overseas artists okay err international artists coming to singapore to perform and they are very well known okay it can even cost over hundred dollars which is not


feasible for err for the budget of, singapore and uh the pay scale over here so it becomes a, it's a lifestyle for live for the luxuries, okay and and next thing is this is a more of entertainment where it's not more a necessity where


the case in singapore over here, our our main source of entertainment is I think like, playing games or watching movie streaming but in terms of arts okay especially performing arts like uh stage dramas musics okay err


then err dances where we just go and watch from a, from a theatres all this, it has really become a luxury it's very expensive and, it's not a must because , ya we have all these devices right where we can even see some of these stage dramas all this for free on like


so, it comes to a point that why do we need to do it where, and compared to this and all this were all like a traditional kind of, err of things back then, and it's now it's like people are more suited to a modern culture


where it doesn't become, much err how to say, err, more well received among singaporeans, ya, so with that ya Hitesh what do you have to say


okay Hitesh okay you have said that people actually you have mentioned that people actually adore this uh, live concerts which were err which is all, made up by err like a very famous international artist like coldplay okay some of them linkin park ya definitely they come uh yes


agree but, you see they adore this yes they adore K people really save up for it, err you don't know how much err who are actually these people who are actually coming for this concert, you really don't know who are these people coming for this concert they are actually people


who are very err who , majority of them are youngsters okay, they may just do part time they've earned enough money just for this concerts okay some of them will be right only a few of them are very hardcore fans okay these people have


uh saved up this money for many many months just for attending his concert this just proves okay , the amount of money okay just looking at this money where they are some people ready to spend hundreds of dollars, okay it just states that this is a luxury


just by stating and you stated it's a luxury okay it doesn't become a necessity straight away, it's definitely not a necessity when it is a luxury because , luxury can't be made as a necessity where, because most of us don't afford a luxury lifestyle


the people who coming down, to this place all this okay they themself have saved up enough money just for days ago and they may be compromising on some other things in their lives okay such as they will reduce down their own other fees okay


so and they will be doing err, other things , and there's a lot of things that has been happening over there in their lives so definitely I would say that


this err lives okay, err this thing for, lah this thing for importance for uh err, all these stage plays all these definitely becomes a luxury thing


okay ya, so next I move on to pass the time to Hitesh, okay


so yes still mentioning that it's a necessity okay from your point of view, okay so yes you have said that the people are really , err saving up so much money, to ready to go for it okay , okay


you need to still look, at the the greater people of who, of people who are not willing to go for it as well, okay , the amount of people when you take a ratio of this amount of people who really wants to go, compared to the people who really don't want to go because of the price it's you can clearly get an answer how many people are not willing to pay


it's because of the price first thing and, this and money is a big issue in singapore you have to see because it's not about talking about one or two dollars, you have to understand that it's more than, more than sixty seventy dollars close to hundred dollars where it's only the wealthiest can do necessity we have to see sometime


there's a different between that necessity okay which means it's a must must do thing compared to our want, for example okay let's see that this clears of uh COVID nineteen okay and there's a very big play coming up


okay err and the government has allowed okay to conduct this play and with uh one with let's see how many people actually comes up for the this thing it's not a lot because they are afraid of this thing this certainly proves it's not a necessity, it's a want


okay and we are always and the want the, the degree of the want is so high that we can consider it as a necessity, are you sure I don't think so, yes there are people I'm not saying okay there are people who don't consider it as a must must do


that that you have to, really watch their, err, acts the plays their performances back in singapore yes there are people who ready to go, ready to go overseas to even watch these kind of concerts yes I do but how what is the number of people that's more important


which is very significantly very low, because, the thing is it's the cost, because not a lot of people are ready to go and do it even the I under, I understand they're real there are a lot of, wants for this as what you have mentioned a lot of fans but


are they willing to go and ready to really see how many people actually go out see it, you compare to the actual friends compare to real people going out there, and it's very and I those expensive prices and, view to lose to consider as a necessity, I don't think so because last time


there was a need okay of entertainment, and there , and the only entertainment was stage play shows music dramas all this and, there was the only alternative, and then it became a necessity to watch this so what happened is this


and they adopted, these err, influences on this on this admiration towards this art, towards arts, started to bring down to the younger generation and so it's off, and there are some people really and


and the arts also took a evolution they became more modern, okay they peep us to at the paper the fan club just embraced, okay, so so some people really got a my, I didn't do it, but but this is


there is just a lot of fans that's it but is there a lot of people, really diehard, to go and watch this I don't think so, and it's definitely not a necessity because there's not only stage play dramas and shows in singapore Prem


part one debate, part one debate topic one


education should not only be concern with what is useful in life, education should be broad and cover different topics as each student might be interested in different things in life especially in the early life or early childhood as you might say what might be useless to one child might be useful for another child


the term of usefulness is also quite controversial as different people have different definition of the term useful, for example some people might claim that history is useless as it doesn't apply to current affairs but learning about the history will actually prevent people from committing the same mistakes that was made in the past


at the same time some topics might not be useful in life but it's still places great importance, current affairs for example are important although it is so called not useful in life it can negatively impact countries economies and people and that is why people actually keep up with the news


as time passes what might be useful could actually turned to useless and vice versa information technology for example and learning about certain hardware was considered useless and was frowned upon in the past


however and at the same time in the history no one believe that man could fly as well until someone invented the technology needed, to accomplish it many new topics became useful and sought after only after it existed


if people only focus on what is useful for example how to count money or , social skills or dramatisation then what many many industries that exist now might not have even be existing right now anymore


ya the ends my point


so, I agree with what you say that saying that like certain things might be that you said that are useless so called useless in life because maybe uh


it doesn't help the students and but then this, but because I bring back to the question which is to discuss how education should only be concerned with what is useful in life of course what is useful in life should be included inside because it is important but it shouldn't be the only


thing that is taught in education because, like I said there is also the term of usefulness is also quite controversial because what might be useful for one child might be useless for another and that brings me to another point that there might not be even enough educators in singapore


for for teachers or educators to educate or teach their child the the child or student, so called what is useful to them because what is useful to every single child or student is different then we will have we would have to have one single educator that is right for every single child or student


which is not possible, and then of course , uh what might be useful now like I said could be useless maybe next time ten years down the road or maybe even sooner than you expect it


ya uh that is my point


so according according to your point saying that children from the age of zero to six they might not know what they want in life , however we are talking about twenty twenty right now and there are actually many children who actually know what they want to do in life they're


young geniuses as we see online or on the news that they say that , oh this two year old child these three year old child uh love singing loves dancing uh there're there're even children now that uh the twelve and they started dancing when there are three years old they knew that what that's what they want to do and they are very successful right now


so that's that's why I said that you shouldn't be concerned with what is just useful in life of course because if it's not there child the child that child is not exposed to dance early in life then, they might not be get to even enjoy what they're doing uh they are doing right now ya that ends my point


part two debate topic two


okay so , conformity brings, conformity should be the main aim of all schools as conformity brings order that is needed for learning conformity facilitates the inculcation of a set of values that children can live by


when they grow up and enter adulthood and the world of work nowadays young children are also asked by their teachers to come up with rules together, and to set a certain set of moral values and rules that they stick by


people will then have a set of moral values , or a sense of what is right and wrong that they lived by as they grow older conformity east schools also play a major role in fulfilling their task of educating the teens and preparing them for the world outside the walls of school building


they obediently with their heads down students are taught to become successful executives, an agreeable members of society this is to prevent any disorder and parents also dream of a great so called perfect teen that is greatly academically great ethic academically


and it's also good at sports and thus household chores wherever they are, it is also it also ensures peace and order in school and this ensures that the school can be a safe place for the students while studying conformity also allows students to develop discipline and ensure consistency and equality in our schools


if there is no order students who so called develop their own individuality they can just skip school and not place education as a priority there could also be more fights and disorder as


they don't they don't really know what is right and wrong as they are not taught from young and this skill can will can also bring a negative light to each school's image according to peter Caruso conformity also brings a sense of belonging to the school for example


school uniforms are standardised as individuality can bring disorder when students wear whatever they want it is also easier for teachers to recognise students this way even if students were allowed to wear their own clothing there are also dress codes enforced


this is on a short term basis in school at the same time it also helps the nation's economy and prosperity as there would be a lower percentage of crimes this is why fines and jail terms actually exist out of school well therefore rules and order should be maintained in school


and without conformity as the main aim, education will not move as smoothly, that ends my point


okay so , just just like how you mention that uh conformity by having conformity them, or individuality are over conformity uh there might be good positive or negative points but if we focus on the negative points there are also uh certain issues that will be brought up to like for example


if there is no conformity and everybody do what they want their let me give you an example I think many people would agree on this if there was a zombie so called zombie apocalypse people would say that oh I mean if the world is coming to an end right so why not I just steal certain


things I do certain things but, but if you go by conformity and say that uh the reason why conformity is important is because so called we are taught since young that this is wrong, so we do not steal we do not do certain we do not commit certain crimes and this is to maintain peace and order in singapore and many other countries if there is individuality and they just do whatever they want and what they feel that


is right for the country then we can take a look at what's going on in hong-kong, how there are fights breaking out because they strongly believe, in what they think is right and there are so many riots going on , there are so many deaths going on but this does not happen in singapore because there is conformity to hold us back to let us know that this is wrong this will be this will be a this will bring a negative light to singapore this will bring negative


uh consequences to our economy as well as our nation, ya that end my that ends my point


I feel that conformity should still be the main aim of schools at it at as it applies to many part of life not just


while your schooling but out of school as well as I said there are laws and fines and all that of course but it also applies to our own social lives as well when you make friends because of conformity by conforming to others you know what is right and wrong to say


because if you if it's just individual individuality, then you just say whatever you want to say you might be offending your friend or a group of friends but by use by, conforming to your friends you actually know what is right and wrong to say so that you do not offend anybody and this is to ensure that there is a smooth flow within uh while maintaining social order as well as social uh


like being with friends so like this is also important as uh social social , social uh


social cues are also learnt in school and this also helps benefits our education, uh, oh ya that ends my point


I still think that conformity it should be the main main main aim of all schools as like what you said there are CCAs to ensure that there's individualism , however in secondary school we uh said that CCA is compulsory


but there are actually many students if they go by individualism they don't actually want to go to the a CCA but they're forced to and that is where the form of conformity appears this is to ensure that each student has a healthy interest


or are exposed to a variety of interests and new hobbies, in life, and that is why conformity should also uh be important in school and without conformity and if we solely rely on individualism individualism


then uh I still feel that there will be a lot of disorder as well as problems in society that ends my point


part three debate topic three


although it is possible that students can be educated from home people should still not be educate people should not be educated from home


although although education could be held by uh uh two ways either webinars meaning online or by home schooling it possess certain issues for students as well as their family student might students might just leave their


laptops on but not focus during the online classes as well, students who have to sit and face a screen for long hours at home could pose a it could pose certain health issues such as an increased rate of myopia as well as the lack of exercise as in school there are sports curriculum as well as physical education to ensure that students keep fit


in school there are a myriad of choices in the , canteen meals are prepared to ensure that students are nutritionally nourished at home many parents are busy and are are unable to make meals for their


child or or the, students and the students are usually so busy that they might even rely on instant meals and instant meals instead of cooking themselves , food delivery is also possible however it will come at a higher costs that the family has to bear if education is held at home this also takes away the chances for students to make friends and socialise and form as well as form a network


network that could benefit them long term in their work home schooling is also much more expensive around the around double the price of traditional schooling there are also not enough teachers for every single student


if you go by homeschooling so even if even though it's a it is a possibility for some to be home schooled it's not feasible for every student to be educated at home, at the same time parents are busy and and are unable to monitor their child's progress as well students might also have a lack of motivation as there is no competition with peers and teachers


to push them to excel in studies, ya that ends my point


okay so you mentioned that laptop distraction can also apply when uh students are in school however that only applies to uh tertiary education like polytechnic or university but if you look at secondary school and primary school


children do not have a laptop or phone to look at, during their lesson time and this is why it's it is more beneficial towards the younger age group of secondary school as well as primary school to have actually have a physical school where they won't be distracted like at home


because there will be a teacher in class to monitor them at the same time when you limit education and have education at home although it is a possibility this can this should not happen as it can make the


home or so called the house their whole world as because as they are not exploring the outside world, you mentioned that bullying can happen in school, uh because of even though there are


uh, beneficial uh side towards social interaction but bullying can actually happen in work as well


and due as you said that because of the COVID situation right now it is good because it's so called safer to study at home however many people have actually complain that staying at home feels like they're being jailed


because they cannot go to school they missed their friends they cannot go out and this is, why start uh state uh, studying at home and having education at home should not be the right way to go and we should actually have a physical school although it could happen but I still stand to my point that it should not happen


the ends my point


uh if we go back to


part one us okay part one, debate topic one


okay education should only be concerned with what is useful in life I totally agree with it because if not then learning will just be a waste of time


when students learn only things that are useful in life the entire time that is spent on the education and in school is worthy as they will benefit from every single thing that they have learnt, for example quoting a preschool approach called the montessori approach is a curriculum approach to guide the children's learning uh preschool learning in school


okay this approach is by maria montessori and for their approach it's very special because instead of forcing the children to start off by focusing on academic learning, they actually develop special toys specifically to teach life skills and then from the life skills


part they will learn uh the basic academics like the math the err the language and the discovery of the world and when it comes in everything is meaningful to them so that they actually learn actually what is really useful in their life , based on their life skills that they have picked up through these toys


so students who start learning academically first may advance first in the early years because they you know they know like one plus one equals two that kind of thing but actually when they grow up and in the near future they will lag behind in a lot of life skills


so looking at the progression and the uh evolution of the preschool education in singapore right in the past when I was a kindergarten a kindergartener , uh daily classes revolved a a lot around academics where we will just sit down with our friends at the table and then we will do a lot of paperwork


but to this date preschool system is actually very different already and instead of doing all the papers work and having all the answers close ended when even I don't understand I just kind of have to memorise the answer which I technically don't , really like is technically not really useful for me


so therefore it don't benefit my life at all, so now as time pass right most of the preschool in singapore uses play as a medium to help children learn all sorts of skills especially life skills at one go including the understanding of academic skills and altogether with life skills


for instance right school makes you makes use of dramatic learning corners for the children to pretend play like they are stuff of a ice cream store or a Roti Prata stall that kind of thing , so why is it that you know why I say that uh this will actually help in the life skills it doesn't mean that they will all be food sellers in the near future


but these actually this process actually help them to learn to you know communicate and converse with one another and also how does buying selling and managing money is like which is like directly linked to their entire life instead of purely teaching the steps to run a store which technically is not useful to everybody ya


okay I do agree that uh you know what seems to be useful to me may not be useful to another person but I feel I still feel that I am I strongly agree that education should be the main of you know the uh


education should only focus on what is useful in life because if not then it's a waste of time that you know we are, looking at things that are not useful for instance when we are in school we first learn things that are useful but the things that


may benefit us in the future like you know the invention the one that you say the invention of the human's flying that can come later in life where you know we have already a basic set of skills that are already useful to our life, then from there we will proceed to you know learning other things outside of school that may you know uh be useful to our individual life per se


so I still feel that you know we should always learn useful things in in our you know uh schools uh because education actually taught us certain unseen things that actually affects our quality of life and how we look at life which should not be the case so uh instead of


you know the things that are you know in front of us showing you know academics is useful and maybe how to run a store is not useful but actually there are many much more unseen unseen things that actually uh indirectly already effect on how we look at life as we grow up so I'm gonna estate a few statements and


I'm gonna elaborate more as well so these are what we kept kind of being uh what we kind of uh retrieved uh these are the unseen things that are kind of retrieved throughout our experience in school so number one failure is disastrous number two there is always a right answer


number three someone will tell you what you will need to do number four only syllabus is important so let's move to the first point that I've said failure is disastrous have you, ever thought that you know uh back in your school days you score a very very bad uh score for your examination did you have a fear of actually showing your result slips to your parents I mean


not, all parents are you know results oriented and you know they they go for the results but I, I'm stating for most of the people especially in singapore uh parents do compare and you know uh want their want the best for their child so you know when I was young


when I score a very bad result I I don't dare to show my, parents and why is this so because you know if we show our parents then we are going to get scolded we are going to you know be blamed for not uh working hard, right but actually you know schools should actually encouraged children uh students to dare to fail to overcome obstacles to surmount challenges and to go at it again so that they don't lose their self esteem in trying and that's what you know


what is useful in our uh future when we grow up and become adults to go to work uh you know we shouldn't be afraid to fail because when we are afraid to fail then you know we will not, dare to try again so that's why in school system if let's say uh you you know we we I've uh in school system if let's say this keeps continue going on it's not useful at all because when we you know move out to the society


we will still feel that you know failure is disastrous and we will not you know dare to try so this is technically not useful at all so it should, you know we should be encouraged to dare to fail so that you know we can overcome obstacles especially in our later part of our life when we move to the society okay number two there is


always a right answer so you know in school we are technically you know always doing exams always you know doing test papers and always there is always just one, right answer towards these paper it's actually not useful at all okay because when we move on to other society later part in our life you know we there is almost no no one


right, answer we can adapt like we can adopt like numerous approaches to same problems and that is what you know companies are actually looking for nowadays you know uh you need to be you know creative you need to be able to be flexible to you know solve different different problems with different approaches because there is just no right


no right answer to you know there's no just one right answer to it so that's why in schools uh we should only be you know we should not have this you know exam approach where there is one, right answer because it's technically not useful uh to our life


okay and the next one someone will tell you what you need to do, now if you can recall back in our school days we are usually told like okay today page one to page three is your homework then you finish this finish this finish this actually this is you know not useful for our society life at all


because most students wait to be told on what homework to do but in society no you have to you know when you want to be advance and you know be better than, uh be better than others you need to prove yourself by you know being uh on the on the ground, uh learn more things and you know upgrade yourself as the time goes by


okay so when we are told, what homework to do what projects to work on what to study then this will not technically achieve will not technically achieve success in the real world when we move on to the society , being compliant and obedient can only get you this far but if you want to add value to the community and organisation and also the company that I was saying just now


you need to take the initiative to self upgrade, you need to ask questions not just follow instructions you'll need to go beyond what you are expected to you'll need to do more than you are paid to so ya that is this is why this you know should this unseen


point shouldn't be in school and at all because it's technically useless because we need to you know we take initiative take do more things when we are in the society, okay last but not least only the syllabus is important this is technically not true okay and this is technically useless because the school system emphasises that exam uh the school


system actually only emphasises on exam performance where you know you either can promote if you pass you can promote if you fail then you don't you don't be promoted, now this can cost students to associate learning with exam and nothing else if it's not going to be tested why bother learning it right


so in the real world there are hardly any formal exams neither is there a syllabus that outlines the knowledge and skills you simply must possess because of the mindset that only what is in the syllabus is important , many people don't read at all so as you move on to the society you will stop reading because you'll you will not be tested so you will not be able to upgrade you will not have the mindset that you need to upgrade yourself ya and I will


I want to reiterate that education should only focus on the useful things in life and you know all the pointers that I have stated have, prove that you know what we are learning in school now is technically what with the unseen things that we have learning in school now is actually technically not useful for the future ya I end my point


okay ya so I do agree that uh you know your reiteration of you know uh what may uh what may be useful to one child uh may uh as in a a student may not be useful to another student however in uh you know the early years from zero to six and also the teen uh the the the


what's it called like the the student year which is like from you know zero the learning years from zero all the way to you know when they end the secondary school like maybe till sixteen they technically uh you know they need to have uh they need to learn you know the basis of education and stuff like that so


technically majority of them what is usual what is useful to the majority of them should be the same because they have not really figure out like you know what I want to be when I grow up, so you can't expect uh you know a two year old toddler to tell you oh I want to be a teacher when I grow up then uh you know you need an educator to specifically teach this child uh you know how to be a teacher which then possesses the usefulness to the child


but technically that is not the case you know from the learning years all the way till you know they grow up right they technically don't have an idea, of what may be useful in their life in the near future so maybe okay that in in in that case that if let's say the toddler that that is two years already can tell you that oh I want to be a teacher in the uh in the future and you know that is what is really uh meaningful and useful for him that at that point of time


so like you say right you know what is useful now may not be useful in the future, so this child that is two years old can voice out that I want to be a teacher now so uh you know we hire a specific educator to teach him how to be a teacher, but you know ten years down the road as he grow up he he you know he is not going to he may not be a teacher and that is not useful at all so what I'm saying is that uh you know schools should mainly you know concerned uh and teach only things that are useful


part two debate topic two


agree that you know preschools especially you know as what we can see in singapore you know teachers do ask their children to come up with uh rules that they can follow but


I think that as uh children their age right you know there are certain set of rules that they should you know they should be abiding by but that does not mean that that is conformity , why do I say so uh the teachers don't necessary uh


are not necessary the ones coming out with the rules but most in most of the preschools in singapore they asked the children to come up with the rules and that is you know uh that is the basis of individuality in the sense already and that is technically not conformity so when its conformity the teacher say one


the children cannot say two but actually you know we still, uh we still we still think that you know all the all childs all children are unique in their own ways and you know they can speak up their mind they can you know share ideas


and what they think about so that brings me to the point that conformity should not be the aim of our schools in this century most countries focuses on the freedom of people and not treating people like criminals conforming to everything around


so like you know uh you cannot do this you cannot do that, then you know what happens to humans where we we we just become criminals of a government or criminals of a school, so a good way to see it is that throughout the entire globe only five countries that you know among so many other countries in a globe are actually


community uh communist countries so let me repeat only five countries out of the entire globe are actually communist countries as of two zero one nine based on statistics by world population review, this shows that individualism is definitely more important which it should start being enforced from young and therefore conformity should not be the aim the main aim for all schools yes there uh there should be some part of conformity like the rules and regulations but it shouldn't be the main aim of all schools


according to kelly melissa in an article called the core purposes of education on seven july two zero one nine, a few of the main focus of education's are creating thoughtful citizens self esteem and confidence and teach students how to live


these pointers mention which I strongly believe in should be the main aim of all schools and it does not coincide, or, have any slightest link to conformity at all, with conformity humans don't become extra you know thoughtful citizens and which they can go extra mile of what they can conform to to become the thoughtful citizens that you know education wants to bring uh what what is the main purpose of education


so with conformity right uh you know we are maybe if the school, teach the children uh teach the students to maybe say oh you have to do charity by donating money, but you know as they grow up if they just follow that


one form of you know uh one form of charity which they confirm to there will not be people out there you know going to households to do cleaning for the elderlies there will not be people donating food there will not be people like bringing elderlies out for a walk or even you know uh


teachers bringing children to the elderly homes to perform for them because as they conform to you know a certain rule charity is only through monetary donation, okay with conformity humans cannot have high self confidence as there is nothing they can do above conformity in which everybody is following to boost their uh confidence where they can achieve higher in various aspect


so if let's say there is only a certain way of doing things then everybody in the in the school will be the same and nobody dares to you know try something else or another approach and you know maybe that approach may bring him very very high self confidence as he succeed from the approach