Well a few posts before I mentioned that I do not know what SPM means. It turns out it means: Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), or the Malaysian Certificate of Education. Here is anther post linking to a non-existant Singapore Times article, tough it is possible it is just the links that are broken.
The URL: http://educatedeviate.wordpress.com/2007/03/15/exam-results-season-finally-some-sanity/
There is also some very interesting commentary about the rush for As. Brian Yap tells the SPM students that there is more to life than just their As:
Some of you will go out into the workplace. Some will continue studying in a tertiary education institution locally or abroad. Whatever you end up doing, remember that education is a wonderful thing. School is only a small part of it. You could have a hundred As, yet still know nothing. Or you could be an Oxford graduate and still behave like a bigot. And even after you’ve stopped studying, remember that education doesn’t end — it never does. Getting to know someone from a different background is education. Trying a new dish is education. Reading a book is education. Travelling, too. Much of the skills you’ll need in life, unfortunately, aren’t taught in school. It’s only now your real education begins.
…
Above all, realise that while SPM might mean the world to you today, it will become virtually irrelevant in the future. No one will offer you a job simply because you scored 10As but if you fail miserably in university. Nor will they decline you one if you were an exceptional student in college, simply because your SPM results were mediocre.
No one will judge you because you failed one or two papers or received near-perfect results. They will, however, evaluate you based on how hard you’re willing to work. How much you want to succeed. How you treat others. How open your mind is to new things. How well informed you are.
Your SPM certificate is but a piece of paper. Your life, however, is yours to live. How you live it is what will make all the difference.
And another on the same article:
http://expedited.blogspot.com/2007/03/brian-yap-just-sayin-beyond-those-as.html
Brian Yap.
I love his weekly column in the New Straits Times. It’s the fluidic, intellectually well written prints like these is the reason why some of my family members, and me as well, remain one of NST’s subscribers.