PSLE Seminar - A manifestation of kiasu

Those of you living in Singapore will know that PSLE (Primary School Leaving Examination) is taken at the end of primary education in Singapore. What surprised me was that they have seminars for parents, to prepare parents for PSLE, to help parents cope with the stress of having a kid who is taking PSLE. Hey, isn't the one taking the examinations the kid? What has parents got to do with this? Stress for parents? Huh? The one who should be feeling the heat should be the kid, not the parents.

I knew the rat race in Singapore is bad. And Singaporeans are kiasu (meaning they are afraid of losing out). Now, it is not just the adults involved, but they are afraid that their kids will lose out... must everything be compared in Singapore? Must we always be competing against others? Can't we compete against ourselves, challenge ourselves to do better than what we had previously done? I mean, being better than your neighbour doesn't mean you are realising your potential and being the best that you can be.

Are we so myopic that we are satisfied as long as we are better than our neighbours?