Singapore Excluding Astronomy In Education Is “Narrow-Minded

[Gary]

Hey guys,

I just stumbled on this forum while i'm at work. I have an AZ70 Astromaster sitting at my fiance's place in kovan with an accessory kit containing lenses varying from 6mm to 32mm and coloured lenses. I'm staying at AMK avenue 10 so i might drop by for some of your oberservation sessions. I usually do observations at my fiance's place coz she has an open roof with minimal light pollution. I am quite keen to study the basics of stellar and planetary positioning in the night sky but i can't find anyone to teach me. I have tried studying through books online but i'm having difficulty understanding them. I do have some knowledge on astronomy like characteristics of our solar system's moons and known discoveries about the system's planets but no one keen enough to discuss with.

I hope to get together with some of you guys once in awhile to do some academic study on astronomy and also learn a few things practically. I really hope to hear some responses

Brandon Hendricks signing off.

Hi Brandon. Welcome to the forum!

You can check the Events and Observation regularly and join the stargazing sessions when you are free: viewforum.php?f=5

Have you tried browsing at the astronomy books in the public libraries? Especially the reference section in the 3 regional library (Tampines, Jurong, Woodlands) which you can loan them since last year. You may also check out the books at Kinokuniya Takashimaya which has a full shelf of astronomy related books.

Some of us do public outreach astronomy near McDonald's at Bishan Park. Good luck and hope to observe with you at AMK someday!

P.S. Your post here in a thread about astronomy education in Singapore is slightly off-topic. You may wish a start new thread somewhere to continue this conversation (e.g. in the General Astronomy subforum)

[fizzy123]

I think people need to have a realistic expectations with regards to not only astronomy, but science as a whole, when you are speaking in context of Singapore as a nation and society.

Singapore government is a microcosm of a typical Singapore society and mentalities. It is fiercely pragmatic and economy driven and focused. So when it comes to science, it sees science as an enabler in terms of delivering new technologies to augment or improve the productivity and competitiveness of our economy (e.g. SME, MNC) and to create job opportunities in Singapore. As such, the focus of science in SG is almost exclusively aligned towards "technology" rather than fundamental. So in SG you can hardly see people doing research on anthropology, paleethnology, cosmology, in fact, if you were to apply for grants from NRF, they will be more concerned about the tangible benefits from the research e.g. start-ups, patents, training of grad students, transfer of technology to SME/MNC.

So will the public be ready to accept more astronomy into their syllabus, beyond the mere introduction of the solar system in primary school? I am not optimistic as parents will be crying for MOE's blood for wasting public money on teaching their kids "things that cannot help them secure a high paying, respectable job in the future".