Today in Singapore I visited the Asian Civilizations Museum and the Peranakan Museum.
Many people in Singapore are proud to call themselves Peranakan. This term refers to offspring of the the original people who came here from foreign lands and married with local ladies. There are Indian Peranakans, European Peranakans, Chinese Peranakans, and Malay Peranakans. Each brought their culture, cuisine, and religions to this region to make it a highly diverse city where several languages hold sway.
Malay and Chinese are the official languages while English is the common language they all share (and Singlish is their own special brand of English that is recognized as a World English and therefore considered an acceptable standard English.)
It seems like the education system here is light years ahead of Hong Kong and the States. Their mathematics program is being copied in other countries and they have dealt with this Medium of Instruction issue in a way that HK could learn from.
School in Singapore is year-round and all students have to study their maternal language and their own religion. When I was at an Indian temple there was a group of school children learning about the gods depicted in the elaborate temple's roof decor.
Chinese kids learn Chinese and ... Buddhism I guess. And there are Christian studies for Christians as well.
Everyone speaks English- or at least Singlish as well as have a handle on their own ethnic language and culture AS WELL AS see themselves as Singaporean and have a pride of nationalism. Remarkable.
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