Another humbling moment...

I went to a neighbourhood secondary, on the mission to attract academically strong students to join our JC.
I didn't know what i was in for until a harbinger came from the principal. She made a passing remark as she walked passed my booth, "Wah, JC also here to set up a booth?"
I was more than shocked to hear that, but not so when i realised what would transpire in 20 minutes' time when students got their 'O' levels results.
The top student from that school was an 11 pointer.
No, i didn't fall off my chair, but it did put things in perspective...
My secondary school is a neighbourhood school, but many amongst us scored better than 11. Many eventually landed meaty scholarships and are now doing extremely well.
When our vice-dean welcomed us on our first day in uni, he told us we were the cream of the crop, the top 5 per cent of the A level cohort. Of course, my ego was boosted hearing that. It was reassuring.
Then i fumbled through my four years in uni, losing count of the many Cs i scored along the way. I felt like an underachiever even though i was supposedly among the best.
Landed a job that made many went "Wah...!!!" But i felt like "Duh...no big deal" because it really wasn't.
And our principal told us that teachers who are sent to JCs are, again, supposedly the better ones from the cohort. Again, i went "Duhhh..can't be...it has got to be more of a coincidence"...
Back to the neighbourhood school i told you about at the start of this blog entry. I saw a crowd of students patting a classmate's back going, " Ho seh lah U...17 points can go JC leh...Ho Seh lah..Do so well!" Then scores of students skipped away from my booth, as though i was a plague, while dismissing their results, saying, "Ehh, JC ah? Haha.."
I entered a completely different world. One that i was never exposed to. I didn't give much thought previously that only the top 20 to 25 % go to JCs in my time. No big deal.
On that day, i thought, "so what happens to the remaining 75% every year? That's a lot of people. Am i missing out on interacting with people of all strata? It's a scaring thought, that i'm only mixing with "my own kind" of people. What are their lives like, for the rest of them? What has education done to us? Stratifying us according to academia, so much so that we don't know how the "other kinds" lead their lives. No close contact with them in my life. So what have i got to offer my students anyway, when my exposure to fellow Singaporeans has been so limited? Yes, i suddenly felt like i was in "The Matrix", not knowing my life has already been shaped by SOMEBODY...