# data[].attributes.headline
[Individual Reflection] Please indicate your name here. 

# data[].attributes.subject
[Individual Reflection] Please indicate your name here. 

# data[].attributes.body
1. What are the ideas that resonated with you &/or surprised you?
2. Were there thoughts/feelings evoked that may have caused some dissonance?

# data[].attributes.body
1. What are the ideas that resonated with you &/or surprised you?

2. Were there thoughts/feelings evoked that may have caused some dissonance?

# data[].attributes.headline
[Individual Reflection] Please indicate your name here. 

# data[].attributes.subject
[Individual Reflection] Please indicate your name here. 

# data[].attributes.body
1. What are the ideas that resonated with you &/or surprised you?
2. Were there thoughts/feelings evoked that may have caused some dissonance?

# data[].attributes.headline
[Individual Reflection] Please indicate your name here. 

# data[].attributes.subject
[Individual Reflection] Please indicate your name here. 

# data[].attributes.body
1. What are the ideas that resonated with you &/or surprised you?
2. Were there thoughts/feelings evoked that may have caused some dissonance?

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Localisation & Integration (<--- Caption here)

# data[].attributes.headline
Jennifer Tan/ABC Pri (<-- Name / School)

# data[].attributes.subject
Jennifer Tan/ABC Pri (<-- Name / School)

# data[].attributes.body
As Singapore attracts more global citizens and its population continues to grow more diverse, our culture and identity also become more fluid and contested. I have never thought that even within the different cohorts immigrants found in Singapore, they would have quite varied perceptions of themselves and of other immigrants as well.

(CLICK "+" TO ADD POST TO YOUR SCHOOL'S SECTION.)

# data[].attributes.headline
[Individual Reflection] Please indicate your name here. 

# data[].attributes.subject
[Individual Reflection] Please indicate your name here. 

# data[].attributes.body
1. What are the ideas that resonated with you &/or surprised you?
2. Were there thoughts/feelings evoked that may have caused some dissonance?

# data[].attributes.headline
[Individual Reflection] Please indicate your name here. 

# data[].attributes.subject
[Individual Reflection] Please indicate your name here. 

# data[].attributes.body
1. What are the ideas that resonated with you &/or surprised you?
2. Were there thoughts/feelings evoked that may have caused some dissonance?

# data[].attributes.headline
[Individual Reflection] Please indicate your name here. 

# data[].attributes.subject
[Individual Reflection] Please indicate your name here. 

# data[].attributes.body
1. What are the ideas that resonated with you &/or surprised you?
2. Were there thoughts/feelings evoked that may have caused some dissonance?

# data[].attributes.body
A thought...Nearer to school, Full sbb and one of its intents of social mixing. We will need to think hard about the social anchors (and perhaps even the physical/environmental anchors) we need to put in place for this to happen

# data[].attributes.body
When our student is localized and different from their migrant parents. Family conflict arises which may have ripple effect to school work.

# data[].attributes.body
Our society needs to promote the abundance mentality. As A/P mentioned on the affinity diaspora, we will never know that one day that we may be immigrant ourselves :)

# data[].attributes.body
With the increasing complexity of the World Order, having more knowledge of our new immigrants is reassuring and helps build our inter-cultural understanding, esp when dealing with parents/students who are new immigrants.
The dissonance - comes from observations of how some immigrants have built an oasis around themselves that shuts out all things Singapore yet they say they want to integrate. How to reach out to ppl still stuck in their old Wechat groups? How much programming will be enough to overcome the challenges of new media?

# data[].attributes.body
1. This was mentioned. In fact schools already have social anchors in place within our school programmes that promote assimilation. One thought that came to mind is that this is a reminder for our students that these multi-diversity in school reflects our nation's relationship with other countries at a relational and economic level as well.

2. I am not quite sure forces beyond the school are quite parallel with the readiness in schools in terms of assimilation.

# data[].attributes.headline
I think that the way new migrants and newer migrants distancing themselves is not uncommon. Even Singaporeans overseas do the same.

# data[].attributes.subject
I think that the way new migrants and newer migrants distancing themselves is not uncommon. Even Singaporeans overseas do the same.

# data[].attributes.body
Anchors for assimilation though artificial is necessary in Singapore's context. Our multiracial composition is now morphing more than ever and will need a touch of creativity to leverage on existing platforms to promote interaction and assimilation.

# data[].attributes.body
Nationalism is important to ensure the rootedness of its citizens and therefore, the survival and sustained success of a country. However, nationalism and relatedly, ethnocentrism, can also be dangerous. As human beings, we do what we must or what we think is best for ourselves and our loved ones, and migration has been a solution since time immemorial. We must educate students to not persist in psychologically dividing ourselves based on artificial geographical boundaries, but instead think like global citizens or at least more empathetically. Who knows where life will bring us? For anyone who finds themselves in another nation for any of Life's reasons, they should embrace the new and do their best to assimilate, and this does not have to mean cutting emotional ties with the nation of origin.

# data[].attributes.body
Our students as potential affinity diaspora is a new concept to me. And as for creating social anchors in schools, we can leverage on the structures/programmes that are already in place.

# data[].attributes.body
With more diversity within the classroom, we need to be more intentional in creating social anchors amongst our students, without making it seem forced/engineered. I'm also wondering how can we impart/teach empathy and sensitivity in our students to navigate these relationships.

# data[].attributes.body
Extending the idea of social anchors, how might we shape an inclusive culture through our structures and practices especially in the context of FSBB and embracing students who need more support in their learning and growth?

# data[].attributes.body
Considering that our students are coming from even more diverse backgrounds than before, social anchors are certainly vital in maintaining a sense of solidarity in school. Also, the identity that we may think one student has might be different from his/her own perception and more intentional effort should be put into getting the student better.

# data[].attributes.body
The title for this segment (navigating complexities) is so apt as we are moving into a more complex social network, which requires (sometimes) deliberate actions. Good to relook at our current practices and refresh approaches

# data[].attributes.body
It's interesting to know that even within the immigrants, they categorized themselves as old and new. What's important for me is that the old immigrants are like us, fiercely guarding our Singapore Identity!

# data[].attributes.body
As prof shared, it is important that we be less judgemental and see everything in binary terms. Need to inculcate these values in students too. Every immigrant whether they stay for the long term or not is contributing to Singapore and it’s growth. Let’s leverage on these for the long haul. Let’s be kinder and be balanced in our views.

# data[].attributes.body
The journey forward for Singapore needs to be inclusive - anchored on empathy. Big asks in a migrant society as ours, where public opinion is being constantly buttressed by social media and influencers(especially the younger gen). The roles of educators - education systems - schools as social levellers - as key components of social engineering that is often tacitly present in society is becoming increasing complex. Perhaps the answer here is not increased CCE training for teachers - instead sensitising conversations that are well facilitated are important.

# data[].attributes.body
There's no surprises in what Elaine shared. The willingness to invest time and effort by both parties (locally-born citizens and xin yi min)to bring about the mutual respect and understanding.

# data[].attributes.body
School experiences are natural social anchors whereby students from diverse backgrounds come together to bond, play and study. In CCAs, for example, foreign students are welcomed to join Uniformed Groups. During important school events such as National Day, International friendship, CNY, Hari Raya, Deepavali and etc, we learn more about each other in fun ways.

# data[].attributes.body
I'm thinking about the point on social anchors how we can create authentic experiences in our schools that allow students to showcase their strengths so that they personally feel that they have a part to play in the school community, and their peers also recognise their strengths.

# data[].attributes.body
School serves as a 'foothold' where it connects people with diverse backgrounds. Instead of creating 'new activities' to connect people, we can look at our existing programmes in the school. With the shared interest and common goals, it can foster interaction, and allow exchange of intercultural knowledge. E.g. RS Dance is an example where it brings all Riversidians together.

# data[].attributes.body
Appreciated the reminder that integration is a two-way street, and that the narrative of what it means to integrate can really vary from person to person.

# data[].attributes.body
As more schools are moving towards FSBB, it is even more timely to remind ourselves about the social anchors that we can leverage and build further to foster a greater sense of belonging be it for citizens or non-citizens. It's critical to find the common purpose we shared in our community.

# data[].attributes.body
As a student, I recall having peers who belong to the old new immigrants category. Indeed, many of them today have fully assimilated into the Singaporean culture and society through the education system and even NS. This indicates the importance of common experiences for immigrants to feel a sense of belonging to the host country i.e. Singapore. Now, as educators, we have a role to play through our various NE/CCE channels to help our new new immigrants integrate into a much more diverse and connected Singapore.

# data[].attributes.body
The complexity of the population mix now makes me question whether traditional modes of mixing different races together in activities is sufficient to bring about integration. I think more thought about the processes after grouping is necessary. The idea of getting the new immigrants to add value to the activity through their unique skills and knowledge is a good idea.

# data[].attributes.body
It is heartening that schools have or are already doing alot of intentional directives to promote diversity in students in terms of race, religion etc. Was thinking of how we can help our students to come up with ground up initiatives to promote such diversities too.

# data[].attributes.body
Some Singaporeans view that the new immigrants treat Singapore as a stopover or a stepping stone to other attractive living or work destinations. But the speaker offered another point of view whereby we can see this as a resource for Singapore eg when these people go into politics, they will have a better understanding to our country. I find this view rather interesting and we should remind ourselves to be more open-minded and less judging.

# data[].attributes.body
1. What are the ideas that resonated with you &/or surprised you?
i) The different groups of students in school with different prior experiences. Hence the thoughts on how to better engage them in school and to catch them early, in these case, the International students.

2. Were there thoughts/feelings evoked that may have caused some dissonance?
ii) For families that migrated to another country, different thoughts of the nature of assimilation exist and hence the general expectations that these families must function like a Singaporean family may cause some tension.

# data[].attributes.body
Internationalisation and school programs are meaningfully planned to ensure that our students have a better understanding of various cultures and traditions. Through such programs or activities
, we learn more about each other in a fun way.

# data[].attributes.body
The idea of "Re-migration" can be relooked from a perspective of creating more connections and positive publicity is a refreshing thought. As we strives hard to retain students, or migrants, we should be striving towards creating a positive environment for them, such that if they do leave due to one reason or another, it helps to open up more opportunities and bridges in the future.

# data[].attributes.body
The anchor is important for our students as  Parents may have strong feelings towards the migrants and may not teach the child to see things in the right perspective. Once during a PTM many years back, a father frustrated with her daughter's result made a rant on how SG has been biased against the local and making her daughter "lose out". It was her daughter who apologies to me privately and to her classmate (a daughter of a migrant) who overheard the conversation as she is next in line. This shows the impact that we can have through the social anchors. We have not influence the parents but they could act differently than their parents. This is a driver for our society to better than the ones before.

# data[].attributes.body
agree with the importance to provide a natural environment for social integration and the need for the social awareness for the differences among different individuals. perhaps can have a hybrid approach of intentionally engineering a natural social setting to allow social integration to take place. i also feel that it is important to develop empathy in students for both the locals and the immigrants

# data[].attributes.body
I am surprised to learn that even from the same country, like China, there are a lot of differences between ethnic groups.

In our classrooms, we are seeing students from different countries with different views and practices. To help our students to integrate with one another, I believe values inculcation is important. MTL and CCE play an important role in inculcating the right values in students to live harmoniously with one another in spite of diversity like ethnic beliefs and nationality.

# data[].attributes.body
Social anchors are already in place in schools - we do have many platforms like CCAs for students to mingle and interact. Immigrants could participate and join in to help in their own integration.

# data[].attributes.body
1) I was surprised at the amount of qualitative information that was captured through the research.
2) Nope - many of the points raised are logical and understandable. Some of them have even been discussed in the GP classroom.

# data[].attributes.body
Some aspects which were interesting to me include the idea of Singapore as a migration hub – while it makes sense on a national level to cultivate this to gain new talents outside our small pool of population, it also needs to be matched with integration efforts to prevent other internal social issues arising. Adult migrants to Singapore these days come in with higher net worth and links to their own native firms may have less impetus to socialize and assimilate, yet this enlarging group is nonetheless part of our society. Perhaps to this end, one possible integration effort is through the children who are in our local schools – perhaps one of the few platforms where migrant children can socialize and assimilate with the other children, and thereby, bring their experiences home, or grow up to identify more with Singapore.

It also got me thinking that while this sharing focused on sharing about migrants, ultimately it stems from the idea of the “other”, which could not only arise due to being from different nationalities, but also potentially from different races, SES, academic streams, etc. So to put things into our school context, social anchors for migrants seem to be a form of peer support and could also apply as bridges to connect not just students of different nationalities, but to build more social connections among our students of different backgrounds in general.

# data[].attributes.body
This issue is not new and I believe it has to do with sense of security. There are some strong push or pull factors that leads to migration, and it takes a lot of courage for a person to do this. As a host if we can continue to make this place more welcoming and safer for these migrants through an open mindset, and be more careful of our tendencies to stereotype and judge, our kindness and acceptance of migrants will be well reciprocated, thus leading to a positive integration and assimilation.

# data[].attributes.body
In my opinion, it is important that while we acknowledge the various existing social anchors in schools that we have to assimilate immigrants in school, we must ensure that these efforts are not viewed as tokenistic in nature. For example, discussions should go beyond commemoration of events such as IFD, and that there should be more platforms for such interactions to take place.

# data[].attributes.body
need to realise that it is a common human and social behaviour to find relations, commonalities and identities be it in terms of nationality, race, religion, school or class. Need to have a balance in school; forge identity but still able to integrate and be open to differences

# data[].attributes.body
Its quite surprising that when we try to speak in the same language as the migrants, this might have a negative impact as it reduces their ability to integrate. However, if we do not, i wonder if this might also alienate them? so its a thin line and we need to be observant on the surroundings and how the other person is reacting. Perhaps to look beyond programmes but to teach students how to react in social settings and be observant/ empathetic?

# data[].attributes.body
I like the idea of using informal channels for integration, for eg sports, shared hobbies and food. Food always works in Singapore. At the same time I also wonder how we move beyond that level of common understanding and appreciation of our differences, if we only stop at that stage.

# data[].attributes.body
The idea of seeing the new  immigrants treat Singapore as a stopover or a stepping stone to get to other more attractive living or work destinations from positive point of view surprised me. Anyway, we usually convey to our students that we should be keeping rooted while going global.

# data[].attributes.body
In school, while it's important to acknowledge and bring out the individual strengths of our students, it's also imperative to help them see others' strengths and see how they can complement one another for the greater good.

# data[].attributes.body
Social anchors need not only be conceived as a distinct physical programming / programme, but may be how we structure our schooling experiences in totality such as Full SBB.
Key is stringing each child's schooling experiences in a coherent way so that the "social anchors" are not piecemeal and fractured.

# data[].attributes.body
Ever faced new immigrant parents who are stressed over their children's competencies in their MTLs? As we think about how we can  further design our social spaces in schools as students from diverse backgrounds come to learn together, and build a common Singaporean identity while keeping our hearts open to embrace diversity and internationalization, similarly, students from the different new immigrant backgrounds will face their own set of complexities as they grow to be have their own individual identities and collective identities. Against the backdrop of globalisation and perhaps post-globalisation currently, how can we help our students grow to be truly global citizens with hearts that are open to embrace and celebrate diversity, and remain connected to Singapore?

# data[].attributes.body
Efforts of assimilation have to be deliberate. Yet at the same time, it has to be one that is nurtured over time. For example, language plays an important role in assimilating people of different backgrounds. Unfortunately, while the education system has matured over the years, the social mixing based on language continues to persist.

# data[].attributes.body
1)It’s interesting to know that within one gen, the immigrant decides to migrate out elsewhere. unlike the analogy of seeds dispersal I relate to last time.
2)learnt that the new cohort of immigrants coming in are more well to do compared to many year ago. Just wondering will this make the social economical divide even wider within Singapore?

# data[].attributes.body
Bearing in mind the "Digireal" driving force mentioned in the seminar reading, we may need to discuss and conceive the social anchors not just as physical / face-to-face experiences, but also as something that can materialise and take place in the digital spaces happening on our students' phones / personal learning devices.

# data[].attributes.body
After hearing the sharing by A/P Elaine Ho, I resonate with the idea that schools provide a natural platform for our students (regardless of their nationalities, race and religion) to discover more about themselves and to build relationships with their teachers and peers. I hope to leverage on the school programmes to inculcate values in my students and to develop a strong school identity among the students.

# data[].attributes.body
Moving beyond a "us" vs "them" to a "just us" mentality is not easy but it is important as our national identity will always be shaped by migration. Schools are a crucial stage for fostering inclusiveness and providing opportunities for youth to grow together and forge a common identity through shared experiences.

# data[].attributes.body
(1) I had earlier wondered about the relevance of the article before the session. On reflection, I realised that actually one of the first few questions I would ask my foreign students is when did they first arrive in Singapore as a student. I had found out long ago that this affects my expectations of their aptitude and ability for my subject. Those who joined the Singapore Education system in Pri or lower Secondary schools, usually become "corrupted" by the time they they reach us. Those who come in at JC1 are very usually more "on the ball", curious and want to always be the best in whatever they do. I suppose this is analogous to the xinxinyimin or laoxinyimin idea in the article.

# data[].attributes.body
Social anchoring enables us to better understand our students' experiences.

It is also worth mentioning social anchors will change over time and as such we can consider how to ensure these anchors are not simply perfunctory but also remain as links to issues of identity, security and integration.

# data[].attributes.body
Social anchors though engineered is nevertheless necessary just like our fsbb and some of our NE initiatives. The deliberate effort has certainly helped to bring two groups of ppl together.

# data[].attributes.body
It's amazing how interconnected and interdependent we are (geopolitical, globalisation forces etc), regardless of our nationality, or where on earth we may come from. It's also compelling to see the opportunities available to us how we choose to embrace and balance diversity and integration.

# data[].attributes.body
Learning Points:

1)  Integration efforts should be done early. Should they feel unwelcomed and discriminated in the early years/ months on arrival, immigrants may not want to assimilate themselves into our society.

2) Intentional anchors are necessary although, at first, it may look artificial. Hence programmes like the school’s english programme for international students are important. The rest of the SDEs can then be planned to further support integration efforts.

# data[].attributes.body
I do see better integration between the xinyimin and the local students compared to 10 years ago. I attribute that to more effort and knowledge from both sides to understand each other better. I also fully agree with A/P Elaine that our students are rather astute and forcing the social anchors may backfire.

# data[].attributes.body
Embracing international students and providing social anchors in our schools to assimilate them into our education system lays the foundation for our local students the interconnectedness and the empathy it creates will be essential to our ability to move forward.

# data[].attributes.body
One of the ways of having social anchors in school for the international students are having them taking the lead where they shared their knowledge and resources where they get to bond and connect with the rest of other students in school. This will help them to assimilate into the school and thus not restricting them to interact within their own social circle. Teacher must make this intentional therefore we do need to know our students well for their strengths in order to make the right pairing/grouping.

# data[].attributes.body
The idea of when an immigrant is most open to integration is striking to me. I think then schools play a highly critical role in helping with integration because we can be a 'natural' environment for it to happen. The opposite also becomes true in that if they come and have negative initial experiences, then we might make permanent a desire not to integrate.

# data[].attributes.body
Singaporean has a role to play in helping the new immigrants to integrate into our society. Building relationship is a 2-way traffic. It’s important to integrate the new immigrants, if not, there will be bigger diversity within the society which will bring more unhappiness among netizens.
School can definitely do more in this area of integration process as well.

# data[].attributes.body
I felt that the sharing on immigration could be linked to the article on 'Learning for the Future' where Angel Chew discusses, among other things, how we should not overlearn from history. The example that she gave was how we might have 'inadvertently overlearnt that there is no space to air racial and religious differences in public.' I think that one way we can help in assimilating and integrating new immigrants is to not be afraid to facilitate real and honest conversations where we appreciate the differences that may exist between us, in the hope that we will realise how similar we are after all.

# data[].attributes.body
The points presented helped me to make sense of the observations that I had. That even immigrants in the recent decades may also view each other differently.
Drawing similarity, when we have new members in our teams, organisations, it means that we also do not make assumptions of the team dynamics, culture changes, but to really pay close attention to how groups come together to interact, and where necessary adjust the anchors to help everyone find their sense of belonging.

# data[].attributes.body
1. Integration requires both parties to be forthcoming and while there may be ups and downs in the efforts, we should presevere and withhold judgement and sometimes prejudice.
2. While social anchors are useful and may even be a must in our integration efforts, the type of social anchor can change (be updated) to suit the times and different communities. Important to build good relationships and take time to maintain them. our integration efforts can benefit generations to come.

# data[].attributes.body
The concept of "social anchors" for new immigrants added another layer of meaning to the cultural CCA and programme (CLDDS, TLDDS, TLEP) and dept subjects (H2CLL, H2TLL). With a sizeable local students involved in these CCAs, subjects and programmes, not only are these spaces social anchors for foreign students, they also provide valuable opportunities for the foreign students to be integrated to our society and for the local students to gain more cultural sensitivity.