My thanks to TODAY for the coverage on the Finnish system of education, which I believe educators around the world, including our Education Ministry, have been studying (“In teachers they trust”, March 4; “Learning for life, the Finnish way” and “Pre-school: Where kids are left to be kids”, March 5).

My view is that the Finnish system works well in a specific culture and this is not something we can adopt overnight, as our education ecosystem, culture and desired outcomes are very different.

What it does is offer a different perspective that could make us, as parents, realise how we want our children to be educated. Beyond what the schools can do, much more has to come from parents.

I would like my children to understand how they can contribute to society and in whatever vocation they choose, while staying true to their principles.

We departed significantly from the notion of having a job for life two generations back and moved instead to having to be ready to take on different vocations in different industries throughout our careers.

There has to be a fundamental shift in how we perceive jobs in Singapore.

In our culture, we tend to define our status and perception of others by their job titles, and sometimes this overshadows our personal identity.

For some, the prestigious-sounding titles discourage them from doing something new; there is too much emotional baggage and fear of how others may perceive them.

I wonder if this is one of the effects of our meritocratic philosophy, where one can only go up and any departure from the path is seen as failure.

How can we encourage the perception that all jobs are good?

It starts with making them attractive. A lot of improvements are required, starting with pay and job scope, and small businesses need support to thrive.

This brings us back to our goals for education. How do we want our children to turn out such that they have the disposition and resilience to acquire skills and knowledge to adapt along the way?