You have done well for PSLE. Here is $1,000

Just heard, that my manager promised his daughter $1,000 if she get good grades in her PSLE.

Wow.. I mean, $1,000 (yes, I didn't type wrongly. One Thousand Singapore Dollars).
Then he said he spent $1,400 to get a puppy for the daughter as a present.

A few things crossed my mind :

(1) Wow. That is a lot of money
(2) What kind of values he is putting to his daughters ?

I shall not talk about how much money it is, and how envious other kids will be when they hear this.

What I want to talk about is what values or impression it inculcates in his daughters.

The message I get is that doing well in your studies is worth $xxx. What about the basic value of knowledge itself ? How do you measure it in dollars and cents ? How about the basic attitude of learning. Now it is for the sake of getting rewards, nothing to do with learning being a enjoyable process of self improvement ? (Think of the recent government compaign to get older workers to "relearn".)

So what will she learn at this young age ?

That next time, if daddy cannot afford to give me $10,000 as reward for doing well in my A-Levels, I should not do it ?

That if daddy cannot afford to give me pocket money anymore, even though I am 21 years old and working now, I do not need to take care of daddy and mummy anymore, because it is a negative cash flow to me ?

If my friend give me expensive birthday presents, he/she is my good friend. Otherwise, not worth keeping ?

What the parents value, they will translate it down to their children. I know without money, it is almost impossible to live. But, do you have to use money as a lure everytime ? Is everything about reward and punishment, just like Singapore?

How about "You should treat others nicely because you should." and not "because it might pay dividend in the future." ?

Sad world I am in ...

Oh, and her score of 251 points, was 3 points higher than mine. Wow. She is a genius.
And judging by how his daughters treat their hamsters, I will bet that in 6 months' time, the puppy will be another "child" for their maid to take care of. Especially after they have to clear the shit for a few days.