It was with a sense of pride that I read Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye’s letter, ‘Finally, Mission Schools Get Recognition’ (STAR, Letters to the Editor, Tuesday, 24 February 2009).
Being a product of two local missionary schools myself, I can’t help but be appreciative to the missionaries who established these schools in our country.
These missionaries who initially left their homelands to venture thousands of miles with the vision and mission of setting up educational establishments which cater to the needs of the youth of that time do deserve a standing ovation.
When Malaysia gained its independence, however, missionary schools were sidelined to a certain extent and many will not know that the missionaries who were working with such great determination and dedication were actually receiving half the pay of their counterparts in government schools.
How many of today’s teachers treat their job as a vocation and would willingly give up half of their salary to carry on in the profession? It is because of their selflessness that the missionaries have been able to nurture the minds of the youth of their time with marvellous values.
To all missionaries in the education field in Malaysia who are still alive today, thank you!
Introspection
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Retain original identity and character
I was filled with great pride when I read in the Ipoh Echo, Ipoh’s Community Newspaper, (Issue 76, June 16-30, 2009) about how the French priests opened the first Catholic mission in Perak in 1875. They worked hand in hand with the local Chinese in places like Taiping and Batu Gajah, helping the community there to eke a living.
The early Catholic missionaries in the form of not only priests but also religious brothers and sisters have left an indelible mark in the lives of many a practicing Catholic today. They were the pioneers of the Catholic faith, setting up schools, hospitals and churches all over Malaya.
Unfortunately, the younger generation has never known these missionaries and many will not be able to comprehend their impact on Malaysian society. In fact, many of today’s boys and girls do not know what it means to be a religious as they have not come across any. Catholic priests, brothers and sisters are indeed a dying breed!
The only concrete evidence of the existence of these early pioneers of the faith is the buildings that have been left behind in the form of schools, hospitals and churches.
However, because of harsh weather conditions and the passing of time, these physical structures will definitely require restoration and structural repairs. It is hoped that those responsible for undertaking maintenance of these buildings will preserve history by retaining their original identity and character.
We owe that much to the pioneers of the Catholic faith in this region!
Printed in the Herald - The Catholic Weekly (August 9, 2009)
The early Catholic missionaries in the form of not only priests but also religious brothers and sisters have left an indelible mark in the lives of many a practicing Catholic today. They were the pioneers of the Catholic faith, setting up schools, hospitals and churches all over Malaya.
Unfortunately, the younger generation has never known these missionaries and many will not be able to comprehend their impact on Malaysian society. In fact, many of today’s boys and girls do not know what it means to be a religious as they have not come across any. Catholic priests, brothers and sisters are indeed a dying breed!
The only concrete evidence of the existence of these early pioneers of the faith is the buildings that have been left behind in the form of schools, hospitals and churches.
However, because of harsh weather conditions and the passing of time, these physical structures will definitely require restoration and structural repairs. It is hoped that those responsible for undertaking maintenance of these buildings will preserve history by retaining their original identity and character.
We owe that much to the pioneers of the Catholic faith in this region!
Printed in the Herald - The Catholic Weekly (August 9, 2009)
Licence to teach
The Deputy Education Minister says that teachers need to sit for an exam to get a licence to teach (The Star, 22 May 2010. Ministry mulls over licence for teachers).
To become a teacher one needs to undergo training. During the course of training, there are sessions to attend to familiarize oneself with the art of teaching through pedagogical studies. The prospective teacher needs to know the psychological development of his prospective students. There are usually exams to sit for and assignments to do to be qualified as teachers. Now the Ministry is suggesting another exam. Isn’t it redundant?
At this point, it may be good to ponder over what makes a good teacher. Is he the result of the exams that he has passed? Or is a teacher good because of the experience that he has earned over the years that qualifies him to impart his knowledge well?
There are so many types of teachers. Some may have experience teaching the same subjects in the same old way for the past 10-30 years. Others take it as a challenging profession since they venture to try out new methodologies and give new experiences to their students.
There are those who teach very well, but are not academically successful in their particular field. On the other hand, there are those who are experts in their field but do not know how to carry the message across to make their students understand what the content of their subject is all about.
What makes a good teacher then? He does not need to be an all-rounder. He does not need to pass exams. His main duty would be to ensure that his learners have learnt something from what he has taught. The students should be inspired to want to know more. Does he need to sit for an exam to prove this? You may have come across the following adage:
The mediocre teacher tells;
The good teacher explains;
The superior teacher demonstrates;
The great teacher inspires
Many people may not know this but there is already a requirement by the local government that all teachers have a teaching permit while teachers from days gone by possess a ‘Blue Book’ which is their lifelong teaching 'passport'. I don’t think one needs to sit for another exam to get a licence to teach.
To become a teacher one needs to undergo training. During the course of training, there are sessions to attend to familiarize oneself with the art of teaching through pedagogical studies. The prospective teacher needs to know the psychological development of his prospective students. There are usually exams to sit for and assignments to do to be qualified as teachers. Now the Ministry is suggesting another exam. Isn’t it redundant?
At this point, it may be good to ponder over what makes a good teacher. Is he the result of the exams that he has passed? Or is a teacher good because of the experience that he has earned over the years that qualifies him to impart his knowledge well?
There are so many types of teachers. Some may have experience teaching the same subjects in the same old way for the past 10-30 years. Others take it as a challenging profession since they venture to try out new methodologies and give new experiences to their students.
There are those who teach very well, but are not academically successful in their particular field. On the other hand, there are those who are experts in their field but do not know how to carry the message across to make their students understand what the content of their subject is all about.
What makes a good teacher then? He does not need to be an all-rounder. He does not need to pass exams. His main duty would be to ensure that his learners have learnt something from what he has taught. The students should be inspired to want to know more. Does he need to sit for an exam to prove this? You may have come across the following adage:
The mediocre teacher tells;
The good teacher explains;
The superior teacher demonstrates;
The great teacher inspires
Many people may not know this but there is already a requirement by the local government that all teachers have a teaching permit while teachers from days gone by possess a ‘Blue Book’ which is their lifelong teaching 'passport'. I don’t think one needs to sit for another exam to get a licence to teach.
Better quality teachers needed?
It was mentioned recently that the quality of teachers in Malaysia should be changed. I beg to differ. Malaysia has good quality teachers who are well trained. It is the mindset of the policymakers that has to be changed.
Teachers have long been the scapegoats of policies implemented by the authorities. They are forced to follow instructions from the higher echelons of the system. Thus there are schools where students from exam classes have all co-curricular activities scrapped as students have to prepare for their major public exams. Teachers know that ‘All work and no play make jack a dull boy.’ However, there is nothing that they can do about it as they need to produce As in their school.
With the Education Ministry dangling the carrot of higher pay and accolades like 'Master Teacher' in front of them, the newly-qualified teacher slowly becomes subservient to the system. Many have given up their ideals during their tenure as teachers. They are bogged down by paperwork and meetings, which normally results in more paperwork. With rampant indiscipline and the unrealistic demands of the head of the school, they are just too tired to cope.
The ideal teacher should have the time to read up on her subject, to improve her knowledge and the delivery of her lessons, to help mould students to excel not only in their studies but also in life. However, all this is not happening in our Malaysian schools. Teaching and character-building does not seem to be part of the job description of a teacher today. Why have we lost our focus on what is important?
Teachers have long been the scapegoats of policies implemented by the authorities. They are forced to follow instructions from the higher echelons of the system. Thus there are schools where students from exam classes have all co-curricular activities scrapped as students have to prepare for their major public exams. Teachers know that ‘All work and no play make jack a dull boy.’ However, there is nothing that they can do about it as they need to produce As in their school.
With the Education Ministry dangling the carrot of higher pay and accolades like 'Master Teacher' in front of them, the newly-qualified teacher slowly becomes subservient to the system. Many have given up their ideals during their tenure as teachers. They are bogged down by paperwork and meetings, which normally results in more paperwork. With rampant indiscipline and the unrealistic demands of the head of the school, they are just too tired to cope.
The ideal teacher should have the time to read up on her subject, to improve her knowledge and the delivery of her lessons, to help mould students to excel not only in their studies but also in life. However, all this is not happening in our Malaysian schools. Teaching and character-building does not seem to be part of the job description of a teacher today. Why have we lost our focus on what is important?
Indiscipline
A survey was carried out by the STAR entitled ‘Would you consider indiscipline among schoolchildren in Malaysia to be getting worse over the years?’ It ended on 26 May 2010.
Out of a total of 18,323 respondents, there were 17,634 votes (96%) supporting the view that indiscipline was getting worse. This paints a gruesome picture for the future of Malaysia. This is because the schoolchildren of today will be the Malaysian adults of tomorrow.
If today we read in the newspapers about wife-battering, abusing of children, robberies and molest, rape and murder cases, what will the news of tomorrow be about?
Maybe we should all engrave in our minds the words of Albert Einstein who said, "Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile."
Out of a total of 18,323 respondents, there were 17,634 votes (96%) supporting the view that indiscipline was getting worse. This paints a gruesome picture for the future of Malaysia. This is because the schoolchildren of today will be the Malaysian adults of tomorrow.
If today we read in the newspapers about wife-battering, abusing of children, robberies and molest, rape and murder cases, what will the news of tomorrow be about?
Maybe we should all engrave in our minds the words of Albert Einstein who said, "Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile."
Don't abolish exams!
The Deputy Education Minister claims that school-based evaluation is better than exams (STAR, 29 June 2010, School-based evaluation better, says Ministry). But is it?
Take the case of the oral English examination which used to be conducted nationwide in Form 3 and in Form 5 in the 1980s. Teachers were sent to other schools to assess the language proficiencies of students there in those days. This was scrapped and school-based assessments are conducted throughout the year by conscientious teachers who follow guidelines given by the Ministry of Education.
Yet, there are many discrepancies regarding how this evaluation is done in the classroom, if it is done at all. Some students read a text to the teacher only, while some have to read to the whole class. Some have to memorise a text and present it to the whole class. What is happening here is that teachers take it upon themselves to decide how the students should be assessed depending on the capabilities of the students. The evaluation is thus not standardized throughout the country. Yet the results will be taken into account for their final examinations at national level (either PMR or SPM).
The Deputy Education Minister further states that parents are too obsessed with As and that is why they spend thousands of ringgit to send their children for tuition. Aren’t the school-based evaluations going to be graded? What is to stop a parent from spending money to make sure that their childrens’ folios get good grades? Does he know that today’s kids, because of lack of time, have not only parents doing their folios for them, but they also copy from their seniors. Teachers are just pleased that students have got folios to produce when the deadline is reached.
Also the Deputy Education Minister should be informed that As are not the sole reason why students are sent for tuition classes. One very important reason is to keep them occupied so that they do not waste their time sleeping or playing computer games. Another reason could be that parents know their children are weak in the subject and the teachers in schools have no time to give their children personal coaching. Yet another reason is that going for tuition has become a culture of the Malaysian society.
The Deputy Education Minister goes on to assure parents that their children will be assessed at school level as his Ministry will monitor the situation. The question arises as to how they will be assessed. Evaluation and assessment would be left to the discretion of the teacher. A great amount of monitoring will definitely have to be carried out as even though there are many conscientious and dedicated teachers who go by the book, there are an equal number of lazy and callous teachers who will try to find the easy way out in every situation. The latter could implement open-book tests, record marks without having checked on the work of the students and even expect students to curry favour for higher marks.
We have all had bad experiences with exams but they have made us diligent and committed to want to improve our performance. Standardized nation-wide examinations are very necessary for separating the wheat from the chaff, to measure the performance of each individual student against his peers who come from different schools in different states in our 1Malaysia.
Maybe at this stage, the mindset of the policy-makers should be changed. On the one hand, they are now spearheading the issue of the abolishment of examinations. On the other hand, they have informed controlled schools that the children there cannot afford to fail their examinations. If children as young as nine years old (in Std 3) fail their examinations, they will be retained for a year and if they fail again, they will be kicked out of the controlled schools. What message are they trying to disseminate to the people of Malaysia concerning the issue of examinations?
That the policymakers see a need for a change regarding the issue of examinations is commendable, but abolishing them is definitely not the answer!
Take the case of the oral English examination which used to be conducted nationwide in Form 3 and in Form 5 in the 1980s. Teachers were sent to other schools to assess the language proficiencies of students there in those days. This was scrapped and school-based assessments are conducted throughout the year by conscientious teachers who follow guidelines given by the Ministry of Education.
Yet, there are many discrepancies regarding how this evaluation is done in the classroom, if it is done at all. Some students read a text to the teacher only, while some have to read to the whole class. Some have to memorise a text and present it to the whole class. What is happening here is that teachers take it upon themselves to decide how the students should be assessed depending on the capabilities of the students. The evaluation is thus not standardized throughout the country. Yet the results will be taken into account for their final examinations at national level (either PMR or SPM).
The Deputy Education Minister further states that parents are too obsessed with As and that is why they spend thousands of ringgit to send their children for tuition. Aren’t the school-based evaluations going to be graded? What is to stop a parent from spending money to make sure that their childrens’ folios get good grades? Does he know that today’s kids, because of lack of time, have not only parents doing their folios for them, but they also copy from their seniors. Teachers are just pleased that students have got folios to produce when the deadline is reached.
Also the Deputy Education Minister should be informed that As are not the sole reason why students are sent for tuition classes. One very important reason is to keep them occupied so that they do not waste their time sleeping or playing computer games. Another reason could be that parents know their children are weak in the subject and the teachers in schools have no time to give their children personal coaching. Yet another reason is that going for tuition has become a culture of the Malaysian society.
The Deputy Education Minister goes on to assure parents that their children will be assessed at school level as his Ministry will monitor the situation. The question arises as to how they will be assessed. Evaluation and assessment would be left to the discretion of the teacher. A great amount of monitoring will definitely have to be carried out as even though there are many conscientious and dedicated teachers who go by the book, there are an equal number of lazy and callous teachers who will try to find the easy way out in every situation. The latter could implement open-book tests, record marks without having checked on the work of the students and even expect students to curry favour for higher marks.
We have all had bad experiences with exams but they have made us diligent and committed to want to improve our performance. Standardized nation-wide examinations are very necessary for separating the wheat from the chaff, to measure the performance of each individual student against his peers who come from different schools in different states in our 1Malaysia.
Maybe at this stage, the mindset of the policy-makers should be changed. On the one hand, they are now spearheading the issue of the abolishment of examinations. On the other hand, they have informed controlled schools that the children there cannot afford to fail their examinations. If children as young as nine years old (in Std 3) fail their examinations, they will be retained for a year and if they fail again, they will be kicked out of the controlled schools. What message are they trying to disseminate to the people of Malaysia concerning the issue of examinations?
That the policymakers see a need for a change regarding the issue of examinations is commendable, but abolishing them is definitely not the answer!
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