http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/07/12/an-open-letter-to-the-education-minister-from-a-secondary-4-student/
I am Timothy Leong, a secondary student of Hwa Chong Institution. I fully agree with the student, Janelle, who wrote this article. I have always been of the opinion that the education system has degraded me. It has given me knowledge and made me a robot. And that these flaws have manifested themselves in various forms of behaviours we never expected to see.
“I study because I can get good results.” In Singapore, our education teaches us to be paper smart. Whenever we receive instruction or are told to do something, we tackle it effectively and without complain. We work tirelessly. But on graduation day, when we have gained autonomy over our lives, we are left blank as to what our heart wants to do. We have only paid attention to our academic interests. School teaches us how to solve problems and think critically, but it did not teach us how to appreciate our job, how to make decisions for our life. And our A level certificate merely says we have done well at Math, English, Science, but not that we have become independent thinkers.
Also, my school environment is highly stressful. Every day I face multiple deadlines. Teachers give us assignments to do. We have to study very hard for our tests. And because our grades potentially affect our career choices, we focus all on grades. Classmates will study and keep their notes to themselves. They will not do a project with you because you are not apt in a subject. And when I get good grades for a test, I do not get recognised for hard work. I am taught that “I wanted the A1 in the first place, so I worked hard. Getting what you worked for is nothing to be proud of. Not like you got it out of luck.” It is not that my friends are bastards, but for their own sake, everyone becomes selfish.
I am not happy always trying to please my teachers. In Hwa Chong, you do what you are told to. Otherwise, you are kicked out, because you are not a capable person, and society cannot rely on you. That is twisted! In life, if you are doing something you do not have interest for, you get out of there and continue finding your passion, otherwise you will spend your time meaninglessly. I hate having to keep trying to patch up my weaknesses. English is my passion, but I have little time for it. On Saturdays, I have to study for Chinese tuition because my Chinese is weak. I have to go for remedials because I am weak. In the end, I do not develop my strength, I am not weak in any area; I am but a mediocre student like the rest.
In our capitalist society, education is the way to get you employed. Therefore, it is idealistic to factor in our interests only. True, but if we spend the present living for the future, then the present is wasted. Then there will be no future. Have we all become lacklustre? Chasing prestige?
Because we have not been made to think creatively, we lose our personality. We lose our uniqueness. We are another Singaporean only. We are uninteresting, and our goals are to secure a good job and earn money to live a materially comfortable life. However, because of that if someone pushes their way through the system to get a degree, he may not have a job even, because too many people have the same qualifications as him. Is he in any way worse off than someone who has gotten the job? Not necessary. And besides, even if we have good grades, it does not mean we will have a job. Having good grades will be a prerequisite of any office job, but its more of other qualities like our personality, our character, what we have done in our school life that employees matter. Even though we had a sharing during assembly that says our school has all the programmes to give us the skill set for the 21st century, programmes don’t nurture people. They merely transfer knowledge. Only receiving knowledge makes one a robot. Learning and applying it makes one a skilled human. It takes a teacher to nurture a student.
I also agree that character development is very superficially and artificially taught. We have Chinese values, but with so much worry on our mind do we actually care to help anybody? A good character is shown when someone clears his plate, moves so that someone else can sit on the bench to eat also, when at the bus stop gives up his seat to someone else, not when he answers questions during moral values lessons. Can such a rigid system determine good character? Look at thinking class. We have an AAT class to teach us techniques of thinking. But is that really how to make us think better? We all end up thinking the same way. Because that was how we were taught. But they should teach us the attitudes of thinking, how we should view thinking. These kinds of things like character and thinking cannot be properly taught in a lesson system.
The education system should focus on developing our strengths. It should allow us to change easily. To switch a course when we realise we don’t want it. Would Michael Jackson have been able to start singing from a young age if he had to spend his time on homework? We are all born for a reason. We have to find that reason. We are all born with different gifts. We have to find those too. We aren’t all from the same ang ku kueh factory.
Lastly, having said that, Singapore has a very good environment to live in. It is safe, the government provides for us. But certainly there are many improvements the education system needs to see.
I feel that Janelle has used the correct tone. If she had tried to be polite and tone down her words, she is going against her point about speaking freely by trying not to offend the minister. Also, she has made points and backed them up with explanations and examples. There is thought put into it. If I want to send a letter to a minister, I will raise those points aforementioned.
I am Timothy Leong, a secondary student of Hwa Chong Institution. I fully agree with the student, Janelle, who wrote this article. I have always been of the opinion that the education system has degraded me. It has given me knowledge and made me a robot. And that these flaws have manifested themselves in various forms of behaviours we never expected to see.
“I study because I can get good results.” In Singapore, our education teaches us to be paper smart. Whenever we receive instruction or are told to do something, we tackle it effectively and without complain. We work tirelessly. But on graduation day, when we have gained autonomy over our lives, we are left blank as to what our heart wants to do. We have only paid attention to our academic interests. School teaches us how to solve problems and think critically, but it did not teach us how to appreciate our job, how to make decisions for our life. And our A level certificate merely says we have done well at Math, English, Science, but not that we have become independent thinkers.
Also, my school environment is highly stressful. Every day I face multiple deadlines. Teachers give us assignments to do. We have to study very hard for our tests. And because our grades potentially affect our career choices, we focus all on grades. Classmates will study and keep their notes to themselves. They will not do a project with you because you are not apt in a subject. And when I get good grades for a test, I do not get recognised for hard work. I am taught that “I wanted the A1 in the first place, so I worked hard. Getting what you worked for is nothing to be proud of. Not like you got it out of luck.” It is not that my friends are bastards, but for their own sake, everyone becomes selfish.
I am not happy always trying to please my teachers. In Hwa Chong, you do what you are told to. Otherwise, you are kicked out, because you are not a capable person, and society cannot rely on you. That is twisted! In life, if you are doing something you do not have interest for, you get out of there and continue finding your passion, otherwise you will spend your time meaninglessly. I hate having to keep trying to patch up my weaknesses. English is my passion, but I have little time for it. On Saturdays, I have to study for Chinese tuition because my Chinese is weak. I have to go for remedials because I am weak. In the end, I do not develop my strength, I am not weak in any area; I am but a mediocre student like the rest.
In our capitalist society, education is the way to get you employed. Therefore, it is idealistic to factor in our interests only. True, but if we spend the present living for the future, then the present is wasted. Then there will be no future. Have we all become lacklustre? Chasing prestige?
Because we have not been made to think creatively, we lose our personality. We lose our uniqueness. We are another Singaporean only. We are uninteresting, and our goals are to secure a good job and earn money to live a materially comfortable life. However, because of that if someone pushes their way through the system to get a degree, he may not have a job even, because too many people have the same qualifications as him. Is he in any way worse off than someone who has gotten the job? Not necessary. And besides, even if we have good grades, it does not mean we will have a job. Having good grades will be a prerequisite of any office job, but its more of other qualities like our personality, our character, what we have done in our school life that employees matter. Even though we had a sharing during assembly that says our school has all the programmes to give us the skill set for the 21st century, programmes don’t nurture people. They merely transfer knowledge. Only receiving knowledge makes one a robot. Learning and applying it makes one a skilled human. It takes a teacher to nurture a student.
I also agree that character development is very superficially and artificially taught. We have Chinese values, but with so much worry on our mind do we actually care to help anybody? A good character is shown when someone clears his plate, moves so that someone else can sit on the bench to eat also, when at the bus stop gives up his seat to someone else, not when he answers questions during moral values lessons. Can such a rigid system determine good character? Look at thinking class. We have an AAT class to teach us techniques of thinking. But is that really how to make us think better? We all end up thinking the same way. Because that was how we were taught. But they should teach us the attitudes of thinking, how we should view thinking. These kinds of things like character and thinking cannot be properly taught in a lesson system.
The education system should focus on developing our strengths. It should allow us to change easily. To switch a course when we realise we don’t want it. Would Michael Jackson have been able to start singing from a young age if he had to spend his time on homework? We are all born for a reason. We have to find that reason. We are all born with different gifts. We have to find those too. We aren’t all from the same ang ku kueh factory.
Lastly, having said that, Singapore has a very good environment to live in. It is safe, the government provides for us. But certainly there are many improvements the education system needs to see.
I feel that Janelle has used the correct tone. If she had tried to be polite and tone down her words, she is going against her point about speaking freely by trying not to offend the minister. Also, she has made points and backed them up with explanations and examples. There is thought put into it. If I want to send a letter to a minister, I will raise those points aforementioned.
Lol you seem to be writing a letter of your own.
ReplyDeleteBut you might want to use some examples of pioneers in other countries that failed their tests like Thomas Edison, or education systems in other technologically advanced countries like the Untied States where their homework is basically projects (stark contrast to the tons of worksheets that we have to work through daily).
However, having said that, I do not completely agree with your points. We have a Project's Day Competition, and ACE assignments. I do agree that they are still very academically based as students would usually choose the easiest topic to do, neglecting their interests. However, you have to say that there is at least SOME, albeit not much, creativity involved, in the process of presenting your project or explaining the concepts. You could use things such as videos, Web 2.0, mindmaps, etc. Brainstorming on the ways to present or introduce grants you critical thinking skills to prepare for the future. Also, there is CCA. How do you spend these ~10 hours of your week? Pursuing your interest (if not you wouldn't have choosen it at all).
I agree with you that the AAT, Chinese values sharing are actually not very beneficial to us students. On paper, such programs may look very good. However, when it comes to actual teaching, no one takes it seriously. As you have noted, we are all unique in our ways. The current system hinders creativity and encourages conformation. Still, you can use the very little spare time you have or holiday periods to go try out new activities!
ReplyDeleteKudos to expressing your views (Just like how you kudos mine as well). I agree fully with what you said, "In Hwa Chong, you do what you are told to. Otherwise, you are kicked out, because you are not a capable person, and society cannot rely on you. That is twisted!". Indeed! Its twisted. Just because you are unable to accomplish some tasks in school does not make a person incapable, does not make a person dumb. Intelligence and wisdom should not be judged alone by the things we do in school, the results we get in school, but rather, on other factors, which I do have to spend some time to think! Good post!
ReplyDeleteJack Tan 2O307
Hey timo, i agree with wsd, this is like a letter of your own haha!.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I can see that you are also unhappy with the education system and i cannot disagree with you as these cases are quite evident in our everyday life. Schools in Singapore is very academic base as no certificate means no job, no job means no means of living, no cars, $$, condominiums etc..... that may be the reason why the students here are motivated to study and not for the sake of studying and having the essence of learning. Like how you talked about Micheal jackson, he may not be as educated as us but he is way richer, famous than us which also shows that studying may not be the only option to success in life
Come to my blog too!
yuxiang
Yes. I agree with Jack who agree with you that "In Hwa Chong, you do what you are told to. Otherwise, you are kicked out, because you are not a capable person, and society cannot rely on you. That is twisted!" I find this especially true. Not being able to do what you are told. Does that make one less capable? What if that person have his own way of doing the thing. It is stifling our imagination. Our creativity. Everyone is unique, special in their very own ways. Just because they cannot accomplish some tasks make them less capable. There are those who dropped out of school and achieved something and there are others who remain in school and achieve nothing. Look at Steve Jobs. Look at Bill Gates. They are people who dropped out of school and achieved alot of things while people who remain in school does not mean that they are going to be successful.
ReplyDelete