Lebih baik tidak sekolah

Lebih baik Tidak Sekolah!

Begitulah tajuk sebuah buku kecil nukilan Bapak Sujono Samba yang memperkatakan tentang tragedi dan masa depan pendidikan di Indonesia. Dalam perkembangannya, sekolah ternyata tidak menjadi media pembebasan dan penanaman nilai-nilai kemanusiaan. Sekolah sudah menjadi penjara yang memisahkan anak didik dari dinamika persoalan masyarakatnya. Semakin lama seseorang bersekolah semakin besar jarak antara dirinya dan realiti kehidupan yang sebenarnya. 

Sekolah bukan lagi tempat untuk belajar melainkan tempat siswa diarahkan dan di”design” menurut pola yg sudah baku. Dengan demikian, lembaga pendidikan gagal menjalankan tugasnya yang paling dasar iaitu membantu seorang menjadi manusia yang bebas dan merdeka. Sekolah sudah sepertinya “factory” atau kilang yang tugasnya hanya mencetak watak-watak manusia A+ dan menolak manusia lain yang hanya mendapat B dan C. Malah yang berstatus D dan F akan terus tersingkir dengan sendirinya.


Di Malaysia tidak kurang keresahannya. Dalam keributan kita menentukan sistem yang terbaik kita mula meminggirkan aspek teras bangsa dan budaya apabila berterusan meminggirkan Bahasa Melayu dan tulisan jawi. Keranda Bahasa Melayu diusung secara simbolik tanda protes bahawa watak bangsa akan terhapus dengan peminggiran Bahasa Melayu.


Sudah nampak riak akan berlaku kebobrokan dalam aspek nilai serta produk manusia dalam masyarakat dengan meningkatnya gejala sosial di kalangan anak muda saban hari. Dari memaknai soal mendidik asalnya ia sudah menjadi mencetak, di kala sekolah diperjuangkan untuk rakyat dan pendidikan percuma adalah hak asasi rakyat, aspirasi itu dimatikan dengan pembinaan institusi pendidikan swasta yang terus mematikan hasrat rakyat kononnya ia dibina demi kualiti pendidikan.


Begitulah seterusnya episod -episod menyayat hati dalam isu pendidikan Negara yang kemudiannya menjadikan anak-anak kita sebagai eksperimen dan tikus makmal bagi menguji keberkesanan setiap kali dasar pendidikan baru dirombak.


Semua menjadi kalut dan cemas! Ibu bapa sudah tidak ketahuan jadual peperiksaan anak-anak. Guru-guru menggalas beban dengan kelas tambahan dan tuisyen. Anak-anak sudah terobses dengan kecemerlangan akademik atas permintaan pasaran dan prosedur dunia. 


Ivan Illich pernah mengejutkan masyarakat dengan gagasan kontroversinya tentang “deshcooling society” (masyarakat tanpa sekolah).Illich meramalkan bahawa jika pengetahuan dan tingkat kedewasaan masyarakat sudah berkembang dengan wajar maka institusi-institusi pendidikan formal tidak lagi diperlukan.


Masyarakat akan mampu menjalankan fungsi pendidikan lewat elemen sosial dan budaya yang luas tanpa harus terikat dengan autoriti kelembagaan seperti sekolah. Ertinya dalam masyarakat ini sekolah sudah tidak diperlukan lagi. Gagasan ini sampai sekarang masih belum terbukti dalam kehidupan konkrit. Tetapi jika dilihat dengan mendalam,maka betapa tepatnya Illich dalam menilai dan mendiskripsi kewujudan lembaga pendidikan.


Dalam serba ketidaktentuan arah pendidikan ini, terbitnya buku “Excellence Wihout Soul “ karya Harry. R. Lewis yang membicarakan tentang Universiti Harvard yang sudah kehilangan ruh dan menghadapi bencana kehilangan arah tujuan. Ketika Harvard memikul jenama Universiti tertua, ternama dan terunggul di dunia, mereka telah melupakan “the fundamental job of undergraduate education”~tanggungjawab dasar terhadap anak didik termasuk “to help them grow up, to learn who they are, to search for a larger purpose for their lives and to leave college as better human beings”.


Oleh yang demikian, sistem pendidikan Negara sewajarnya menjaja pendidikan keinsanan yang mana seharusnya ia memaknai sabda nabawi” kharu ‘n-nas anfa’uhum li n-nas (orang yang terbaik adalah yang paling berguna kepada orang lain). Anak bangsa ini harus didik untuk terus menjadi warga yang baik, anak yang meletakkan sifat keinsanan serta mengangkat darjat Karamah Insaniyyah serta menjadi manusia yang terus memanfaatkan manusia lain.Ini juga nyata bertepatan dengan kata pujangga Melayu dalam menggambarkan erti manusia yang baik dan bermanfaat itu adalah;

Bagaikan kayu besar di tengah padang;
Rimbun daunnya tempat berteduh;
Kuat dahannya tempat bergantung;
Kukuh batangnya tempat bersandar;
Besar akarnya tempat bersila.


Fadhlina Siddiq
Naib Presiden (HELWA)
Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia

KENYATAAN ABIM berkaitan BAHASA MELAYU

Demi Memelihara Perpaduan Nasional, Jadikan Sebahagian Dari Rukun Negara

14 Julai 2012:- ANGKATAN BELIA ISLAM MALAYSIA (ABIM) merujuk kepada sepuluh tuntutan Persatuan Jawatankuasa Sekolah Cina Bersatu Malaysia (Dong Zong) dan beberapa pertubuhan lain berkaitan pendidikan yang dilaporkan bakal diserahkan kepada Y.A.B Perdana Menteri hujung bulan ini.

Menilai setiap tuntutan yang dikemukakan ini, ia seakan-akan menzahirkan keinginan pihak berkenaan untuk mengasingkan kelompok tertentu dari aliran pendidikan kebangsaan yang turut mengetepikan peranan serta fungsi Bahasa Kebangsaan di samping tidak masuk akal.

Ini disenaraikan di antara tuntutan yang dinyatakan yang antara lain turut berbunyi, ”membuat reformasi silibus latihan guru bagi memastikan lebih ramai guru boleh berbahasa Mandarin yang diperlukan di sekolah-sekolah Cina”.

Dalam hal, ABIM ingin menimbulkan persoalan, mengapa tidak dibuat reformasi silibus latihan guru bagi memastikan lebih ramai pelajar SJKC boleh berbahasa Melayu?
Menurut kajian yang dibuat oleh Prof. Dr. Nor Hashimah Jalaluddin dalam Seminar Sehari Persatuan Linguistik Malaysia (PLM) sebelum ini, 44.8% remaja Cina tidak suka belajar bahasa Melayu.

Selain daripada itu, kajian tersebut juga mendapati bahawa 72.1% remaja Cina merasakan bahasa Melayu tidak penting, diikuti oleh Kadazan (40%) dan India (37%).

Dari kajian ini, ia jelas menunjukkan betapa perlunya satu silibus baru yang bersesuaian dirangka, memandangkan nilai dan kedudukan bahasa kebangsaan sebagai bahasa perpaduan dan tertinggi dalam negara masih gagal dihayati dan difahami para pelajar.

ABIM juga melihat beberapa tuntutan lain termasuk untuk menyokong penubuhan Sekolah Cina Persendirian dikhuatiri akan memisahkan para pelajar dari aliran kebangsaan seandainya ia ditubuhkan di peringkat sekolah menengah yang menyebabkan perpaduan rakyat gagal dicapai.

Ini termasuk tuntutan untuk mendokong serta memperkasakan beberapa Institut Pengajian Tinggi yang dilihat meletakkan negara luar sebagai rujukan dasar dan aliran.

Dalam perkembangan berkaitan, ABIM turut merasakan sudah tiba masanya untuk kita memasukkan elemen kedaulatan Bahasa Kebangsaan sebagai salah satu prinsip dalam Rukun Negara untuk memupuk kesedaran dan kefahaman masyarakat bahawa kedudukan Bahasa Melayu sebagai bahasa utama dalam negara.

Justeru, setiap tuntutan yang ingin dikemukakan oleh mana-mana pihak terutama sekali yang menyentuh fundamental asas sistem pendidikan sesebuah negara, harus meletakkan objektif untuk mempererat perpaduan kaum serta membina sebuah masyarakat yang memahami dan menjiwai semangat kebangsaan Malaysia selaku matlamat utama.

Amidi Abdul Manan
Presiden, Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM)

Memorandum ABIM Selangor berkaitan Kajian Semula Pendidikan

MEMO Transformasi Pendidikan ABIM SELANGOR

Contoh P&P Matematik strategi konstruktivisme

Mathematic Lesson for Thinking

Perihal Masa Depan Pendidikan: Konteks Bahan Sokongan P&P

Kebergantungan kepada buku teks rasmi sebagai bahan sokongan utama dalam pembelajaran menimbulkan kejumudan dalam melestarikan bahan sumber yang ada di mana-mana dan lain-lain sumber pembelajaran seperti di internet, buku-buku akademik antarabangsa, dan lain-lain sumber yang bersifat berasaskan teknologi. Kebergantungan ini jelas apabila di KPM, terdapat Bahagian Buku Teks, suatu bahagian yang khusus untuk membina dan menguruskan buku teks yang ongkosnya memakan jutaan wang ringgit. Begitu juga masa yang diperlukan untuk menghasilkan satu-satu buku teks. Ini tidak termasuk sekiranya terdapat isu-isu luar jangka seperti kesalahan ejaan, fakta, konsep dan perlanggaran sensitiviti yang akhirnya menambah tugas dan akauntabiliti berpusat kepada KPM. Bahan sumber sokongan lain seperti CD dan penghasilan daripada Bahagian Teknologi Pendidikan juga menambah ruang lingkup tugas KPM yang pastinya berniat murni dan harus dipuji. Persoalannya bukan kepada objektif penghasilan, tetapi kepada keberkesanan penggunaan di dalam bilik darjah. 

Justeru, satu mekanisme yang lebih luwes (fleksible) namun efisien perlu difikirkan; Mengambil model pembelajaran di peringkat Kolej dan Universiti; yang mana pensyarah dan pihak universiti menyediakan senarai cadangan bahan/buku yang perlu dimiliki murid sebagai teks utama di dalam kelas; ini memungkinkan murid untuk lebih berdikari dalam mendekati gudang buku, pusat sumber, dan bahan internet yang pastinya lebih luas pengisian ilmunya di samping latihan terbaik dalam menggunakan teknologi terkini dalam pendidikan. Fungsi bahagian dalam kementerian boleh digabung dan dikecilkan sebagai Bahagian untuk membantu guru/sekolah menyediakan bahan tersebut secara hands-on atau lebih dekat dintegrasikan dengan badan seperti Perpustakaan Awam di setiap negeri. Secara tidak langsung, transformasi bahan sumber akan juga merancakkan kembali Perpustakaan sebagai tempat sumber ilmu yang disegani dan didekati golongan murid sekolah.

Lain-lain faedah sudah tentunya kepada kredibiliti guru sebagai pakar sumber pembelajaran yang mampu menyediakan dan mencadangkan murid apa yang terbaik untuk bacaan mereka yang seterusnya dapat disesuaikan dengan kaedah dan strategi Pembelajaran dan Pengajaran guru di kelas masing-masing. Bukankah kali ini guru akan mentaksir sendiri pencapaian murid masing-masing? Maka, ini merupakan kaedah dan strategi yang baik yang boleh diguna pakai untuk aplikasi self-learning (Belajar sendiri), self-assess (Taksir sendiri) dan self-access (Capai sendiri). Sebagai makluman, salah satu unsur penting dalam Pentaksiran Berasaskan Sekolah (PBS) adalah penilaian terhadap proses pembelajaran murid, bukan sekadar terhadap hasil akhir pembelajaran.


Artikel ditulis untuk dihantar kepada myedureview.com
Dihantar pada 10:36 pagi, 9 Julai 2012

(https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups#!topic/myedureview/IJixS3W5o00)

Perihal Masa Depan Pendidikan Negara : Konteks Keguruan

Malaysia perlu menaik taraf kependidikan di malaysia dengan mengiktiraf dan menghargai modal insan yang berpengetahuan sedia ada untuk menjadi pendidik di sekolah-sekolah kebangsaan setanding dengan negara-negara maju. Negara-negara maju terutama yang mempunyai sistem pendidikan terbaik di dunia seperti Finland, Singapura, atau Taiwan, telah meletakkan syarat asas untuk menjadi guru dengan mempunyai kelayakkan sekurang-kurangnya ijazah sarjana. Malahan, bagi mereka yang mempunyai ijazah doktor falsafah, diletakkan untuk mendidik kanak-kanak di peringkat pra-sekolah. Malah, kerjaya keguruan menjadi idaman dan cita-cita utama anak-anak kecil di sana.

Dalam SBPA dan kini SSM Yang Ditambah Baik, skim yang ditawarkan dalam perkhidmatan awam dalam sektor pendidikan, bermula dari lepasan PMR, sehingga ijazah pertama sahaja. Ini bermakna, sekiranya seorang guru di sekolah mempunyai ijazah yang melebihi ijazah pertama, gred gaji yang diterima adalah sama, tidak mendapat apa-apa kenaikan tangga gaji atau apa-apa kelebihan dari aspek senioriti atau kekananan. Ini sangat ironik kerana dalam sektor pendidikanlah sewajibnya meletakkan standard yang tinggi untuk pendidik dan pada masa yang sama menyediakan dan mengiktiraf peluang kenaikan pangkat berasaskan kesarjanaan yang sudah pastinya berlandaskan faktor keilmuan. Adalah lebih wajar untuk mempertimbangkan skim yang bermula daripada lepasan STPM / Diploma sehinggalah kepada Ijazah doktor falsafah. Lantaran itu, apalah kiranya cadangan untuk diberikan insentif kenaikan tangga gaji tertentu, 4 hingga 8 tahun untuk pemegang ijazah sarjana atau permulaan DG48, dan kenaikan 8 hingga 12 tahun untuk pemegang ijazah doktor falsafah atau permulaan DG52. Alternatif lain mungkin ada laluan kerjaya lain yang boleh difikirkan. 

Di negara maju, kesarjanaan yang tertinggi seorang guru akan ditempatkan untuk mendidik murid pra-sekolah dengan alasan untuk memberikan asas (foundation) yang kukuh sebelum memasuki pendidikan perdana. Pengistilahan ‘perdana’ di sini dinisbahkan kepada peringkat ‘sekolah rendah kebangsaaan’ bagi penggunaan biasa di Malaysia. Istilah ini menjadi satu lagi ironi dalam pendidikan kebangsaan. Bagaimana ‘primary school’ apabila diterjemahkan menjadi ‘sekolah rendah’? Daripada aspek falsafahnya, bukankah terdapat perbezaan bumi-dan-langit antara nilai ‘perdana’ dan ‘rendah’?

Artikel ditulis untuk dihantar kepada myedureview.com

Dihantar pada 10:13 pagi, 9 Julai 2012

(https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups#!topic/myedureview/j5lrdBSOumM)

Mengira ketinggian bangunan

Have fun!

(Sumber : http://www.virtualmaths.org/activities/topic_shapes/tower/resources/height-of-building.pdf )

KUIZ MATEMATIK MUDAH

KUIZ MATEMATIK MUDAH 

• Sebatang pensel dan getah pemadam berharga RM1.20. Pensel tersebut adalah RM1 lebih mahal daripada harga getah pemadam tersebut. Berapakah harga getah pemadam tersebut? 

Sekiranya anda menjawab harga getah pemadam RM0.20, sila baca soalan semula! 

• Sekiranya 1 buah mesin basuh mencuci 10 helai baju dalam masa 10 minit, berapakah masa yang diambil untuk 10 buah mesin basuh untuk mencuci 100 helai baju? 

Sekiranya anda menjawab , masa yang diperlukan adalah 10 kali ganda, iaitu 100 minit, sila baca soalan semula! 

• Di atas permukaan sebuah tasik, terdapat daun-daun bunga teratai. Setiap hari, daun itu berkembang sekali ganda saiznya. Sekiranya daun-daun teratai itu mengambil masa 60 hari untuk melitupi keseluruhan permukaan tasik, berapakah masa yang diperlukan oleh daun-daun itu untuk melitupi separuh daripada keseluruhan permukaan tasik itu? 

Sekiranya anda menjawab 30 hari adalah masa yang diperlukan, sila baca soalan semula!

Taare Zameen Par (2007)

A great teacher see things in different way;

Just to Help and develop a child to be one success Insan!

Testimoni: Kisah denda di sekolah

Kisah 1 (murid lelaki)
1. Cubit dan pulas perut = Melukis dalam buku teks.
2. Rotan dengan ranting pokok = Gagal menghafal surah.
3. Ditarik rambut sideburn = Buat bising dalam darjah.
4. Ditarik hidung sehingga mancung dan merah-merah = Kesalahan kerana saya hensem sangat.
5. Didenda baca Surah al-Kahfi = Terlepas jemaah Subuh pertama.
6. Didenda membaca ikrar di hadapan perhimpunan = Mahu membeli nasi lemak di luar pagar asrama pada waktu sekolah, selepas habis peperiksaan besar sekolah.

Kisah 2 (murid perempuan)
1. Salah jawab soalan kerja rumah semasa darjah 4 - dicubit dan ditarik pipi sehingga merah dan berbekas kuku cikgu.
2. Menjawab soalan rakan sebelah yang bertanya, cikgu kata saya bercakap semasa dia mengajar - berdiri seorang diri di hadapan kelas sehingga tamat kelas.
3. 'Anugerah' kelas terkotor akibat disabotaj oleh sekumpulan senior yang dengki entah kenapa - berdiri di atas kerusi, di koridor sekolah, menghadap kelas pelajar tingkatan empat, sepanjang waktu kelas.
4. Ponteng persatuan (dengan sengaja) - dirotan di tapak tangan dengan rotan bulu ayam, di hadapan seluruh ahli persatuan.
5. Masbuk solat Subuh kerana berbaris lama menunggu giliran masuk tandas - dirotan di tapak tangan dengan rotan nipis, sehingga bengkak selama seminggu dan tali jam tangan putus semasa dirotan. Dirotan itu di dalam masjid, selepas solat Maghrib. Kami para pesalah berbaris di tengah, di bawah tirai masjid yang memisahkan pelajar lelaki dan perempuan. Tirai itu diselak, supaya pelajar lelaki dapat lihat kami dirotan :)
6.Denda mengaji sejuzuk Al-Qur'an sehingga jam 2-3 pagi kerana berpesta makanan tengah malam dalam bilik dorm

Kisah 3 (murid lelaki)
Semasa kelas prep malam, saya cuba pergi ke dewan selera untuk minum air. Rupanya warden ada tunggu di depan, jadi saya ubah haluan untuk pergi jenguk kawan di sickbay, berdekatan dewan selera. Warden suruh saya pergi ke depan rumahnya, dan mandi tanpa buka baju melayu yang dipakai. Kemudian suruh saya pergi ke kelas dalam keadaan basah lenjun. Hukuman yang langsung tidak mengubah sikap, bahkan menyimpan dendam...

Kisah 4 (murid perempuan - sekolah semua perempuan)
Didenda berlari di padang pada waktu malam, sambil berbaju kurung. Ada yang memakai selipar. Ada juga yang berkasut tumit tinggi. Jika tidak salah, semua didenda kerana ada pelajar yang menjawab ketika guru bercakap dalam perhimpunan. Ia berlaku sebelum kelas prep malam.

Kisah 5 (murid lelaki)
1. Dirotan beramai-ramai kerana main bola semasa hujan lebat.
2. Mengutip batu-batu kecil yang menghalang pertumbuhan rumput kerana asrama lelaki bising.
3. Tidur di bawah ampai beramai-ramai kerana asrama bising sekitar jam 3 pagi.
4. Tidur di gelanggang tenis kerana asrama bising sekitar jam 3 pagi

Kisah 6 (murid lelaki)
1. Semasa kelas prep malam, warden datang meronda kelas. Lalu dia terjumpa debu dan sampah kecil yang tidak disapu habis. Maka semua pelajar diminta keluar beratur, cubit sedikit seorang debu2 itu dan buang ke dalam tong sampah.
2. Warden terjumpa satu plastik coklat yang tak dikutip. Satu kelas (lelaki sahaja) disuruh mengusung plastik coklat itu dan buang ke tong sampah. Setiap orang mesti pegang bucu plastik itu.

Kisah 7 (murid lelaki)
Saya teringat seorang kenalan bercerita, dia asalnya pelajar yang berjaya di dalam pelajaran. Semasa di Tingkatan Dua, dia mendapat seorang guru yang sikit-sikit ketuk kepala murid dengan tumit kasutnya walaupun kesalahan kecil. Bilangan ketukan diseragamkan dengan bilangan jawapan yang salah. Setiap ketukan bukan perlahan. Suatu ketika, kenalan itu mendapat penyakit sawan. Selepas itu, dia semakin sukar memahami pelajaran dan seringkali mudah lupa apa yang dipelajari. Keadaan itu berterusan sampai di Tingkatan 6. Lebih tragik, semasa guru itu hampir menjadi kakak iparnya, dia hanya mampu membenci di dalam hati dan tidak pandai mengadu pada kedua ibubapa dan abangnya. Selepas berubat dengan pelbagai cara, penyakit sawannya itu beransur kurang. Dia terus membenci guru itu selepas guru itu menjadi kakak iparnya.

Kisah 8 (murid lelaki)
Sebagai pelajar lelaki, saya tidak kisah dengan denda bersifat fizikal. Yang paling saya tertekan bila didenda adalah bila cikgu sebut saya sebagai ''Pendatang.''

Kisah 9 (murid lelaki)
sewaktu darjah 4 saya kena rotan di tapak kaki di hadapan perhimpunan hari Isnin sebab kasut sekolah tidak dikapur...kena berdiri atas kerusi sampai habis waktu Ilmu Hisab sebab lambat jawab (bukan tidak boleh jawab, cuma lambat jawab) satu soalan sifir yang ditanya oleh Guru Besar yang kebetulan lalu di tepi kelas sewaktu cikgu sedang mengajar Ilmu Hisab / Matematik...nasib baik semasa itu saya jenis budak lelaki yang tidak tahu malu...kena berdiri atas kerusi pun masih tersengih2...

Kisah 10 (murid perempuan)
Denda yang saya terima tidak seteruk mana (ditampar depan kelas kerana tertinggal buku latihan matematik di rumah, sampaikan gelang emas tebal cikgu patah dan terpelanting).

(sumber : sahabat facebook Pn Ainon Mohd, PTS)

rote learning or reasoning

Rethinking pedagogy

By AMINUDDIN MOHSIN
educate@thestar.com.my

An education system that emphasises rote learning rather than understanding has no place in a world that demands students to be equipped with reasoning, analytical and problem-solving skills.

Are education systems across the world still relevant to the needs of our society and future? One expert from the United States (US) is not afraid to say that the system – in the US, at least – is obsolete.

According to Tony Wagner’s book, The Global Achievement Gap, there is a huge chasm that divides what Americans are teaching and testing in their schools versus the actual skills students need to further their studies and pursue their careers.

Wagner is co-director of Change Leadership Group (CLG) at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, which is a research and development centre charged with helping teams to be effective leaders in schools and districts throughout the US.

To keep up with the pace of information and technology, students must be taught how to process and analyse the information. — File photo

“Wagner points out that the relevant skills needed for the 21st century is no longer taught in classrooms and lecture halls,” said Victoria University vice-chancellor Prof Peter Dawkins.

In his lecture, a part of the Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah Distinguished Speakers series held at Sunway University, Prof Dawkins uses Wagner’s book to discuss the skills required for employment in the new workforce.

“Today, employers are not just looking for ‘domain skills’ and knowledge relevant to their field in a potential employee.

“They are also looking for ‘generic skills’ like problem-solving and teamwork. Focus on these skills is lacking in our education systems,” said Prof Dawkins.

Even when the study is transposed onto the Australian education system, it points to many areas where changes can be made to better prepare students for transitions – from school to college, then to work, said Prof Dawkins.

In the book, Wagner noted that there was no curricula or teaching method in place to teach students how to reason, analyse and write well.

He explained how the American education system was on the verge of crisis as most of the tests it uses for accountability comprise multiple choice assessments, which require more memorising than thinking.

A teacher playing a board game with her students to give them a practical understanding of accounting. —File photo

Different minds

The concern that an overwhelming emphasis on exam grades, which in turn encourages students and teachers alike to get through the syllabus and memorise key points – rather than taking the time to understand concepts – is all too familiar in Malaysia.

So what can be done to narrow the gap between what is taught and and what is needed?

In his lecture, Prof Dawkins drew upon Howard Gardner’s Five Minds for the Future to identify what students need to learn and how to teach them those essential skills.

“Gardner identifies the types of intelligences we should develop, and points to the various different faculties of the mind,” he said.

The “five minds” include the disciplined mind, which is the ability to focus and develop a deep knowledge of at least one subject matter; the synthesising mind, which allows one to process information from various sources to combine it in a way that makes sense; and the creating mind, which puts forth new ideas and fresh ways of thinking.

The other faculties of the mind are respectful and ethical thinking, which are critical in developing students who not only welcome and respect different people and opinions, but understand them and work to benefit society at large beyond their own self-interests.

“By developing these faculties, we can produce students that can think creatively, bridge knowledge from different fields and act ethically,” said Prof Dawkins.

Although he conceded that not everything can be taught in classrooms, the classroom should take efforts to adapt to the needs of society.

Prof Dawkins shared that when he was a member of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority board, he chaired a committee tasked with writing out a declaration of educational goals for Australian children.

“I was part of the committee that produced the Melbourne declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians.

“One of the goals was developing successful learners by teaching them how to think and draw upon a wide range of different learning to solve problems,” he said.

Meanwhile, trainee teacher Nur Hidayah Shukor was of the opinion that there was nothing lacking with Malaysian students.

“Malaysian students have abundant potential and given the opportunity, they can be as expressive, creative and critical as any student out there.

“They only need to be given a platform to do so — something which could be better incorporated in our schools,” said Nur Hidayah, who is studying at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).

During her three months of practical training at SMK Taman Mutiara Rini, Johor, Nur Hidayah said she saw what teaching in non-conventional methods could do to boost the students’ interest and morale.

“You should see how even the weakest students who refused to speak a word of English became confident speakers with the correct methods.

“I used drama to get them to speak and detective work to get them to write reports. Eventually they spoke and wrote English comfortably,” she said.

However, she admitted that as a trainee teacher, she could teach students in creative and interesting ways without worrying about finishing the syllabus in time.

“On the other hand, full-time teachers are often worried about completing the syllabus in time, whereas my only concern was impressing my lecturers,” she said.

Some lessons need not even be taught in the classroom. Here, students are learning the history of kites. — File photo

Changing perceptions

According to veteran educationist and Kirkby College Alumni president Tan Sri Dr Yahaya Ibrahim, it is precisely the teachers’ burden of finishing the syllabus in time that needs to change.

“The concept of finishing the syllabus must change — in fact, the syllabus must be malleable and robust enough that it can fit the needs of any situation.

“Teachers should not succumb to tunnel vision when teaching. If they are looking at the syllabus, they are not looking at their students growth or decline,” said Dr Yahaya.

He added that teachers go through four stages of teaching — they start off “telling” as a new teacher, then they progress to “explaining” as they gain experience.

“After that point they educate – a good teacher educates. And the final transformation is the inspirational teacher who inspires,” he said.

On a different front, UTM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Zaini Ujang says that students learn more outside the classroom.

“That is why we encourage students to partake in summer school programmes, conferences, summits and other events held outside the classroom.

“While out of campus, they are expected to learn not just from the programmes they attend but also through mingling with peers and professors abroad,” he said.

In his 2011 new year address, Prof Zaini highlighted what he expects new academia to look like after changes to conventional academia.

“We want to move from the traditional paradigm of having only professors filling up teaching positions to having policy makers, practitioners and entrepreneurs fill some of those spots.

“We also need to change our outlook on what we use as teaching materials — we cannot narrow it down to just academic journals and books,” said Prof Zaini.

Prof Zaini points out that it is important to learn through experience and that failure is a great teacher.

“We need our students to be versatile enough to be able to gain as much as possible through experience,” he said.

As information and technology moves faster and faster, it becomes ever more important to teach students how to think critically and synthesize information.

“We need to develop inquisitive minds. We can’t have students just jotting down notes from their teachers without pondering over what they have written.

“We are transitioning from traditional learning to e-learning at a fast pace, and we must teach our students how to think,” said Dr Yahaya.

As the adage goes, knowledge is power — but this is assuming the person with knowledge knows how to use it.

This is why how we teach is as important as what we teach. Students must know how to relate to what they learn and implementation of the knowledge learned is as important as understanding it, said Dr Yahaya.

A respectful and ethical mind is developed when students are exposed to various people and opinions from a young age. These children are participating in a play to learn about and showcase Scottish culture. — File photo

A shared view

Many policy makers, education planners, deans of faculty, principals, lecturers and teachers have pointed towards a tectonic shift in pedagogy – the art of teaching – to fit global trends.

During the launch of EzLearn2u at SMK Bandar Utama Damansara 3, Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said the “chalk and talk” method of teaching used by teachers in the past no longer fits the students of this generation.

Taylor’s University School of Communication dean Josephine Tan said the advent of new channels of information makes Gen-Y students less likely to be receptive to one-way learning.

“With so many avenues open for them to obtain information, classrooms must adapt,” she said, adding that students must be allowed to use their smartphones, iPads and laptops to access information relevant to their class.

She also said the short period of three to five years in tertiary education was not enough to fully develop the thinking skills of student.

“These thinking skills must be developed from early education,” she added.

Even with all these little initiatives by various education institutions, the question remains, is it enough? Or is nothing short of an overhaul of they way we teach necessary for pedagogy to catch up with the needs of our times?

Dr Yahaya, who has served under various Education Ministers and Prime Ministers, said he has always posed one question to them: “What kind of Malaysian do you want to produce?”

Perhaps it is only after we answer that question can we choose a path to walk down.

It’s not about national or vernacular schools; we need to master various languages

It’s not about national or vernacular schools; we need to master various languages — Liew Chin Tong

February 19, 2012

FEB 19 — Let me begin by saying that we need a new framework for a new era. The dichotomy between vernacular languages and the national language is an outmoded one. The old thinking presupposes that each of us can only master a language and not more than one. And hence the politics of which language should be taught at school.

Language gold mine

But the reality is that Malaysia is sitting on a “language gold mine”, just like Switzerland, Spain, Finland and Belgium, where everyone speaks at least two languages fluently. Some of us, let’s say a Chinese Malaysian from Kuala Lumpur, who has travelled overseas would have an experience of speaking near-perfect Mandarin with Chinese from Beijing, impeccable Cantonese to someone from Hong Kong, and some form of Bahasa to Indonesian friends.

The world is amazed with us Malaysians, yet we are not treating the diversity of languages that we have as our national asset. We are still caught in the thinking of the 1920s and the debate of the 1960s.

Before I talk about 1920s and 1960s, let me digress a little to reminisce some more recent history.

In 2002, when Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was thinking about retirement and his legacies, he thought of reviving English medium schools, which he closed down in the 1970s as Education Minister.

But the resistance from among Umno ranks was too strong.

So, typical of Mahathir, he came up with a quick fix – let’s teach mathematics and science in English. PPSMI, as its Malay acronym is known, was introduced hastily against the wishes of many.

Some were against it from the point of view of language vanguards. Some said no because there were just not enough good mathematics and science teachers, even fewer who can teach the subjects in English. And, frankly, there is not much language content in mathematics and science.

What should have happened is to give more weight to English lessons at all schools. Dr. Mahathir had no time for that. He was indeed a man in a hurry, all the time.

The issue of lack of teachers who were proficient to teach mathematics and science in English, especially in the rural areas, was brought up at the Umno general assembly of June 2002. Dr. Mahathir reassured the Umno delegates that the subjects would be taught through sophisticated electronic material. The teachers, said Dr. Mahathir, can learn English together with the students through the use of PowerPoint and other software.

RM5 billion was allocated to push for this policy over five years. The government spent RM3 billion on LCD projectors and laptop computers in the first year. As they say, the rest is history.

Likewise, when the then Prime Minister said Sekolah Agama Rakyat were bad, these schools immediately felt the brunt of the whole government machinery crushing them.

My point here is that in the last 55 years, power has concentrated in the hands of one party initially and in one person later. However ridiculous the policy was, it was bulldozed through.

Other BN party leaders in the government were just bystanders in the policy process, at best trying to tweak the outcome from the margin, such as the 243 formula.

Three lessons for Malaysians

So, lesson one, absolute power in the hands of a one-party state is not good for education.

Let us ask, where do we get the idea that schools must only focus on one language, one national language? The model came from the Sumpah Pemuda of October 28, 1928. The Indonesian revolutionaries wanted to establish an Indonesia with “satu bangsa, satu bahasa.”

I was in Surabaya in last December. My visit to JavaTV was extremely educational. The producer proudly announced that democratisation in Indonesia since 1998 came with media freedom, which in turn allowed media like his to flourish outside Jakarta while decentralisation since 2001 enabled the economies of cities outside Jakarta like Surabaya to boom. And more interestingly, the combined effect of democratisation and decentralisation was that his TV station became the promoter of Bahasa Suroboyo. No more language police to insist on just one language.

I would imagine when democratisation finally takes place in Malaysia, there will be a Kelantan TV promoting Bahasa Kelate or a Sarawak TV promoting Iban language.

Therefore, lesson two, even Indonesia, the source of Umno’s mono-lingual nationalism, has moved on.

Sadly, we are still caught in the debate of the 1960s. A week ago on February 11, Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said in Ipoh that the national education system is undergoing a comprehensive review. He said the education system has not been subjected to such review since the Razak and Rahman Talib reports on the system.

As an MP, I am surprised to hear such a review being conducted in secret. But then again that’s BN for you. Anyhow I agreed with Tan Sri Muhyiddin that the education system has not been reviewed for a long time. Mind you, Tun Razak passed away in 1976 before I was even born and the Razak report was released 55 years ago in 1957 while the Rahman Talib report was released 52 years ago in 1960.

In the 1960s, Malaysia was in the middle of the most volatile region in the fight between the West and the Communist bloc. The government, the United States and the Western bloc saw the Chinese language as the language of infiltration. But that was so long ago. There is no more Mao Zedong, no more Berlin Wall, no more Soviet Union.

Even if we do not consider the cultural value of being multilingual, it is an economic imperative for Malaysia to be multilingual.

Today, the declining US and European economies means Malaysia’s immediate economic future lies in our ability to connect with China, India and Indonesia, among others. Isn’t it that our language diversity an asset? Aren’t we sitting in a language gold mine?

Let’s be clear, lesson three, and I have to state the obvious, 2012 is not 1960. We need a new paradigm.

Lip service by means of recognising the contributions of Chinese and Tamil schools is not the way forward. More money to the schools in an “I help you, you help me” form is not going help Malaysia to unleash our full potential.

We can master more than one language

It is time for us to recognise that each of us can master more than one language; that we must not plan education by one man or one party’s wish, that we must move beyond the 1928 Sumpah Pemuda of Indonesia because they have moved on; and that 2012 is a different world from 1960s.

Bahasa Malaysia is and will always be our national language. And we are proud if it. Yet we should face the reality, and do our best to realize our full potential. At least think of our children, and our children’s children.

Let me close by saying, Malaysia deserves better, Malaysians deserves a better government. — The Rocket

* The writer is DAP MP for Bukit Bendera. This is his speech delivered at the Malaysian Chinese at the Political Crossroads conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.


(Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/its-not-about-national-or-vernacular-schools-we-need-to-master-various-languages-liew-chin-tong/)