Written by IpohBornKid
Dear Frances,
This is an article in response to your article “Doing it the honest way….“. Although this is written in a western context but it has a lot of parallel lessons.
Regards
In regard to secondary school education, there is always a debate on whether the students should have private tuition or go to a private school. It is clearly obvious that both these options cost money. Many parents do make tremendous sacrifice to send their children to private tuition but not so many can afford to send them to private schools.
In the realm of private tuition, parents send their kids there in expectation of a better grade in school and hopefully to gain a better mark than other children. This now becomes a competition related to financial resources and has been a subject of criticism from parents who could not afford to pay private tuition. They considered it an unfair competition.
There is no doubt that tutorial gives a competitive edge to the student. The benefits can be realized if (1) there is no home environment for study; (2) the parents are not academically inclined to help with the homework; (3) there is obvious undiagnosed leaning difficulties with the student (Attention Deficiency Syndrome, dyslexia, etc.) and (4) lack of peer pressure provided by close group learning. Students with these problems do benefit for personal coaching or good private tutoring. Parents who are academically inclined can easily give their kids the “home” private tuition themselves provided they have the time and inclination. In the society when the main bread-winner is the father, the mother provides the tuition. Mum’s coaching is a powerful tool, not only found with academic work but also in musical studies. The endless hours pays off. The natural hindrance is the inherent difficulty in teaching your own kids anything, but they can be overcome by a determined and patient mother. I have witnessed a family with a strong and determined mother who took her 4 kids through music lessons and home tuition on school work. She was the academic tutor, music tutor, taxi-driver, cook and household worker, all in one. Her children have become gifted musicians and highly qualified professionals. Her sacrifice of her medical career paid off and now she returned to practice medicine. The moral of the story here is that tuition is a honing tool and the best result is home orienting tuition.
The choice between private and public schools is also an economic decision. Those with high income can afford to send their kids to private schools whilst the average parents can only the public schools. The popular thinking is that a child with average academic performance would improve significantly if he/she was put into a private school. In the last 2 decades, public schools have become competitive and generally lifted their student performances to a level equal or sometimes better the private school. Hence, there is no much difference between the academic performance of private and public schools. In fact the public school systems have catered for the gifted students by having “selective” schools for bright kids. Here advances in the public school systems have narrowed the academic gap between public and private schools. However, the only benefit in the private school appeared to be making friends with the higher social economic students for obvious social benefits in the future (the old school tie – very much a British phenomenon).
Familiarity with examination papers is an advantage and in the X generation days, such familiarity had only begun. Some students have no idea what an examination question looks like and in their mind it is difficult to “prepare” for the examination. However, memorizing an answer template to a past examination paper is akin to “gambling” with your life. If you are lucky, you scored well otherwise, you failed. There is another development in the internet age. Answers from the net are pasted together to form an answer and such answers were submitted for marking as a project/homework without any understanding of the subject. If such work is included as assessment for the final examinations, it does not help the student to learn the subject but only allow it to be repeated parrot fashion. At university, these assignments may be subjected to oral examinations, particularly when it is a thesis submitted for a degree.
Buying leaded examination is akin to being an accessory to the criminal offense of theft. It not only encourages the thief but also condoning theft. It is not a good example to show your children. Such parents condemn their children to being cheats in later life. There is no future for this type of action condoning thieves.
Claiming superiority using the highest numbers of ‘As’ is legitimate provided the examination process is fair and clean, and secondly whether we are scoring for “rote” learning or “understanding”.The former has no value in raising the knowledge of the students and would be useless in a real competitive world. Inter-school examination set by independent authorities and marked by selected panels of teachers could be a useful tool to gauge the standard and performance of a school. These examinations should test the students’ real knowledge and understanding of a subject rather by “memorization”. Students who scored well under rote learning do not necessarily do well at Universities.
In conclusion, a consistent study pattern and the pursuit of understanding (not repeating) yield better results and parental engagement is the best tutorial.
Note: The author is a current member of a public school committee in a region which has more than 100 public schools
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Interesting Analysis of education private, public or home schooled like your Doctor of Medicine example.Be that as it may,some parents are genuinely and economically able to foster the ideals of Modern Education for Economic Progress,in the same sense that parents used to send children to English Schools,I don’t neither do my many professional friends and class-mates regard it as Western Education, as the home values are retained in a unique way,even English or American born and bred Chinese here in USA and UK don’t regard their education from K to 12 High School as anything but Modern Education regardless of the race, gender or national origin of the Teachers in public or private schools.The UMNO government and their unsubstantial partners over the years since Merdeka in 1957 have increased the Focus on Bahasa Kebangsaan asa National Solidarity project yet they didn’t realise that such National Solidarity can be achieved with English Medium of Instruction being primary. Philantropist Tan Lark Sye of the Nantah in Singapore got his University higher only when the Singapore Government removed chinese Mandarin as the sole language of instruction,resulting in better equipped graduates fluent in Chinese Mandarin and English and are fully acceptable as world class working professionals,many of my friends even got scholarships afterwards to attend Graduate Schools in Canada, USA and UK. They call it as I do years ago Modern Education, nothing Western about it other than the Language of Instruction,it doesn’t mean I or my friends can’t speak Mandarin, Hakka, Cantonese, Toisanese, Hokkien, Hainanese or Malay apart from the English. Of course during the Colonial Era it was very difficult to see it but as an Imperial Colonialism modus operandi of Control as alleged by politicians that lost out some years ago when the USSR debunked and defunct itself as the Union of the Soviets when it was won over by the Free Market Capaitalism asa better way of Consumerism as most people globally won ! The Seenivasagm Brothers and Sons the Lawyers DR and SP of the Ipoh based People’s Progressive Party basically also opposed the Malay only policies in Education but without much success because the UMNO Cartel dominated the debates and the May 13th 1967 Race Riots made it a National Security case !It is only now after 50 years that the Malaysian Government is seeing the problems and paradoxes that it created after Merdeka !What’s the point of Merdeka without Modern economic progress ? Across the Straits Causeway Syonan/Singapore is now a First Rate Economic Nation that has even beaten the mother country the UK in per capita income and in the top league of economic nations,that was achieved by leaving well alone i.e. the English System of education from K to 12 to University !They don’t even need to sing God Save the Queen, how about Majullah Singapura ! Negara-Ku is sounding empty after 50 years of stagnant growth and diminished educational horizons ! As the French say ” Vive La Joie De Vivre Tragedie ! ”
Gerald Heng-Tuah Sr.
Metrowest Boston,MA. USA.
Two exam questions found recently in our schools and universities:
1) Bersih rallies are illegal. Do you agree or disagree. State your reason.
2) PTPTN loan should be continued. Ditto.
All I can said is: “Stupid are the products of this education system, stupider are the executors of this education system but stupidest are the supporters of this education system.”
Hi IpohBornKid,
Two things I need to share here. While private tuition does help weaker students but they will also develop a sense of relying on the tuition teacher and hence, many does not pay attention while the teacher is teaching in the class. My children told me those who went to private tuition after school tend to chat away, run around in the class or disturb their classmates during lessons and nowadays, teachers does not bother to discipline them anymore.
I am glad that you also paid tribute to stay-at-home-moms. When I told my friends I wanted to stay at home to coach my two children, they were like “What a waste, you must be crazy or why so stupid to give up a well-paid job?” Indeed, I can easily hire home tutor or put them in kindergartens but I chose to coach them myself. The years spent teaching them can be extremely exhausting, frustrating, challenging but exhilarating and rewarding as well. Today, I am beginning to enjoy the fruits of my sacrifice, seeing them doing well academically and growing up into well-adjusted teenagers. 🙂
Dear Ipohgal, the behavior of the “tutored” students is primarily a response by being bored to death in the classroom. On the surface, the teacher appeared to exercise little or no discipline in the classroom. Deep down, the “bored” students have nowhere to express their new found knowledge and the school system was not able to cope with “bright” kids. Hence they become a source of distraction. when bright kids are thrown into a pond of average kids, this type of behavior emerge. The question is whether the school or its teachers are able to manage brighter kids?
Dear Mr Heng: You could have misunderstood my drift when I stated that my article was based on the western context meaning, the contemporary thinking about school education in a “western” country. I would disagree with you about the splitting ofthe terms Modern education and Western education. Within the British commonwealth, Modern Education is derived from UK and hence a Western type approach in education in the colonies exists.
As for your second blog comment, it was too cryptic for me to decipher whether you are in support of the Mum’s role as an educator at home. Secondly, I did not catch your message in the second paragraph. Can you please elaborate.
Hi IpohBornKid,
Yes, bright kids will find our mediocre education too boring and hence, many do not pay attention to what they have already knew. Our education system is one size fits all type – which means whether you’re bright, mediocre or simply hopeless, you have to learn the same thing. There is so little facilities to cater to both bright sparks and those with learning disabilities. I hope this can be resolved one day by people who have the political will to change for the better and not enslave us to further stupidity so that they could hold on to power.
Note to Gerard Heng Senior : I am the sole owner of this blog and therefore I have the right to spam any comments that deemed racist, vulgar or hostile even though I cherish the freedom of speech. Any one can agree or disagree with the contents of this blog but please, relay your thoughts in a respectful, civilized and matured way. There is nothing more disgraceful than picking up a fight or creating a ruckus when putting your thoughts across. It speaks badly of one’s character and upbringing. As a senior, you should take the lead to show us how to speak politely in the public arena.
I have actually spammed many of your earlier comments which I felt are racist and vulgar although they carried some truth. Later, you have toned down a bit and I opened up the space for you but now that you have reverted back to the former, I am afraid I have to spam you again. Thank you.
Quite frankly if in Malaysia or the British Commonwealth Countries ,you equate Western Education to Modern Education I don’t see the distinction as having any significance I characterise it as Modern Education basically globally it is the education that equip people for globalization of jobs and occuptaions apart from manual labor [ even this has required latest technology that put a premium on English reading skills]
As for Home Education by Moms and Dads as an alternative to a dead-end Government Cartel I of course as an old Former TEcaher of English and Malay in a Chinese School agree its baout the best way to escape the stranglehold of diminished education horizons! Nowadays even “Western Universities” locate in Malaysia and or Singapore and teach local undergraduates asa matter Costs Savings etc. The State and national Universities aren’t producing the Graduates for world class economic corporations ! But understand Home Education is only a temporary solution that has long teem waste of resources,the elected people’s government must ultimately make the right choices like what Across The Cause Straits of Syonan/Singapore did in the 1960’s by retaining in large measure what I still call a Modern Education System with exce;;ent results even with Nantah of Tan Lark Sye ! Tan Lark Sye’s Chinese Language only Nantah would have got many good Han-Lin Scholars but what would they do in the mpdern corporate world of jobs and enterprises ? Indeed many of them before the conversion to English Medium of Instruction became only good to follow the trades of their Towkay Fathers or Uncles in Rubber, Tin-Mining, Groceries Stores, Rice-Mills and what have you ? and their ancestors before them don’t even need a Certificate in High School to follow those Occuptations !Some of my realistic friends would say “Han-Lin ” Scholarly University Degree for what ? The Toilet ?
Gerald Heng Sr.
metrowest Boston,MA. USA.
Umm….to join the conversation, here’s a rather irreverent – and perhaps irrelevant – article I wrote for a national paper in 2003. 🙂
Larry
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TO SPEAK AND WRITE WELL
My family moved from Taiping to Ipoh during the early 1950s, and it was there that I had a somewhat unorthodox education. For example, when most of my primary school classmates were going to school, I would every so often cycle to any other place except that educational institution.
My parents never knew what I was doing, for I always took care to make my schoolbag look like it was full of school books, when in fact it also contained my box of watercolors, brushes, a bottle of clean water, and a sketch pad. By the time I entered secondary school, not a single limestone hill, rural pond, picturesque river scene, or row of town buildings was left uninterpreted in paint and paper by me.
My first acquaintance with the art of rhetoric began in a similarly unconventional manner. I was probably in Form 1 when my family moved into a new housing estate. Most people there belonged to the small but growing middle class which possessed, of course, middle class values.
Occasionally, however, we would have neighbors who, fresh from the countryside, still clung their rustic ways.
It was a public argument between two such neighbors that led me to wonder whether homicide should be made legal, especially when they continued their noisy rhetorical exercise from early evening till past midnight, with no sign of abatement or retreat from either side.
It started when one neighbor, a fiftyish woman, accused another of having eyes on her husband. The other woman, possibly some years younger, replied quite sensibly that the older woman’s husband was hardly a film star, and that at any rate she had better things to do than to go after an uneducated fellow. From then on the discourse degenerated, with each side seeing less and less need for “logos” or logical reasoning, and more inclined to making crude references to some particular part of their opponent’s anatomy.
By midnight, it was all about anatomy and nothing about the issue that started the argument.
The two women’s style of discourse is by no means extinct today. If we were to examine speeches by many modern day politicians, we would be able to find the same disregard for facts and the same focus on irrelevant and/or ad hominem attacks on their opponents.
Such tactics have occurred even in a supposedly “mature” democracy like the United States where in a recent case, dissenting war veterans, including a triple-amputee, were baselessly maligned as “unpatriotic” by politicians who had never served in the American armed forces.
Perhaps one way to minimize rhetorical abuse is to have a populace schooled in classical rhetoric.
“Rhetoric” used to be a pejorative term until the various English departments in Western universities revived its original status as the skill of speaking and writing well.
To speak and write well involves more than just knowledge of a language: it presupposes the ability to think critically — to differentiate sound from fallacious reasoning.
Further, the high regard for reason not only makes rhetoric useful to a well-ordered state, but also a means of producing virtuous individuals. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Roman rhetorician, Quintillian, should equate the rhetorical person with the good person. Indeed, centuries earlier, Isocrates too had characterized the ability to speak well with “the outward image of a good, faithful soul”.
Malaysian schools, therefore, might consider teaching rhetoric as a form of ethics and moral education. Since such a course entails not only oral and written skills, but also personal and public virtue, it should be taught from kindergarten through high school (Quintillian had thought of rhetorical education as a lifelong affair). Children should be immersed in the subject: they should practise what they learn and, in effect, become rhetorical persons.
We are, today, living in very interesting times. The country has just witnessed the emergence of a new prime minister and some people are already speculating that general elections might be held soon, if not at the end of the year, then early next year. Thus, political parties are brushing up their manifestos and conjuring more promises to the people.
Politicians have begun to smile every time they appear in public. Playing to the gallery, indulging in populism, or giving what the people want is the name of the game.
Sad to say, such tactics often work because it is not easy for the rhetorically untrained person to separate fact from fancy, to distinguish hollow promises from ones that could be kept, or to differentiate issue-oriented speeches from those full of personal venom.
Malaysian schools have long been accused of putting more stress on rote learning than on critical thinking.
Is it possible, perhaps, that only those who managed to escape the school system at least some of the time – such as those who ponteng school to do outdoor sketching – are able to practise critical thinking?
Even if that is only partly true, perhaps all of us — parents, educationists, and concerned citizens — might want to pursue the possibility of including rhetoric as a classroom subject.
Hi Larry,
It would be such a waste to let a fine article like this one to remain in the comment box. How about granting me the permission to move it to the home or main page? Hope you will agree. 🙂
Just happen to notice a typo:
>Occasionally, however, we would have neighbors who, fresh from the countryside, still clung their rustic ways.<
Should be :
Occasionally, however, we would have neighbors who, fresh from the countryside, still clung TO their rustic ways.
Anything you say, girl. 🙂 Will love to see more comments from your readers.
Hi Larry,
Thank you very much for your generosity in sharing this piece of fine writing. I’m sure many folks will find it a delight too! 🙂
I like the portion where you mention the patience and love of a mother educating her children. This indeed is a powerful too compare to the endless tuition that the children have to go after school, and if it is done properly with an education syllabus, it is going to be better than bringing our children to face our so called “good” education system. This is what home schooling is all about. I have been thinking about this for quite some time.
Hi Andrew,
A mother is indeed a powerful tool in educating her kids, no matter how some people might played down her importance. Even from ancient times, there is a Chinese saying, “What is the use of having a mother to give birth to you but not having her to teach you?” In plain Cantonese, this has been summarized as “Yau lar sang, mo lar gau!”