Private Tutor = Nanny

Why parents need tutors: To do the job of parents - Navene Elangovan

The debate over the necessity of tuition in Singapore was recently reignited by comments made by Indranee Rajah, the Senior Minister of State for Education. Private tuition, she said, was not necessary in Singapore’s education system.

Time spent in class is sufficient for a child to grasp the necessary knowledge, the argument goes. Pay attention in class and keep up with your homework, and the average student can perform decently at examinations. Remedial classes will help weaker students to catch up with the rest.

But all this misses the real function of tutors in Singapore. The truth of the matter is that tutors here are nannies.

The argument that students can cope without tuition is premised on the assumption that the average child is intrinsically motivated to push himself to do well in school.

Yet it is unrealistic to expect most children to be so motivated.

The nature of academics is such that frequent practice, even beyond the allotted curriculum time, is required to reinforce concepts taught in the classroom. But the average student is unlikely to fully grasp the need for this. More often than not, all that is on their mind the moment they step out of their school gates is hanging out with friends.

This is where tutors are crucial. Often tutors are engaged to help a student with his homework, forcing the child to get his homework done before tuition begins. Tuition homework assigned on top of this means the child gets more practice in applying the concepts learnt in the classroom.

As such, tuition is a means to prod the student, whose priorities would otherwise probably lie elsewhere, into revising their work outside of curriculum time.

Should parents be nannies?

Some may suggest that it is the onus of the parents to play the role of nanny, ensuring that their child keeps up with school work. But this may also be an unrealistic demand in an era where double-income families are the norm, with both parents exhausted after working long hours.

And maybe whatever little time parents have left with their child is best set aside for more family-friendly activities, such as having dinner together. The relationship between parents and child risks being strained when dads and mums interfere in their child’s education. I see so many parents frustrated when their children do not perform up to their expectations.

Exhibit A: My neighbour, whom I’ve dubbed “Tiger Mummy”. Every day, from 8pm to 10pm, Tiger Mummy can be heard berating her son during their study sessions. Too slow, too stupid, she shouts.

It works both ways. Children resent their parents bossing them around. I’ve seen my siblings pull a long face after my parents tell them to do their homework. Faced with such hostility, parents soon retract their orders for fear of being seen as the bad guy — the last thing a parent wants after clocking a long day at the office is to return home to an unfriendly environment.

So that’s where tutors play come in: They’re pseudo-parents. Tuition can be scheduled while the parent is still at work, so mum and dad can come home to a child who is done with his homework and available for family time.

The “outsider” status of a tutor also means that the child is more likely to respect and respond to a tutor’s demands. Also, many parents are out of touch with the current school syllabus and are not in the best position to help their child academically.

Can’t live with it, can’t live without it

If one truly seeks a tuition-free world, then one must be able to raise intrinsically-motivated kids who understand the importance of education. Sounds good, but in such cases I worry that such a child may not have had the opportunity to be what he or she truly is — a child.

The other alternative is to simplify the education syllabus to reduce the demands placed on students. But we can’t risk compromising the standards of our school system.

The issue of whether tuition is a necessity is symptomatic of a larger problem in Singapore — that of balancing growth and competition with the desire for a slower pace of life. Until that is resolved, tuition will quite likely remain a necessity. – Todayonline.com, October 1, 2013.

Why I decided to stop teaching after 19 years - Bernard Khoo

How different is education today, I was asked, compared with education when I was an educator?

Well, if I lasted 19 years as a teacher, it must have been a tolerable profession. Key operative word is “tolerable” despite the fact that in the mid-1960s, we teachers throughout the country went on strike to seek better remuneration.

When I opted to come back from Singapore after her separation from Malaysia to continue to make teaching my career my late meter-reader father warned me about the responsibility the job entailed.

“I already got you a job at LLN (now Tenaga) through Raja Zainal (then CEO)," he said.

He continued: "As a teacher you are responsible for ALL students in your class. They spend more hours with you than with their parents. If one goes astray, you have failed as the teacher!”

He sure threw a bucket of cold water on my vocation. I stuck to teaching, emboldened by the challenge  that I had, to emulate my former teachers, the men who nurtured me for this noble profession. I spent 10 years in a Sentul school after which I was assigned to another to stem the drug indiscipline in that school.

So, why did I throw all this away, besides the loss of pension and gratuity after 19 years?

After 1970, all schools were converted into government or government assisted schools and the Bahasa Kebangsaan (Bahasa Malaysia) would be the medium of instruction.

Three months of inservice course to learn Bahasa was deemed sufficient for one to be proficient in this new medium of instruction. I plodded on, even on occasions when I was just three pages ahead of my students.

That was the policy and I tried to do my best. And then I witnessed the insidious part race and religion snaked into the profession.

When handball was introduced in the sports curriculum I purchased the necessary. I was called into the office to justify why I purchased handball made from pig skin. I produced the ball that had the offending word “pigment” imprinted on it.

When the omnipotent words - race, religion and quota - took precedence over merit that resulted in shameless polarisation that then divided our student body, I wanted no part of this system and forfeited  one month’s salary in lieu of immediate resignation.

They say that once a teacher, always a teacher. I continued teaching as an internationally certified corporate trainer and coach, where race and religion could not find a foothold in multi-national corporations but lost a lucrative contract with a statutory body when it was revealed that I was an anti-establishment blogger.

So what’s new with this latest episode of the dressing room canteen?

The politicising of race and religion will continue unabated so we former teachers just pray that one day this beautiful country and its people can live together in harmony and undivided by people who use race and religion to control. - July 25, 2013.

* Bernard Khoo is a retired teacher who reads The Malaysian Insider.

Should We Emulate the Finnish Education System?

In teachers they trust — Ng Jing Ying 


Asked how he assesses his teachers, Matti Koivusalo shrugs matter-of-factly that he has “no means” to do so. “There is no evaluation whatsoever for teachers. Everything is based on trust,” says the principal of Haaga Comprehensive School in Helsinki. Indeed, the “open” school culture means any feedback quickly reaches his ears, says Koivusalo, who looks after 50 teachers and 600 pupils in grades one through nine (the equivalent of Primary 1 to Secondary 3 in Singapore).

It is easy to see how: along the school’s hallway, pupils look up from their mobile phones and greet him as he walks past; some engage him in friendly banter. At the school cafeteria where free lunches are served daily — an established practice at all Finnish schools — teachers join him for lunch and chat about how their day has gone. Said Koivusalo: “If something bad happens, I’ll hear about it in five minutes … The atmosphere is such that (students and teachers) can come and talk about it freely without being afraid.” Even so, sackings are rare in Finnish schools, say educators. Vesa Valkila, one of the principals at Turku University teacher training school, tried to explain: “Finnish teachers have a lot of freedom and are trusted … that really motivates a lot of them to do their best.”

LEFT TO TEACH
In Finland, a small country of 5.4 million people, its education system operates on this singular principle of trust. The country’s model shot to global attention after Finnish pupils repeatedly excelled in international tests such as the Programme for International Student Assessment — despite having practically no mandated standardised exams, rankings or competition.

Schools take in students of all varying abilities, including those with learning disabilities, under one roof. The curious result is that, the differences between its weakest and strongest students are the smallest in the world, according to an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) survey.
School leaders across Finland tell Today the same thing: “We trust our teachers.” There are no national examinations in the first nine years of Finnish formal schooling, and schools and teachers are pretty much left on their own to educate their charges.

As Armi Mikkola, counsellor of education at the Ministry of Education and Culture, put it: “The administration is for support and not for inspection … Trust is part of Finnish society, it is a culture.”
Nevertheless, “with trust, there are some risks”, admitted Professor Jouni Valijarvi, director of the Finnish Institute for Educational Research. To mitigate risks of having underperforming teachers in schools, a stringent teacher selection process and rigorous teacher training is integral to the system, he said. “It is very important that we can say all schools are good schools,” added Valijarvi. “Because in every school, we’ve highly-trained and qualified teachers”.

SELECTING THE VERY BEST
Yearly, 7,000 teaching aspirants apply to be class teachers (teaching the equivalent of Primary 1 to 6). Typically, there are just 800 spots available. To teach secondary and upper secondary students (Secondary 1 to Junior College equivalent), 6,000 vie for 1,500 subject teacher positions yearly. Universities cherry-pick from this large pool of applicants, with two different selection processes for each category.

For class teachers, to prepare applicants for an entrance test, authorities will release study materials online on education-related topics such as pedagogical research studies. During the four-hour test, applicants answer about 100 multiple-choice questions. Even so, acing the entrance test does not guarantee a spot in one of the 11 universities offering teacher education. In phase two, depending on the applicant’s university of choice (they are given up to three picks), there could be a psychometric test along with an interview, or an observed group activity. Some universities also select based on an applicant’s matriculation exam results — the only national examinations taken by Finnish pupils, at the age of 18.

Anna Vaatainen, a student teacher at the University of Turku, is one who succeeded on her second try.
In her first attempt, she was invited by the University of Jyvaskyla for an interview but did not make it through. She went on to obtain a social work degree, and worked in an orphanage for four months, before deciding to give teacher education another go. This time, after “studying very hard” for the entrance test again, she and three other applicants were tasked by the University of Turku to plan an imaginary school’s sports day. “I am better around people so this group activity might have worked for me,” she said.
Those hoping to be a subject teacher undergo a similar selection process, having to first pass an entrance test set by their subject faculty of choice. They will then apply to the faculty of education, which may require an aptitude test and interview.

The result is that you ensure true commitment to the job. Jari Kouvalainen, a student teacher at the University of Eastern Finland, said: “Because we have to get through this really hard test, you have to be really motivated. With another five years of study, you’re really committed to this career.”

RESEARCH-BASED TRAINING
In the ‘70s, Finnish officials moved teacher training under the universities, subsequently implementing a five-year master’s degree programme for all who want to become teachers. A combination of theory, practice and research was key to teacher education, they decided. Class teachers major in the educational sciences and teach most subjects including mathematics and science at the primary levels. Teacher educators say that teaching younger children requires strong pedagogical skills to motivate and excite learners, and not just the transfer of academic knowledge at this stage.

By contrast, subject teachers major in their teaching subjects, while also having to complete pedagogical modules and teaching practicums. In-depth knowledge in their teaching areas is crucial, to give them the confidence to explain complex theories and tackle difficult questions. Anneli Rautiainen, head of professional development of teachers at the Finnish National Board of Education, thinks that research-based teacher education accounts for the high quality of teaching in Finnish schools today.

“The fact that we have a master’s degree for teacher initial education is very important. As research-based teachers, they can analyse learning situations and know how to support their students better,” she said.
Student teacher Tuula Hurtig agrees that conducting research has honed her critical thinking abilities and improved her teaching methods. Graduating as a history and civics teacher this year, her thesis involved research into how historical pictures impacted her students’ learning.

GETTING FIELD EXPERIENCE
Head of teacher education at University of Helsinki, Jari Lanoven, calls research-based teacher education vital — it combines with field practice to keep student-teachers in touch with classroom realities and “thinking about their teaching methods”, he said. All student teachers undergo multiple teaching practicums as part of their five-year programme. Each one lasts between two weeks and a year.Guided by teacher mentors, student teachers are attached to teacher-training schools set up by the universities, where they plan, teach and observe lessons. These 12 teacher training schools across Finland function as normal schools, with pupils coming from nearby homes. These schools also partner regularly with universities to produce the latest research in education.

Final-year student teacher Mikko Honkamaki, from the University of Jyvaskyla, worked with different mentors during each of his four practicuums — which broadened his perspective on various teaching styles — and got advice before and after each lesson. He also got to observe and critique fellow student-teachers, and vice-versa. “Watching my peers forced me to focus on my own way of giving instructions ... Receiving and giving feedback has also been crucial to my growth as a professional,” he said.

LEEWAY TO DECIDE
It was a cold winter’s morning when Today visited Maininki School in Espoo city, half an hour outside Helsinki, and Rose-Marie Mod-Sandberg was conducting an English-language lesson with her eight-graders (Secondary 2 equivalent). The classroom was quiet as some students had fallen ill; it was a smaller than usual group. Mod-Sandberg, 55, decided to get her pupils to share about their favourite American cities and imagine what they would do if they got there. As the mood lightened, she gave out worksheets which each student completed on their own.

She has the leeway to tailor her lessons according to her students’ abilities or interests on that very day itself, she told us. For instance, if the children were keen on a topic that was meant only for next year, she could dive into it. And if they seemed more tired than usual — such as after a strenuous Physical Education lesson — she could choose to do something less demanding, and pick things up later. “If I want to teach a topic, I can teach it anyway and anytime I like,” she said. “Finnish teachers undergo a long training, so (school leaders) can trust us to be professional and to act in the pupils’ interest”.

MORE THAN MONEY’S WORTH

In Finnish schools, teachers typically teach from 8am to 2pm before heading off to plan lessons or attend to parents’ queries. They are not required to take charge of after-school activities such as arts or sports clubs — usually run by private community organisations — and those who do so are remunerated accordingly.

Schools leaders also said that a layer of stress is removed for teachers as there is no evaluation process linked to their salaries. In fact, the pay structure is relatively flat where pay increases with years of experience and teaching hours. According to the latest OECD data, Finland’s average annual wage is S$59,852 (RM149,000) or approximately S$5,000 a month. For those teaching at the primary level, annual salaries start at S$35,883 (about S$3,000 a month). After 20 years, their pay reaches a maximum level of S$64,530 (S$5,400 a month).

Nevertheless, pay is not a main issue for Finnish teachers, said those Today spoke to. People are attracted to the career due to the high status that education is accorded in Finland and the autonomy given to teachers.
The government provides free education in the first nine years of a child’s school life, while schools receive funds to invest in slower learners. Teachers also hold a place in Finnish history, often cited as important figures alongside priests and doctors. “Young people still see working as a teacher as very creative and independent, where teachers can make a difference in their pupils’ lives,” said Olli Maatta, a teacher trainer at Helsinki Normal Lyceum, a regular Finnish school owned by the University of Helsinki for trainee teachers to serve their attachments.

At Haagan Comprehensive School, the school bell rings and children burst out of their classrooms into the snow-filled courtyard, throwing snowballs at one another and sledding down mini snow hills. Starring out of his window as one of his teachers leads pupils back from a skiing lesson, principal Koivusalo observes: “The role of an educator is very important. If a teacher loves his job, the children know it and they will want to come to school.” — Today

* Ng Jing Yng is a senior reporter with Today covering the education beat. She spent 1½ weeks visiting schools in three Finnish cities — Helsinki, Jyvaskyla and Turku — ranging from primary through to upper secondary (JC equivalent) levels.

Good Samaritan Lacks in China

  What do you feel after watching this footage?

China has improved tremendously for the past two decades in terms of economic, military, space exploration, sports, super infrastructures, magnificent skyscrapers, and so on. Despite of these achievements, China is experiencing a drop in moral values among its citizen. I am saddened that China now lacks of good Samaritan. What is so proud about being a superpower nation when its people lacks of showing love to others? Buck up China, rule the world with love. 

I pray that God's love will sweep across the China and brings revival to its people. God loves China.

Animals are better than human. I hope I am wrong.

iMac, iTunes, iPod, iPhone, iPad, iCloud ......but iMan is GONE

He was so awesome, handsome, genius, wealthy, creative, innovative, talented salesman and gifted entrepreneur. He was almost near perfect in every aspects in human eyes. I thanks God for his wonderful creature named STEVE JOBS. With his foresight, he invented something that we don't even know that we really needed. He was a great trendsetter, started numerous fashion products that others copy.

But, he has gone.................................

He was 56 years old before he took his last breath. It was too sudden for the world to accept his death news. His fighting spirit against all odds should be remembered. The moment he knew his life is going to end soon, he totally changed. Without wasting time, he determined himself to do something in a more meaningful way in his life. His words describe all his thoughts about life ....

Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.”

 “We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent. Because this is our life. Life is brief, and then you die, you know? And we’ve all chosen to do this with our lives. So it better be damn good. It better be worth it.”

“Almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

Not only that, he loves his loved ones................

This above picture I like the most one and taken after Steve Jobs icloud's presentation. It tells you something ...........that I can't describe it with words.

Life is really very brief. From the young Steve Jobs to the bedridden patient. Nobody can escape death. Steve Jobs has all the resources to heal his long-fighting pancreatic cancer. He has money, he has the best doctor, he has the best medical facilities but still can't run away from death. One day, we all sooner or later will also going to face death as Steve Jobs encountered. But, he had proved that he did something wonderful to the world before he passed away. Not many people able to do it. There are still many people live with no purpose in their life. So pathetic ...! We should all emulate Steve Jobs fighting spirit for his clear goal.

Anyway, I still have this thought that play in my mind. A thoughts that many people ignored it or pretended that it is not exists. For me, this is very important spiritually thoughts.

What happen to me after I died?

Do you have answer ...........................

Killing the teachers, zombifying our children

Opinion by Erna Mahyuni from Malaysian Insider

JUNE 22 — There is only one thing our schools are good for these days: Creating the living dead. I don’t just mean our “national” schools but all our schools. An education these days is not about preparing the next generation for the future, but the business of scoring on standardised tests. We covet soulless parrots, with the ability to regurgitate whatever information was crammed down their throats along with the insipid “values” our education system attempts to inculcate. Moral Education, for instance, is a stupid subject that exists only to allow students to get one more A.

When I was part of the Barisan Nasional Youth Lab (yes, taxpayers, I apologise for wasting your money), I remember one member spouting that what our kids needed were guides on “how to study.” Essentially, his idea of education was teaching children the best way to study to get the highest marks. The amazing thing was how the other lab members shot him down, some with biting, cutting remarks. The poor bloke never came back to another lab session.

But who can blame him? Achievement is based on testing, scoring, exams. I wait for the day that students’ worth is not measured by how many A’s they can score but for their unique talents. That day will not come too soon for our overburdened teachers trapped in a system that makes it challenging to do what they’re supposed to do — teach. Teachers I know have a snarky alternative meaning for our national curriculum, KBSM. They say it stands for Kerja Berat Sampai Mati (work hard, until death). Look at the workloads teachers have to cope with and you would probably agree with them.

Teaching, like journalism, is not a profession for those who want to get rich. It is hard work, made complicated by bureaucracy and whoever is heading the Education Ministry. It is no secret that the education portfolio is a coveted one, for it gives its bearer the power to drive high-visibility initiatives that in the end, seem to benefit no one. How can you expect teachers to concentrate on the business of educating their charges when they have countless reports to hand in on various useless minutiae? Let the administrators administrate, and the teachers get on with the business of moulding young minds.

A friend of mine recently joined the Teach for Malaysia initiative; her eyes go all starry-eyed when she talks about how fresh, unspoiled graduates will go in and change the lives of deserving underprivileged children. She got quite upset by the reception and cynicism she met from teachers who told her that it was a waste of time trying to teach the children of hawkers or of particular races. That these children would not, no, could not amount to anything. She says these jaded teachers give up too soon. That if they know their charges aren’t being fed enough, they should be doing more for the children, meeting up with the parents personally and actively make a difference. 

The Teach for Malaysia teachers will do all that and more, hunting for sponsors for underfed children if they must. I hate to sound like a spoilsport but she highlights one problem with our society — we ask far too much of our teachers and give little in return. For too little pay for too much work, teachers are supposed to be godparents as well? I’m not saying there aren’t bad teachers. Plenty of teachers neglect their charges at school, prioritising those monied enough to pay them for after school tuition. There are the lazy ones who became teachers because they wanted an “easy” job or could not secure another profession. These individuals should be culled from the teaching body and told they are not welcome.

As the saying goes, it takes a whole village to raise a child. Therefore it takes a nation to raise all our children. We shouldn’t be vilifying our teachers and pointing the blame in their direction. The system has failed them. We who have done nothing, said nothing, sent our children to private schools... we have failed the teachers and by doing so, failed our children. Too many of us suffer from an insidious selfishness. Why care about other children besides our own getting an education? But it is our duty as citizens to care.

Politicians, for all their big speeches, cannot be depended on to push educational reform with a political agenda. Parents on the other hand, will do it because they are parents. They know better than most that bringing up a child shouldn’t be graded with a KPI.

It is time for parents to step up to the plate at schools, support those tasked as temporary guardians. One school might not change the system but all the schools together, demanding educational reform? We just might get somewhere.

* The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist.

Malaysian Kids Trail Asian Powerhouses in Science and Maths

KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 — The wide gap between Malaysian students and their counterparts in first-tier Asian countries like Korea, Singapore and Taiwan could threaten its ambitions to be a high income nation said the UN 2010 Millennium Development Goal (MDG) report released today. The report states that for the mathematics benchmarks in TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) 2007, fewer than 20 per cent of Malaysian students achieved the high benchmark and about 50 per cent achieved the intermediate benchmark, compared with 70 per cent and 85–90 per cent respectively for the first-tier Asian economies.

“The Asian region has a clear gap in the distribution of achievement between the first tier Asian economies represented by the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, China; and the second-tier countries represented by Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand,” said the MDG report. Malaysian students’ performance had also declined at all levels from 1999 to 2007 but the report said it was partly because some of the cognitive domain specifications tested in TIMSS 2007 had not been covered in Malaysia’s mathematics curriculum.

“Nevertheless, the TIMSS 2007 mathematics and science results need to be further analysed, as they may suggest some obstacle to Malaysia’s ability to realise its ambitions of becoming a high income nation,” it said.
The Najib administration is attempting to transform Malaysia into a high-income economy by 2020 with an emphasis on productivity, efficiency and innovation. But observers contend that it would require significant structural reforms, including in education that so far appear to be lacking. Malaysian universities also lag behind their Asian counterparts.

No Malaysian university made it to the Times Higher Education (THE) 2010-11 ranking of top 50 Asian universities or the ranking of top 200 global universities. In contrast, Singapore had three universities in the THE top 200 global universities, Hong Kong had eight, while Japan and Korea had five each. The MDG report noted, however, that Malaysia is close to achieving the MDG goal of ensuring that all children will be able to complete a full course of primary education by 2015.

Facebook gaining popularity becoming suicide note

MALACCA: Seventeen-year-old Sally Lee Qian Chun (pic) posted disturbing online comments several days ago about wanting to end her life.

Yesterday morning, her classmates at SMK Seri Kota in Ayer Leleh watched in horror as she fell from the second floor of the school and died from head injuries. In the 9.15am tragedy, Sally Lee Qian Chun, a Form 5 student, abruptly walked out during the Chemistry lesson in the laboratory on the first floor and went to her classroom a floor above.

On Sunday night, at around 11.07pm, Lee lamented on her Facebook of a failed relationship and broken promises while reiterating her desire to take her own life. Her remarks drew some taunts and dares from her online friends. Some commentators even asked her to go ahead with what she wanted to do. In her last posting at 3.45pm on Monday, Lee reminded her friends to keep their promises of buying her a teddy bear and coffin. She also told them not to miss her when she was gone and to take care of themselves

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Last December, a 22-year-old man, Alviss Kong took his own life after another failed relationship. He posted, also on Facebook, a 45-minute countdown to his suicide. The youth jumped from the 14th floor of an apartment block in Cheras.

It was reported that the man became depressed after his girlfriend of four months broke up with him.

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Depression have become number one disease in the world. Loneliness and emptiness surrounding our heart, leads us to make a foolish decision. Committing suicide is the only way to solve problems in nowadays generation. The devil has succeeded his plan. Do you know that committing suicide is a sinful act? You have to pay a hefty price eternally for doing suicide.

I pray to the Lord that my student will not succumb to this idea of commit suicide whenever they meet unsolved problems. I pray that they will seek HIM, my wonderful teacher to get divine help. Nothing is impossible in God's eyes. Seek HIM faithfully and you will not thirsty again. Your heart is full of joy and peace. Believe me!......If not, try HIM.

Singapore Government Hungers For Talents

I never expected that Singapore government acted so swift to lure our Malaysian talents. If you don't believe with your own eyes, kindly read the news below:

Singapore government had offered them a place in their university in a straight manner without hesitation and bureaucracy. In reality, they do not wait the outstanding students to finish their SPM to give scholarships. Their effective tool 'Asian Scholarship' has make a headway to lower secondary school by offering Form 2 outstanding students a chance to study in republic. Everything is sponsored by Singapore government. In contrast, our nation still plaguing with scholarship issue every year.

History Subject 'must pass' from 2013 onwards

Wow...! If you want to get SPM certificate, then you must pass Bahasa Melayu and Sejarah by 2013. Fortunately, I born earlier than you all. Otherwise, I may have to re-sit my Sejarah papers in order for me to get SPM certificate. This news certainly not welcomed by students and parents. Perhaps, the most beneficial group is Sejarah's tuition teachers. More and more students will engage in Sejarah tuition to get examination tips. Let's read others opinion on this issue.

Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim, chairman of The Parent Action Group of Education, PAGE

• “[Page] is of the view that this is yet another politically-motivated decision to appease and please Umno delegates at its general assembly, without any thought given to recent policy decisions that have been made by him on education thus far,” Noor Azimah said in a statement.
• She argued that Muhyiddin should have instead declared English a must-pass subject, as this would have “perfectly complemented” the MBMMBI (To Uphold Bahasa Malaysia, To Strengthen the English Language) policy set to come into effect next year.
• Noor Azimah said the decision to make passing History compulsory also did not gel with the government’s determination to move away from rote learning and overemphasis on exams, which some critics have blamed for Malaysia’s lack of innovation.
• “By now making history a must-pass subject, he is not only re-burdening the students but instead further magnifying ... the stress of not obtaining the SPM certificate because the student did not pass History, as opposed to Bahasa Malaysia which is justifiable!”
• She warned that unless History was enhanced by incorporating world history and given “serious housekeeping”, the move to make it a must-pass subject was unlikely to pay real dividends.

Loh Seng Kok of MCA

• urged the Education Ministry to review and mend what it called an “imbalanced” account of the nation’s history in existing textbooks favouring one race and religious civilisation before making the subject a “must pass” in school from 2013.
• “MCA has received feedback (or complaints) from parents that the History textbook syllabus tends to predominantly favour a particular race and religious civilisation, while using derogatory terms of ‘pendatang asing’ [foreign immigrants] on other races,”
• He stressed that the history taught in schools must be objective, rational and impartial to reflect the contributions of the different races and religious groups in the making of multicultural Malaysia.
• The MCA man said the new syllabi created should be free from influence of any one political group and urged History authors not to “introduce new terms which hint of racial supremacy or inaccurately suggest that vernacular schools impede national unity”.

Tony Pua of DAP

•  claimed that the government’s sudden interest was likely to be selective — emphasising Malay rights provisions and conveniently neglecting others.
• Pua said that the onus was on Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to form an independent advisory and review body to conduct a complete “overhaul” of the subject before it is made compulsory.
• “We fear that this new measure is a blatant attempt to indoctrinate our students with a narrow and biased interpretation of our Federal Constitution and our country’s founding history.
• “We call upon the DPM Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to first convene a independent advisory and review body comprising of representatives from the Bar Council, eminent retired judges as well as renowned academics on the history of Malaya,”

My Opinion:  Do not politicise SEJARAH. Make this wonderful subject as a tool to unite all Malaysians.

Principal Shouldn't Utter Racist Remarks

What a sad day for Malaysia education system when a secondary school's principal uttered such racist remarks to non-bumi students during the launch of Merdeka celebration at school level. I was shocked when I learn this news from The Star. Being a school head, she should promote unity and harmony among the students regardless of their race, religion and social background. Racism should not exists in school. We are all the same as MALAYSIAN, unite and live harmoniously in our beloved Tanahair. We may have differences but we respect each other religion, culture and custom in our society. Teacher roles not only in teaching but also to nurture good values such as peace, love, respect, and unity in student life.

I have been teaching at my present school for 8 years and most of the students I taught are mainly from bumiputera, almost 98%. They are not academic-inclined and some of them are problematic. This is the main reason why their parents send them to my school to learn vocational skills. I am a chinese teacher teaching them science subject. As you know, majority of these students dislike science subject. I have to be very strict with them in their studies so that they are able to score good grade. Consequently, I was being complained by the students due to strict teaching. The whole class went to the PK HEM office demanding to change science teacher. In a particular year of teaching, there was a case where I was being labelled as anti-malay by a student's parent. I was sad but this event did not hinder me to continue teaching my students with love. I explained to them why I have to strict with them. When they came back to school to take their SPM result, they thanked me for being strict to them, "Cikgu tegas dengan kami, barulah kami boleh score".

I never blame them but I choose to forgive them. Students particularly in their teen age still haven't reach rationale and mature thinking yet. They are immature and that's why teacher plays a vital role to nurture and cultivate good values in their thinking. If I practicing racism in classroom, how my bumiputera students were able to score science subject, furthermore majority of them did not attend outside tuition class. I believe all religion forbid us to be racist. Only unethical politicians play racial card for their own agenda and survival. Religion teaches us to love one another. Let's we say no to racism whether you are teacher or student.
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Monday August 16, 2010, The Star

School head under probe over racist remarks

KULAIJAYA: Police are investigating a school principal who allegedly used racist remarks against non-Malay students during a Merdeka celebration at the school here recently.Kulaijaya deputy OCPD Asst Supt Mohd Kamil said police had received 12 reports against the principal since Saturday and that the case was being investigated under Section 504 of the Penal Code.Over 50 parents and students had lodged the reports against the principal, who allegedly described the non-Malays as “penumpang” (passengers) in the country during her speech at the start of the celebration on Aug 12.

“This is not the first time that she had made racist comments against Chinese and Indian students in our school,” said 17-year-old student Brevia Pan.She added that the principal, who joined the school early this year, would only target Chinese and Indian students.“During the Merdeka celebration, she had told non-Malay students to go study in a Chinese school or go back to China,” she told reporters in a press conference organised by Senai assemblyman Ong Kow Meng.Another student, Ashvini Thi-na­karan, 17, said many Malay students were influenced by the principal’s remarks and made similar comments and called them names.

“Before she came to my school, all the students got along well,” she said. Her father R. Thinakaran, 47, said this was a serious matter and that principals should not behave like this.“This principal has caused racial disharmony at the school,” he said, adding that if no action was taken, he would take his daughter out of the school.

Poor and Young Malaysian by 2030 ! Oh my God.....!

Where we are by 2030? A recent survey conducted by Merril Lynch shows that Malaysian will be relatively young but poor. Other countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea which are on par with us during 60's have moved up to the category of high income nation. These nations do not have much natural resources but still can progress and prosper well under a good leadership of their respective goverment.

After 53 years of Merdeka, we are still remain in the middle income trap .We are a blessed country in terms of natural resources and we should have used these resources to develop our human resources in a meaningful way long long ago. We need knowledge based economy to elevate us to become high income nation.

My dear students, do you want to become poor in future? There is no short cut to success. The key to success is through education. Once you obtained the degree, you still need to acquire new knowledge or skill to make you competent in this highly competitive world. Your salary is paid according to your skill, knowledge and experience. You may end up in high-end industry that can pay you high or become entrepreneur or you want to become one of them in these pictures below. It is your choice which path you want to taken now.

By 2030, because of our country young population, perhaps Malaysia can send many of them overseas to work as maids or construction workers.

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Study is not all about SCHOLARSHIP

Recently, we are disturbed by scholarship woes in our country where top students were unable to get a scholarship. This issue has been dragged on for so many years, and yet still cannot be solved amicably. It was very disheartened for students as well for parents hoping to get assistance from goverment. Why goverment can't give scholarship to deserved students regardless their race or religion background? We don't need to spend millions of ringgit in building a new Istana Negara complex or House of Parliament in Putrajaya, our bright children just need scholarship. These students are nation asset and should be roped in to help our nation towards achieving high-income nation by 2020. A talented and competent human resource is far more important than natural resources.

As a teacher, I always advise my students to study hard and get a good grades so that they have a higher chances to get scholarship especially students from the poor background. I used this scholarship reward to motivate students to study diligently. At least, these students have goal and objective in pursuing studies. But, what happening now is they are losing hope. The students came and asked me these type of questions:-

What's the point I study so hard but cannot get a JPA scholarship?
Why my country treat me like second class citizen as I loved my country?

How I am going to answer them?..... I only can advise them to try other country's sponsor scholarship such as Singapore's Asian Scholarship. Study is to get knowledge but it is added bonus if you can get a scholarship. My dear students, do not give up in pursuing studies. With knowledges you gained, you are able to solve various difficulties, to challenge yourself to a greater height, and to live in a meaningful way. Do not let yourself in despair mood just because you cannot get scholarship. Continue your effort in pursuing your dream. God will always help those who are righteous and truthful. If you cannot get a scholarship here, God will open another door for you. HE will give you a surprise for those who truly seek HIS WAY.