3 posts tagged “education”

My friend just gave me this link. And my response? Possibly, but not an absolute yes. I have to admit that teachers do need assistants But it depends to what extent. We may have to look further into the situation that is happening in the classroom.

A lecturer of mine once said, "I came across teachers from a lot of countries. I make them line up according to the number of students they have in their classroom everyday. The lowest was a teacher from somewhere in the europe, and it was less than twenty. And I go to another corner where a Kenyan teacher was standing. I ask her how many students she has in her classroom and she replied, '100'. And my jaw dropped."

So my question to myself and Malaysian teachers out there, which position are we in at the moment?

Something that I received from my lecturer...

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to all teachers.....

How much do teachers make? Tribute to all teachers.....

*WHAT TEACHERS MAKE*

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, 'What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?'

He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers: 'Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.'

To stress his point he said to another guest; 'You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?'

Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, 'You want to know what I make? (She paused for a second, then began...)

'Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.

I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental.

You want to know what I make?' (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table.)

''I make kids wonder.

I make them question.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.

I teach them to write and then I make them write.
Keyboarding isn't everything.
I make them read, read, read.
I make them show all their work in maths.

They use their God given brain, not the man-made calculator.

I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know in English while preserving their unique cultural identity.
I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.

Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life.'

(Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.)

'Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn't everything; I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they  are ignorant...

You want to know what I make?

*I MAKE A DIFFERENCE.*  What do you make Mr. CEO?'

His jaw dropped, he went silent.

THIS IS WORTH SENDING TO EVERY TEACHER YOU KNOW.

Even all your personal teachers like mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters,grandparents, and your spiritual leaders/teachers

^_^

When a teacher expects a good first day in school, things went the other way around. Parents have bombarded them with a lot of things, particularly the 'extra payments'. And TV3, expected to be the middleman of the issue, tries to solve the problem by asking around and coming up with their own consensus. As if they were the teachers. The simple answer to all the questions asked by the newscaster: Go to all the schools, observe, and ask around. You won't get the answers in that short period of time. Even emails don't really show the real situation.

What's happening with the education system in Malaysia is a product of on-going 'constructivism'. It keeps changing and changing that people, particularly teachers and students are suffering from it. And people, particularly parents wants it to be 'reconstructed' again. And they want it to happen so quickly they don't care whether their children are getting the best education or not.

A recap of what Ungku Aziz said just now: The problem with the system is that it keeps changing, and language plays an important role in delivering the content of education. I totally agree with his opinion. The 'nahu', or 'knowledge' of language is important in an effective education. And it needs to start from the age of 2-3. Even if we learn educational psychology, the first thing that a child learns in his early age is language, starting with the word 'mama', and the vocab expands.

And the interviewee moves on with the status of education system. But Ungku Aziz continues with the importance of language in education system. When English and Bahasa Melayu keeps rotating in the teaching of science and Maths, things get messed up and people do not have any idea what they are learning. I ask you one thing: Do you learn science for the sake of knowing the terms or how it actually works? Teachers who have been teaching science in malay has understood the subject by heart. But when the language is changed, their teaching style deteriorates.So you need to understand the language by heart before you can deliver its content.

And the interviewee moves on with the status of education system. But this time Pak Ungku simply said, "I don't have any idea about what's happening with our education system. I don't do research on it". So, simply said, you can't understand a problem unless you do a thorough research on it. And you can't get the conclusion in a short period of time. Just how many people doing research on our education system?  We only have policy makers.

So, what we should do is that we should make a thorough research on this matter. Don't always point fingers at teachers. There are those who make mistakes, but only minority of them. We still have dedicated teachers as majority. And please be consistent with the use of language. People always said that the Japanese and Chinese in China do not have to learn english but can still strive economically. Let me tell you something, you are wrong. They DO learn English, but they are proud of their own language. To them, English is important in global market as well as in science, but they can still put their own language as their priority because of their pride, and its importance in their own country. They can also deliver instruction well in their tongue. And they can learn science using both language. And why can't we?