Term 3 Week 3 (Blogging Assignment)

(1) Comment on the Janalle Lee's view on the education system in Singapore.

Janelle's letter has effectively brought across to the MOE the collective views of students, and perhaps even teachers, about the current education system. In a well-written letter, Janelle has successfully addressed our concerns about the flaws in the system.

The focal point of her letter was that the current education system was killing students' curiousity and inquiring mind, both traits which would be beneficial in a 21st Century Knowledge Based Economy. Indeed, the system seems that it only places emphasis on hard memorisation of facts, leaving no room for questioning and inquiry. I can relate to this problem as it had occurred to me many a time. For example, following the recent release of my Integrated Humanities(History) results, I realised just how wrong I was in memorising facts and essay formats. Many students, including me, had written an extra point(paragraph) for the essay even though the question had only asked students to compare two. The result was a massive waste of time, causing us to lose precious time for writing our conclusion, which greatly impacted my score. I got a 9 out of 13 for my essay, for which I was hoping for an 11. It set me thinking. What was it that we lacked? That we failed to see the main point of the question? Simply put, it was because our teacher had only taught us the essay format, which was to write 3 points, and not reminded us to think flexibly in response to the question.

Another example is Science. Science is a subject which aims to inspire students to think "out of the box" and to fire up their creativity. However, it has all come down to the hard memorisation of facts. Biology, for instance, is a "memoris-able" subject, as quoted by our teacher. We were given notes and told to read them and to memorise them. There were no other interesting lessons taught, and the teacher only ran through boring powerpoint slides during normal lessons. Now, as I am learning Physics, I am reminded once again just how much our studies rely on pure memorisation. I have always though Physics was a subject of "application", not "memorisation". I was proven wrong. AS the examinations are approaching, I find myself buried in notes and thinking, "I didn't expect Physics to be like this..."

The next point I would like to comment on is the fact that Civics and Moral Education are not effectively taught in schools. Although I do not have CME now, I can still remember my primary school days, when I had the same teacher teach me 2 to 3 subjects. CME was taught by my Chinese teacher, and I remember vividly the disappointment the students felt collectively when the teacher announced that CME period was to be "sacrificed" for extra Chinese lessons, to "better prepare ourselves" for the Mid-year and End-of-year examinations. Although I agree that my results have undoubtedly improved due to the "sacrifice" of the CME lessons, I think that it is irrefutable that there must be something "wrong" with the time management of the education system.

In conclusion, I can relate to the "plight" of this teenager. Janelle has really set us thinking about the current education system. This letter has inspired me, and inevitably many others, to think outside the syllabus and hope for a change.

(2) Is an ideal education possible? Explain.

What is meant by the word "ideal"? Dictionary.com describes it as "constituting a standard of perfection or excellence". To me, "ideal" means the perfect epitome of an object or matter by a person. It is definitely impossible for anything to be "ideal", as it is known that there must be a balance of advantages and disadvantages in everything. For an education system to "ideal", it must constitute of the following: equal emphasis on academic and moral education, developing a student's inquisitive and inquiring mind and giving students enough time to ace their studies as well as explore their talents. Thus, it is an utter impossibility for an ideal education system to exist.

Firstly, what exactly is a "balanced" emphasis on academic and moral education? Different people's opinions differ, and as such it is impossible to please everyone. If we strive towards a utopian world, we might end up in a dystopia, in which NOBODY is pleased.

We must stick to the utilitarian system, where the ends justify the means and a greater happiness for a greater number of people is ensured. If we introduced a system in which everyone is eager to ask questions, teachers may side-track from the syllabus and in the end, the brighter students are not able to shine and the weaker ones would be eliminated. As we live in a democratic state, it is important for the individual to work hard, and not complain about the current education system.