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Sunday, November 18, 2018

Proposing a dream school for Malaysians


Our schools are in trouble. Our society is in crisis. Our nation is at risk. Our children are in need of the right to be intelligent.
Hence, talks about a revamped curriculum is good. Contrary to what has been imagined, it is not a monumental task.
Some would give the excuse that Rome was not built in a day. But we have a system in place. We have many blueprints. Yet we are producing more and more disenfranchised youth, especially in the urban areas.
Drug abuse, drag racing past midnight, dread in our children’s minds, and devastation of the political, ecological and cultural spheres continue to plague our nation – these are consequences of a school system that do not retain student attendance, and spark imaginations and propel new creations.
I write based on my 30 years of experience as an educator and studying best practices in other countries. I wish to see the best happening in ours.
Below are thoughts of a dream school for Malaysians that I hope people in power are interested in - to help nurture the multiple intelligences of the powerless. To help our nation move out of this quagmire.
What does a new breed of school with a totally revamped curriculum look like? Of schools that will ignite the genius in each child? Of one in which together as Malaysians, we eliminate racism and apartheid in the system, according to the principles proposed by the United Nations (Icerd).
In short, how do we initiate a renaissance of the Malaysian mind, through a renewed philosophy, paradigm, process, pedagogy, and through a culture that leaves no child behind?
The proposal
I have a modest proposal of a re-imagined school for Malaysia redesigned and recast as a model “Malaysian Malaysia” (minus the political undertones and sloganising).
A nation that belongs to the bright, young, and innovative minds of all races, not just the ones claiming superiority and reproducing bigotry.
For too long, we have created a schooling system that acts as a conveyer belt for racial and religious discrimination. We can no longer be that nation, as we talk about looking East, looking at Japan, or becoming a sustainable society.
I hope the Pakatan Harapan government will take up the idea of this new brand of schooling to propel the country into a new era of educational reform as we approach 2020, the metaphorical vision of a developed country.
The initiative should showcase what the BN regime was unable to do in meeting the schooling and human capital needs of the 21st century, as well as for national unity.
I have been writing about this model for years and have even proposed to educational leaders from both governmental camps. I call this initiative Akademie Renaissance (AR) Schools and would like to see it come to fruition in my lifetime.
This initiative will propel us into a major phase of educational reform to showcase the nation and other countries a model of a truly global school that harmonises technology, culture, and total human development from the level of kindergarten to graduate school.
Mission and vision
Its mission will be to prepare children to become global citizens and experts in the fields of study they will choose as a career, through a systematic process of schooling of the highest standards, from kindergarten to high/secondary schools.
The educational objective is to create ‘academies’ that will become ‘feeder schools of choice’ (specialised) to prepare students for entry into top Asian, American, British, and other international universities of high standing where English is the medium of instruction.
The initial project will be the building of secondary/high schools. It will help local universities receive top minds from our very own secondary schools – young minds that are ready to learn and innovate.
These schools will be modelled after the most innovative of educational philosophies with the vision of creating thinkers, innovators, and life-long learners who will be successful at all phases of learning and will contribute to the betterment of society and to Malaysia in general.
This will be based on a curriculum that is distinct from the governmental school, focusing on the English Language as a lingua franca as the medium of instruction so that the students will be prepared for entry into the world’s top-ranking colleges/universities whose language of instruction is English. A high level of proficiency in this language is therefore necessary to master skills.
The teaching staff will consist of those from diverse local and international backgrounds, skilled in the art and science of teaching and committed to the principles of highest academic excellence and global education, and student emotional and cultural growth.
They will be the premier college-preparation schools which will give admission priority to the best and the brightest of children of the poor of all races in Malaysia.
The aim is to provide the best quality education to children who come from families who are in the worst economic conditions and to give them all the opportunity they will need to be successful enough to give back to their families and community.
A criterion is also to give priority admission to those whose parents have never had a college/university education and to orphans of all ethnic background.
Alleviation of poverty 
The vision of this new genre of schools is to have a population that reflects the true composition of multi-ethnic Malaysia who will further demonstrate that they will still continue to succeed against all odds and be leaders with a conscience clear enough to contribute to one of independent Malaysia’s noble goal of development - the alleviation of poverty regardless of race, colour and religion.
The schools will not only be internationally linked as ‘university-college-lab-schools of global-experiential learning’ in which the curriculum is based on cutting-edge 21st century informational-society driven paradigm of learning and teaching and expected outcomes but will also be architecturally innovative; one that will harmonise not only the elements of living much needed in the 21st century but also be culturally-intellectually responsive.
Appreciation and celebration of each other’s difference will be the cultural foundation of the school system so that we will create world-wise citizens.
A truly Malaysian design. In other words, these schools in all states across Malaysia will have a unique design that will harmonise tradition and modernity, and make each child think Malaysian first and act like a global citizen, without weakening his or her roots.
These experimental schools will also be an educational facility for community education and entrepreneurial activities linking local production of cottage-industrial artefacts to the global market, utilising advanced digital, cybernetic, and virtual communication technologies for students to help the local community to participate in the global business.
In the area of community education, it will also house specialised galleries showcasing historical artifacts comprising local-historical materials collected and curated by students, with the help of teachers.
They will essentially be ‘research-driven college/trade/apprenticeship prep schools’ in which at every level of learning, students will primarily be employing scientific thinking as a means to acquire and produce knowledge and to further create artefacts useful both for the advancement of theoretical knowledge as well as those practically useful for society.
More science and humanism
Less of religion and the supernatural, more of science and the ideas of humanism. More time engaging in Socratic and Einsteinian dialogues in the classroom, to create new ideas and products, rather than being lectured endlessly about heaven and hell or to prepare to racialise and proselytise each other.
In essence, Akademie Renaissance (AR) will be 21st-century schools showcasing best practices in global education, in which our children are masters of their own learning, creators of their own destiny in a country taking pride in racial harmony.
I hope there will be an interest in experimenting with this radical-humanistic change. I hope it will come from the Harapan government if it wishes to show commitment to meaningful reform. Before the people who voted lose hope for the future of their children.
A future free from our Malaysian apartheid. A future that celebrates differences, not use them for racial and religious violence. A future in which each child is a winner.
Because education is a peaceful and gentle profession that promotes peace, advance personal and professional goals, and most importantly creates good citizens, workers, and social and spiritual beings.
Yes, Rome wasn’t built in a day. But Malaysia is not Rome. We just need to remove rhetoric and get down to our post-industrial brutal reality.

AZLY RAHMAN is an educator, academic, international columnist, and author of seven books available here. He grew up in Johor Bahru and holds a Columbia University doctorate in international education development and Master’s degrees in six areas: education, international affairs, peace studies communication, fiction and non-fiction writing. Twitter @azlyrahman. More writings here. -Mkini

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