I received a text message from a reader the other day. It said, “Hi Fa, my name is Daniel and I am a teacher in Terengganu. I would like you to help me highlight an issue which teachers like me face every day”. We soon got into a very interesting conversation.
“People often talk about how screwed up our education system is, and they usually have a tendency to identify teachers as part of the problematic system. But not many know the truth about the issues we teachers face in school,” Daniel said.
“Enlighten me, please,” I replied.
Daniel explained that it isn’t just students who are left unmotivated by the education system in the country, it’s also the teachers.
“Take me for example. I am the kind of teacher who likes to challenge my students, so I tend to plan a lot of activities for them.
“The problem is, every time I do so, and the students have a good time participating in such activities, I get chided by other teachers,” he said.
I encouraged Daniel to share his story with me.
“Recently a few other teachers and I got our students to be involved in a digital animation storytelling competition. The community college near our school was kind enough to collaborate with us.
“At the end of the event, our students were really pleased as they gained a lot of knowledge, especially skills they could not acquire from a school environment,” he noted, adding that even some of the teachers involved felt elated after the competition.
“But Fa, not everyone was happy. Some of the teachers at school were quite upset with us. They felt it was unnecessary”.
I sighed. Daniel also recounted another activity organised by his school: a beach clean-up during the month of Ramadhan. Although some of the students were fasting, he said, none complained, and all were excited to be involved.
“However, the other teachers criticised me, saying that since I was a non-Muslim, I wasn’t fasting, and that making the students take part in an activity during Ramadhan was inappropriate".
“In your opinion, why do they think that?” I asked.
“They feel it’s a competition. They do not want to improve themselves, but when others do, they feel threatened. Some even blame the students and the community, claiming it is not the culture of the people to get involved in certain matters.
“But if we as educators never expose our students to the things they know nothing about, how will they ever discover new things?” he said.
His texts began to leave me feeling somewhat disheartened.
“They tell me not to try too hard, claiming that no matter how dedicated I am to my profession, ‘gaji sama saja’ (your salary is still the same).
“Worse still are those who end up hating me and blaming me for trying to get into the good books of the principal by organising many activities for my students,” he said, expressing frustration at being singled out simply for trying to be a good teacher.
I lost him a little there. “So you do agree that the teachers are part of the problem?”
But he refused to put the entirety of the blame on his colleagues, saying that it is the system that makes them that way. A system which, he said, “somehow stifles creative teaching and promotes rote learning.”
“What’s rote learning?” I asked.
“Rote learning is a memorisation technique based on repetition. The idea is that one will be able to quickly recall the meaning of the material the more one repeats it.
“Since our education system is built on this learning technique, many teachers do not see the need to challenge and expose the students to anything that is not contained in their textbooks,” he said.
He went on to explain that one of the biggest challenges faced by the education system in the country is the type of assessment carried out, which has always been summative.
“People often talk about how screwed up our education system is, and they usually have a tendency to identify teachers as part of the problematic system. But not many know the truth about the issues we teachers face in school,” Daniel said.
“Enlighten me, please,” I replied.
Daniel explained that it isn’t just students who are left unmotivated by the education system in the country, it’s also the teachers.
“Take me for example. I am the kind of teacher who likes to challenge my students, so I tend to plan a lot of activities for them.
“The problem is, every time I do so, and the students have a good time participating in such activities, I get chided by other teachers,” he said.
I encouraged Daniel to share his story with me.
“Recently a few other teachers and I got our students to be involved in a digital animation storytelling competition. The community college near our school was kind enough to collaborate with us.
“At the end of the event, our students were really pleased as they gained a lot of knowledge, especially skills they could not acquire from a school environment,” he noted, adding that even some of the teachers involved felt elated after the competition.
“But Fa, not everyone was happy. Some of the teachers at school were quite upset with us. They felt it was unnecessary”.
I sighed. Daniel also recounted another activity organised by his school: a beach clean-up during the month of Ramadhan. Although some of the students were fasting, he said, none complained, and all were excited to be involved.
“However, the other teachers criticised me, saying that since I was a non-Muslim, I wasn’t fasting, and that making the students take part in an activity during Ramadhan was inappropriate".
“In your opinion, why do they think that?” I asked.
“They feel it’s a competition. They do not want to improve themselves, but when others do, they feel threatened. Some even blame the students and the community, claiming it is not the culture of the people to get involved in certain matters.
“But if we as educators never expose our students to the things they know nothing about, how will they ever discover new things?” he said.
His texts began to leave me feeling somewhat disheartened.
“They tell me not to try too hard, claiming that no matter how dedicated I am to my profession, ‘gaji sama saja’ (your salary is still the same).
“Worse still are those who end up hating me and blaming me for trying to get into the good books of the principal by organising many activities for my students,” he said, expressing frustration at being singled out simply for trying to be a good teacher.
I lost him a little there. “So you do agree that the teachers are part of the problem?”
But he refused to put the entirety of the blame on his colleagues, saying that it is the system that makes them that way. A system which, he said, “somehow stifles creative teaching and promotes rote learning.”
“What’s rote learning?” I asked.
“Rote learning is a memorisation technique based on repetition. The idea is that one will be able to quickly recall the meaning of the material the more one repeats it.
“Since our education system is built on this learning technique, many teachers do not see the need to challenge and expose the students to anything that is not contained in their textbooks,” he said.
He went on to explain that one of the biggest challenges faced by the education system in the country is the type of assessment carried out, which has always been summative.
Blueprint with little implementation
Despite the Education Ministry trying to shift towards more formative assessments, Malaysians are “falling back on their old ways”, he claimed.
image: https://i.malaysiakini.com/672/d06d2e97a96c1efb6f48717b26a98839.jpg
“If you look into our Malaysian Education Blueprint, I can safely say we are heading in the right direction, but then again, there is little implementation.
“At the same time, if you remove summative assessment, the Asian DNA in us would not allow that. The fact is, we, ourselves want our kids to be tested with standardised national tests because it has been our ‘tradition’,” Daniel explained.
I asked Daniel what he thought of the recently suggested British textbooks for students of Standard One and Form One beginning next year.
“In the beginning, I wasn’t really keen on the ministry’s decision because I believe we have good textbook writers. But the more I think about it, I could see why the ministry made such a decision.
“You see, one of our educational goals is to build global players, hence the use of such textbooks may be helpful.”
I asked him if he was positive that it would improve our students’ standard of English. He noted that it would be impossible to say one way or another until at least six years have passed. “There is a big but though…”.
“You see, one of our educational goals is to build global players, hence the use of such textbooks may be helpful.”
I asked him if he was positive that it would improve our students’ standard of English. He noted that it would be impossible to say one way or another until at least six years have passed. “There is a big but though…”.
I smiled.
“I think at times the people in the ministry are making decisions by observing the Klang Valley alone. The thing is, Malaysia is such a diverse country – the needs of students in different parts of the country vary greatly.
“There is a big gap between urban and rural places, and the gap is even wider when it comes to English. While the UK textbook may be really useful in urban areas, it may go to waste in rural areas,” Daniel explained.
I sympathised with him for having to teach his students based on the capabilities of students from dramatically different backgrounds.
“We try our best Fa,” Daniel answered. “But we need people to realise that students alone should not be the focal point, teachers are great assets too. They also need to be empowered and motivated.
“If we keep attacking teachers, make them shoulder all the faults that lie within the education system and simultaneously have very low expectations of them, we leave them no room for improvement.
“When teachers are demotivated, it makes it difficult for other teachers too – us teachers who really take our jobs seriously and want to make a difference".
After thanking Daniel for a valuable conversation, I asked him about the latest project he is working on for his students in Terengganu.
“Thanks to the principal and the school, we have introduced an after-school programme for the students. Basically, the students stay back in classrooms until five in the afternoon – we use this time to teach the students anything they are interested in, and tailor lessons to suit their interests.
“For example, some students are taught video editing, building apps and games, that sort of thing. We guide the students by connecting them to the right technology".
My chat with Daniel, I must say, was really inspiring. I can’t help but imagine how much his students benefit from having a teacher like him.
Clearly, teachers like Daniel may give birth to a new generation of educators who are equally dedicated, if not more, and ultimately change the more traditional perspectives on teaching.
I have written many articles condemning our public school teachers. I realise now that condemnation alone does nothing to improve the situation.
I have written many articles condemning our public school teachers. I realise now that condemnation alone does nothing to improve the situation.
As Daniel taught me, teachers need support, trust and motivation. They need people to believe in them.
Perhaps one day, when we are capable of doing that, our teachers will be empowered enough to do wonders in classrooms around the country. Until then, it is teachers like Daniel who continue to give us hope.
Perhaps one day, when we are capable of doing that, our teachers will be empowered enough to do wonders in classrooms around the country. Until then, it is teachers like Daniel who continue to give us hope.
Thank you, Daniel. May God bless you and all wonderful teachers like yourself.
FA ABDUL is a passionate storyteller, a growing media trainer, an aspiring playwright, a regular director, a struggling producer, a self-acclaimed photographer, an expert Facebooker, a lazy blogger, a part-time queen and a full-time vainpot.- Mkini
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