For the last 2 weeks, i have been helping students to utilise their available time to maximise their learning towards Chemistry, in order to prepare them for the coming Mid-Year Examinations. We are focused on helping the students to unblock the wrong chemistry concepts in their minds and instilling the correct ones. At the same time, we are also putting in lots of effort to motivate our students so that they have high energy while preparing for their examinations.
However, it came to my awareness and surprise disappointment that some “elite” or “good” schools are doing the opposite! Gosh. I am asking myself what kind of education is the school providing the students. Instead of motivating the students to do their best for the upcoming examinations, the school teachers are actually doing the opposite by asking their students to drop their subjects – i.e. to drop Pure Chemistry and change to Combine Science (Chem/Bio or Chem/Phy). And all this are said to the students 2-3 weeks before their major mid-year examinations. Have they ever thought of the psychological effects on the students, especially when it is so close to examination and the student is channeling their energy and faith into getting better results. As much as they wanted to use the available time to study harder and smarter, there is this “Little Voice” inside their mind that tells them: “Hey, drop the subject. It will make you feel and look much better”. Halo!!!! This is the Little Voice that adults have been trying to get ride of, by attending motivational seminars and workshops that aims to get them aware of this “Little Voice” thing, and consciously overcome it. Many of the schools in Singapore have also engaged external agencies/companies that provide enrichment courses to motivate the students. But isn’t it contradicting – On one hand they encourage the students through motivation by these external agents (ohh..many are really good in what they coach), but the other hand, they are asking students to give this up give that up. Sometimes, i find it really ironic!
Remember one thing: “How We Do Something is How We Do Everything”.
So if we believe in such saying, it somehow means that if you drop subjects now (even we have time to prepare it) due to discomfort, you will drop EVERYTHING & ANYTHING in your life whenever the going gets tough. What kind of mindset is that i wonder?
I suppose the reason for them to do so is to ensure that these so called “not-so-good” students will score better grades when they change to Combine Science (which has less content), and then upkeep the “grades” and thus reputation of the school as being academically strong & successful. I am really questioning the ethical values of the principal and their teachers. The “grades” and thus reputation of the school is important to them as their appraisal (and thus promotions) are directly linked. But isn’t such action very unfair to the students as well as the parents that have entrust their child with the school?
What is Education i ask myself? From the dictionary, Education is defined as “the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgement, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life”. But i can’t see that from these “elite schools” in Singapore. These schools have instead killed Education! As we are building up the student’s Self-Esteem & Belief System, they have instead practice Sarcasm, Pressure system and in a way Threaten the students.
Check these images that shows words such as “Switch” & “Consider to Switch” that are written on the test papers of students that failed it. I have heard about these several things from both my students as well as passer-by, but now after seeing it with my own eyes, i just feel so bad that i am paying tax to get these principals and teachers to teach our future generation and future stars.
My aim now is to work together with these students, build up their Belief & Self-Esteem as well as their Chemistry Concepts, and help them soar to greater heights. Let’s prove them wrong. Nothing is impossible. There is no such thing as Failure.
[…] other subjects) or to switch to Combine Science (Chemistry + Physics/Biology). I have discussed on this NEGATIVE TREND last may (2008) when a new student showed me her common test papers and the “Negative Words” left by […]