Ken Robinson Talks Education
In the 21st Century, how important is it to be able to read, write and speak English in Singapore?
This is an English composition written by a student doing Cambridge O’ levels in 2014.
Standard: GCE O’levels.
In the 21st Century, there has been a vast technological advancement compared to the 20th Century, especially with the development of the internet as a tool for social networking with English as lingua franca. English is a tool in Singapore to communicate effectively with people, locally and internationally. English has two main functions in Singapore’s community: To communicate internationally, and to unify the three main ethnic groups of Singapore.
Singapore is made up of three main ethnicities, Malays, Indians and Chinese, with their own distinct cultural heritage and language. Under the directives of the Singapore Government, English is a compulsory subject for education and represents a disadvantage to those that do not incorporate English into their linguistic abilities to complete their education, as well as to secure a job in an English speaking business environment that Singapore adopted. However, if Singaporeans communicates only in English, this will lead to a loss of culture from the ethnic groups and our ability to engage with our neighbouring countries in South East Asia.
The government of Singapore has a bilingual approach to our education system, with English as its compulsory medium of communication. This approach is effected from kindergarten onwards, with English taught to ages four and above. Learning English for the three ethnic groups is based on equality and where no advantages are built in for these groups. It requires all three groups to adopt a new neutral language of English, and puts every group in equal standing and fairness. With English as the main economic language in Singapore, it is imperative for these ethnic groups to master English to gain economic viability. Securing a job and access to a career in Singapore is one of the main reasons for acquiring English as a language.
Singapore is a business hub with multinational companies (MNC) setting up its branches here. Their lingua franca: English. With the United Kingdom and United States of America being strong driving forces economically, English has become a common language that is used throughout the world. With MNC’s setting up in Singapore, it also becomes an economic question that Singaporeans have to answer. To attract more businesses to Singapore, we have to create an environment that can support and service these businesses. If their mode of communication is English, it is only wise and economically beneficial that we converse in that same language. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
Of course, being solely dependent on English has its disadvantages, mainly, a loss of culture and our ability to communicate with non-English speaking people or countries.
Singapore’s three main ethnic groups presents a rich and diverse heritage which makes Singapore unique in presenting a harmonious and thriving society to visitors of Singapore. The inability to converse in their own mother tongue will eventually dilute their heritage and lose their ability to experience their own culture, alienating themselves from their own historical background. It is a case of adopting an English language and its culture, and losing their own. Diversity brings pride to its occupants, interests from others and a curiosity to be discovered and shared. With 21st Century cosmopolitan cities looking more alike, similar architectures, built up areas, services and facilities, tourists will be looking at unique countries to spend their savings on as they would be more likely to be attracted to historically and culturally different landscapes than their own.
We will also lose our ability to engage our neighbouring countries, mainly Malaysia and Indonesia. Their predominant use of Bahasa is similar to the mother tongue our Malay community uses, which is an advantage as it lowers any friction from misunderstandings and miscommunications if we were to use English with them, and needing a translation to bridge that language gap. To converse with them in their Bahasa is a sign of respect to them, and our efforts to maintain cordial relations with them will not go unnoticed.
The 21st Century brings with it fresh challenges and a more dynamic world than ever before. We cannot predict what happens next, nor what information or skill set will be needed to survive the near future. English lets us relieve some of these apprehensions. As it is an internationally accepted language, knowing how to read, write and speak it allows us to be adaptable to change. With readily available literature and media in English, it helps us to learn new skills, acquire new information and news easily. Fleet footedness is the key to survival. Since the spine of learning is the English language, then blossom we will with English to grow upon.
Optimism and its role in studying
There is a direct correlation between the optimism in a student and the success in studying. Just like the answer to the glass is half full or half empty, this concept is very much a question about the outlook and confidence of the individual. The optimism of students to how well they fare in their studies cannot be quantified easily but like with everything, it is always a matter of perspective.
So what is it about optimism?
Optimistic individuals tends to see the light. The light at the end of the tunnel. This tunneling effect blocks out all the other distractions and pains that comes packaged into an examination. This is akin to a 100m race and its training requirements. An athlete competing for a 100m race hits the gym, trains on the same 100m strip for years, only to feature in a race that lasts less than 10 seconds. Yes, other aspects of characteristics like determination, talent, etc is needed, but the optimist will definitely have an edge over the one that is pessimistic in this, who would have given up long ago, unable to see why one would go through it at all. It is about aiming for the light at the end of the tunnel and knowing that everything else will fall into place that gives the athlete a spring in their steps.
The same can be said for students who knows what they want. Aces in exams? Sure! Let’s go for it. Blocks out all the other distractions, and confidently knowing that it can be done.
How to keep a student optimistic?
Perspective. The ability to see it half full. Generally, the student that are optimistic tends to ask more questions and this is where teachers, tutors, and parents are required to be patient and explain without getting angry nor frustrated. How many students have tried asking but gave up the second time round knowing full well that their teachers will get angry if they didn’t get it the first time hands up! Yes, encourage students or your child to ask, and do not get angry if they don’t get it. Learning is heuristic in nature and requires students to gain the experience to attain mastery. If the student fails to experience it the first time round, it does not mean they are slow, it just means they are trying.
And trying is the best ingredient to success.
No one wants to be scolded. Especially if they are trying to learn something. And being scolded during their formative years are just sending out the wrong messages that will hinder their development.
In any learning environment, the basis of an education is the interaction between teachers and students. And the trust between students and teachers must be there to foster a strong bond in learning. The job of a student is to learn, and the job of a teacher is to teach. Failure to do this most basic requirement is usually the reason for an unsuccessful stint in school. A patient teacher who teaches properly but also encourages questions or repeats themselves to make sure their students gets it creates students who is unafraid to ask if they don’t get it. This creates a calm and trusting environment to study in.
With trust, confidence grows. With confidence, optimism grows.
written by Wong Kin Leong
How to improve discipline in a student
Discipline, the main ingredient to success. Sprinkle with concentration, a dash of determination and double boil with patience. That’s the making of a properly executed education. In every education system around the world, the recipe above are quality prerequisites because students spends years in school before gaining their certification and joining the workforce. The need to have the discipline to stay on course, and the patience to knock in the hours (or in fact the years before they reach university and graduate) are what causes only a small percentage of students that can reach their goal of obtaining their degree. Even though over the years, this percentage has grown in Singapore, it still takes a lot of effort and consistency to win this studying game.
So what separates the wheat from the chaff?
Take the recent GCE “O” level results and ask the successful candidates what they did in preparation for their examinations and you will get the common reply of countless studying hours, sitting themselves down by their quarters. That takes discipline, and a matured mind. Its the ability to do more than just the ordinary, the discernment that the future grows brighter with a better education, and to find the energy locked within to do that extra mile. Again, this takes discipline. They could have been out playing, watching a movie, hanging out with friends or god forbid, playing computer games. Instead, they took the back-breaking path and stood firm in the face of distractions.
So how do we cultivate discipline and reap a successful harvest?
One of the most important ways to cultivate discipline is to complete tasks. And start when they are young. Tasks don’t have to be onerous, or even exacting as this will put the child off. It does not need to be annoying too, like taking out the trash or washing the dishes. It could be something fun, like games, or doing jigsaw puzzles, or even reading a book. The idea is to teach your child that whenever you set about a task, you should complete it. Think of what goes through the mind of someone running a marathon. Grueling, definitely. But add the sense of self accomplishment at the end of the race, and it all makes it worth it. That’s what we should help the child feel. That once you complete the task, no matter how arduous, the triumphant result outweighs its tribulation.
There are many times that children gives up too easily, and parents lets them do so. And, the parents completes it for them, or it just stops altogether. Its easy to see why this gives out all the wrong signals to the child. Inability to complete the job and see through the full cycle means that the child does not learn anything from that job. This could lead to pessimism that things cannot be done, laziness creeping in, and an unproven bout of self censure.
Its like baking a cake. Do up the dough, all the ingredients nicely folded in, let it rise, into the oven at 350, and out it comes. If you don’t try the cake yourself at the end, you will never know if you succeeded in baking a tasty cake, or it could be just a ho-hum piece of dough that you just created. Its the last steps that makes all the difference, self evaluation. When you are learning how to bake a cake, you have got to eat it too. Try it out, see if its any good, evaluate the outcome to see if its a success or failure, take notes on how it looks and tastes, and think of how the baking can be refined. Then set off and bake another cake, now improved, and that process gets repeated until you have a proud product that can win the hearts of many. (Nevermind if your kids complain of the copious amounts of cakes they have to eat before you get there) A healthy postmortem documentation of the process by oneself creates a greater self upon further refinement, an intimate knowledge of what has been done, and what else can be improved.
In every process of learning, there needs a leverage of self evaluation on the completed cycle. Students are taught by a teacher, learns it, understands it, practices sums of it, memorizes it and finally, gets tested on it. Something is missing from this formula. and that is “self evaluation”. For a good score in the final test, there is a need to self evaluate before being tested. To see if all the fundamentals of the class are properly digested. Much akin to the baking process, a baker who never tastes their own cakes, will never have a winning product. How can one sell something that doesn’t know how their products tastes? Its just silly. And that is what students must do too. To complete the cycle, a student must always evaluate themselves and improve themselves before they finally go for their finals. Making sure of this is imperative to a successful candidate. Knowing where went wrong, and correcting themselves gives them the confidence they need to attempt a major examination.
Again, that is where discipline comes into play. It takes discipline and determination for a child to sit down and study the needed hours but more if the child wants to complete every task and evaluate themselves to know if they are doing it right. Methodology, and creating an efficient learning program will help too in this case.
Generally, completing a task like a major examination takes years for the students and the daily grind of school could take the wind off of their sails by the time the examination approaches. There needs a steely determination and the discipline to keep themselves on track, with their heads up high and constantly be above of their curriculum to perform well. But if they complete their daily tasks consistently, eventually, they will complete their examinations with ease. Like a very popular Malay idiom, “sedikit, sedikit, lama lama menjadi bukit” (little by little, a long time later, makes it into a hill), doing well in their final examination is the culmination of all the small tasks that were completed earlier on in their studies. And sweet old Mr and Mrs Discipline gets you there.
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