I had a night mare some time ago.
I dreamt of a school, renown for its academic achievements (all the straight-As records, i mean).
How did it maintain such standard?
By only allowing students of certain standards to enrol for official exam.
What about those who fall short of the "standards" (whatever that is)?
They will not be allowed to enrol for exam under the school name, so as to ensure that the school's overall achievement is not "tainted".
I woke up with "cold sweat".
Phew! Thank goodness it's just a dream! But it seems so real.
Although it's just a dream, it had kept me thinking.....
Who are we (the teachers) really here for? Only the "good" ones? What is "good" anyway? The number of "As" that one attains regardless of the "kiasu" and "selfish" attitude behind the whole achievement, regardless of whether he/she actually understood anything besides what he / she has memorised, regardless of........?
What about the "academically-challenged" ones, the ones who are struggling, secretly, because of language problem, personal problems, habbitual problems, circumstancial problems etc?
What is teacher here for anyway? Mere transaction of "head-knowledge" to the students, making sure that the "good" ones do better, and the "bad" ones manage to "pull through", so that the "grades" are maintained???
What about the aspect of them as "human being", as God's mighty and beautiful creation?
Hmmm....Hey students, what about you? What are YOU here for?
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been thinking, seriously thinking, how do you teach a person to think? i mean our school system doesn't but once we reach college or latest univ. level we are required to think. how does one suddenly know how to think? i don't!!!! help! I am here to learn how to think and hopefully teach others how to acquire that so needed skill in life.
ReplyDeleteI personally think that the inability to think or shallowness in thinking, is a reflection of one's mental laziness and sluggishness.
ReplyDeleteDon't believe me?
Let me ask you a question: which of the following is more difficult: (i) to memorise a given fact, to pattern against an established model (i.e. copying), to answer a similar set of exam questions? etc OR (ii) to think and analyse on an issue to the point of understanding, without access or reference to any precedents?
Thinking is like physical work-out (exercise). It can be very painful and tiring in the beginning, but once your body begins to accustom to the rigor of the work-out, your muscle will become more flexible, the pain will slowly disappear, and you will find yourself able to perform more physically-challenging activity.
While some may seem to be naturally more inquisitive than others, one cannot say things like: I am born like that one lor! Can't be helped, my brain just can't think, blame it to my parents. It runs in the family, it's in the genes!
The ability to think is something that one can acquire and cultivate, by enduring and sweating through the rigors of the process. It's a life-long process. THere's no easy way out.
How does one learn to think? Personally, i believe there is no "ten steps to learning how to think" type of solution. For me, i learnt through observing how people around me think and analyse, by making mistakes, suffering from the consequences of those mistakes, and learning from them, by embracing (sometimes with cringing teeth) the advice and "chastisement" of others. I have friends who have been great role model to me.
It is important to look out for good role model!
"Observation", on its own, nevertheless, will not bring you far. I personally find that the KEY to strecthing those mental muscles up there, is by APPLYING (or putting-into-practice) what one has observed, to every possible opportunities that come your way. THAT is the PAINFUL and TRYING part of the whole process!
WIth thinking, comes understanding. "Understanding" gives one the ability and confidence in handling different types of situations. Let me give you an example: How would your students fare, if the actual exam questions are VASTLY different from the past-year or tutorial questions?
Students with proper "understanding" of the subject matter will find those questions exciting and challenging and meaningful, a true test of what they have learnt, while students whose approach to studies is mere memorising without understanding, will have a hard time in figuring out what the questions are asking.
The issue of "thinking", is something that is very close to my heart. Wonder why?
That's because i AM one who was (and many a time, still is) mentally lazy and sluggish. THe funny (or dangerous????) thing is, i didn't even realise that until i started working!!! Don't get me wrong. I have always been a very diligent student during my student days. Being a school representative in various speech contests and debates, and a mega "kiasu" student, i was trained to "memorise" facts, lots of facts. But that didn't make me a good thinker. On the contrary, it has made me a rigid, inflexible and legalistic person.
I discovered this the hard way, after i have started working. In the working world, things are never the same and straight forward all the time. Bosses are seldom clear in conveying what they REALLY want from you. No one is going to tell or teach you what you are exactly supposed to do (hey, they don't pay you to learn from them ok). There are no tuition teachers who can teach you how to do your work. You just get to figure out what you don't know, and find out how to get to know what you don't know. Often times, when your boss asks you to do A, it actually means B, C and D as well.
Indeed, "thinking" is such important and needed skill at work, and in life.
Well, we can blame the "system", the "spoon-feeding" syndrom, the "tuition" generation, or our "upbringing" etc for what we were / are. But whatever it is, there is no point lamenting over it. The question is: Where do you want to go from here?
Remember, thinking is not a skill that one is "born" with. It is a skill that can be acquired and attained. The question is: Are you willing to pay the cost?
Let me end with a joke. A friend of mine told me a joke recently. A man was asked to think out of the box. His response was: I can't....coz i don't even know what a box is.....
cheer up a bit, ok?
LOLX! Totally in consensus with you BT! Posted similar tenet in my blog following our conversation, and it's amazing that we kinda talked about the same thing, that shows we understood one another during the conversation :D
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