Many have mentioned that Singapore's education system is too rigid and students are not studying blah blah blah. Some even mentioned that students are not given the rights to chose what they are interested in since young and they find this rather restrictive.
My point of view? Singapore has taken the wrong approach towards education.
I feel that the whole "taking 4 subjects in primary school and 7 or 8 (or even more) subjects in secondary school" thing is fine. It teaches students the basics of most fields and it allows students to find their interests. I knew for sure I hated maths and I love sciences, on the other hand, my friend found her love for art.
But the way these subjects were taught? Oh hell no.
(What I will say next is a rather common complaint, but I promise a different example. So continue reading, don't close the tab yet.)
Singaporeans were taught to memorise stuff since young. And by memorising I really mean memorise for everything. I understand that there are certain stuff that needs to be memorised, like dates for historical events, for you can't understand the dates, you can only memorise them. But in Singapore? You memorise everything.
You (or students in my school) were taught to memorise science, character education, geography, ALMOST EVERYTHING. And some students struggle to pass because they are just not good at memorising. Others have gotten so used to memorising (since kindergarten or nursery in extreme cases) that they can remember word for word and they "excel".
What could have been done then? Teachers should take a different approach. Make the students understand stuff, not memorise. That's just wrong.
I was able to do well for sciences because I understood. I wasn't top for social studies because it was memory work to me. When my peers came to me for help in sciences, I explained it to them (I even drew it and made it into some form of cartoon/comic, ask my friends), not make them repeat the definitions/steps.
You know how schools keep on emphasising the importance of presentation skills and public speaking skills? Teachers will always tell students "Please get rid of the cue cards.". Let's look into the root of the problem.
Singapore's approach towards education.
Students were trained to memorise ever since they enter an education institution. It got so bad that they have to memorise word by word and it will feel wrong to miss out a single point. A single word even. To them, it feels wrong to make mistakes.
That is the problem. Students were never told that it was okay to make mistakes.
Typical case scenario: Student holds cue cards during presentation. Speaks halfway, feels that they are going to make a mistake, starts panicking, pauses, look at cue cards nervously. To make things worse, their cue cards looks like that:
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| http://myluckypencil.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/003.jpg?w=500&h=374 |
Back to my point. THEY WRITE THE WHOLE SENTENCE ON THE CUE CARD. No point form, just the whole paragraph.
This is what Singapore needs to do. Teachers especially. Assure them that it is okay to make mistakes. If you want students to ace presentations and do well for public speaking and get rid of all the cue cards, then change your teaching style. Stop forcing students to memorise stuff, make them understand instead. Assure them that so long as they have confidence, they can pull it off.
I am not saying I am good at presentations, but this is the best example I can think of.
It only struck me when I was talking to my friend about presentation the other time. I was telling her that there is no need for cue cards. She mentioned that I did not use cue cards and I missed out some parts of my presentation. To that, I answered: "But I managed to pull it off, didn't I?" At that moment, it hit me really hard. We are so used to memorising that if we miss out parts of information, we start to panic, because it is deemed as "imperfect". Students are scared of making mistakes because of the learning style they were introduced to. I am guilty too. I am scared of making mistakes because I can't memorise for nuts. And that is how Singapore's education system is. Word for word or you fail. (Except for essays, how do you even memorise that, lol)
And... that's all I have. Singapore's approach towards education is rather... rigid. But what can we do about it? Reality check Carissa. Nothing can be done. Not now.
*As usual, I am blogging about this at 3 in the morning. I can't be bothered to proofread my post. And who thinks straight during the wee hours of the day? So long as you get my point. XD
**This is a rather controversial topic. Your views may differ, you may feel offended by my example. But really, no harm intended.
