Where do clever children in Malaysia go? (Part 2)

It is interesting to read this article in the STAR (www.thestar.com.my) this morning - after I posted my blog yesterday. We have a so called system to make not-so smart people smarter. Sad to say the system also makes the smart people be less smart. Out education system is a funnel pushing people of different intelligences into on "one size, fit all" environment. I feel this young boy should be given the change to explore maths in it higher, without subjecting him to an extremely different social environment, only than will he be able to go beyond is current level - a very tall order indeed.

It will be interesting to see how this situation develops into an action plan. (Reade the full STAR article belo)





The Star Online > Nation (Source: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/3/24/nation/13762330&sec=nation)

Friday March 24, 2006

Genius finds school boring

By CHRISTINA KOH

IPOH: Young maths whiz Adi Putra Abdul Ghani, who fascinated Malaysians with his ability to solve Additional Mathematics problems, faces the possibility of being thrown out of his primary school.

The parents of the seven-year-old boy have received show-cause letters from his school, SK Jalan Matang Buluh in Bagan Serai, warning them that he could be expelled for cutting classes too often.

His mother Serihana Elias, a former teacher, said her son was reluctant to go to school because he was bored with the basic syllabus of reading, writing and counting (mengira) laid down by the Education Ministry.

Adi Putra, who could read newspapers by the age of four, had told his mother that he would prefer studying at a school like Sekolah Islam Antarabangsa in Kuala Lumpur.
There, she said, he could learn languages like Japanese, French, English, Chinese as well as tahfiz al-Quran studies. They were in the process of enrolling their son there, Serihana said.
“I’m disappointed that SK Jalan Matang Buluh issued the warning letter to my son in February. Some might think we are exploiting Adi Putra, but he himself said that he was bored in school,” she told reporters here yesterday.

His father Abdul Ghani Abdul Wahab, 48, said he would appeal to the Education Ministry to allow his son to study at Sekolah Islam Antarabangsa or a private school that would allow him to have a more flexible education.