An Education Policy Advice

I agree with the NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND policy.

Leave them behind!


But......

Help them find shortcuts.

Amrita's FIRST professional song

Dear Friends,
Happy New Year to you and your family!

I am happy to announce that Amrita's first professionally recorded song will be released on February 25th, 2014!  Her song entitled "Goodbye" was written exclusively for Rock for Ronan - a musical compilation compiled to benefit the Ronan Thompson Foundation. ALL sales from the cd and online downloads will go directly to the foundation to continue research and support of childhood cancers.


Do support, pre-order a copy HERE.

Shifting Mindsets - This is What Education is About

I read this article , A School With No Teachers, Where Student Teach Themselves

It is really heartening to read initiatives such as the 42. Indeed, this is what we need for our children. I know there are many, many more alternative, inward looking initiatives.

For far too long, children have been spoon fed. It is time, they do what we are all naturally brought up to do, learn to learn!

The approach of the 42 can be daunting or even scary. This can be said for many other alternative approaches. It fundamentally redefines the entire concept of school, some thing may of us have been familiar with for a long time.  Such approaches totally reinvents the role of teachers  It is as if the ground we have been walking on has been removed. It is difficult to comprehend what to do and it is common that respond with fear and quickly seek for comfort, familiar ground. Some go to the extent of trying eliminate such alternate thinking adopting them as threats.

Some will embrace the change. Takes them by the horn, as it were. In doing so, activate a change in consciousness. They see change as necessary, for the betterment of their lives and the lives of future generations. Some found courage motivated by the fact that their children have been bullied or abuse, or have special learning needs that the mainstream schools cannot provide. They have found that schools have to be examination orientated, lost its true meaning and lost its bearing on developing the whole child. Many parents sees the necessity of such actions born out of a dire need that see their children get good education where the mainstream schooling environment have failed them. 

There are those who see a slightly bigger picture that the schooling system as a political-corporation process of domination and control. Indeed schools have become a place where young impressionable minds are being dumb-down and "brainwashed". Forced to think in a particular way or to accept that a certain thinking is right. Minds becomes more closed than open. One only need to see how history is being taught (or not being taught) at all. Or how subjects like moral, civic-consciousness embedded with nationalistic ideals are being drummed into minds of kids. Corporations, on the other hand would mold children's minds to consume and buy, buy and buy! The underlining message is that happiness arises when we have things, positions, status etc.  The political-corporation control of schools is a deadly combination.

What if we are out of mainstreams schooling and make a mistake? My answer:

 "Correct it! Education Is a process . It is a process that you can be in control. If you choose to."

Education is about changing our minds and altering our consciousness. To do this, we need to overcome our own barriers of fear, complacency rough about by our own conditioning. Real learning comes from breaking our of our minds, to find ourselves, our real potentials.

What do all these?  Ultimately, it is about happiness and wanting happiness for our children. We tend to forget it as we try to pin happiness to be able to "survive" in society and complicate ourselves with schools, curriculum, examinations, jobs. career, etc.  Happiness is about finding oneself and being at peace. The more opportunity we allow our children (and ourselves), the better the opportunity for them to be happy.

CLiCers: Trying not to get schooling in the way of education

(Check out our initiative, CLiC from Learning Beyond Schooling, our own learning process with our children and the community)

Education Is NOT The Same As Schooling

I wrote about Problem of our Education System: My Take where I shared the need to separate education from schooling and that the there need to be an Ministry of Schooling, while the Ministry of Education takes on a very different role.  No government (perhaps maybe one or two Scandinavian countries who might try  something different) will ever make it happen because it is not in their interest to do so. Moreover, it is too much work!

Anyway, this video that will help you appreciate why schooling does not equals to education.

Memories of Nashville - June 2012

Memories of Nashville - June 2012, a set on Flickr.

It has been over a year since Amrita and I visited Nashville and to LA and finally off to Berkeley and SF before heading back to home.

Many interesting things happened after that and more to come.... stay tuned.

You might want to check out Amrita's blog on her experiences and more.

Different views

Different views, a photo by Lord Taipan on Flickr.

Parents and children always have deferring perspective of things………

Allowing children the time and space to have their own views helps mold a strong individuals.

Parenting not easy.

Kids!

Kids!, a photo by Lord Taipan on Flickr.

Children in their innocence have always inspired me.

Why your 8-year-old should be coding

When the medium of communication was sound, we learn language and communicate through speech. We learn pronunciation, intonation, diction, etc. Kids sang song like "a is for apple a... a... a..." to help them develop the skills.

When the medium of communication was a piece of paper, we learn to write. We were taught to hold a pen, translate the sounds of our speech into symbols we call characters (or strokes). Automation was happening and it began with the typewriter. Not everyone had a typewriter, so kids continued to learn to write. Obvious learning to read was synonymous to writing.

When paper was enhanced with the digital medium, children were then taught to type - computers were began to be placed in schools (mostly urban schools). Along with that other tools such using a mouse, draw and use applications like spreadsheet and art. It was still a mostly stand-alone unconnected world. Now we could, speak, write and read and use these skills on a computer.

Today when the internet drives social media with a strong mobile presence, the tools we use to communicate are evolving - times will be different. Coding may be a necessary skills (although still very much in its infancy) otherwise our communication will be limited.

Yet, as all these are happening, we still retain speaking and writing skills.

We are evolving!

Why your 8-year-old should be coding | VentureBeat

Goalpoast Moving Problem Solving Strategy

It would be really easier if our Honourable Minister and the Cabinet make know clearly the criteria for the award of the scholarships. Cutting down the number of subjects, does not bring us any nearer to any clarity and understanding how the problems can be solved. What is so difficult to let us know know the selection and award criteria openly and in a transparent manner so that students can work towards achieving them. One cannot just move the goalpost anytime they choose to, for the benefit of the few.

I shake my head in despair the manner in which our minister solves problems. I am truly doubtful if he can undertake any serious reform of improvement to our education system other than mere talk and shoot from the hip policies. If we wait any longer another two generations of our future generations will be screwed (if not already).

Better buck-up and look ahead to the future - for ALL Malaysian.

Government ponders limit on number of SPM subjects
Source: NST.COM.MY
By Hamidah Atan

2009/05/22

PUTRAJAYA: The number of subjects each student can take in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination may be limited to put an end to issues pertaining to the awarding of Public Service Department (PSD) scholarships. Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the education minister, said yesterday the ministry felt strongly that the number of subjects should be streamlined to resolve the perennial problem.

He said the cabinet had discussed the matter twice and that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak would chair a special meeting to discuss related issues next week.

Barisan Nasional component party leaders are expected to attend the meeting.

"The meeting will deliberate further ideas and proposals with regard to fairer and equitable distribution of scholarships," said Muhyiddin, who is also BN deputy chairman and Umno deputy president.

He was speaking after meeting Puteri Umno chief Datuk Rosnah Rashid Shirlin and committee members of the movement at his office.

There have been allegations of unfair distribution of scholarships by the PSD.

"One of the most common questions is why some who scored, say 14 As, were given the scholarships but some who got 19 As were not. The view is that the ministry should streamline the number of subjects.

"Why should you take up to 20 subjects? Some of the subjects are not even taught in schools but they learned them in tuition centres. I have nothing against these people but it has created other issues in terms of consistency."

He said students in boarding schools were told to take certain subjects but those outside could sit for as many subjects as they liked.

The problem arose when people started comparing the results of these students, he said.

"There are other considerations as well. One of the things my ministry is looking into is whether there is a need to limit the number of subjects so that everyone, whether they are in boarding or normal schools, can take the same number of subjects, like what we did before. We did not go for the number of As."

Muhyiddin said the PSD had a strong basis for awarding scholarships.

"It has to take into account socially-disadvantaged students in remote areas as well as those in premier schools.

"If you don't take into consideration those socially-disadvantaged students, they will not get the scholarships. But if you start comparing, this will create dissatisfaction.

"We acknowledge the grouses and we will discuss this in the meeting."

He said a study would also be carried out.

MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong recently criticised the PSD on the issue.

Dr Wee, who is also the deputy education minister, said MCA Youth had requested MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and three other MCA ministers to refer the matter to the cabinet.

This was to ascertain the procedure and criteria for awarding scholarships to students to study overseas, he had said.

Gerakan Youth secretary-general Dr Dominic Lau had said his party was willing to offer help to students who were rejected by the PSD.

He said the PSD should consider reviewing the applications of students who were turned down to give them a chance to pursue their studies overseas. If they were rejected, he said, an explanation should be given to them.

One School for One Language, One Race, One Nation?

Satu Sekolah untuk Satu Bahasa, Satu Bangsa, Satu Negara! 

Very soon, we will be robots, walking, dressing, speaking and thinking (if thinking is allowed by then) in exactly the same way. This may happen if we have this 1sekolah a reality. Is this way we envision Malaysia to be? A land of just robots? Killing the very roots of our culture - the culture of diversity? We have grown as a nation appreciating the diversity of our cultures and languages.

This is the new initiative by someone who calls himself "Kijang Mas" whose blog is named "Demi Negara". This person does not even have the guts to make himself public and apparently does not even reside in Malaysia and who so convinently blames the vernacular schools for the disunity in our community.  He obviously failded to see that issue of (dis)unity is not merely a product of schools. We need to see the big picture, the policies in schools, who put those policies there in the first place. What are our leaders and politicians doing about unity and how are they treating each other. We have not got it right. Here I agree with Khoo Kay Peng:

The proponents of 1Sekolah cannot even be truthful about the main problem of disunity and racial disharmony. Why blame the Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools when it was obvious that some UMNO politicians had started the racial blame game? Did you hear any students or teachers from the vernacular schools doing the same? Why is Rockybru keeping his golden silence when a vernacular newspaper, Utusan Melayu, from his media group is keeping up with the tradition of racial flaming?

It is disappointing to see a group of 'pro-unity' bloggers parotting the same rhetoric to cause even more disunity.

Calling the vernacular schools as a cancer and a cause of our society's destruction is both shameful and dishonest. These schools had produced some of the finest leaders for the country. Many of MIC, MCA and UMNO leaders came from vernacular schools.

I am glad that Education Minister Muhyiddin rejects campaign to abolish vernacular schools.

However, we must bear in mind that while racial appreciation and social integration are key elements in the maturity of our nation, it has to begin from the top. Our political leaders must throw away racist mentality and truly work towards one Bangsa Malaysia. This Bangsa can arise from appreciation of the fact that different cultures can exists with understanding and respect.  

Let's not forget that our mission (according to the Ministry of Education) is:

To develop a world-class quality education system which will realise the full potential of the individual and fulfill the aspiration of the Malaysian nation. 

Note: Realize the full potential of the individual - for the sake of our children, there needs to be a balance. We need to also be ahead of the curve in terms of the educational strategies and development world-wide. Each time we fight, our children gets left behind. Let's focus on improving the overall standard of education for the sake of our children.

taare zameen par

Just watched a wonderful Hindi movie. Yes, Hindi! The last time I watched a complete Hindi movie was when elephant was the in thing. Anyone remember Haate Mere Saathi - I remember  we cried our eyes swollen ;-(

The show I was this evening was taare zameen par (Every Child is Special). Checkout their website here. 

Good movie, a little long though -not to worry as it has the elements of Bollywood - song and dance.

Parents struggling with their children's studies are encourage to watch it.

Transforming Education or Just Talk? (updated)

Caught the news in The Star, "Less exam-oriented education under new UPSR curriculum" and the video of the interview here. In a nutshell, YB Datuk Dr Wee stressed that the MOE is embarking on a "transformation" of the education system with the introduction of a new curriculum that is more holistic and less examination based will be introduced for Year 1 students from 2010.

Have we heard this before somewhere? I have come to the conclusion that each minister or deputy minister, wants to leave its mark immediately upon taking over the ministry. Remember the time we had "Smart Schools?" Yet there are still the same schools do not even have electricity. The we had "Vision Schools" to bring different schools together in one same location with the aim of social and racial integration. Today, it seems that we are more divided. Sadly, initiative remains only a vision, the division is still here.

Of course, not to be out-done by his predecessors, then came along the "Cluster schools". The bigger the better. Accompanied the cluster schools, was of course the grand launch of the "Master Plan" with all the fanfare and what not. What's happening now - no updates anywhere. If something is happening, show it!

Now comes the over-used, at times, abused, buzzword of "transformation". Grand plans of curriculum revamp and examination redefinition, and whatever the speech writer put in for the minister.

Firstly, the speech writer is so engrossed in the system that he/she and the deputy minister did not realize this. There are NO examinations until Form 5. Anything before that are assessments (penilaian). If there are no examinations in the first place, why put the need "reweight" them. I am sure they are smart enough to look into a dictionary to understand the difference between examinations and assessments. By the way, transforming education system in Malaysia is not just about changing the curriculum. Needless to say, it involves much, much more than that. As the Deputy Minister, YB should know better what ills our education system and our schools. The problem is after each grand speech there are usually NO PLANS articulated, no clear STEPS for action, and no MILESTONES. No clear engagement strategy with stakeholders. Nothing of this is mentioned (at the time of this posting) on MOE website.

Next, curriculum "transformation" (I hate this word already) cannot be done in a vacum. There are many issues regarding schools, teachers, discipline, you name it... still unresolved. Theses issues unaddressed will kill the whatever transformation initiatives (real or unreal). I suppose this is not the speech writer's scope of work to see this through.

I personally feel, whoever the minister or deputy minister is, they need to stop taking the MOE as a playground to show off grand plans while waiting to the promoted or even be prime minister. The world has moved on , changed and transformed. Much new innovation and (true) transformations in education and learning have taken place. We urgently need to keep up and move forward.

For the sake of our children and their future and the future of our country, don't take the easy way and send your children overseas and leave us here. So, wake up dear ministers! Do your job, and show us. Don't just talk! We have heard too much, seen little.

What's Schooling?

I have always believe that a big part of education is gaining the ability to push boundaries and go beyond the limits of convention. For this will bring forth creativity and drive innovation. For it is true human nature to be progressive and go beyond who or what we are, to make change in our lives, to be who we are and above all be HAPPY.

Hence, I found this interesting article that encapsulate a lot of thoughts and concerns about what's wrong with school. Check out full article by Dr Azli Rahman at here or here.

"What is schooling?"

Teaching, as the thinker Anatole France said, is a subversive act. It must not only inform and remind but also must excite, agitate, and ignite the fire within. It must create troubled minds and leave students with more questions and some answers. It is not a funneling process; it is not a banking concept. It is a romantic act of flowering and transforming. It is a cybernetic act of creating beautiful patterns of thinking in each and every curious mind that we are entrusted to help liberate.

If you can teach, subvert. Turn your students into subversives; ones who will challenge authority and ignite revolutions. Help them revolt against conventional wisdom. Let them question scientific facts. Let them also question historical facts because there are none. Let the children grow into intellectually radical beings who would will refuse to be turned into human cattle that know only how to graze in wastelands cultivated by the modern corporatist states. Let them become radical humanists who will throw the greedy ones out of power.

The world we live in is too damaging to the human mind. It makes us docile. It makes us “dreadful” as the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard would say. It creates this mental chronic fatigue syndrome in us with information overload but not enough of it being processed. The mind cannot reflect because the conditions for reflective moments are not created. We are, as many an information theorist would say, drowned in information and starved for knowledge. Governments find it useful to have unthinking citizens. It is easier to control good workers than to control good thinking citizens.

In Malaysian public universities, we have courses in ‘thinking skills’ but we still conduct witch-hunts. In our public schools, we say we infuse critical and creative thinking skills in our curriculum, but we still produce students who think that rote-memorisation is the best form of learning. Our government wants its citizens to become ‘towering’ people but we have oppressive measures to silent dissenting views.

Teachers need to understand what is mentally ailing this nation. They must help children find heroes within themselves. They must teach what independent thinking means and to fight against those who wish to shackle the mind of the independent thinker. When one man stands up for justice and his entire political clan revolted against him, we have a classic example of what the Italian thinker Antonio Gramsci called ‘hegemony’. What is the use of one being schooled if in the long run the agenda is to be engineered as beings who would create and propagate structures of oppression such as militarism, structural violence, state-sponsored terrorism, engines of mass destruction and instruments of the perpetuation of Space Age imperialism?

Read on here.

Artist at home

I am happy that Sam (my second daughter) successfully sold her first drawing. Congrats SAM!

Well done and I look forward for more to come!

Advertisement: If you are looking such pictures, let me know.

Malaysia to revive caning in schools

What the hell are they thinking (are they thinking or reacting)? Don't know how to teach and educate, then whack those buggers-lah!  Now it is official. Yes, parents can watch too!

Source: http://www.corpun.com/websch.htm#malaysia

"We will allow the headmaster or anyone who has been authorised to execute the punishment, while parents will be notified and invited to witness the caning to be done in a confined area," said Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong (pic below) to AFP

Wee also added that:

The government made the decision to revive caning last month and it will issue specific guidelines on how to implement the punishment

Read the full story here (yes, this piece of news is spread all over the region)

That's right! If schools fail to educate our kids, or fail to help them -just BEAT THEM UP! 

This is how our education system is suppose to work, right? What to we do with these kids who are beaten up and who are highly unlikely to be transformed  straight As students as required by the education system? 

Nobody really cares. 

Someone told me that, "It's the police's problem after that, not the Ministry of Education's". The police seems to be doing a great job in getting rid of the problems, right? Think Kugan

I have shared my thoughts in FamilyPlace that if resort to caning, we have failed. 

More about CP in Malaysia, I found this interesting site here (need to verify facts though).

We need to desperately revamp our education system. The problem is discipline and caning is one of the many issues of our education system, yet they are symptoms of bigger issues and challenges. We cannot just address problems by treating the symptoms. Will our new Education Minister be able to do more and to see beyond the symptoms. Will he be able to appreciate the bigger picture of what ails our society, our younger generation and seriously address them in a truly consultative manner? 

I guess all we can do is watch, but I surely will not wait for something if anything at all were to happen.

in Support of Earth Hour 2009

Get your friends & family to Switch OFF all lights on

MARCH 28, 2009 Between 8.30pm - 9.30pm

Spend that time together in prayer, meditation or being with our families

LET'S DO IT for our children, our future!

English policy reversal in primary schools on the cards

Came back (exhausted but happy) kids camp at KKBC and came across this head-line

English policy reversal in primary schools on the cards

My immediate thought is: What are trying to do here? If we are serious about the level of our English language, then do something about it! Spend the time and energy to fix the stand of English! We have wasted a lot of time arguing if we should teach maths and science in English and now it will likely to be reverted to BM.

I am not against or for the teaching of Maths and Science in English, I am concern we are not really fixing the problems we need to fix with regards to our education system. In the mean time, our children are the ones suffering.

When will it end? (If ever possible)

Source of picture (www.nbcagusta.com)

No words, can describe my shock when a 17-year-old entered a school in Winnenden on the morning of March 11 and gunned down 12 people, including young children.

I offer my prayer and condolences.

When will shootings and killing end, if it is ever possible. 

Going on the air at BFM 89.9

Wai Leng and I will be on air Monday afternoon (Mar 2)@ 3.pm where we will share our thoughts on education, specifically homeschooling

Catch us if you can on FM 89.9
on listen online at http://bfm.my

What's wrong with our education system?

I posted a comment on Education Malaysia here and I though I would post and share this and add a little more to it.

Our education system has chugged along over the past 40 years on "auto-pilot" mode. Problem is, its a 40 year old plane that has no auto-pilot capability! If we go on this way, there is only one direction it will go to. Some people have bailed out into private schools, learning centers and homeschooling. 

On the surface there are just too many problems. I think, the real problem is leadership or lack of it! With occasional policy speeches and grand launching of policies, politicians and businesses taking the opportunity of providing products & services to the schools, nothing is really happening.

We need decisive and knowledgeable leadership who can engage all stake holders, not provide mere lip-service! 

We need leadership that know and can formulate policies in line with global economic, technological and social development. Having said this, a deep rethinking of schools needs to be done. Like learning, we need to go beyond the limitations of our minds. Education need to go beyond schools.

For the sake of our children, change need to happen!

I don't even want to talk about the issue of teaching maths and science in English. We need to really go beyond that, waybeyond!  One of my fundamental belief is that parents need to take a more pro-active role. Proactive to question and drive improvements to our education systems and even take things into our own hands. Sadly, there is not much time. Each time changes are made to the system, one to two generation of our children suffers. Drastic actions needs to be taken, we needed to bail out children out from this 40 year old plane!  This is one reason why we homeschool, for those who kepe sending us emails asking us why. 

But we need to still fix it. Speak up, blog up, bring concerns to the PTA, write to the Minister (if that is any help), engage your local Parliment Representatives. Even join politics to make the change. 

Don't forget to spend time with your children, be there for them, read with and to them. Education is in a big part coming from us parents.

For their children and theirs because this is our home and will be the home for our children and theirs and theirs.....