ThE rOaD nOt TaKeN.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Lately the schools have been abuzz with the news about the principal who 'advised' the secondary 5 students to apply for ITE. Everyone has an opinion about it, including me.
When I first heard about it, I thought that it was quite cruel of the principal to crush the hopes of the students. To me, it seemed that the P had completely written off the students. I think I still have the idealism in me to believe that regardless of how far behind you are, if you are willing to work hard, you will still be able to make progress. To me, learning is not about how fast you learn or about the quantity of knowledge you gather or how many certificates/degrees/diplomas you have with your name on it.
It's not so much a race but a journey. So it doesn't matter if you take a longer time to get there. In Singapore, we have always stressed being fast in everything we do, especially in the workplace. As a result, we have become so intolerant of others that anyone slower is regarded as slacking or underachieving. So we try to do everything as fast as we can. I have heard of students in the university overloading themselves to do a 4 yr course in 3 or 3 and a half years...I sometimes wonder whether they have the time to breathe and basically live normal lives?
It's scary how focussed we are on passing exams that the thought of failing and the stigma attached to it can put us in tears. So the adults take it upon themselves to decide that the pragmatic and practical considerations will outweigh what the students want. Has anyone asked the students?
It's a two way road. Of course, the students have to put in the effort in order to learn. However as educators, we shouldn't stifle the students' growth by imposing our own priorities into their learning.
Let's hope that the people in the system will not remain apathetic to the system and work with the students to achieve and even exceed their potential.
We are more capable than we think.
Labels: ITE
