The deputy prime minister’s education policies are causing the nation to regress in terms of knowledge acquisition and fostering unity, said the Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) today on the eve of the unveiling of the new National Education Masterplan.
The manners of a man are supposed to make him, and her, of course. Without manners we cannot lay claim to being civilised. We acquire these manners through our education and demonstrate it through our communciation – speech and behaviour.
Looking around one may not think so. Many highly educated people have demonstrated otherwise, being rude and uncouth both in public and in private. Education seems to be no guarantee for logical thought or rational conversation. Nor does education seem to have created a set of people who can actually research and retain facts, and then base their opinions on a solid foundation. This, is either a personal failure or one of the system. Without pointing fingers here, for that would be fruitless – a greater failure comes to mind – the failure to self govern.
There is no greater shame than the need to be policed. As a democracy, the freedoms we have are collective. We retain the freedom only if we do not damage anybody in the group – else we give the police the chance to come and tell us what to do. It is as we learnt at school – if the mischief is mild, and nobody gets hurt, we can carry on and self regulate. If the mischief hurts anybody, the teacher must intervene.
These are the norms and values we learnt at school, and these are what we carry on with in life. But it is sad that our school taught us to fear and avoid the teacher’s intervention but there was little thought given to eliminating the need for such intervention. The upper hand was always retained by some one else in charge – we were never wholly in charge of ourselves. We neither sought to behave in a mature fashion as a group, nor was maturity expected of us since we were policed.
This meant that some of us did not know how to exercise boundaries unless policed. And since they broke decent bounds often enough, they gave reason for the police (read teacher/principal/headteacher) to interevene and punish the group. With self regulation and self discipline, especially as one grows older, the need for an over arching authority with the tools for punishment should cease to exist. This is the meaning of growing up, this is the purpose of education.
We see the consequences of this in public life today where a dash of censorship has been exercised by those who have the power to do so. It is no doubt true that free speech is essential in a democracy, and it is the task of journalists – both professional and citizen journalists to call out those in power. The task of calling out what one thinks is wrong is neither easy, nor pleasant. It is not possible to mince words in attacking what is wrong. But that is not hate, nor is it abuse.
Then, there are those, who foolishly attack thinking they are defending their own cause. But often, either with deliberation or due to emotion they slip into abuse, unfounded accusation and libel. This is stupid not only because it is wrong but also because it gives cause to the policing authorities to sweep in and round up who-ever they please. Whether the police understand the issue becomes immaterial. Their action has been given cause by those who mis-used their freedom. And the defense of those who justly spoke up is also immaterial – they are swept away along with the foolish abusers.
It is tragic to see how we undermine our own freedoms.
Speak with conviction, speak for the truth, speak without fear. But do not give them a chance who would seek to silence you.
Speak well, speak wisely, but not just loudly. For noise is of no value to the wise, and does not each the foolish.
Speak to be heard, not to hurt. The hurt react with anger, not with understanding.
Speak with many voices, speak as one. But let the cause not become a cult.
Speak to build, speak to foster the change you seek. Speak to retain your freedom to speak. Let your speech not become the cause of its own destruction.
Speak Smart.
Speak as if you were educated.
Speak as if you were educated.
(This may not be a traditional post on education – it does not speak of pedagogy, nor change, nor innovation in classrooms, nor of international developments in theory or practice. But it does speak of what education must deliver – the ability to speak, be heard and bring the change one wants – with dignity and intelligence)
This comes after Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also education minister, said in an interview published by an English daily yesterday that the government was against bringing back the teaching of mathematics and science in English (PPSMI) as well as English medium schools, as these would appear that it was backtracking and flip-flopping
Today, PAGE chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said that the by abolishing the teaching of mathematics and science in English, Muhyiddin was preventing many Malaysian children from acquiring knowledge in a language they are most comfortable with ― a concept that UNESCO advocates.
“It appears that the DPM is more afraid that his ministry is seen as flip-flopping on the policy than its impact on our children and their future,” said Azimah.
She added that the repercussions of not giving children the option to learn science and mathematics in English ― the lingua franca of the two subjects ― could be severe, including a continued decline in the interest in science.
“The government under the prime minister wants to bring the nation forward through 1 Malaysia, science, technology and innovation, but the policies of the deputy prime minister, specifically the abolition of PPSMI, are pushing the nation backwards in the acquisition of knowledge and in enhancing racial integration which is crucial for our continued success,” said Azimah.
Muhyiddin said in an interview in the New Straits Times yesterday that English medium schools have been dropped for almost 50 years and the country should not backtrack now.
He also said PPSMI had been more about the language rather than technical knowledge and the government was taking steps to beef up the teaching of English.
Language in education is often contested on political rather than academic grounds in Malaysia, with both Malay and Mandarin advocate groups in the past threatening backlashes at the polls if their language demands were not met.
Malaysia currently offers public education in three languages ― Malay, Mandarin and Tamil ― while English language education remains the preserve of those wealthy enough to send their children to private schools.
The tendency for only the rich to be able to afford English language education has many industry observers concerned that it will widen the social divide between the elite and the masses.
Malaysia converted its English language medium schools to Malay medium schools in the 1970’s but reintroduced English as a medium of instruction for mathematics and science in 2003. This was again overturned in 2009 in what many perceived to be an effort to placate both Malay and Mandarin hardline groups.
The education masterplan will be launched by the prime minister tomorrow and will be available for public feedback for a period of three months starting tomorrow.
Deputy Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin, recently spoke at the Muar Umno general assembly, which was held at Dewan Umno, Jalan Meriam, Muar.
In the one hour speech he touched on various issues including about the many promises made by the opposition and called on Umno members to unite and work hard to defend the state of Johor which is the birthplace of Umno.
Muhyiddin said that he has been in politics for over 40 years and has seen many elections and that this is the most challenging of them all, it has even prompted our party president to call it the “mother of all elections” .
Realising the presence of CJMY, he said: “I have been informed that everything I say is being recorded by Malaysiakini (and they will) publish it on the internet, Twitter, Facebook and blogs”.
“We are now in a new world. The world of social media, which is more powerful than the normal media. This has made it possible for everyone around the world to hear every word I say”, said Muhyiddin.
“This new challenge is not just a challenge but an opportunity. The situation in the 2008 election was because we did not take the full advantage of Social media”, he added.
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As it turns out, our wired life demands from us a greater interpretative effort than in the past, when our choices were more limited to a restricted number of personal friends, newspapers and TV networks. Today, the choice is so vast that we must constantly be aware that being lied to, hacked, or overloaded is not only likely, but inevitable.
In sum, those who believe that our wired life can be measured by the amount of time we spend online are simply trying to avoid confronting the fact that we must allow our interpretations to take over when we are online; that is, we must create political alteration, resistance, or change as profound as the one Luther brought about by finding a new way to translate and interpret the Bible.
A wired life, like a religious one, must conserve its autonomy by interpreting the content independently of received ideas about the truthreadmore http://maztulisstrategicmanagement.wordpress.com/2012/09/10/a-wired-life-like-a-religious-one-must-conserve-its-autonomy-by-interpreting-the-content-independently-of-received-ideas-about-the-truth/
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