All teachers are the same...

Semua guru adalah sama... Are they??? I think good teachers give good quality instructions. And the quality of teaching (teachers) differs from one to another.

Came across this research carried out by the University of Chicago regarding this quality of instruction thingy a month ago. It found that there are inconsistencies in the teaching quality. The findings in a gist:

23% had high quality instructions,
28% with mediocre instruction,
31% had positive emotional climate, low academic demand,
and 17% had low overall quality of instruction.

According to the study also, the quality of instruction plays a very important role especially in primary school education. So, the findings indicate that high quality instruction makes up only 1/5 of the total. Is it any better in Malaysia?

I'm used to school administrators reminding us that all teachers are the same in terms of their abilities to teach. I think it is crap. (But I am only one small voice) Cos that line of thinking promotes mediocrity... which is already rife in our system.

I think the quality of teaching differs, very often quite greatly. Cos teachers have different abilities, aptitudes and attitudes. What do I think of the present teaching fraternity? I think we lack that sort of ethics, ingenuity and flexibility so readily found in the teachers of yesteryears... but it's only my observation. I could be wrong.

Anyway, if you want to see the quality of teachers I think a good place to start with would be the Staff / Teachers' Room. One student commented that his school's Staff Room is like a market. His comment - teachers busy buying, selling, gossiping - market like atmosphere. I concur with his observation. I see that in my workplace very often too; frozen curry puffs, jelly, undergarments, 'outer-garments', shoes, cosmetics, tupperware, rojak dip, cakes, cookies; the list is endless. Teachers are busy 'upgrading' themselves..

When I was a student, there was always a general consensus among the students (and the school administrators) that some teachers were better than others. Some were able to inspire and teach with great clarity. Others were not.

These days, the school heads fail to recognize that some teachers are better than others in instruction. Some are excellent. Some are just downright uninspiring! But with today's look-good-on-the-outside-culture being the norm, it's all about appearance. So, when the time for the Anugerah Perkhidmatan Cemerlang (APC) comes, one wonders at the criteria for a 'perkhidmatan cemerlang'... usually it goes to the one who is good at buttering.... since everyone is same in terms of the ability to instruct.

Hence, it is of no surprise that despite PPSMI (teaching of Math and Science in English) running for so many years, students still do not have a good grasp of the subjects as well as the language. Anyway, even in BM students too had a problem with those subjects! Some quarters blame it on the medium of instruction, which is English. I think it's the quality of instruction. We are facing a crisis of quality in instruction here; competency and attitude included.

And the quality of instruction is closely tied to the quality of teachers we employ. Since there has been many complaints about the the employability of our graduates, surely it must also be an indication that all is also not well with those taken into the profession. They are after all also products of this failing education system. First rate facilities but still failing... you'll have to scratch your head and wonder why.

It's not that Malaysia lacks the talent. The system has, over the years been compromised to suit a certain agenda. A culture of mediocrity has permeated into our life causing talent and abilities to cease to be the yardsticks of excellence. So we try to justify what is lacking by insisting that everyone is the same...

So is our education system any better than before? During our heydey the General Medical Council (GMC) gave full recognition to our medical grads but it was removed in 1989 when it was discovered that many of our medical grads simply did not meet up to the standards set. The rot had set in then and signs were showing even back then. Back in those days, UM was one of the top universities in this part of the world. Today, it has fallen really low.

The Masters programme was started to cater to the training of our local docs as specialists. Anyway our gahmen will poooh-poohed the need of the recognition from GMC. Of course with the protectionism of EU, it's a none issue now. Today, we produce many of our own specialists but many of them would not pass their exams had they done it in the UK because of the lack of language as well as aptitude or both. In other words we simply do not meet up to their standards. That same problem is also in our teaching profession, perhaps even more serious.

The quality of instruction plays an important role. We need to admit that the quality of instruction in our schools is sliding. Something needs to be done. In France, they only take the best for teaching and that too they have to go through a rigourous selection process... teachers must be good at what they do... and here I mean all the different aspects covered under the different types of intelligence.

BTW, Happy April Fool's Day!