Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Corrections..

I have been at wits end trying to get my students to write comprehensible sentences.. yup! Their English is so bad that despite 7 years in school, majority of them can't even string together a few simple sentences to form a paragraph. And that is the best class in the form! Where have all the years been lost?

I'm fussy and I make sure that my students do their corrections after each exercise. Lately I've begun noticing that among my lower form students, corrections are just mere exercises for them. It doesn't seem to do much good. So, I made a mental note to carry out a little study of my own. Out of 10 books with corrections, 8 of the supposedly corrected work still contained errors... some, the same errors.

So, I started hauling them up one by one; all boys! The chronic cases (and there are many) were made to do their corrections in front of the classroom; where I could see and monitor. But it is very tiring. I went through each book after completion.... in detail. I warned my students that from then, any wrong corrections would earn them more writing of the same. What did I hope to achieve? For them to develop an attitude of taking note of their mistakes. But it may be an act of futility. Sometimes after a lesson like this, I ask myself why I'm still flogging dead horses.

Lesson for me today... I've realised that majority of my kids don't pay attention to their own mistakes. Learning doesn't take place as a result. They complete the work because they had to, not because they want to. When I first started with this class, I went by trust and found out that many were not passing up their books after a while. Then I came down hard... each book not handed in would earn an 'honoured seat' on the floor... compliance went up. Work, at least, got done. A little learning takes place.... what next?

We are all so screwed up by a system that does not instill a love for knowledge. Learning becomes a chore... and also a bore. Take Pendidikan Moral for example... I cannot see the sense in memorizing all those 36 nilai-nilai murni. It's not going to make the students any better. English is so far gone that I think we've our own Malaysian pidgin version. BM is so high standard that I wonder whether they want to turn the kids into linguists. Sejarah contains so many perceived biasness that it feels like a propaganda tool. It's hard to undo 6 years of 'damage' and worse still we inflict another 5 years of such empty academic pursuits.

Was reading about this group of people who homeschool their kids. One kid said something to this extent.... "sometimes we didn't realize that we were learning."... It must have been fun for this kid to learn. That we have failed to do, especially for the younger ones.

My own girl is 'languishing' in primary school. We put her in a Chinese school cos we see no other better options.... or call it kiasu-ness, maybe. She is struggling with her Mandarin and BM. But she enjoys reading, playing and exploring with her toys... she has an inquisitive mind. But her daily routine is so rigidly controlled by the amount of her homework. I used to tell a friend that we did not want to send her to multiple nurseries / kindergartens in her pre-school years cos we felt that her childhood would end the day she started formal schooling. So far, I think we're not that far off.

But we have to make sure she plods on.... I wish our edu system is more flexible especially for the young ones, when they can be convinced that learning is fun. Seeing my students in their current state makes me more convinced that being so exam oriented is not making them any better. So the plan for more school based assessments is maybe a good move... Anyway, exams are no guarantee for success....

Next... to change the mindset and quality of the teachers....

8 comments:

Hijackqueen said...

"They complete the work because they had to, not because they want to."This is so like my SON! Sometimes I wonder if he know what he is doing.

AJ7 said...

That is quite typical and also normal to a certain extent. But learning should be fun. At that age, if it is fun they'd want to learn and somehow that attitude is carried into their future... and it would be easier on everyone, especially themselves. But if they lose interest, the brain inactivity caused by this disinterest might make them another casualty of our system. Cos if they do realize some time in the future the need to learn after going sesat and want to change... the spirit may be willing, but the flesh would have been weakened to the point of no return. That is the problem that I am facing with many of my Form 5 kids. They've been sitting around mindlessly for so many years that suddenly when they want to change... it's quite difficult. Most try but many go sesat back because it is so 'painful'.

daboss said...

i only have 1 thing to say - thank goodness i'm out of school! kakaka...

AJ7 said...

dabosss... don't be so happy yet. Your kids?? Home, Private or Public???

Anonymous said...

My 8 1/2 boy is trying hard to cope with his lessons. His goal is only to finish his given homework for the day. I do doubt that he learns on his subject content; but on the positive note I try to believe at least he learns to be discipline.

ppearl said...

i counted up that i started formal education in 1972 (MES kindergarten) and finished university in 1991. OMG! i have wasted nearly half my life!

teacher, my brain is full. can i go home now?
:p:

monay said...

i really don't see the point of homework....after 6 hours at school...why do we need to bring more schoolwork home? here make it 7 from 8 to 3pm... too long

AJ7 said...

PP... don't think so our education was wasted on us lah. We had a good time at school, no?? Sports, games, societies... school days were more meaningful then.
Monay...here the school hours have been extended... 7.30 a.m. to around 3 p.m. Add that to extra classes, some go back at 5 p.m. It's madness... your kids are so lucky.

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