Sunday, November 23, 2008

Science and Mathematics in English

UPSR results were released recently (2008). The Tamil schools had done extremely well. An increase of 22 per cent in straight As.

Credit to the increase goes to the teachers and the parents. There was one school were extra classes were conducted in the afternoon and at night. All week ends and public holidays there were extra classes. The teachers received no extra monies from parent. There were no rests to the students. Parents have no time to teach their own children not because they were busy but all the time was taken by teachers. The students straight go to bed once they were at home due to their tiredness.

Malaysian government had done a good job by allowing science and mathematics to be taught in English. English language gives a world view. Knowledge can be accumulated by reading in English before it can be translated to students' mother tongue language as no discoveries have ever pineored in any of Malaysian languages. By learning in English we are not any way becoming less Malaysian or less of our own ethnicity.

USA,whether we like her or not, she is still the cradle of many discoveries. Their discoveries are written in English. If our students in Malaysia able to understand the discoveries at early stage then we will have an advantage over others.

There was several science v scholars. By the time we learn the discoveries several other inventions taking place. The lag time can be reduced by we learning the both subjects in English without waiting for translations.

As for Tamil schools there were not many exercise books available for both the subjects in Tamil because of the smaller market. This problem has been overcome by the change of language. Now they have more exercise books. Better command of English. There was one school I went; I noticed all students in the class were communicating in English Language without jeopardizing their command of the Tamil Language. Their commands of Malay Language were excellent. The students' command of English were better then their teachers.

Science and Mathematics if continuously used to teach in English, Tamil schools will be the most to benefit and more middle class Indians will send their children to Tamil schools.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Poverty and the poor.

In Malaysia the poverty level was very high in the 1950s till 1970s. The poor hardly met their income with the needs. In the house holds of the poor, they had pillows and mat made of straws to sleep, some utensils to cook and little cloth.

Male children would go to school and the female would go but stop schooling early to help their parent.

School uniform was limited and the numbers of buttons in shirt do not match with holes with which the buttons are fixed. The differences were met with hooks.

Students had nothing to spend in school canteen.

That was the scenario in the whole country but even with such situations there were several successful people who had climbed the social hierarchy. Their parents had managed well the little they earned and had the mantle strength to withstand the poverty and send their children to further education.

Now the poverty looks different. It is often said that the poor is getting poorer and the rich is getting richer. This is the relative term. The poor now is richer then the poor of thirty years ago. Now the poor have television, motorcycle, hand phone etc. but they would look for aid, for the purpose of children education. It looks like the can effort all necessities and some luxury goods but only could not spend for children education. The state should take care of their education expenditure.

Poor of this kind are not poor by income but poor to enrich their knowledge. They will spend for entertainment, extravagance expenditure during festivals and on many others, but children education never being in their list.

It is their attitudes towards their children education make them poor. No investment is better thanon education. If the poor realizes this the next generation will never be poor.

The other parameters for education are :
Concern toward their children education. For concern one need to be rich. Even a poor can be concern.
Discipline of family. Do not mix with those who are not in similar wavelength of thought.
Fund management of the family even though it is small.

And many more which varies with situation.