The Often Overlooked "It's the Education System" Problem
A system is a way of working, organizing, or doing something which follows a fixed plan or set of rules. You can use system to refer to an organization or institution that is organized in this way.
Basically, I don't like comparing the Constitution of any country to a car. I prefer to compare it to a school. As the law of the land, the constitution is also the school of thought of the nation. It determines how politicians behave. In turn, that will determine how people will also behave. Now, when we talk about the national education system, it determines how schools in a certain country will conform. How the Department of Education (DepEd) does things will determine how schools, no matter how high or low the standard is, will end up running things in the long run.
I wrote a post on whether or not the Philippine education system is educating or automating students. Regardless of what subject it was, most of the time, it was parroting. Maybe, I should mention a childish quarrel I got into with people who can understand mathematics better than I could. Meanwhile, these people couldn't express themselves as good as me. An old argument I got into with a former enemy of mine was, "How can you compute numbers so fast in your head?" The guy graduated cum laude with B.S. Information Technology. Fortunately, he didn't become an arrogant douchebag like other people who did well in college. He could only reply, "Well, how can you come up with a good essay so fast in your head?" I guess that shows how a one-size-fits-all arrangement is really a failure. I was only able to understand mathematics better later in life, watching YouTube videos that discussed real-life applications of mathematics.
I was looking at things I didn't like in high school. One of them was mathematics because I didn't easily get it like the others. The other are those tediously boring Chinese classes, regardless of which Chinese school one was in. Today, I doubt that the old way of teaching Chinese in Chinese schools can ever make it to the HSK standard (read here). I soon got so frustrated with mathematics that I threw tantrums a lot in my fourth year of high school. I just viewed it as "I'm stupid and I will never get it!" Remembering those times made me Google about The Mathematician's Lament. I realized that I was never alone in that "I hate math!" routine. Though, I think my real problem was math anxiety and not dyscalculia. If I had dyscalculia, I wouldn't be able to memorize the arithmetic table or formulas. The problem had to do with fear of the one-size-fits-all arrangement more than anything else.
It's common for teachers to complain about students' attitudes. Even worse, parents and teachers only focus on the child. There are times students end up hating school not because they're lazy but they become lazy because of how tedious school is. Whether we like to admit it or not, the school system is so focused solely on grades that grades eventually suffer as a result (read here). I guess that's why, with a vengeance, students who were once bullied by the teachers and their own parents, end up throwing their revenge. Maybe, it's because the same teacher that they had back in elementary or high school, became their child's teacher. I can imagine students who probably hated the teacher (though the teacher was simply doing his or her job) suddenly backfiring at the same teacher when their child is under that same teacher.
Whether we want to admit it or not, the illustration above really shows how school is somehow made purposely dull and boring. Even worse, students are mentally forced to compete against each other like some gladiatorial game in the Roman Colosseum. Instead of having education as a cooperation--it has become more of a competition. Sure, it's one thing that we have quiz bowls and competitions between classes. It's one thing to have intramurals. Those are friendly competition. However, the way school makes it is almost like students inside the classroom are forced to be compared with each other. I even remember how I often get compared to a classmate of mine who was a consistent honor student. However, said honor students ended up blasting the Philippine education system to be doing more automating and replicating instead of educating. The fact that he invited a classmate of mine who failed his second year of high school to speak about the advertising industry speaks volumes. It's really saying, "Failure is never final." I still remember I used to fight a lot over childish issues with them. They were trying to encourage me but I was always stuck with pessimism because I never had the IQ of a genius.
I was looking at Singapore and realized how education has evolved. Instead of competing, it will be all about cooperation. That means teachers, students, and parents now must work all together. It wouldn't be like, "Why can't you be like the class valedictorian?" Never mind that maybe, one day, some consistent honor students (those who aren't arrogant, unlike Rep. Raoul Manuel who uses in cum laude status in debates) feel so empty, especially in their quest to help educate others. Just reading this one makes me think of the bigger issue between parents, teachers, and the students:
World Education Forum recently published an article saying that Singapore takes different approach for Singaporean children in term of education. Starting in 2019, exams for primary years 1 and 2 students will be abolished. This approach is to make education environment better. Primary and secondary students can study in less competitive environment.
As Singapore’s Education Minster said, “Learning is not a competition”, so that student in Singapore can experience study in less discouraging comparison between peer issues. In this situation student can have more concentration and explore their self.
Primary and secondary school report books will also no longer indicate whether a pupil finishes top or bottom of the class, while subject and group averages. Singapore’s new approach to education is in stark contrast to the neighbouring states that crowd the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) education rankings.
Competition should be between schools. It's all about fostering healthy competition--something I tik that's sorely missing with the class ranking and comparing students with each other. Whehther we want to admit it or not, even the best teachers end up comparing student to student. They tend to compare the worst student to the best student, instead of focusing on how to make the best out of the worst student. Sure, my mathematics teacher was trying to make the best out of me. I was just too stubborn. In that angle, I was the victim of the bad education system. The teacher was simply forced ot teach mathematics as a dull and boring subject for those who aren't mathematically inclined.
If the focus was on learning over grades, students definitely will have lesser reasons to have bad grades. Teachers will have less reasons to be confronted. Instead, teachers and parents will focus on the student on how to improve from the bad grades. It's because when there's genuine learning, good grades mean a lot. Sure, perfect grades can be bought but a good grade can never be bought. Students when they discuss more about what they learned, can soon help others get better grades, as a result of learning than unnecessary amounts of pressure. The pressure should be focused on learning instead of grades. The irony is by focusing too much on the grades, the grades suffer in the long run.
