Y Wednesday, May 16, 2007
2:22 pm
Ahh. Education in Asia. Simply put, Rote Learning at it's finest. "What the heck is Rote Learning?" you ask. Basically, it's what y'all have been doing your entire lives. (At least to date.) It's the act of learning by memorizing.
Let's take Maths as an example. Most math questions in the exams don't really require much thinking. It's more of a "Oh wait, this question is familiar, I've done it *insert 3 digit number here* times. Only the values are changed." Yes, the way to score is to practice until one reaches that stage of familiarity.
But there are so many types of questions, you say. Well, that's why education in Asia's criticized so badly. The sterilization of creativity is one of the main footholds critics have. There are many others, such as the near-absolute de-emphasis of social skills. Who cares if you're popular? So long as you do well, you're a winner.
Everyone, right down to that tall, good-looking uber sportsman wants to get into a good college/university. Pity the students in Japan. If they want to try for four different schools, they have to cram for four different sets of exams. Yes, count. Four. Why so many? For security. The more schools you try for, the more you choices. And every school ahs a different entrance exam.
In fact, we are very good examples. You see the phrase "mugger dog" being thrown everywhere. Ask yourself, is it actually a bad thing? No. In fact, I personally would be ecstatic if I'm ever labeled as one. (I know I won't though. Not in me.)Like I said, education in Asia = Rote Learning. Even a below-average student has the ability to score all the As he wants. Just keep working at it until your brains fry.
Even English, which many students claim "it cannot be studied for" can actually be practiced to death. To the extent that, yes, only the passage and information required are different. Sounds familiar? Just like math.
Not essay writing, I hear you retort.
Heck, that's where you're wrong. Keep practicing your argumentative essays and you'll have it down to a pat in no time. Teachers only look out for a certain style of writing, anything different is usually not rewarded (best case scenario) or marked down. (Oops! Thanks for being creative/different. Try again!)
Combine the insane amount of rote-learning required with a near-fanatic, zealous belief in education where Asians are concerned and you get more stress than any western teen could handle. Sadly, this is the type of stress we're accustomed to, and we believe it's beneficial as it drives us to memorize (that's right, not study or pursue knowledge, but memorize based on a set amount of info.) more of our syllabus to score well in our 'examinations'.
Check out that article. A seven year old kid form Hong Kong flung herself off the top of a high-rise building because she failed her dictation test. Then there are the students who murdered their classmates because their less-than-ideal scores were poked fun of. It's not a sneaky kind of murder. The fella just walked up to his classmate and stabbed him.
Or how about the middle school (Primary school) student who sawed off the head of a nine year old, stuffed a piece of paper stating "Look what your education system has made me do." into the severed head's mouth and hung it on his school gates?
Gruesome.
According to the article, few Asian students pick up research in their further studies.
"A poll of 20-plus countries by the Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement discovered that Asian students scored second-lowest in enjoyment of math and science, even though they placed first in understanding of these subjects."
Suffice to say, most are studying for the sake of studying (Or should I say memorizing?) and not for the actual love of the subject. Think for a moment. Did Einstein keep persevering because he needed the money or because of his sheer love for Science? Can you think of one as-accomplished Asian scientists?
Of course, I'm not saying such a system has no merits. Singapore is consistently in the top positions of some 13 year old international maths and science competition thing. The other Asian countries (Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea etc.) are at least in the top 10.
What does it really mean though, in the real world? From what I gather, Asian students are champs at absorbing then vomiting out information. In other words, in a fixed, controlled enviroments, Asians tend to do better than their Western counterparts.
Again, think. Will the outside world be such a closed enviroment? Can we really deal with just the information given to us?
Of course, I'm not saying "Just keep inventing and improvising." Of course, you gotta have the basics nailed, but not to the extent where we are led to think "Just memorize the basics and I'll be fine, I think."
In conclusion, we're pretty much screwed when it comes to a world of change, where memorizing existing information just doesn't cut it. What we want is fresh, new things we never knew. Rote learning has to go.
On a more personal note, today's maths wasn't good. No, I do not like to keep practicing what I have no interest in over and over. Pretty much explains why my math and science 'exams' are so poor.
Went to Roxy for lunch with MC, Melvin, Daryl and some others. They played bridge. I got a little side-lined. Seems that inquisitive, talkative people are often ignored. That's all good, I know my limits.
They played bridge, I went home.
These words of mine, they hold no weight.