Originally posted by robertteh:
Human mind like the computer has many parts i.e. memory, system
inputs and output controls, coordinations, etc and CPU
architectures.
Obviously our system of education aims at only emphasising on one
compartment e.g. memory, regurgitation of facts or data, but seldom
on applications of knowledge, coordinations, systems or CPU
architectures.
that is exactly what i feel is not the case. our education system
isn't about memory and regurgitation. how can a memory chip compute
complex mathematical problems? that obviously has to be performed
by the CPU isn't it?
They have in their haste to promote mirror image of themselves
forgotten that a system based on academics are theoretical and
conceptual and does not necessary lead to final results -
entrepreneurship, creativity, applications of knowledge, and social
and cultural vibrancy of the whole people needed to bring about a
competitiven society.
theoretical yes, conceptual certainly. that's why little of what we
learn in school can be applied in working life. but that does not
mean it is rote learning or anything less rigorous. yes it is
learning for learning's sake rather than acquiring skills that
would someday provide for our livelihood but i think that's fine at
the high school level.
you can try to teach entrepreneurship in schools but at the end of
the day, bill and many entrepreneurs left school to become
entrepreneurs.
teach creativity perhaps but what good is that if at the end of the
day you have no place to show it? earlier someone mentioned and i
agweed that art of survival is all about politics - not creativity.
so while we emphasize teaching creativity yet we do not provide an
avenue for creativity to be expressed later on in life. something's
still amiss right? and it isn't in the schools. we don't have top
notch institutions and corporations in which our talents and
creativity can be expressed. many eventually do so only when they
left for the states.
application of knowledge is well provided for in our
polytechnics.
So if you ask : why are our students doing less well in adulthood,
the answers are clearly found in our leaders' narrrow-tracked
education system - over-emphasising on academics, memory and
regurgitation ability while not enough was being done to promote
knowledge applications and overall system architectures and social
and cultural development.
emphasising on academics we have been but not memorising nor
regurgitating. "promote knowledge applications" can already be
found in our polytechnics. as such the only "fault" you might find
in our school system is probably the 'A' level syllabus, which can
perhaps be less theoretical and more hands on. even so, what we did
not learn is not nearly as important as there is no place for us to
put our talent to good use. what we didn't learn in school we can
always learn later in life. but if there's no place for our
creative energies to be put to good use, what can we do except to
go to the states?
