Response to “PPSMI – an Opposing View”
By AsamLaksa
PPSMI is a political issue whether you are pro or against. Both sides fell into this political trap. I can only shake my head in despair because nothing substantial is achieved whether you have PPSMI or not when the fundamentals of education is not addressed. Even if PPSMI returns it will be sitting on a time bomb because it is a political issue and can change at any time when sentiments shift. There is no security as you have already seen. On the other hand, a well-developed culture of teaching and learning along the lines of critical thinking instead of rote learning is a better guarantee of educational excellence.
Dear Feizrul,
This is in response to your letter:
http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/letterssurat/44246-ppsmi-an-opposing-view
I think you just barely scratched the surface but did not go deep enough. Perhaps you need to explore the issues wider. This letter is adding on to what I have already said about my opposition to PPSMI in previous postings in MT.
As a start, my background is of middle class urbanite educated in BM medium in a La Salle brother’s school. I speak mainly English at home. Yet I am anti-PPSMI. I think PAGE is barking up the wrong tree like you too. I am an Atheist and non-Malay. I graduated from a foreign English language dominant country. Thus I have no cultural or political motivation to preserve the supremacy of BM.
I am in agreement on the supremacy of English as an international medium and I can only stress on the importance of developing English language skills. But PPSMI is a different fish altogether!
I am against PPSMI from the start. After implementation of PPSMI I was against its repeal not because I think PPSMI is good but because flip-flopping causes more harm. I would prefer the PPSMI cohort complete their prescribed duration. But now with PPSMI repealed I do not want it back because on its own without real advances in education standard and delivery it is useless and I don’t want another traumatic flip-flop.
I keep on saying that if you want pupils to master English then teach them English well. My parents understood the importance of the English language and I was encouraged to read and write in English. In my late primary school years they sent me to an English tuition class at a neighbour’s who was an old-school English teacher who had strong passion for English and the lessons were not exam targeted. I think she accepted me as a tutee as simply being neighbourly. There were just two of us in a class. We had games and I was writing essays for fun. Being a naughty boy, I used to invent ridiculous themes in the making sentences exercises but my tutor took it in her stride to laugh along. It was the best tuition I ever had. I will follow this example when I have children.
I also have better Malay language skills than my peers. I was the odd one who would opt for cerpen in exams though I must add that during the SPM exams the cerpen topic was unimaginative so I ditched it. I enjoy reading sastera Melayu and I deplore the lack of good Malay books. When I did the SAT, I came across English mathematical terms that I have never come across but I translate them into Malay terms and scored full 800. Malay was no barrier in learning maths as long as I have strong maths fundamentals. Same goes with science because the principles don’t change just the terminology, which I learned on my own.
Learning science and maths in BM has not disadvantaged me in science and maths and these are my stronger subjects. I do not think language is an issue with science and maths. I knew many Chinese stream students who struggled with English yet do very well in English medium courses.
I have no qualms if they want to teach science and maths in Mandarin, Tamil, BM or whatever language as long as they teach the students the medium of instruction well including instilling a passion for the language because proficiency in languages is a lifelong learning process.
My experience of studying science and maths in Malaysia in the late 80s and early 90s is one of disappointment. The syllabus and the delivery were uninspiring. They do not prepare me for what is out there. For example I was taught how to carry out science experiments but never taught what the scientific method was. I was made to carry out research topics but the teachers were ill-equipped in assessing research. If I had it my way, I would revamp science and maths teaching regardless of the argument of medium of instruction which is an unneeded distraction. I would start with teacher training.
Many parents in Malaysia are gripped by insecurity and fear for the future of their children. There is a strong feeling of distrust against the authorities. This is what you are facing, Feizrul. PPSMI appears like a lifeline so they grab at it but it is a false promise and no panacea. It is not even worth arguing over. You can’t easily fight fear and insecurity.
There is a body of opinion for parents and students to decide which medium of instruction they prefer for science and maths but I think why just stop there? Why not fight for geography, history, and the rest to be taught in different mother tongues? The lack of a call for this does not give me confidence in the pro-choice group as I think they have not fully understood the underlying issue of poor education standards and delivery which will not be addressed with purely language choices.
PPSMI is a political issue whether you are pro or against. Both sides fell into this political trap. I can only shake my head in despair because nothing substantial is achieved whether you have PPSMI or not when the fundamentals of education is not addressed. Even if PPSMI returns it will be sitting on a time bomb because it is a political issue and can change at any time when sentiments shift. There is no security as you have already seen. On the other hand, a well-developed culture of teaching and learning along the lines of critical thinking instead of rote learning is a better guarantee of educational excellence.
I am disappointed with Malaysians in not coming together in figuring out what is really lacking with education in Malaysia. Both for and against PPSMI want the same thing, a brighter future for their children. Instead of putting pressure on the government to revamp the education system, you have let them off easily by fighting among yourself. BN special sauce of divide and rule all over again pitting the majority Malay against the rest. I have no illusion of Dr M’s beneficence in creating PPSMI. Those who can afford it are already laughing all the way to the bank knowing that the future of their children is secured.
If I have children I won’t bother screaming for PPSMI. Instead I would encourage them to develop a good language skills, depending on where I live it may be English, BM, etc. I would also make them understand the fundamentals of scientific method, critical thinking, encourage them to explore various subjects and teach them how to debate. These are the tasks that I will not entrust to anyone else.
I can only call on all Malaysians to come together to see this PPSMI political ploy as it is, leave all politics aside and push for real change by rallying behind serious academic educators, not politicians or lobby groups, to find a solution to the problem of falling education standards. You have your children’s future in your hands and you should aim for real benefits.
Anyway, who am I kidding? Malaysians to a fault are overly passionate and time and time again fail to look past this to really see what the problem is. I strongly empathise with RPK on this. Sigh!
