shuwenteo
10-04-2011, 11:00 AM
CELEBRATION time is here again! Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia super-achievers had their day of fame when the results were announced two weeks ago. Understandably, they were on cloud nine. Parents and teachers have every reason to be proud. The ministry ought to gloat, for this is the best SPM results in four years. According to the ministry, 368,559 students or 91.2 per cent got their certificates. There were 9,239 students who got A-, A and A+ in all subjects or 2.28 per cent of the total. There were 363 students who got all A+s, four of them with 12 A+s, making them the best overall students. Kudos to them. Despite worries that the Internet, TV and computer games are distracting our young, the results proved otherwise. Our students are managing the challenges well. I must add, among the super-achievers, May Lee Cai Ling from Sekolah Aminuddin Baki attributed her success to the creative works that she had been reading, among them The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter series. These works of literature helped her to think critically and creatively. At least some of them attributed their success to other books, not just text and workbooks.
I must admit our students are getting better by the year. I don't remember such stellar achievements during my days in school. Yes, there were bright ones, and they scored some As, but scoring 16As, as someone did not too long ago, was out of this world. Had the ministry not capped the number of subjects that can be taken, we would have seen a few students with more As than players in a rugby team. Which is staggering to say the least.
The super-achievers these days get feted, photographed and their stories in the papers and on TV. Good for them. They ought to motivate the rest. They are an inspiration to others. More remarkably, they are able to cope up with the high expectations demanded by parents and teachers. I'm sure there are tiger mothers and fathers among them who expect nothing less than top performance.
I am just wondering aloud what happened to the rest -- the other 97.72 per cent of students. Of course, there are those who scored a few As. And there are those who did not do well at all, the below-average students, or those whose results are just cukup makan or worse. Little or no attention is being paid to them. They are away from the limelight, swallowing their pride, having to live with parents and teachers who might even label them failures. Result announcements are horrible times for them. You won't see VIPs having their photographs taken with them.
Naturally, we like winners, not losers. We celebrate success. We want to prove our worth by narrating the success of our underlings, our subordinates, our students. Nothing wrong there. But we need to give attention to those who did not perform well, too, the average and below-average students, whose results we don't normally bother about. And, of course, the weak ones, the bottom 10 per cent, whom we normally assume are losers.
Not all students are bright, studious or tenacious. Some are slow starters, some are academically adverse, others have their own personal issues -- dyslexia, family background, medical conditions, whatever. There are those, of course, who are mentally incapable of coping with certain concepts and ideas -- some have problems grasping with numbers while others have difficulty comprehending complex matters. Many of them have normal physical dexterity, adequate memory and common sense. It is just that learning or studying is not one of their strengths.
There are those with mentally deficient intelligence (low IQ) and whose social behaviour is less than what is accepted as age-level standards. And there are slow learners, too. We normally lump them as "weak students" and place them in classes with the other "rejects" -- the naughty, lazy, unruly ones. More often than not, there is no proper help for them, no counselling, and no proper system to accommodate their requirements.
Some schools, in pursuit of good results, leave these students to fend for themselves. They are nothing more than spoilers and culprits who will bring down an otherwise better percentage of passes. They are merely statistical aberrations. When you have a large student population, you tend to concentrate on the better ones. Teachers are being pushed to ensure good results. They, too, are feted and celebrated when they deliver the most As and passes for the subjects they teach.
But average and below average students need attention, in fact more so. Not all students are born equal. Not all are academically sound. Some are studious beyond reproach, others are playful but equally able. They may be weak academically but excel in other fields. Not all good students should to be channelled to the sciences. Many would want to opt for humanities and social sciences. The wisdom at one point was that all above-average students must join the science streams in national schools. We assumed only students in the sciences could propel this nation to greater heights. The bias and prejudice towards non-science students are evident in the system, even today.
We certainly need our students to perform well. And for the brightest to pursue their studies in the best universities in the land and abroad. But a nation needs all. We need workers of all types and grades with a variety of abilities. We need human capital that transcends all disciplines. And more importantly, we need creative and innovative people to compete among the best. We want "survivors", too, not just excellent graduates with few skills to survive in real life.
Creativity can come from anyone, the guys behind some of the world's greatest inventions were not all geniuses. The cyber lords were largely dropouts or ordinary blokes, yet they came out with ingenuity, freshness and originality in their creations. They made tonnes of money in the process. There are others who excel in being contrarian. Street-smartness can't be learnt in classrooms. In short, given the opportunity, lots of hard work, and a bit of luck, anyone can succeed.
To the super-achievers, congratulations. To the rest, lift your chin, walk tall, follow your hearts, do what you think is best, you will succeed in life, too.
Read more: Remember the weak SPM students, too (http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/21brk/Article/#ixzz1J5LX4uho) http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/21brk/Article/#ixzz1J5LX4uho
I must admit our students are getting better by the year. I don't remember such stellar achievements during my days in school. Yes, there were bright ones, and they scored some As, but scoring 16As, as someone did not too long ago, was out of this world. Had the ministry not capped the number of subjects that can be taken, we would have seen a few students with more As than players in a rugby team. Which is staggering to say the least.
The super-achievers these days get feted, photographed and their stories in the papers and on TV. Good for them. They ought to motivate the rest. They are an inspiration to others. More remarkably, they are able to cope up with the high expectations demanded by parents and teachers. I'm sure there are tiger mothers and fathers among them who expect nothing less than top performance.
I am just wondering aloud what happened to the rest -- the other 97.72 per cent of students. Of course, there are those who scored a few As. And there are those who did not do well at all, the below-average students, or those whose results are just cukup makan or worse. Little or no attention is being paid to them. They are away from the limelight, swallowing their pride, having to live with parents and teachers who might even label them failures. Result announcements are horrible times for them. You won't see VIPs having their photographs taken with them.
Naturally, we like winners, not losers. We celebrate success. We want to prove our worth by narrating the success of our underlings, our subordinates, our students. Nothing wrong there. But we need to give attention to those who did not perform well, too, the average and below-average students, whose results we don't normally bother about. And, of course, the weak ones, the bottom 10 per cent, whom we normally assume are losers.
Not all students are bright, studious or tenacious. Some are slow starters, some are academically adverse, others have their own personal issues -- dyslexia, family background, medical conditions, whatever. There are those, of course, who are mentally incapable of coping with certain concepts and ideas -- some have problems grasping with numbers while others have difficulty comprehending complex matters. Many of them have normal physical dexterity, adequate memory and common sense. It is just that learning or studying is not one of their strengths.
There are those with mentally deficient intelligence (low IQ) and whose social behaviour is less than what is accepted as age-level standards. And there are slow learners, too. We normally lump them as "weak students" and place them in classes with the other "rejects" -- the naughty, lazy, unruly ones. More often than not, there is no proper help for them, no counselling, and no proper system to accommodate their requirements.
Some schools, in pursuit of good results, leave these students to fend for themselves. They are nothing more than spoilers and culprits who will bring down an otherwise better percentage of passes. They are merely statistical aberrations. When you have a large student population, you tend to concentrate on the better ones. Teachers are being pushed to ensure good results. They, too, are feted and celebrated when they deliver the most As and passes for the subjects they teach.
But average and below average students need attention, in fact more so. Not all students are born equal. Not all are academically sound. Some are studious beyond reproach, others are playful but equally able. They may be weak academically but excel in other fields. Not all good students should to be channelled to the sciences. Many would want to opt for humanities and social sciences. The wisdom at one point was that all above-average students must join the science streams in national schools. We assumed only students in the sciences could propel this nation to greater heights. The bias and prejudice towards non-science students are evident in the system, even today.
We certainly need our students to perform well. And for the brightest to pursue their studies in the best universities in the land and abroad. But a nation needs all. We need workers of all types and grades with a variety of abilities. We need human capital that transcends all disciplines. And more importantly, we need creative and innovative people to compete among the best. We want "survivors", too, not just excellent graduates with few skills to survive in real life.
Creativity can come from anyone, the guys behind some of the world's greatest inventions were not all geniuses. The cyber lords were largely dropouts or ordinary blokes, yet they came out with ingenuity, freshness and originality in their creations. They made tonnes of money in the process. There are others who excel in being contrarian. Street-smartness can't be learnt in classrooms. In short, given the opportunity, lots of hard work, and a bit of luck, anyone can succeed.
To the super-achievers, congratulations. To the rest, lift your chin, walk tall, follow your hearts, do what you think is best, you will succeed in life, too.
Read more: Remember the weak SPM students, too (http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/21brk/Article/#ixzz1J5LX4uho) http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/21brk/Article/#ixzz1J5LX4uho