some questions I pondered:
- what should education be?
- what constitues knowledge?
- how the Singapore education system is like?
- how to integrate Montessori’s theory into education?
Firstly, being in the education system for more than a decade, I have always hope that the education that I’m going through was different. An education that I hope for is one that allows students to enjoy learning and have fun in learning. It should be something that students will look forward to instead of treating it as a drudgery. The strong emphasis on academic grades should be reviewed as it is a ‘killer’ to children’s passion in learning. There is a need for students and parents to shift away from the concept of ’paper chase’. Children today carry the the mindset that if they do not do well in school, their future will be ruined. I’m sure all children are born to be curious. However, grades-orientated thinking evaded their will to discover and seek for solutions as it would be a ‘waste of time and effort’ to do anything besides ‘mugging’.
Secondly, I feel that education should allow students to learn at their own pace since the learning ability of each child is different. By allowing them to learn at their own pace, students will naturally enjoy the process of learning. Anyway, to me, I treasure the ’process’ more than the ‘results’ as it is during the process of doing something that I really learn and pick up valuable skills and experiences. Although good results will provide me with a sense of achievement, this satisfaction only has a short life span. What happens if my results are below expectation?? Students normally will feel discouraged and lose the drive to move on and excel. Many will find it difficult to stand back on their feet and try again. Thus, it is important for students to realise that it is the process that matters.
Thirdly, the purpose of schooling is the transmission of knowledge from a teacher to her students. However, what is knowledge? As defined by the dictionary, knowledge is
- acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles, as from study or investigation; general erudition
- acquaintance or familiarity gained by sight, experience, or report: a knowledge of human nature.
- the fact or state of knowing; the perception of fact or truth; clear and certain mental apprehension.
Since, knowledge are gained by sight, experience or report, studying from the textbook alone is not enough. Students need to understand and be adept in putting the skills and information that have learnt in class into application with the problems and challenges they face in the real world. They need to make sense of the materials that they are studying and not memorising blindly with the sole purpose of getting through their examinations. In order to say that one has acquired knowledge, one has to be able to make connections between theory and the real world. Also, one has to be able to judge if a source is reliable and filter the vast information one encountered through the media and the Internet.
As I have mentioned, every child has different learning needs. Therefore, teachers can consider integrating the Montessori’s theory into their lessons since it believes that children learn through movement and that children should have the freedom to choose what they want to learn. Teachers can carry out their lessons through role-playing, games, hands-on activities which are quite effective learning tools as they cater to children with different learning styles. It involves movement for the kineasthetic, colours for the visual, and sounds through speech and discussions for the audio. Students will have the freedom to choose the way to perform and the way to create their end-products. During the process, students’ creativity will also be enhanced.
-Vivian
