Oh the irony, the year-end school holidays are here and all I can think about is this new documentary about schools! I was reading The Guardian today, which featured a new independent documentary curiously titled We Are The People We've Been Waiting For, which explores the relevance of the UK school system, including whether the education system is too academic focused.

The documentary isn't available outside of the UK yet as it only premiered last week (in the UK), but the trailer is availabe on YouTube and it is quite impressive. The movie website is at http://www.wearethepeoplemovie.com/.

The article in The Guardian and documentary concept is food for thought for educators, especially in Malaysia, whose school system draws heavily from the British system.

What questions should we, as educators, be asking ourselves and our superiors? And are we Malaysians brave enough to subject ourselves to public scrutiny and very likely criticisms in the quest to give our children the quality education they deserve?

"You want to do what?"

The above is the reaction the average Malaysian straight As-in-PMR student ellicits from his or her parents after announcing the intention to enter the Arts and not Science stream at the upper secondary level.

Most 'dutiful children' falter and succumb to their parents' wishes that they join the ranks of their 'brainy' peers instead of pursuing their artistic interests. "What could be worse than being stuck with the under-performers in the Arts stream?", the student reasons.

Being stuck in a career that you hate at age 50 because you didn't listen to your inner voice when you were 15, for one.

I'm not a big fan of streaming, I think students should be exposed to the arts and sciences regardless of their academic abilities. But I do believe that students should be allowed to choose their own life path (I certainly did), regardless of how well it goes down with parents or peers.

Which is why I was delighted to read a post in today's The Answer Sheet that supports the teaching and learning of the arts. Clearly the biased view towards the sciences is universal, but as the blogger writes, this doesn't have to be the case.

Read the full story here.

Source: http://bestofmichaeljackson.jclondon.com

I didn't grow up wanting to be a teacher. Like the rest of my family, I wanted to be "somebody" with a high-flying career, fancy car, fancy house, rich and gorgeous husbands, adorable kids--the whole works. I even walked the tried-and-true path in my family and did a 'marketable' degree.

Sound familiar? It's the life story of every other Asian adult, who over-achieves to please their parents, grandparents, but mostly nosy neighbours and extended relatives. Often, that means silencing your heart and doing what your brain has been force-fed with all your life.

If you're really lucky, a life-changing event (presumably one that does not kill you) happens to remind you of your ideals. Most people aren't so lucky, they go to their graves having lived someone else's life and wondering why they turned into grumpy old people.

But a rare few were lucky enough to follow their dreams, please their parents and live fabulous lives. But they didn't live to a ripe old age---think James Dean, Heath Ledger and now, Michael Jackson.

I'm writing this just an hour after watching MJ's "This Is It", which gives me plenty of pause for reflection. The first MJ song and music video I saw was "Beat It" at age six, and my fascination with his music and his roller-coaster life remains. And I realise now that I actually learnt quite a bit about education from the King of Pop:

Let children BE children. MJ didn't have that chance as a child, as he was forced to perform day in and day out to fulfill his father's ambitions. That meant no playing with other kids, no pets, no time off and no regular school. And look where that got him on a personal front as an adult. What can you do to avoid your kid crashing in about 20 years? Let them BREATHE. Stop this 24/7 cocktail of school, tuition and "co-curricular" classes. Your kid will thank you for it someday. 

Education outside the classroom. Sure, MJ was as guilty of radio-friendly pop fare as other pop stars. But he also wrote songs about loving the environment, racism and world peace---values that are not taught explicitly in schools (well, not in Malaysia, at least), but are more important than book knowledge.

Imagination is important. As an adult, Michael Jackson was not afraid to tap into his inner child (ok, maybe he went a bit too far with his Neverland ranch) but music videos like “Black or White” and “Man In The Mirror” showcased MJ's imaginative approach in teaching good values through his music. Imagination is one trait teachers can't have enough of. 

Don't stop believing. In a world where bad news is commonplace, MJ was one of a few singers who championed the rights of children, he believe they are future leaders of the world and told the world every chance he got. The next time you're feeling frustrated with that boy in your class who can't sit still or that group of girls who is always talking in class, remember that it is YOUR job too to believe in your “kids”.

Exceed your own expectations. Michael Jackson's first solo effort "Off The Wall" won him five prestigious music awards and 37% of the wholesale album profits. He surpassed his and the industry's expectations in 1982 with his "Thriller" album, which remains the best-selling album of all time. Then came "Bad", which had five no.1 hits, more than any album at the time. His concert tour broke two Guiness World records in 1987. And that was just during the first few years of his solo career.

Bottom-line: MJ taught me that to always aim higher. As  with other careerists, a teacher's greatest pride is accomplishing the impossible.

The US' National Academy of Education has released a white paper on teacher quality that all educators (and administrators) can learn from, regardless of nationality. It is precisely this kind of dedication and solidarity of purpose in reforming education that the Malaysian Ministry of Education should make its mission.  Professional development programmes for school teachers in Malaysia today are sporadic and outdated, trapping promising human capital in a cocoon of mediocrity. (And yes, I'm aware how dramatic that reads, but it's the truth. Any teacher who has attended a state-funded motivational or skills training course will know exactly what I mean).

Normally, I'm not a big fan of press releases, but the brief on the Reuters' site had more than piqued my interest. And so I visited the NAE website to take a look at the complete white paper.

Here are some of the NEA's recommendations (the full white paper is available at http://www.naeducation.org/Teacher_Quality_White_Paper.pdf):

RECOMMENDATION 1: School districts, states, and the federal government should continue to experiment with various approaches to teacher recruitment, while collecting data that can be used to improve approaches that are promising and end those that are not. Tools should be developed that can reliably establish that these new recruits have the skills they need to be successful from the start.

RECOMMENDATION 2: States, school districts, and the federal government should support research on a variety of approaches to teacher preparation. Investments should be made in research and development on the core practices and skills that early career teachers require; preparation programs should then focus on these skills.

RECOMMENDATION 3: States and the federal government should encourage and fund experimentation with a wide range of teacher retention strategies. This should include strategies that target individual teachers,such as financial incentives, as well as strategies
that target schools and districts through initiatives to improve school leadership, mentoring, and the provision of high-quality opportunities for professional growth. The federal government should also support the development of robust and valid measures of teacher quality that can be used in identifying which teachers are effective and should be retained.

RECOMMENDATION 4: Districts, states, and the federal government should take steps to improve teachers’ access to high-quality professional development that is appropriate to the grades, subjects, and students they are teaching. The federal government
should invest in research and development to strengthen professional development strategies.

Research suggests there are some key features of effective professional development for content teaching:
• It focuses on deepening subject matter knowledge specifically for teaching, including understanding how students learn and the specific difficulties they may encounter in mastering key concepts
• It involves enough time for significant learning (for example, a course or program of 40 or more hours distributed over 12 or more months)
• It is coherently related to what teachers are being asked to do and builds on what teachers already know and are able to do
• Educators are actively engaged, rather than just listening to a lecture or watching a demonstration and
• Teams of teachers from the same school participate and learn together, enabling them to support each other in using what they have learned.

Wishing all my Hindu readers a happy and prosperous Diwali. May it bring your peace, good fortune and the blessings of the universe.

Higher education costs are rising globally, however a good number of international students, Malaysians included, remain undeterred in pursuing a prestigious undergraduate or postgraduate degree in the UK. Have you wondered however, why is it you pay a whole lot more in tuition fees than the "locals"?

Mike Reddin, the 'architect of international student fees tables' , as The Guardian puts it, has the answers.

O' Reilly Radar has a compelling post about educational programming today:

"Our public broadcasting system should re-invent itself as a network for educational programming. Moreover, it should specifically focus on increasing public interest and engagement in science and civics. This is a vital public mission -- promoting science and technology literacy and creating a greater understanding of our own system of government.

Even in an age of YouTube, broadcast television has the ability to reach even those people who don't have ready access to the Internet. Television is a lowest common denominator, technologically speaking, and so it serves nearly everyone. That's why we should still care that some portion of broadcasting be allocated to serving a public good."

It struck me that educational programming the kind that actually involves educators is doable here in Malaysia, given the recent lament about our shortfall of scientists. The only questions left are "who", "how" and of course, "how much"?

According to a recent Swedish study, a woman with a university education can positively influence her and her partner's chances of a long life, says the BBC:

"A man whose partner had only a school education has a 25% greater risk of dying early than if she had had a university education, it suggests.

The authors say educated women may be more likely to understand the various health messages their families needed."

Read the whole article here.

More than half of teenagers from UK schools are 'downloading' their schoolwork from the Internet, says a recent article on the impact of mobile phones and the Internet on education by The Times Online. I wonder what numbers in Malaysia are like?