museum at Stadhuys, Malacca

With all the criticisms about Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2007, I somehow feel that it isn't quite true especially when you are in Malacca. I was there yesterday and I can feel the VMY atmosphere there.

Since this week is school holiday, parents should take the opportunity to bring their children, especially those studying in lower secondary level (Form 1-3) to the museum which is located at the Stadhuys building, Malacca.

In the Form 1 syllabus, students are required to learn about the rise and fall of Malacca. So, there's no better place to learn than the museum itself.

At the first floor of the museum, the history of Malacca began with the story of the arrival of Parameswara who founded Malacca. in the 15th century. You will also read about the relationship between Malacca and China, Hang Tuah and friends, the sultanate in Malacca, Portuguese, Dutch and British colonization, as well as Japanese occupation. There's also a special gallery for Admiral Zheng He to commemorate the ties between China and Malacca in the 15th century.

The entrance fee is RM5 for adults and RM3 for kids. If your child doesn't like Sejarah, it's time to plan a trip there.

parents and teachers - partners or rivals?

I've created a poll which I placed on the sidebar. Recently I've been working on a research project about teachers-parents partnerships. Well, the poll is definitely not going to be used in my research but I would like to know your opinion whether you are a student, parent, grandparent or single working adult.

Parents often feel that what they want for their child is somehow in conflict with what the principal / headmaster / teachers wants for the school as a whole.

Teachers on the other hand feel that parents are too demanding and do not understand their job. Meanwhile, principal or headmaster wants parents to stay behind the school gates during school hours by giving security reason. Schools often confining parents' role to money raising and denying them from any constructive part in the education of their child.

I believe there's a need to improve the relationships between these parties. Yes, there are Parents Teachers Associations (PTAs) in every school but these PTAs can be a gimmick. Most PTAs do not gain full support from parents. Attendance rates are low. Many parents do not see the needs to attend. Teachers are also reluctant to join unless they were dragged by their principal or headmaster.

The lack of communication between parents and teachers can also be reflected in students report card. Even if there's an open day for parents to meet their child's form teacher to collect report card, how often is the communication is a two way traffic? How many teachers ask parents for information? And how many parents actually share information with their child's teacher?

This can be a long discussion. So, I'll just have to stop now and continue in the next post.

homework for parents

I believe most teachers would like to get to know their students well. Hence, they would usually ask their students to introduce themselves during the first day of class.

There's a better way to get to know your students. Tell your class that you are assigning their parents homework (the kids must be very happy!). Explain to your students that you need their parents to write a letter to discuss about them (likes, dislikes, achievements, concerns, etc).

I believe parents will respond well to this initiative.

advance in technology but not quality?

Yesterday, I read with interest the report on “E-report card” (Sunday Star, May 15).

Credit should be given to the Ministry of Education (MOE) for initiating to build a comprehensive database of all primary and secondary students. Being an educator who are technology savvy, I truly support this project. Similar concept has been widely used in higher education institutions and proven to be successful.

However, there are a couple of things that MOE should look into when implementing this project.

If you ask any teachers why he or she choose to teach, the answer is most likely the same: they love to teach and want children to learn through the process. The first thing that I learned (and will always remember) during my first lecture was the mission of a learning institution.

Teachers’ job function is to ensure effective teaching and learning. As mentioned by the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general Lok Yim Pheng, teachers should focus more on teaching and less clerical and non-professional work.

Database entry and information updates on monthly basis are tedious work. Moreover, teachers are used to record students’ attendance, grades and co-curriculum achievements manually.

It is not clear if this implementation will transform these tasks from manual to paperless. There should not be double work whereby teachers have to upload and transfer their manual records into their individual school’s server. If these need to be done, teachers’ assistants should be appointed to do the administrative work instead.

While it is convenient for parents to check their children’s performance online, we should continue the tradition whereby parents are invited to attend schools’ Open Day to get their children’s report cards.

This is a better way to keep an excellent two-way communication between parents and teachers. With the many issues revolve around the schools, personal touch is still the ideal medium for information exchange between the two parties.

We are slowly transforming our education environment to become technology-enabled. While there are many positive changes taking place, teachers should remain focus on their core duty and build better relationship with parents to ensure effective teaching and learning.