Attitudes Towards Change

[William M Tweedie]

Asian education systems are in a state of change unlike any other time in history. Two broad factors causing and influencing this change are the incredibly rapid advances in the deployment of technology, especially the World Wide Web and Internet, and the expanding use of English as the language of global business, science and education.

How have these factors affected you, personally, as educators in your communities? Are you confident in your role as agents of change? If so, where do you draw this confidence from? What are your students' attitudes towards change?

[Rasid Harun]

CHANGE?

My students' AND teachers' attitudes;

Very difficult. Why change? Painful. Students not ready (student?)
Very hard. Only change when crisis comes-
(teaching examination classes - "IT'S LIKE SAVING UP SEX FOR OLD
AGE" - Warren Buffet ) What say you ROD

[Rod Deering]

In reply to you Rasid, here is what I shared with Bachelor of Education students at the University of Tasmania recently.

Unfortunately in exam obsessed systems it becomes extremely difficult to get teachers to adopt more flexible student centered approaches. Everyone feels under pressure to get results. If a teacher were to change their style or approach in any way, with that comes uncertainty. What if things don't work out and exam results fall as a result? The teacher may come under attack from any number of directions. I really don't get a sense that teachers would receive any kind of amnesty from the possibility of professional vilification if they were to try something new and students results in exams fell. Therefore teachers generally would prefer to stick to what they know best and give the system what it is looking for... good exam results. That involves telling students what they need to know and students cramming the information until they know it. Positioning and explaining learning within an authentic context is an after thought there may or may not be time for. Teachers in Malaysia have heard about cooperative learning and constructivism, etc but there has never been any mass effort to make those things a common part of professional practice or even a part of teachers' professional dialogue. In fact schools here are more interested in getting a handful of students with straight As than see the school's overall grade point average improve. Somehow the production of straight A students shows that excellent teaching must be going on in the school. Of course some teachers do take the time to give students reasons for learning other than for exams and to make learning relevant to students' lives. However, these examples will be found more in the elite schools. But believe it or not there are greater problems within the system. Apathy, large numbers of kids with learning difficulties and the appalling level of religious indoctrination going on... in public schools!!! Sorry folks but that's a deal breaker for me.

Religion is a personal and private matter that I think should be left to the family to deal with. When religion is studied in school then all the major religions should be covered. My high school politics teacher was very careful never to reveal his political persuasions even though we had some fantastic debates. That was an honorable and highly professional move on his part. Yet there are many people out there who hold the rather pious view that children require religious education so that they can develop a moral rudder or a particular identity. Their agenda may not be educational but theocratic.

From what I've read, most private schools in Australia are faith-based schools. They have a right to make it clear that their school ethos is based on the particular faith to which it is attached. But what about public education? Public education should be about education for all, regardless of race, creed or color. John Howard's recent splurge on sending Chaplains into public schools sickened me to the core. Not 'counselors'... but 'chaplains'. It seemed to slip by public scrutiny a little too easily for my liking. Multiracial, pluralist societies have to have principles upon which people of all backgrounds can enjoy a PUBLICly funded education that does not seek to advertise or persuade some particular kind of theocracy into the minds of children... however benign it might seem. That's the parents business... not schools'. But having just read "The Stupid Country: How Australia is dismantling public education" by Bonnor & Caro, such incursions against the old educational mantra of 'free, compulsory and secular' is to be expected.

Apart from all the things we have learned in this B. Ed., we will see a lot of other things going on in education, some of which will inspire and some of which will disturb. Is Howard's move an attempt to spread the word of Christ under the guise of supporting children? If he had have dumped over $100 million dollars into chaplains for private schools I would have simply thought, oh well... yet more money for private schools. If he had spent the money on funding COUNSELORS for public schools, I would warmly support it. If you want to see what happens when theocracy takes over public education come to Malaysia. I want to see Australia remain a pluralist nation with a strong, balanced system of public education that supports and respects diversity. I want to be teaching in an environment where I can openly discuss culture, religion and politics. We can't do that in Malaysia. Why? Because over the past 30 years the emergence of strong religious practices throughout public institutions has divided people. Let that be a lesson to all of us who value and respect diversity. There are many people in Malaysia of all races and religions who feel the same way I do... we all want the same thing; to be accepted for who we are and to enjoy and learn from our differences. Recently, the Sultan of Perak was brave enough to say publicly what I'm saying here. I hope influential others will join him.

[Rasid Harun]

I agree to what you said, the problem is the system being politicised and comercilised just for political mileage, the system should be 'From Built to last TO success to last'. talking about success Drucker admonished ' Until you "FIGURE OUT WHAT SUCCESS MEANS" to you personally and organization, leadership is as almost "POINTLESS CONVERSATION". Make an evaluation, what really happening, I just can say, "fish gets rot from the head" Regards