The 5th Video: Exam Stress

There are a myriad of reasons why students are stressed. The foremost reason would be EXAMS. Why is that? Why do students quake with fear and shudder with fright whenever exam fever approaches? And why is this phenomenon even more prevalent among Singaporean students?

As Singapore is such a small country, she is heavily dependent on her people. As we are her only natural resource, it is only natural that we want the best of everything and strive to be #1 - be it having the best airport in the world, the tallest Ferris wheel, the cleanest town and even NeWater. This desire to make ourselves known to the world (you can't even see Singapore on an atlas) is of course filtered down to our education system. Now, Singapore has one of the finest and most sophisticated education system in the world. 

The product: highly-stressed students who are coffee and candy addicts. With higher emphasis on doing well in school as a stepping stone to land you your dream job and ensure you the best possible life (which is true for the most part), our students now view school life and inexorably, examinations, as an unwanted challenge and competition.

As seen from the videos, the students are stressed out over exams because of:

• parents' sometimes-too-high expectations
• sibling and even neighbourly rivalry
• the competitive nature of examinations
• the importance placed on examinations as a measure of a student's success
• the struggle between homework and tuition

This is a uniquely Singaporean event that all students have to face. Chalk it up for the record books, eh? Not only do students face this difficulty, educators are not exempted too. As teachers, we have a huge list of responsibilities and what seems to be a too-cramped curriculum to stuff anything else in. In the rush to complete the syllabus and our administrative duties, we may sometimes forget to let our students have fun and enjoy their time in school (I'm guilty of this sometimes :)). While it is important to help and guide our students to excel academically, it is equally important to instill in them moral, social and thinking skills to help them be better human beings.

Comments? I look forward to hear them!

Ain

The 4th Video: Home-School Relationship

I'm glad to say that I have not met any teacher who was as unreasonable as the one shown in the first scenario. It's crucial that, even though you may disagree wholeheartedly to a parent's opinions, personal values or decisions, he/she still deserve some respect and freedom of choice. Furthermore, in this day and age, our students are no longer viewed as "students", but "clients". This results in a severe change in how we treat and are treated by our "clients". Therefore, our clients' parents are, simply by association, clients as well.

I'd like to share an experience I had in my former school with you. May I? :)

I had a student in my p.3 class who was, diagnosed by the Special Needs Officer of that school, as having a learning disability. What made the situation worse was that his parents were in denial of his disability and hence, did not equip the child with the proper knowledge and skills to cope being in a standard classroom. This will sometimes have a very negative impact on both the students and I. An example of a severe class interruption would be during one of his anger outbursts (I feel that as he is also the only child, he is very much doted on and pampered) - he was angry at one of his groupmates so he took out his scissors and starting jabbing it at her. When I reprimanded him, he turned his anger towards me and started kicking and throwing his chair around. I had to evacuate the class (it was recess-time anyway) and brought in my Cooperating Teacher (CT) to help me handle the situation. Truth be told, I was very scared, flustered and overwhelmed. 

When my CT pulled me aside to share with me stories on this student, I realised how immense a parent's influence on a child. Because of his parents' values and behaviour, my student never learned how to cope with having autism, and ultimately how to manage his emotions. According to my CT, she has a hard time trying to handle this particular student, as she was new as this (as was I) and the lack of support and understanding from the parents aggravated the issue. I left the school before I could see whether I've made an impact in this student's life. 

Anyone would like to share their own stories?

Ain

The 3rd Video: Ahli

An account that is somewhat stereotypical of Malays, but sadly true (to a certain extent). As I am part Malay, I felt myself nodding in agreement at some of the comments stated. Though some of the views shared by the actors are those I disagree with, most of the opinions and thoughts brought up are what my family and fellow Malay Muslims peers frequently discuss. 

I'd like to add that I really like the comment by one of the actors, who said that Lee Kuan Yew believed that the air-conditioner is one of the reasons that Singapore was able to prosper! I agree with this comment, as because of our success as a nation and the lack of natural disasters attacking our country, even our foreign counterparts think of Singaporeans as "complacent whiners who don't know how lucky they are". (I asked some of my foreign friends). 

So what are the major social issues for the Malay community in Singapore? Work and money. Of course it is a prevalent topic for all races, but I feel that Malays place a higher and more important emphasis on this as a symbol of success. Also, the issue of the Malay youth was also brought up and discussed. The comment on the skimpier clothes on youth nowadays was exactly what my parents told me! In secondary school, I do actually have Malay Muslim friends who, upon leaving their house, would shed their clothes to be "free". The matter of "tudung girls" also came up, which I think is widely acknowledged by other races, partly due to the huge media coverage on the "tudung issue" several years back. In addition, this debate on the difference of culture and religion is one that is strongly pervasive in the Malay community in Singapore. 

As you can see from the video, some of the misconceptions there are on Malays are in part, believed and supported by fellow Malays themselves. Some of the stereotypes include Malays being stupid, lazy people who are very contented with things as they have no motivation and inspiration to do well and succeed.

With such racial stereotypes in mind, I find it imperative to not let it affect our treatment on our students. Yes, our students come from different backgrounds, not just in terms of race, but also religion, family morals and virtues and characteristics, so why should we just concentrate on race? To help students attain their own level of success in school, we have to treat them with fairness and as equals. (The Pledge now comes to mind. :))

What do you think?

Ain

P.S.: I second the motion of introducing more of such videos for this module. I think we can learn a lot from these videos and enrich our experience as educators. 

The 2nd Video: Romeo & Juliet Meets Frankenstein

Hahahahahahahahahaha....I have to stop laughing first. Okay, I'm done. 

I have to say, I LOVE this video. I never thought that combining Romeo & Juliet (perhaps one of the saddest stories by Shakespeare) with Frankenstein could have such a comedic effect! And the whole idea of setting it in a school context with the Chemistry Lab as Dr Frankenstein's castle, and The Ties & The Hats (The Montagues & Capulets respectively) is absolutely brilliant! Kudos Choa Chu Kang Seconday School!

From this video, I can see that the students put a lot of thought, time and effort into the project. This includes the large number of cast & crew and the storyline itself. By successfully integrating the story of Frankenstein with one of the most tragic love stories, the students have created a film that is both entertaining and thought-provoking. 

This is in line with MOE's Outcomes of Education, specifically:

• be willing to strive, take pride in work, value working with others
• be innovative - have a spirit of continual improvement, a lifelong habit of learning and an enterprising spirit in undertakings (Taken from MOE website)

As an educator, I try my best to encourage my students to think independently and incorporate critical & creative thinking skills in my lessons. One way would be to promote active questioning in classes to further their inquisitive nature. Another would be to integrate a subject with something they love or are unfamiliar with. Recently, for my p.3 Science lesson on Sink/Float Objects, I had them be pirates to complete an experiment. I also showed them a clip from Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean (the third installment was showing in cinemas then) and even dressed up as a pirate! It was really fun and exciting for both my students and I. After that, the students came up to me and offered various interesting and creative ideas for lessons. :)

So what I gleaned from this experience was: the most direct and efficient way to promote creative thinking and let students pursue their passions would be to model those attributes for them. If they see us doing and living the life, they would be more inclined to do so as well. 

Ain

The 1st Video: Social Cohesion

Well, firstly I'd like to say that I really enjoyed the video clip! It was short and hilarious, while getting the message across succinctly. And the "special appearance" of Mr Shamugaratnam was an excellent addition. 

Here are some of the stereotypes of the four kinds of race we have here (as seen from our passports). As a disclaimer, the next paragraph is not aimed to demean any race, including mine. :)

• Chinese - very studios and smart, kan chiong spider (why a spider?) and kiasu
• Malay - lazy, laid-back and fun-loving people, family-oriented
• Indian - smelly (curry: as the video pointed out), sporty and funny people
• Others (please specify) - it depends on which race actually...

These are from both mine and others' stereotypes of students from different races, which I compiled when I attended a Bridging Racial Stereotypes Seminar for Teachers in my previous school. (It was an eye-opening and humbling experience for me). There were a lot more, but I will not be including them here. 

That said, it's nearly impossible to stop our students from having and forming stereotypes of different people on their own. It's only human, this need to define and classify things into specific categories. However, we can, as teachers, inform our students not to focus on the negative stereotypes, but the positive. Perhaps, we can do more for our students than just depending on school activities (e.g. Racial Harmony Day) to let them experience the life, culture and customs of different races. 

Anyone wants to share their ideas? Or perhaps you've already done it for your students. Please share them!

Ain