School killed Confidence and Creativity ?
Mr Alfie Othman threw 2 questions to the audience ( http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/12/interesthink-3-gets-people-talking/ ):
How do we teach students to be creative? How do we teach students to be confident?
A few years back, I was teaching Sunday School in church. During the singing session, where the entire group of 3 – 7 yr olds gathered to have fun singing together, it was really easy to tell apart the 6 year olds from the 7 year olds.
Children 6 and below had a spark in their eyes, a joy in their movement. When they reached 7, this spark was gone, their movements muted.
What happened to them, that made them change so much in just one year? They entered primary school – that’s what happened.
Children who are in kindergarten or pre-school tend to respond freely to the Song Leader. They dance freely on their own accord, they sing loudly, they might run around a little, disturb their friends a little. When the Song Leader shouts a question out to the audience, they raise their hands, jumping up and down, shouting out their answers and opinions.
Meanwhile, the primary one group of students would be standing there, singing because they are supposed to, but they no longer jump up and shout out with enthusiastic spontaneity anymore.
They are the favorites of most Song Leaders, to be fair. They are the first group to respond when the Song Leader is trying to quiet the crowd, to get the crowd lined up into their respective age groups, or simply to respond to any instructions give. They sing when asked, stand when asked, answer questions only when called on and asked directly. Their answers are short, sharp and to the point, unlike the 3 year olds who tend to launch into their entire life history to explain their answer.
The Killing of Confidence and Creativity
What has happened here? Confidence has been killed, creativity has been killed.
In my view, children are born with a natural confidence and creativity. I’ll invite anyone looking for evidence to spend a day with a toddler. Ask the child a question, and she’s likely to give you all and any thing that pops into her mind without worrying if that’s correct or silly – that’s confidence. Leave a child alone at your work desk, and you’ll find him taking apart every gadget you have, or putting things together in the most unimaginable ways – that’s creativity.
So asking the question, How do we teach Confidence and Creativity ? , might be the wrong question to ask.
The question we need to ask is, How did we kill Confidence and Creativity?
And it’s so important to start with the right question, before we can get solutions that work.
So what killed confidence?
Here’s my take. When each test and assignment is graded, when students are separated into classes and schools according to their grades, it reinforces the message that “You’re not good enough” in EVERYBODY – yes, even that child who was second best in the whole country. Think about this, if your spouse told you, You are the second best in my life, or your parent told you, You are the second best child I love, would you feel happy that you are better than ten thousand others, or will you be devastated? How many test results does a child have to get back, before his confidence is shattered? Looking at the Primary One kids in my Sunday School, I’ll say, ‘Not many’.
How then do we assess students and motivate them to study? What other way is there?
I think the children have already given us the answers. Look at their games – their Xbox, their PSP. What motivates them to spend hours and hours on the games, ignoring their meals, their sleep, and everything else in life? The games that can be a much bigger challenge than Maths or Chinese or English combined.
I do find an addictive thrill trying a task again and again, till I’m good enough to advance to the next level, where I’ll try again and again to get to the next. I also know that if you put me at a gaming center, hired a tuition teacher to stand behind all of us, distribute big crosses whenever we make a mistake, constantly yell that’s not the right way to do something, distributed grades to all of us after each try, and gave us only 2 tries at most, I will never ever touch a game ever again.
I’m not an expert at game psychology, I can’t pinpoint an theories behind gaming motivation. But I suspect that we should get gamers and game designers into our education overhaul committees instead of educators, who are very experienced at killing confidence.
How about Creativity? What killed Creativity?
Coming from NUS Science, and being part of the emerging Life Sciences research industry, I’ve the privilege of saying that more than 50% of people are interact with are foreigners. The second most common trait (the first being apathy) that differentiates locals and foreigners is that locals are always looking for the “correct answer”. Have a discussion with locals about the education system, and half will be asking ‘ what is the right way to teach?’ ‘who knows the right way?’ ‘what are that person’s qualifications?’ – there is always this need to look at an authority to provide the answers, and there is always this need to look for a “qualified” person. The other half will of course tell you ‘I don’t know. No use one lah, cannot do anything about it anyway’. Foreigners on the other hand, will tell you their personal opinion, and the discussion will be about all the different opinions brought up, what their strengths and merits are. And all these locals and foreigners are your university graduates and PhD graduates.
I think an education system where there are answer sheets and model answers, where an answer is either right or wrong, and the teacher unilaterally determines the right and wrong, builds a culture where there is a “right” way for everything that is determined by a qualified authority. That is the antithesis of creativity.
You may ask, ‘Creative answers are possible for art and literature, but what about Mathematics? 2+2 will always be 4, there has to be a right answer!’
My proposal is this.
Stop setting questions that ask “ 2+2 = ?”
Instead ask “List 5 equations that give the answer 4”
Possible equations = 1 x 4 = 4 , 8 – 4 = 4 , 8 / 2 = 4 , 2+2 = 4, 20 – 16 = 4 ………. The answers are infinite….
Our grave need for an education overhaul
The need for an education overhaul that stops segregating students according to artificial measures of merit and that stops people from saying ‘No other way’ , goes far beyond education itself.
Our educational stratification and ways of selecting leaders from the elite has resulted in policy makers that see poverty as a number, a grade on their career exam sheet, and not the suffering and hopelessness that is the reality of 300,000 (Ravi Philemon, http://singaporesocialactivist.blogspot.com ), because they don’t have a single friend who cannot pass even primary school. The stratification has created a poverty trap as well, filled with the people who couldn’t pass primary school , and has not a single friend from the university to make them feel like that could be a possibility for them too.
Our education system that breeds a culture where there is a right answer to everything, and that right answer is determined by qualified authorities opens up a huge potential for abuse, where qualified authorities recommend policies out of their own self-interest, and no one questions them because of the strength of their qualifications.
What YOU , my reader, can do about this
My dear readers, if you have read up to this point, I want to go beyond thanking you. I want to ask you to take one more step, to share YOUR ideas. There are several ways to. The convenient way is to leave a comment, or email me privately at mathialee@yahoo.com . You can also give your feedback and suggestions directly to the government committee here http://app.reach.gov.sg/reach/Events/PRIMARYSCHOOLEDUCATIONREVIEW/tabid/149/Default.aspx .
But of course , you know the most important thing you must do : Stop killing the confidence and creativity of any child you might ever meet.
(Background: Mr Alfie Othman gave a talk at interesThink3 (http://theonlinecitizen.com/2008/12/interesthink-3-gets-people-talking/ ). Mr Alfie Othman is part of the Primary Education Review and Implementation (PERI) Committee is convened by the government to study ways to enhance primary education in Singapore. (http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/press/2008/10/ms-grace-fu-forms-primary-educ.php) )
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Good post mathia… Hope Today can take it up again. lol
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I love this article so much, I have to copy it into my blog. Sorry that I can’t write my own version, since I have been very well trained by the Singapore system. You have helped formed into words and sentences of what I feel is wrong about the education system. And yet, I will not be able to express it due to my lack of ability. Thanks for the insight. Cheers.
Thank you so very much for your kind compliments! Its very encouraging! However, I would like to disagree with you on something = )
I believe you DO have the ability to express it. I think EVERYONE has a view, and we don’t have to be pulizer prize winners to voice it out. It means so much more to hear what people really think, instead of getting caught up with language, so that we can all benefit from each other’s views. I think your comment is writen very well — perfectly understandable English, which is more than many people can already do — and so I believe if you choose to say it, you can!!! And so I do hope you do say something, on your blog, and i’m looking forward to read it =)
http://informationreadbyme.blogspot.com/2008/12/education-critera-can-we-change-it.html
Mathia, as per ur request.
Dennis:
I agree with Mathia, even if u feel u may not be able to write ur own version, i think being able to give ideas is a very powerful thing. Just give ur ideas to Mathia and she’ll do it when she’s free. =D
Hi Mathia, Joel here from U60. I just wanted to say that I share your sentiments, and I’ve definitely seen for myself how 7 seems to be the age where everything starts going wrong.
I think we can’t discount the fact that perhaps being in a more social environment like a school, the kids will be affected differently, but I’m also pretty certain that our education system has more to do with why our people are not creative (amongst a WHOLE load of other things).
Interestingly, my few teacher friends have shared with me how there is hope! Despite being taught in the way that we have for so many years, there exists a little sliver of hope at the ages post-secondary, where our minds are mature enough to be open to the idea of questioning what we’re thought. Of course, there needs to be an environment in which that needs to occur, an environment that’s still hardly present in many of our schools.
Unfortunately, the system is fraught with many problems. I think there are definitely people who are trying to change it, from above as well as below, but like many institutions, experience comes with baggage, which breeds a lot of resistance to new ideas, methods and pedagogy.
Being very interested in education myself, I’ve been trying to think of ways that can change the system that are effective AND palatable. I think there’s a certain amount of polarity in the sense that it’s either our very rigorous textbook-based system, or the more creative, though less substantial system like in America (which, I believe, is officially refered to as “The Wild Wild West”), and what we need to do is to come up with some sort of compromise or a new system (which, ironically requires creativity) that would be able to appeal to the traditional Singaporean idea of what school is, that is to learn a lot of things, get good grades which will then lead to a good job, as well as be sufficiently effective in terms of breeding creativity and confidence (and I’m not talking just introducing art programmes, or stupid things like speaking in front of the class for 3 minutes).
Most importantly, I think there definitely already are kids somewhere in the system who are looking for alternative ways to build their OWN creativity and confidence, and we need to tap on them to think of ways to spruce up the system. But how this is to be done, I suppose we need the help of teachers, which then has its own set of problems.
Ok, I have no idea where this is going, just some random thoughts. But great article! We need to start something instead of just complain about it!
Here’s an email I got from a reader, I’ll let him remain anonymous unless he chooses to comment here to claim credit = )
Our education system contains propaganda that propagates PAP’s pragmatism ideology. One’s ideology is not up to PAP to decide.
Secondly, students are not encouraged to think on their own feet, only selected students (e.g. those from top schools or top classes in most ordinary schools) are encouraged to think on their own feet.
Thirdly, student activism is heavily clamped down by systematic control on student unions, students clubs and societies. The sense of ownership is denied to student members by the fact that the club and union committee candidate pool must be screened by school staff first. My younger brother was persecuted by his school’s administration for campaigning for independent student union.
By systematically denying students from a young age a sense of ownership, our education system coerces students to be detached from their environment. Apathy, political or social, is systematically engineered into the student population.
A good education system should be one whereby streaming is minimised. I disagree that we ought to be streamed at Pri4 into EM1, EM2 or EM3 because PSLE streaming and O level streaming should be sufficient already.
Students should be encouraged to think for themselves by teaching them a general framework for analysis, and not tell them what to think.
A good example of schools in Singapore telling students what to think is Model Answer Approach. Students are spoon-fed with exam tips, pointers and are trained by their teachers to regurgitate model answers. It does not help students to develop situational awareness or a mental framework in assessing problems and formulate their own opinions.
What you end up is Singaporeans blindly following Model Answers dished out by the government. Look at the rush of Singaporeans enrolling for Life Science (Life Science Boom) in 2004, IT (Dot-Com boom) in 1996 at NUS/NTU without evaluating fundamentals such as the possibility that the boom will burst when they finally graduate.
Streaming is fine but it is overdone in Singapore because on top of national streaming, additional banding of students take place within the school. I don’t think schools should impose any form of banding on top of national streaming.
Building confidence and creativity do come hand in hand. Exercising creativity needs some degree of confidence too.
The notion of failure is a major stigmata in Singapore yet we should recognise that schools should be the grounds for students to experiment with ideas and learn from their mistakes and refine ideas.
Creativity is not a single Eureka moment but a continuous process of refining ideas from a concept into something tangible.
Confidence building is not just about getting students involves in activities that give back to the community. You should take note that forcing students against their will to take party in community project only make them feel more helpless or more apathetic towards their community..
CCAs are the best place for students to build confidence and other transferrable skills such as communication and team building. Students should be given 100% say on running the club and take initiative and leadership with teachers playing a minimal interventionist role. The main role of a teacher in a student club is to provide occupational safety oversight.
Hey Joel, thanks for gracing my blog! An honour! (Hey everyone! Joel is NOT an apathetic Singaporean, or someone without confidence and creativity to do something! He’s part of the team that brought us u60 (http://u60sg.org/) which I think took the common people of Singapore a quantum leap higher where human rights are concerned!)
Sometimes I wonder, what’s stopping all these positive change? All of these ideas you’re giving , and others in this comments section, are excellent. Its unthinkable that people in this ministry would not be able to come up with it, so I’ll assume they HAVE thought about this before. But why are things not done?
I think you hit it spot on when you say “Unfortunately, the system is fraught with many problems. I think there are definitely people who are trying to change it, from above as well as below, but like many institutions, experience comes with baggage, which breeds a lot of resistance to new ideas, methods and pedagogy.”
I suppose that means in thinking of ways we can improve the education (or any other) system, we shouldn’t be thinking about how the EDUCATION system should be changed, but rather, how do we change the PEOPLE system that determines the education system?
I guess that’s called POLITICS, and people have PhDs coming up with ideas on how politics can be changed. Can we as mere mortals do anything? What can we do?
And I heard that the biggest group putting up resistance to change is actually the PARENTS group. I wonder why? Perhaps here, public education is useful and necessary.
Joel, you’re compiling a list of actions we all can take right?? Really looking forward to that list! Thanks for all the effort and such a great job!
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When people criticize the school system and say it kills this, it kills that, my favorite response is that our schools merely reflect Singapore.
Thus, whatever is wrong with our schools is actually a reflection of what is wrong with Singapore.
Do we want our kids to be creative when it comes to politics? when it comes to freedom of speech? Hehe, there lies your answer, we only want creativity that the govt can control.
Is it a reflection? or a cause? or do they affect each other in a vicious cycle. If so, are you merely gonna throw up your hands in cynical resignation, or are you going to say, this can be changed, the only question is how, and I want to be part of this change?
These are some of my input.
As you have observed yourself, the creative process tend to be chaotic, destructive even. Oft times one has to destroy in order to create, just like the way volanic ash giving rise to fertile fields. In safe, stable Singapore, this is not a very desirable trait.
“Creativity” also apply to more unsavory things. Look at what “creative” financial products did to our economy.
Also, “creativity” is not really for everyone. If everyone is “creative”, then it becomes “the norm”.
Creativity is a neutral tool that can be used for destructive and constructive purposes. Do we condemn the knife simply because it can be a murder weapon?? That’s what JUST laws (as opposed to simply, laws) are for.
Why should it not be the norm for everyone to be “creative”?
We are in the Singapore Matrix. When given a choice, a lot of people choose the blue pill over the red pill. I think we are “plugged” into the matrix once we reach kindergartern/primary 1. When Morpheus visited you, did you take the blue pill or the red pill?
“You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed, and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you just how deep the rabbit hole goes.”
My point was that you have to change Singapore first, before the educational system can be changed.
How can I start doing that, hmm….. =)
Amused: I just want to argue that little point of yours that creativity is relative.
Because It’s not. Just because everyone is creative does not make any single person any less creative.
While the ideas themselves may be relatively creative, the trait of creativity is not.
Perhaps on this arbitrary scale with which we measure creativity, one person may appear to be less or more creative than his or her counterparts by means of what he or she creates, but there is a certain amount of absoluteness in how creative a person is.
It just so happens that in this country, it’s much easier to see where people lie on this scale because most of us tend to follow the tried and tested route, or what is given or told to us. In this case, it’s easy to see that creativity would be employing something that is different from what we are taught or used to, and coming up with ideas that are not trite.
Plus. Not everyone will be equally creative in every way, so there’s no way for creativity to become a norm, since there’s no norm of which to speak. (and even if there were, why would that be such a bad thing?)
As an engineer, being creative means finding solutions that are out of the box. You are given a scenario which sets some constraints. How do you come up with the solution? Do you use the tried and tested ways? You can’t, because you wont be able to satisfy the constraints. So think out of the box.
I think being creative means that we shouldn’t be just looking for tried and tested answers. We shouldn’t discourage people who come up with solutions that are strange, weird and out of the ordinary. We should encourage them, instead of discouraging them like saying “What a stupid answer?” I think this applies in school.
One of the best examples of creativity (though in a negative sense) is how people cheat and lie.
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Agree with you, every word of it.
Everyone went through primary school level will understand the idea of “pushing questions away” by emphasizing one way of thinking for answers. Seriously, it has a very significant impact on certain generations, especially those between 81 and 87.
My personal experience would be rejections from Teachers who refuses to explain to students how this or that method work, but rather “stick to textbooks”. I personally realise a working method for calculating square roots during primary school, only to be rejected by the teacher as “wrong method, use the one you saw in textbooks”, only years later (in fact, many many years later) to realise that the method I used is numerical method.
I strongly believe the wrong concept of teaching is killing the education system. We are depriving smart people from getting smarter, which is ridiculous in a sense. Educate the Teachers, not the students pls.
[...] “..How do we teach Confidence and Creativity?, might be the wrong question to ask. The question we need to ask is, How did we kill Confidence and Creativity?” Mathia Lee [...]
[...] of Politics National Service killed Patriotism December 22, 2008 Recently, I read a post on Mathia Lee’s Plans and Preoccupations which discusses how schools have killed confidence [...]
I do not think that the schools kill creativity totally.
There are so many crimes and sins all over the place. More and more crimes and sins are committed with creative methods and ways.