Reflections

"Singaporeans are very good at doing but not at reflecting." This was the gist of what the visiting professor was purportedly to have said. According to my tutor, the statement was met with stony silence from the Singaporeans present in the meeting that day.

While I think this may be an overstatement, I do believe on the whole majority of Singaporeans, indeed, South East Asians, tend to value action above reflection.

"Think so much for what?" is a comment I frequently get. This is partly, I suspect, due to our immigrant roots. Our forefathers, when they first arrived at these shores, did not survive hardship by philosophising about why the world is so tough or fed their families with wishing thinking about where the next meal would come. My tutor added that our nations (I'm referring to both Malaysia and Singapore) are young. Could this also be partly responsible for the anti-intellectualism so prevalent in our societies?

Despite the ever competitive paper chase I observe there is actually very little learning for the sake of gaining knowledge. Education is a means to an end, and not an end in itself. This endeavour should not then be called 'education' but more correctly mere 'literacy' as Francis Christie explained in her book "Literacy and Schooling" (Christie & Misson, 1998).

While this was necessary in the post war, post colonialism days, where new economies were burgeoning and literate workers were needed as "fodder" for the offices and work places, today the game has changed. Students who are very good at regurgitating facts will no longer be highly valued. And reflecting has become one of the more important tools of assessment of learning. Alvin Toffler, the futurist said, "the illiterate of the year 2000 will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."

I first encountered this business of reflection when I was doing my Cambridge International Diploma for Teachers and Trainers (CIDTT). Although in the end I got distinctions for writing good reflections for all the four modules, I had failed the third when I became lazy and did not put in enough thought into it and had to redo it. (I got a distinction for the resubmission.) But what I will never forget though was the examiner's comment on the third:

"Reflection too brief, insufficient evidence of learning."

In hindsight, that was the most valuable lesson I learned!

Indeed the reason for this Evening Primrose blog is not some fulfillment of a hidden egotistical bent in me that compels me to shout to the world to tell them what I think. It was at the prodding of my buddy Alwyn who has been encouraging me for ages to start blogging, coupled with my recent reflections on reflecting that made me finally decide to take the plunge. The tutor of one of my courses at NIE this semester, has also made it a requirement for us to submit a "Learning Log." It's essentially the same thing. I have found, despite a difficult start, after several entries, it got easier to write down one's reflection. And I felt this is a good way to discipline myself to pen down my thoughts.

I love the Problem Based Learning philosophy of Republic Polytechnic. I don't get paid extra for saying this, but I really believe this is the way to go for the future of the next generation. One of the things built into the assessment system is to make students reflect on their learning at the end of everyday. Alas, not all students understand the value of their Reflection Journal (or RJ, as it is known) and those who do make an effort often are unable to write with the depth that we look for as "evidence of learning."

When we ended our last lesson of the semester recently one of the task assigned to the class was a recap of what had been learned for the last 15 weeks. I decided to do a "Circle Time", something I learned from Jenny Mosley (check out http://www.circle-time.co.uk/) when I was in England. I ran through the list of all the topics we covered and asked them to share what they have learned.

The students often started by saying something like this:

"I learned that Taboo is about not saying bad things—"

"Wait," I would cut in. "I want to know what YOU learned. Don't tell me just the facts."

"I learned that people should not—"

"Wait,you are still giving me a textbook answer. What did YOU learn?"

I did not want regurgitation but I wanted to know how the learning had changed their lives, how they view things, how they will make decisions differently. Of the three classes I facilitated only one class was able to articulate and share their thoughts and insights. And even then only a third did the talking. (Is there a magic figure here? One third are the thinkers, the others are the doers?)

Upon reflection (pun intended, hahah!) one out of three isn't too bad a ratio. At the very least, it is a start.

Happy "Niu" and "Ox-picious" Year

"Whatcha got planned [for CNY], Mr C?" my ex-student asked me while chatting on MSN.

"I plan to say good bye to lots of hard earned $$$," I replied. When pressed for details I shared my discovery. "Hong baos don't come cheap here in Singapore."

To which the smart aleck pointed out, "Actually they do COME cheap. The problem is they don't GO cheap."

Touché!

"Singapore hong baos rates are higher than Malaysia," I continued. Bracing myself for the invasion of my polytechnic students, I had suggested to my wife that a token $2 will do. My wife replied with horror.

"Aiyo, so cheap! At least $4-lah!"

Our PRC Chinese foot masseur was rattling on and on last night. But I did find some of her insights interesting. Apparently, in China it is a minimum of $100 or not at all. She explained that they do not distribute hong baos in China like they do here but give them only to close relatives. Unlike here, it is quite OK not to give. In fact, it is better not to give than to give and appear cheap. Here is an appealing concept!

So it seems the practice here is literally one of "tokenism", or as they say in Mandarin "zuo ge yi si". Perhaps, I speculated, we have culturally altered the practice, a phenomenon which tends to happen when one is separate from the main body. Maybe people back then were poorer, having migrated here with nothing but the shirt on their back. They were probably more superstitious, as people are wont to be when they are desperate, and will clutch at any straws that might bring some relief to their hardship. Superstition is a powerful panacea.

If I remember correctly, as I was growing up I was told that giving hong baos brings luck. Being the pragmatic people that we are, I suppose this adaptation is a form of hedging our bets and marrying the best of both worlds: give in small amounts, and hope for large returns.

Something like buying 4D.

So...$10 hong baos?

Sigh!

Choices

It was documented by Discovery Channel that while some people thrive in situations where they are spoilt for choice, many experience stress when faced with too many choices and functions better when choices are limited.

The multi-definition of what a curriculum is, as discussed in today’s class, similarly evoked in me a certain amount of stress and distress that among my peers and colleagues there is apparently no consensus or common understanding as to what “curriculum” is. Is it a body of knowledge that must be taught, or processes that students should master, or is it a set of products students must be capable of producing?

Given the limited resources, particularly time, it is no wonder teachers tend to focus on just one of these three broad areas. But one wonders if this does justice to the students we are in charge of. Are we short-changing them when we focus on one area and not the other?

Similarly, the many models of curriculum based on different pedagogical theories present a dilemma to me. Which one is best? What is best? Which model is best suited to what situation? Once again, a heavy responsibility weighs on us as professionals given charge of the education of the next generation. Will it work? What if there is a wrong call?

This appears to be the case when the Communicative Method was touted as the way to go in language teaching. But now, with enough hindsight, we see an entire generation lost as far as accuracy in the language is concerned. Being one from this generation which was never taught grammar explicitly, I continue to feel handicapped when using the language. This is a sober reminder of the seriousness of the task of developing a curriculum that has a lifelong impact on the lives of an entire generation under our charge.

The Evening Primrose?

Douglas Keister, in his book "Stories in Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography" described the evening primrose as "flowers [that] open in the early evenings and close by mid morning. On a tombstone the evening primrose represents eternal love, memory, youth and hope and sadness.

As a newly middle-aged man, enough time has passed for the accumulation of many regrets over failure to achieve many things I set out to do. Yet, at 41, I am not too old that I have no time to try again to find my "personal legend" like the boy in Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist".

Like the Evening Primrose, having closed in the mid-morning of my youth, I still have a chance to bloom in the early evenings of my days on this earth. There is much sadness in my life, as I recall the memories of my gone-forever youth, yet much hope remains for the [God-willing] many days I still have left. And finally, like the symbolism of the flower, the eternal love of special people in my life, most notably my wife and my family, is not to be taken for granted. Warts and all, they still love me and I them unconditionally.

The Chinese name for Evening Primrose is Ye Lai Siang, which happens to be one of my favourite Chinese oldies. When I sort out the logistics, I will provide a link to the midi of my piano arrangement of this classic.

On that melancholy note I end my introduction. I asked my students in a recent lesson what do they understand by the term introduction. It is one of those words bandied around so often that no one stops to think about its meaning. My question was met by silence. Stepping up to one of them I extended my hand for a handshake and introduced myself. Then, turning back to the class I asked them what was I introducing when I shook their classmate's hand?

The answers:

Who am I.

What am I.

This entry, hopefully gives an insight into both.