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NEW LEARNING PHILOSOPHY NEEDED
We inherited an education system from Britain that is geared towards producing students to pass examinations but who are unable to demonstrate having learnt a skill or knowledge that can relate to their daily existence. It is unfortunate that this is what learning means for many students. They must recognize that it is not.
This lack of understanding of what it means to learn continues to baffle educators whose interest is to produce passing students rather than learners. It shows that with regard to the function of education, our educators have lost their way and have yet to decode the system bequeathed to us, to make it more suitable to our needs. This has been a major problem which the Ministry of Education must tackle.
Today, many students have mastered the art of passing examinations by cramming as opposed to spending sufficient time to learn and gain knowledge of the subject at hand. While in some instances it is understood that passing examinations is not learning, educators and parents are gratified to see students achieve and maintain consistently good grades, even if they do not possess the essential competencies.
Most students who have graduated from high school and/or university with high grades still lack the skill set to write properly and the ability to apply themselves to the work environment, despite the fact that they have successfully completed the course of study that was meant to prepare them for the job market. Such practice could devastate the workforce, inhibit production and thus hinder the development of the country.
It is important to mention that many of our teachers are not trained to impart critical thinking skills, and this should be a cause for concern. Simple instructions in layman’s terms are oftentimes incomprehensible to students. The fact that the education system has made it easy for our students to pass examinations is a clear indication that it does not cater to learning.
It seems that brainstorming ideas about the topic is no longer taught in schools and that in most cases, homework assignments do not necessarily fulfill their intended function. Some students can merely copy the answers from their peers instead of doing the actual work because their goal is to obtain a high grade.
Many students do not understand the difference in meaning or have internalized the concepts between the aforementioned, namely learning and passing examinations. Our educators should raise the bar and challenge students to become actual learners.
The takeaway from this is that our students need to be re-socialized into learning. But many of them are of the opinion that they do not need to, which is indicative of the fact that, somewhere along the line, our educators have communicated intentionally or otherwise that getting a high grade is of supreme importance and that learning is not necessary.
These sorts of disparities exist in our education system because it continues to award students with high grades, despite the obvious shortcomings that continue to reveal themselves at later stages. Quite often, many of these students struggle to demonstrate any mastery of the fundamentals at a higher level.
This is a prime example of how our education system has been facilitating mediocre performances, and how many of our students are being deprived. There must be a set standard for education, and teachers must ensure that they employ strategies and approaches that will necessitate learning over passing examinations. We must develop a learning philosophy.
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The education system that we have now is not what we inherited.