Education to Change the World: Learning for realising one’s personal, social and ecological potential [1]

Posted by Editor21C in Directions in Education, Education Policy and Politics, Social Justice and Equity through Education.
Tags: ecopedagogy, education and transformation, environmental education, holistic education, social ecology
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from Professor Stuart Hill
Consider the points below as five preliminary provocations for reflection:
1. Anything that anyone has ever learned – and much, much more – can be learned by everyone.
2. Most of what is, is unknown. Whereas cleverness is concerned with the miniscule known, one requires wisdom, experience and intuition to engage with the unknown. Sadly current curricula, and the naive concept of ‘evidence-based decision making’, tend to neglect the unknown and the need to develop wisdom. The predictable catastrophic consequences, some of which – like species extinction – are irreversible.
 3. Throughout our history our species has evolved psychosocially[2] throughout most of the world to a ‘socialising’ culture, in which one generation designs and imposes the learning agenda on the next generation. The next step in our evolution is towards an ‘enabling’ culture, in which learners are enabled to clarify and achieve their unique (personal) and shared (social) learning agendas. Though we are a social species, rather than being socialised through education we need to be enabled to realise our social potential. Paradoxically, this is undermined by all socialising agendas, which learners respond to through diverse expressions of compliance, resistance, rebellion and withdrawal.
 4. Because of the above, strategies for motivating learning need to be recognised as part of this inappropriate ‘socialising’ approach to education – as our species is naturally passionate about learning (as learning organisms with personally relevant content, time and place specificities), and this needs to be recognised and effectively enabled .
 5. Money is just one of many tools that can be used in the service of achieving our ‘higher’ goals – such as enabling equitable and ongoing (resilient and sustainable) personal, social and ecological (and ‘spiritual’?) wellbeing. All institutional structures and processes, including those relating to money, urgently need to be collaboratively redesigned and managed (particularly regionally and locally – rather than just centrally) to reflect this understanding.

 Because of our limited understanding of the above (and many related other) ‘truths’, our species faces major personal, social and ecological challenges. It is important to ask: in what ways can education help us get out of the many messes we are in?  Most current education can’t.  In fact, it will definitely result in more mess.  So how can we learn our way forwards, and how might educators, at every level, from kindergarten to universities, be most helpful?  Well, this will require a number of important things to happen.  The first will be to dare to stop defending and perpetuating the status quo, which is what most educators do today; although usually without realising that they are doing this.  To change this we need to examine our educational systems critically; and to do this we need ‘testing questions’ related to the sort of lives it makes sense to hope to be able to live, and to the institutional structures and processes designed to support them.

Such institutions would need to effectively enable and nurture wellbeing and health (at every level), equity and social justice, peace and non-violence, love and compassion, sharing and collaboration, and ecological sustainability and healthy, species-rich ecosystems. These need to be the measures of our success, rather than growing productivity, consumption, profit and power.
At the personal level, ‘testing questions’ need to recognise individuals that are empowered, aware, with clear values and visions, in loving relationships, with a sense of purpose and meaning, and having competencies that enable them to make wise decisions and take effective, responsible actions that are life affirming[3].
Keeping all of this in mind, we should be in a position to ask the following two critical questions: ‘what in the current educational system is enabling any of this to happen?’ and ‘what is preventing this from happening?’  So, to improve things we would need to act in ways that nurture the former and phase out the latter.
We would also need to understand how each of us can best be enabled to learn.  My understanding of this is that we each have our own unique learning agenda and preferred ways of learning; and we tend to want to focus on one thing at a time, and pursue it obsessively until we have mastered it to our satisfaction.  This was particularly confirmed for me by the findings of a 15-year study called the Peckham Experiment[4]; and also in my work at the University of Western Sydney, where I aimed to enable students to learn about Social Ecology[5], which deals with all of the things I am discussing here.
So, organising learners into age groups, sticking them in classrooms, and subjecting them to imposed, diversified, daily curricula is clearly a recipe for disaster.  Predictably, most of the learners, for most of the time, are sitting there waiting for something to happen that is of relevance to their particular learning agenda.  It is a bit like roulette – with very few winners and lots of losers!
No wonder learners commonly don’t pay attention, misbehave, seek compensatory stimulation, go to sleep, drop out, and learn so little of what is being presented.  In such systems, learners really have only three choices: to go along with the agenda of the SYSTEM, and become ‘colonised’ and half dead in the process (which is what happened, and is still happening, to most of us); to rebel and tie up half of one’s energy in resisting the imposed learning agendas, and in trying to stay alive (this usually involves a diverse range of acting-out behaviours[6]); or to withdraw and drop out.    All of the world’s real geniuses, not surprisingly, were individuals who, in one way or another, were able to escape or recover from the ‘colonisation’ process.
It is not really very complex; indeed, it is actually profoundly simple: educators can be most effective by enabling learners to clarify what they want to learn, and in supporting them in their unique learning journeys.  This may involve empathetic, active listening, providing respectful, constructive feedback, appropriate challenging, facilitating access to relevant information and resources, mentoring, modelling and sharing (particularly of enabling stories from one’s own and other’s experiences, including from throughout history), acknowledging and celebrating efforts and achievements – and even, occasionally, when requested and appropriate, to actually do some ‘conventional’ teaching[7].
Because there is a limit to how much individual coaching our poorly paid and under-appreciated teachers can provide, a primary task of educators is to design, establish and maintain the structures and procedures that can provide the above ‘services’ through mutual support and collaboration within, and beyond, the school learning environment.
The underlying challenge, however, is to fundamentally transform our institutional structures and processes so that all of this can actually happen; and to be constantly ready to courageously take small meaningful initiatives whenever and wherever opportunities arise.
A visual comparison of key influencing variables within ‘transformative’ and ‘colonising’ educational systems is provided below in Figure 1. Thus, within the ‘transformative’ educational systems, equitable and respectful differentiation (valuing and working with difference) replaces hierarchical differentiation (with winners and losers); enabling spontaneity and deep subjectivity (and the associated development of wisdom) replaces an emphasis on control, predictability and naive objectivity (with its focus on memorisation and limited cleverness); and nurturing loving, mutualistic relationships (co-operacy[8]) replace a focus on individualism and competition[9].

Fig. 1.  Comparison of key elements of transformative and colonising education (modified from O’Sullivan 1999[10]).

Yes, if we approached education in this way humans might actually be enabled to become much more fully human, and who knows what might happen! Stuart Hill is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Education at the University of Western Sydney, Australia, and was the Foundation Chair of Social Ecology at UWS, a position he held with distinction for many years. His PowerPoint presentations on this may be downloaded from website: www.stuartbhill.com . His older publications may be found at: www.eap.mcgill.ca/general/home_frames.htm . His recent books are Ecological Pioneers: A Social History of Australian Ecological Thought and Action (with Dr Martin Mulligan; Cambridge UP, 2001) and Learning for Sustainable Living: Psychology of Ecological Transformation (with Dr Werner Sattmann-Frese; Lulu, 2008) and Social Ecology: Applying Ecological Understanding to our Lives and our Planet (with Dr David Wright and Dr Catherine Camden-Pratt;Hawthorn, 2011).

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[1] This is an edited version of the transcript of a talk that was broadcast on ABC Radio National at 5.55 pm, 3^rd August 2004; www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/perspective/stories/s1168070. See also:Hill SB (2001) Transformative outdoor education for healthy communities within sustainable environments. Pp. 7-19 in 12^th National Outdoor Education Conference: Education Outdoors – Our Sense of Place – Conference Proceedings. Victorian Outdoor Education Association, Carlton, VIC; and Hill SB, Wilson S, Watson K (2004) Learning ecology: a new approach to learning and transforming ecological consciousness: experiences from social ecology in Australia. Pp. 47-64 in O’Sullivan EV, Taylor M (eds), Learning Toward An Ecological Consciousness: Selected Transformative Practices. Palgrave Macmillan, New York.    [2] deMause L (2002) The Emotional Life of Nations. Other Press, New York. (See also: www.psychohistory.com).    [3] There is now an extensive literature on the paradigm shifts required for this cultural transformation; the following is one of the clearest recent statements: Drengson A (2011) Shifting paradigms: from technocrat to planetary person. Anthropology of Consciousness 22 (1): 9-32.    [4] Stallibrass, A (1989) Being Me and Also Us: Lessons From the Peckham Experiment. Scottish Academic Press, Edinburgh, UK. See also: www.thephf.org; www.ru.org/stalib.htm    [5] I define social ecology as: the study and practice of personal, social [including all economic, political and other institutional considerations], and ecological sustainability and change, based on the critical application and integration of ecological, humanistic, relational, community and ‘spiritual’ values to enable the sustained wellbeing of all. See also: Wright D, Camden-Pratt C, Hill S (eds) 2011. Social Ecology: Applying Ecological Understanding to our Lives and our Planet. Hawthorn Press, Stroud, UK. Powerpoint presentations on applied social ecology are available at: www.stuartbhill.com and www.scribd.com/doc/55937783; my latest publication on this is: Hill SB (2012 – in press). Considerations for enabling the ecological redesign of organic and conventional agriculture: a social ecology and psychological perspective. In: Penvern S, Bellon S, Savini I (eds). Organic Farming:  Prototype for Sustainable Agricultures. Springer, London.    [6] These are invariably addressed through ‘behaviour management’ strategies, which by focussing on the symptoms of the problem, and aiming to achieve compliance, fail to recognise, and thereby help perpetuate the underlying causes.    [7] Currently, this is being most effectively done in the best of the ‘democratic (alternative) schools’; see, for example, Hecht Y (2010) Democratic Education: A Beginning of a Story. Alternative Education Resource Organization, Roslyn Heights, NY.  See also:  www.yaacovhecht.com; www.educationrevolution.org;  www.idenetwork.org;  www.aapae.edu.au (the last two sites list the 14 ‘democratic schools’ in Australia).    [8] Collaborative pluralism in the service of wellbeing for all; Hunter D, Bailey A, Taylor B (1997) Co-operacy: A New Way of Being at Work. Tandem Press, Birkenhead, NZ.    [9] In the Peckham Experiment (mentioned earlier), when children were enabled to follow their own learning agendas, rather than those of adults, they showed little interest in competition, and focussed on improving their own performance over time.    [10] O’Sullivan, E (1999) Transformative Learning: Educational Vision for the 21^st Century. Zed Books, London. See also: Sattmann-Frese W, Hill SB (2008) Learning for Sustainability: Psychology of Ecological Transformation. Lulu, Morrisville, NC www.lulu.com

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Transforming learning through mEducation mEducation solutions could revolutionize learning for more than a billion students globally.

April 2012 | By Vivek Pandit, Jean-Christophe Lebraud, and Ramdoss Seetharaman

Technology is changing our world in ways unimaginable even a decade ago. Mobile technology in particular has begun to permeate our daily lives, providing unparalleled access to information. It is also raising the quality of education and improving access to it. Early initiatives in mobile education, or “mEducation,” are already enhancing learning outcomes worldwide.  With growing availability and demand, mEducation is poised to become a USD 70 billion market by 2020.
This research, conducted in partnership with GSMA, sizes the potential market for mEducation and offers insights into its potential to improve education delivery. The report shows that mEducation has the potential to improve learning outcomes in several ways, including:

• It simplifies access to content and experts, overcoming traditional constraints of time, location and collaboration
• It personalizes education solutions for individual learners, helping educators customize the teaching process, using software and interactive media that adapt levels of difficulty to individual students’ understanding and pace
• It addresses specific challenges that lower the efficiency of educational systems worldwide. Case in point: MIT’s Education Collaboration Services gives teachers access to best practices.

Furthermore, we estimate that by 2020,  mEducation could be a USD 38 billion revenue opportunity for mobile operators. To read more, download the report.

Downloads

• Download the white paper

How the world’s most improved school systems keep getting better

Our latest education report is the follow-up to the 2007 publication “How the world’s best performing school systems come out on top,” in which we examined the common attributes of high-performing school systems.
We compiled what we believe is the most comprehensive analysis of global school system reform ever assembled. This report identifies the reform elements that are replicable for school systems everywhere as well as what it really takes to achieve significant, sustained, and widespread gains in student outcomes.

In this new report, “How the world’s most improved school systems keep getting better,” we analyzed 20 systems from around the world, all with improving but differing levels of performance, examining how each has achieved significant, sustained, and widespread gains in student outcomes, as measured by international and national assessments.
Based on more than 200 interviews with system stakeholders and analysis of some 600 interventions carried out by these systems, this report identifies the reform elements that are replicable for school systems elsewhere as they move from poor to fair to good to great to excellent performance.
The systems we studied were Armenia, Aspire (a U.S. charter school system), Boston (Massachusetts), Chile, England, Ghana, Hong Kong, Jordan, Latvia, Lithuania, Long Beach (California), Madhya Pradesh (India), Minas Gerais (Brazil), Ontario (Canada), Poland, Saxony (Germany), Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, and Western Cape (South Africa).

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF EDUCATION MALAYSIA WITH INDONESIA

A. Problem Background Each country's education system is different with the emphasis on a particular variable in education. Variable contained on the objectives to be achieved both long and short term. So that will provide direction for the country to create the human form of the State and they want based on their human resource plans based on the educational system. The author tries to compare the two countries, namely Indonesia and Malaysia in the hope of eventually writers will know what things to consider when it will determine a system of education. This is in line with the opinion of Kendall and Nicholas Hanc quoted Nur (2002:4) who explains that the purpose of comparative education is to learn the principles of what really underlies the development of the national education system settings. Education in Malaysia is monitored by the Ministry of Education Government of the Guild. The majority of Malaysian children start school at the age of three to six years in kindergarten. Most of the kindergarten is run privately, but there is little kindergarten-run government. Children start school at age seven basis for six years to advance. There are two main types of primary schools run or aided the government. Native-language schools (School of type Nat) using Chinese or Tamil as the language of instruction. Before proceeding to the stage of secondary education, students in grade 6 are required to follow the Primary School Achievement Test (Lower School Achievement Test, UPSR). A program called Assessment Phase One, the PTS is used to measure the ability of the students are intelligent, and enabled them up from class 3 to class 5, skip class 4. [84] However, the program was abolished in 2001. Two-stage education in Malaysia held in the National High School (equivalent to junior high school in Indonesia +) for five years. Secondary School Nationality using Bahasa Malaysia as the language of instruction. Special subjects of Mathematics and Science are also non-Malay language, is valid from the year 2003, and before that all non-language subjects taught in Bahasa Malaysia. At the end of Form Three, the third grade, students are tested in the Lower Secondary Assessment, PMR. In the second stage of the fifth grade education (Form Five), students take exams Malaysia Education Diploma (Lessons Sijil Malaysia, SPM), which is equivalent to the former British Ordinary on stage 'O'. The oldest school in Malaysia is Penang Free School, is also the oldest school in South East Asia. Two stages of national education Malaysia is divided into several types, namely the National Secondary School (National School), Religious Secondary School (High School of Religion), National-Type Secondary School (Secondary School Nationality type) is also called the Mission School (Da'wah) , Technical School (School of Engineering), full boarding school, and the MARA Junior Science College (Maktab MARA Low Science). There are also 60 Chinese Independent High School in Malaysia, most of them Chinese-language instruction. Chinese Independent High School monitored and standardized by the United Chinese School Committees' Association of Malaysia (UCSCAM, more commonly known in Chinese, Dong Zong 董 总), but, unlike government schools, every independent school is free to determine the decision. Studying in independent schools takes 6 years to graduate, divided into the Junior Stage (3 years) and Senior Phase (3 years). Students will follow a standardized test conducted by UCSCAM, known as the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) (Joint Test Certificates) in Junior Middle 3 (equivalent to Lower Secondary Assessment) and Senior Middle 3 (equivalent to stage A). A number of independent schools conduct classes in English language in addition to Malaysia and Chinese language, allowing students to follow the Lower Secondary Assessment and Lessons Sijil Malaysia as well. Before the introduction of matriculation system, students who want to enter a public university must complete 18 months of additional secondary school in Form Six (class 6) and follow the High Sijil Malaysia schooling, STPM; the equivalent stage of British Advanced or 'A'. Due to the introduction of the matriculation program as an alternative to STPM in 1999, students who completed 12-month program in college matriculation (College matriculation in the language of Malaysia) may register at the local university. But, at the matriculation system, only 10% of seats are available for students of non-Bumiputra and the rest for Bumiputra students. There is a public university like the University of Malaya, University of Science Malaysia, University Putra Malaysia University of Technology Malaysia, University Technology Mara and University Kebangsaan Malaysia. Private universities are also getting quite a reputation for quality education and a lot of international students from around the world are interested in entering the universities. For example, Multimedia University, University Technology Petronas, and others. In addition, four international reputable universities have opened branch campuses in Malaysia since 1998. A branch campus can be seen as 'off-shore campus' of foreign universities, which give a lecture and award the same as the main campus. Students locally and internationally to achieve these identical foreign qualifications in Malaysia with low cost. Branch campuses of foreign universities in Malaysia are: Monash University Malaysia Campus, Curtin University of Technology Sarawak Campus, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus and University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. Students also have the option to enroll in private tertiary institutions after completing secondary education. Most of the institutions that link education with universities overseas such as in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, allowing students to spend a period of lecture with overseas qualifications. One example is the Segi College is partnering with the University of Abertay Dundee. [85] Malaysian Students studying outside the country such as Indonesia, the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, Japan and countries in the Middle East such as Jordan and Egypt. There is also the Malaysian students in some universities in South Korea, Germany, France, China, Ireland, India, Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic. In addition to the National Curriculum Malaysia, Malaysia has an international school. International schools offer students the opportunity to study the curricula of other countries. These schools opened primarily due to increased population of expatriates in the country. International Sekolat including: School Indonesia (Indonesia curriculum), Australian International School, Malaysia (Australian curriculum), Alice Smith School (British curriculum), ELC International School (British curriculum), Garden International School (British curriculum), Lodge International School (curriculum Britain), International School of Kuala Lumpur (American curriculum and International Baccalaureate), Japanese School of Kuala Lumpur (Japanese Curriculum), The Chinese Taipei School, Kuala Lumpur and The Chinese Taipei School, Penang (Curriculum Chinese-Taipei), International School of Penang (British Curriculum and International Baccalaureate), Lycée Français de Kuala Lumpur (French Curriculum), and others. B. Comparison of the education system in Indonesia and Malaysia The education system in both countries have differences between the education level with one another, so hopefully after we see the difference in both comparisons of this country in a balanced and proportionate to the end of this paper we can learn new things that might be adapted into the education system in Indonesia. Before comparing the educational system in the State of Malaysia, the authors will describe first the education system in Indonesia. A. Indonesia's education system The national education system of Indonesia consists of three types of education, namely: a. Prioritize public education expansion and improvement of general knowledge skills of students. Education specialization is required in class 12. b. Prepare the vocational education students in vocational skills that prepare the required number of workers. c. Special needs education provides the skills and abilities essential for students with physical and mental limitations d. Education service which aims to improve the ability dibutukan as preparation for prospective civil servants and non-departmental pemerintahtan department. e. Religious education to prepare students for a role that requires specialized knowledge of religion and related subjects. f. Academic-oriented education that focuses on improving the mastery of science g. Professional education specialization prepares students to master the job-related knowledge and skills. 2. Study of Education Formal education system consists of several levels pendidian, namely primary, secondary and higher education. Pre-school education is also included in the national education system of Indonesia. Pre-school education Pre-school education aims at stimulating physical and mental growth of students outside the family before entering primary school education. Purpose of pre-school education is to provide basic growth and development of attitudes, knowledge, skills, skills and initiative. Penddikan types of existing pre-school is kindergarten and play group. Kindergarten is part of basic education while playing outside the schooling system. Pre-school education provided to children from age 4 to 6 years who have the education of one or two years of education, while the play was followed by children aged three years dibawh. Primary education Primary education is the basis of nine-year education, which consists of a six-year basic school and three years of middle school. The goal of basic education is to give students a basic ketermapilan to develop themselves sebgai individuals, community members, citizens and members of the living creatures, Even so to continue their studies in secondary school. Elementary school (SD) conducting a six-tahun.hal education program consists of two different types of education, the public primary schools and primary schools for children with disabilities. (SDLB) Secondary school education program lasts for three years after eman-year basic education. As in grade school, high school's first junior high school made up of public and secondary schools for children with disabilities first. (SMPLB). There was also a primary school conducted by the ministry of Islamic religion. Primary basis of Islam (Islamic elementary schools or MI) at the elementary school (SD), and the first Islamic school (Madrasah tsanawiyah or MTs) with the same high school (SMP). Primary school curriculum consists of Pancasila, religion, citizenship education, Indoneisa language, reading and writing, mathematics, arithmetic, science and technology, geography, national and world history, handicrafts and arts, education, physical health, drawing, English and local charge. All these subjects were not names, but only the term in terms of personality and learning membebtuk elements that are taught and improved skills through basic education. Secondary Education This type of secondary education is a public high school, vocational high schools, religious schools, schools menegha service. Public high schools give priority to expanding knowledge and developing skills of students and prepare them to continue to continue their dtusi to higher education. Vocational high school education gives priority to expanding job skills and press on the preparation of students to enter the workforce and expand professional attitude. Religious education schools give priority to the mastery of specialized knowledge keagamaam. High school education that emphasizes service to the improvement in the ability to carry out the civil service or civil service candidates. High school special education and dirancag intended for students who have physical and mental limitations (see table 1) In Indonesia every level of education should be through national exams kejenjang what if you want to continue further. Similarly, when it will go on to college the student must follow a centralized SNCA. 2. Malaysian Education System Education in Malaysia as a whole under the law of the ministries of education, the responsible care of the education system from primary level to university, set the syllabus, control and oversee the development of a national exam education. Basic education in Malaysia last for six years. Education is intended to provide basic education for students to master the competencies of reading, and arithmetic menul1s. At the end of the school year students will be tested is called the Lower School Assessment Test / The Primary School Assessment Test (UPSR / PSAT). Regardless of their performance on the PSAT, all primary school students was raised to form one. Secondary school education is a continuation of the basic education level. Syllabus, curriculum Bersepaduan Middle School / Secondary School Integrated Curriculum (KBSM / SSIC) was developed to suit the needs and aspirations of the State. Secondary education is divided into three main levels: lower secondary level, upper secondary level and the level of pre Universiti. Lower secondary education in Malaysia prepares students to develop skills needed in life and can become a useful citizen of the State. After completing the third year, students are required to follow the national assessment test, assessment Medium Low / Lower Secondary Assessment (PMR / LSA). Student performance on the PMR / LSA will determine their academic majors to upper secondary level, ie whether to dijurusan science, art, engineering or vocational. The selection of students and academic departments at upper secondary level will be determined by kemetrian Education. At the end the two-year education in upper level education, students will be tested by the national exam required, Sijil Lesson Malaysia / Malaysia Certificate of Examination (SPN / MCE) or Sijil Vocational Studies Malaysia / Malaysian Vocational Certificate (SPM / Vince), if students choose vocational majors. Certificate of SPM / MCE / SPMV / Vince with O-level Cambridge University Examinations. Students in vocational majors will study vocational subjects related to other areas of study that is identical to another public school syllabus. They are required to follow Peperiksaan Sijil Pelajajran Malaysia Vocational (SPMV) at the end of the second academic year. For students who have good results could continue their studies to the local institutions of higher education or directly enter the job market. Kursurs Skills Training (Skills Training Course) is an additional program. Students will go through skills training program thus enabling them to follow the National Vocational Training Peperiksaan Asa Majilis (MLVK) at the end of a two-year educational program. They will then join the labor market or through top-level skills training (advance skills training) certain diwalau. Vocational training for youth is important for national development. In addition there is education kemetrian other ministries, public or private agencies involved in vocational training for young people to fill employment needs indrustri. In the pre-Universita education programs are classified into two groups, A Level and matriculation courses. Who entered the program is based on performance results (SPM / SPMV). For A Level courses, majoring in education is the art, science and engineering. Students will be required to follow the Higher Learning Malaysia Sijil Examination (STPM), which is regulated by the Malaysian Examination Council and accredited by the University of Cambridge Local examination of England Syndicate (UCLES). Qualifications are regulated by many universities in the world. Matriculation study program arranged mahasiswa candidate in a local university. This is a one-year academic foundation program, monitored by the host university and learning conducted in each public school or private

C. Conclusion Based on the descriptions that have uraiankan author, then the conclusion can be drawn are as follows: Each state's education system is very different. In Indonesia does not apply to automatic transision every level of education for each level of education required to sit the National Examination before proceeding to the next level. For example, junior high school students should follow the UN before going to high school. This is contrary to the education system in Malaysia in which the PSAT results are not decisive because every child must continue to form one. Malaysia has a preparation to enter college, called the A Level and matriculation study program. While in Indonesia the student / students who would go on to college must follow the SNCA. 

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What You Can Do at Home to Help Your Child Succeed at School

Research shows that children are more likely to succeed in school if parents or caregivers take an active part in their education. A good education is important for finding a good job and having a good future. It makes sense to help your child do well at school. Most parents want to get more involved in their child’s education, but may not be sure how to begin. A great starting point is sharing a positive attitude about school with your child.

Remember, you don’t have to know how to do the homework to help your child succeed in school.

Helping Your Child Succeed at School

Share your ideas about the importance of education with your child.
Talk about ties between what your child is learning today and how that knowledge might be used in the future. Begin to talk about possible education goals for your child. If you begin to think about goals, your child will, too. Talk about technical and professional schools in your area, careers that you find interesting, or people you have met that seemed to enjoy their work. Let your young student know that they have many educational possibilities!
Be careful not to pass on negative attitudes about school that may be a part of your own past experience.
Without realizing it, you could start your child off on the wrong foot by recalling bad memories from your own school days. Giving children the idea that school is too difficult, that teachers are unfair, or that school isn’t important will discourage them from doing well. Instead, talk about your friends from school, your favorite teachers or your best subject. If school was a bad experience for you, you might tell them you made the mistake of not liking school and you don’t want them to do the same.

A positive attitude about school is perhaps the most important gift you can give your child.

Help your child set education goals, both short term and long term.
Talk to your child about the future and plans for high school, technical school or college. Tell your child you hope they will be successful in school.
A short-term goal may be finishing a writing assignment by Sunday night.
A long-term goal could be attending a trade school, the local community college or a university after high school.
Talk to your child about what they are learning at school.
From kindergartner to high school senior, it’s important to ask students about their school subjects. Ask open-ended questions about their class work —questions that can’t be answered with a “yes” or ‘no.” Share any knowledge you have, and if you are curious, read the textbook!
Help your child get organized to do homework.
Create a study area or corner for homework. You can start this as early as first grade, and it becomes more important as homework is assigned. Have a table and chair in a quiet place away from the TV, perhaps in the corner of a bedroom. Add a lamp, if needed. Add a box for books and supplies. Make a special trip to the store to buy supplies such as paper, pencils, and colored pens. As your child gets older, add a clock. Help keep this area tidy and ready for use.
Have a place to keep all communications from school.
All schools are making an effort to keep in better touch with parents. Most communication is on paper and is sent home with your child. This includes reports on your child’s grades, lunch menus, coming events, newsletters, requests for materials from home, and so on. After you have read them, save them all in a box, basket, or easy-to-find location. This system will save the day over and over when a form needs to be read or returned to the school and your child is hurrying out the door. It takes some effort to make this plan work, but it also lets your student know that these communications from school are important to you.
Make rules about homework.
Decide with your child on a good time to do homework and stick to that schedule as much as possible. Try to keep noise down during study times.
Ask what homework your child has been assigned and look it over when it is finished. Don’t be a tyrant about homework, though. The goal is for the student to be responsible for getting it done without excessive nagging. If homework isn’t getting done, talk to the teacher about ways to help your child. A joint effort may work better than “laying down the law.” Some schools post assignments and grades online or record homework assignments on telephone voice mail.
Help with assignments if you are asked, but don’t feel bad if you are unfamiliar with a subject. School has changed since you attended! The teacher is always there for additional help.
Make interactive homework fun.
Many teachers assign projects that require a student to interview adult family members. For example, elementary students may ask questions about their ancestors: what was their country of origin and when did they come to North America Your young interviewer may ask opinions on current events, favorite books or hobbies. Respond with enthusiasm and give your child as much help and good information as you can. One of the purposes of this type of assignment is to practice good conversation skills with your children.
A study of students who get good grades showed that children whose parents talk to them almost every night at dinner do better in school than children who rarely talk to their parents except to argue. Message: try to eat one meal seated together and talk about what’s going on in everyone’s life without arguing.
Do a community service project together.
Watch for opportunities for the whole family to join a park cleanup, to collect food for the hungry, or simply to help an elderly neighbor with chores. Doing things together for others helps students practice cooperation and caring, skills they will need to be successful in school and on the job.
Help your child do research projects at your library, museum or nature center.
Provide transportation to the library for work on projects. Access to learning centers other than school introduces children to the world of learning outside of school.

Help your child succeed at school—work with the teacher!

One reason parents say they don’t know how to help their children at school is because schools have changed so much since they were students. Subject matter and teaching methods are different and unclear to parents. Parents often feel that teachers talk down to them or that teachers are not honest with them. Student learning patterns have also become much more visual and fast-paced with the advent of television and video games.
These barriers are very real. The good news is that schools are aware of these communication problems and want to work with both teachers and parents for the good of the student. These problems will not be solved immediately, but at least they are out in the open and can be discussed. Much of what is needed between the parent and the teacher is better communication. By being open minded and willing to try new ways, you will help your child succeed in school.

'BOOK OR COMPUTER'??

Today,computer is the most important invention since fire was invented. Most people use computer instead of book. According to school research,students choose computer to do their homework. Some people believe that books are more useful than computers. However, this research indicate that children and teenagers benefit from computer more than book. Therefore, schools should purchase computer rather tan compiling library because of two main reason:students can reach every information without spending waste time and they able to use computer when they do their homework.


Recently,technology has been developing. Therefore schools should obey modern world's rule. They should prefer computer because firstly, today all documents and data are written on computer especially internet. people share their countless source by using internet. In addition, books are read in the internet. all of this acknowledge shows that computers and internet are treasure for students. For example, when a student want to search his homework topic such as history of art or Ataturk's life. He can just read one book because of deadline.Homework he can access all information about his homework by using internet website include in artical pictures or short films. All of these are good reason to choose computer.

Secondly,today business life want employees who are able to use computer because all companies, business men use computer in order to connect with other companies. If children learn computer in early year, they can improve using computer skills from day to day. In the future all people will be controlling their job from computer. Today most people know reading but how many people know using computer?


To sum up, school has a big part of children's lives. Therefore school managers should spend money to built computer lab. They should give a change to their students to save time and learn computer. If students spend less time for their homework by using computer, they can join after school activities such as playing basketball with peer

Education key of success???

What is the definition of success? Some define success as the acquisition of wealth: to some others, it is the accomplishment of the goal aimed at. And how does education becomes the key to success? In today`s modern and competitive society, it is undeniable that we must equip ourselves with plenty of knowledge and skills in order to shine and to be successful in life. Many opine that the aforementioned aspects are mostly obtained through learning in academic institutions. I do agree with the opinion that education is the key to success. Nevertheless, I feel that one can also become successful without education.

First and foremost, it is certainly true that education is of paramount importance for people intending to join certain professions such as doctor, engineer and lawyer. With proper training and knowledge, it would be impossible for them to perform their best in their careers, not to mention to be successful in the field of area. Education can equip one to the fullest extent possible of knowledge related to his or her field of career, adequately equipped him or her with the necessary knowledge allows one to perform better than the rest and make them more successful than the rest. Hence, education is the key to success in the certain area of careers.

The characters and the qualities of a person also affects one`s ability to be successful. Even if they are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to be successful in their professions, without the correct mindset, they will not be able to overcome obstacles and persevere to the end. Making them unsuccessful in reaching their goals. Educations in schools or institutions help to inculcate the desirable qualities into individuals for them to become successful in life. Thus, education helps in the formation of the character with desirable qualities to become successful.

However, if we take a look from another perspective of success – the acquisition of wealth, some of the world richest and successful men were in fact school drop-outs. Some of the notable successful school drop outs were Steve jobs and Bill gates. Steve Jobs was the lead mind behind one of the most successful company in the world- Apple, never graduated from college, or even gets close to that. Bill Gates is the second wealthiest man on the planet, chairman of one of the most successful corporations- Microsoft, was in fact a university drops out. This proves that education may not be necessary as the key to success.

In addition, people with natural talents are also most likely to excel in their life. This is especially true in sectors like entertainment and sports. Education cannot teach how one should be funny or humorous, but it is an innate quality that one is born with. One example is Jacky Wu, currently ranked as one of the most popular and richest entertainers in Taiwan, known worldwide for his quick witted humor and open fire talks. Hence, it is evident that individuals born with talents have a better chance to be more successful.

In conclusion, it is indeed true that education is the key to success. But, it would be wrong to say that one`s success completely depends on the education he or she receives. Natural talent and hard work also contribute to their success.

-Yang Teng