Now for those who were wondering wether I abandoned this blog or not....
No, I did not. I just have a lot of unpublished articles and this is the very article that will make the first blog of November as of Saturday, Nov 13, 2010. So anyway, straight to business as usual.
The end-of-year holidays are about to begin again and more SPM candidates are about to discover their futures. In the end, the majority of Malaysia's next generation is still going to fail. It doesn't matter if they've scored straight As in their SPM or STPM. They're still going to fail in the end. How so, you might ask. Let us take a look at the past. Not to dwell on it, but to see where we went wrong.
You see, most schools in Malaysia, if not all, discourages creativity and innovation. Sure, they do not know it but all the same, the fact remains that they are still discouraging creativity and innovation among the younger generation. When you're working on a school project, the data that you must include in the folio is already fixed. You can only change the names and the type of data in it. In the end, every single project that is examined by the Ministry of Education is more or the less the same. Just different districts, different terrain, different types of moral values and so on. There's just too much spoonfeeding involved. The only creativity I see is when it comes to languages in the examinations. Even then, there's still very little creativity involved in it. In fact, its just downright Communist. Why? Because you're forced to write about topics that are fixed by the person who prepared the exam papers. I don't care if I have scored straight As in every single English exam I took, the fixed subjects still limits the amount of creativity that is put into the exams. In the end, you graduate out of college or university and spend the rest of your lifetime behind a desk, doing the paperwork and all that other fancy crap. You're not going to achieve anything out of that except for a decent paycheck. Even then, paychecks in Malaysia aren't decent at all.
Now, all of this leads to another question. WHO is the one to take the blame?
To me, it looks like a 50/50 situation. Half the blame has to go to the government and the other half has to go to our parents for it is they who raised and trained the younger generation. Let's look at the government first.
As I have stated above, creativity is mostly discouraged in schools. You're taught to take notes and memorize the entire exercise book and textbook. That's it. That's all you need to do to pass your exams. No, you can't question the education system because if you do, you'll only be seen as an undisciplined faghat. Seriously, why am I studying about Bani-Abbasiyah when it isn't even related to my ancestors? I can tolerate an overview of the history of Islam and how it came into Asia but how it entered Europe? No thanks, sir.
In addition to that, most teachers discourage their students from using their spare time on their past time like singing, acting, and so on. To add insult to injury, the schools do not provide any courses for music and acting classes, denying the students the chance to show their true talents. There are some who are meant to sit behind desks but what about the others? Are you going to just neglect their needs? A school is a place that is created to build a successful young generation. No, it should not be used just for academics, but to be used to train the younger generation in other skills like public speaking, singing, acting and dancing. There is a reason why America's entertainment industry is still flourishing to this day. Even I have to give Justin Bieber some credit for being able to be recognized internationally whereas our own bands like Pop Shuvit can only make it as far as the Philippines and Indonesia. That sir, is just about it. Schools place too much emphasis on academics. To top it off, each individual has about 9-12 subjects to study in school and that sir, is too much even for a Grade-A student. In the end, those who actually study their lives off lose their identity. Those who are neglected on the other hand, become undisciplined individuals who create problems for the school's administration. Having a very small amount of decency in their attitude, they end up in the pithole when they turn eighteen. What's more? The teachers demand no mistakes. What they want is perfection. Without mistakes, how are we supposed to learn and think out of the box? Ever heard of the line "No mistakes means no effort"?
And again, the parents of the younger generation have to take some of the blame too. How so, you might ask. Let's take a look at your lives shall we?
You see, when you were just an infant, you received plenty of encouragement and love from your family. There was always some praise in your actions. But suddenly, all that was taken away from you. Praise was replaced with criticism and canes. Everyone expected you to excel in your academics. Eventually, you began to pull yourself away from your parents. Whenever you prove them wrong, they accuse you of smart-mouthing.
Can you see where the parents went wrong now? However, it doesn't end here?
All of the above happened because as you grew up, your parents did not see the need to pay attention to you anymore. They grew wary of you, preferring to focus on their jobs for the money. A lot of parents in Asia are like that and there's no denying that. In the end, what happens is that they spend very little time with their children because they don't have the time to do so. Or at least, that's what they claim. The truth is; they do have the time to spend with their kids after work. However, they prefer to spend it on their friends or their own past time instead of trying to understand their kids which is why most of us have the difficulty of telling the difference between reality and fantasy. We see all that crap in movies and we think its reality when it is in fact, FAKE. However, our parents are usually "too busy" to educate us about that subject. Like schools, they also put too much emphasis on academics. Even a tiny drop in their grades can instigate the wrath of a parent in some extreme cases. Because of the fact that they do not spend enough time with their kids, they have a lot of difficulties when it comes to understanding the minds of their children which can lead to a lot of disastrous misunderstandings. Ever wondered why your kid hides everything from you?
Parents should also give their kids some room to express their feelings, not just reprimand their kids for everything they say and praise them when they deserve some credit in their actions or words.
To put it bluntly, parents do not see the point of spending their time with their children because they were not raised that way. They put too much emphasis on their financial issues which causes them to draw themselves away from their kids without realizing it while the concerned youngster does the same. Seriously, don't you get it at all? Haven't you noticed that your child hides so many things from you? They just don't know how to open their minds to their parents because they're afraid of getting reprimanded! This is the problem with most Asian parents. Can't you see that the reason why you can't understand your kids is because of the fact that you don't spend enough time with them? But nooooo! Most of the parents in Asia don't see the point of it and what do we have? Kids who have no decency at all, expecting to be spoonfed by mommy and daddy for the rest of their lives, no-lifers who dye their hair, wear "punk" hairstyles and hang out in cybercafes all day long, playing DotA and getting into gangsterism. Those who manage to get results good enough for UiTM at the very least, end up behind a desk for the rest of their lives because they were not taught to think out of the box. They were only taught to follow the rules. That's it.
It is time to change already. This is exactly how Malaysia failed. We don't have enough leaders to lead the country towards success. Any dream is usually discouraged by everyone. You'd be labeled as a psychotic, crazy person while your dreams will be seen as a waste of time by teachers and parents alike. GOD DAMN IT. CAN YOU SEE WHY NOW? We do not have enough innovative ideas which is how our industry failed on an epic scale. LOOK AT AMERICA. Yes, their economy is getting fucked up and the White House is corrupt but their entertainment industry is still alive to this day. Why? Because they taught their kids to always think outside the box. Sure, Justin Bieber's a fag but I still have to give him some credit for being recognized internationally whereas Siti Nurhaliza is just recognized in specific countries in SEA only. Unless you want your next generation to be zombies and undisciplined fuckers, you will have to start making changes and raise your kids the right way instead of just sticking to the status quo because believe it or not, the status quo does not work anymore.
