Our Malaysian Education System is not that bad...

First thing first. When I said that, I am basically referring to MY time in school. Waaaaa... that is over 20 years ago. Or perhaps I should say 25 years ago???
I do not know how it is TODAY so can't comment.

What compelled me to use that as my blog title?
Well, as you know.... I have been reading up on iGCSE Mathematics while lounging by the beach in Bali. The more I read, the more questions I have regarding the system at my boys' school, the more upset I got.

The school segregates the kids into 5 different Maths groups. Currently S1 is in the 2nd Group. All this while, S1 tells me that 1st Group will take their iGCSE in Year 10 instead of Year 11. Being the relaxed mom that I am, I certainly didn't feel the need to push him to be in the 1st Group - thinking they are all learning the same stuff, just difference in speed. I mean why wanna do the Exams a year earlier?

Anyway, I found out recently that the 1st Group will write the Cambridge Board and the rest all Edexcel. And not only that, they will get to take iGCSE Additional Maths in Year 11. My thoughts are why the difference in Examination Boards?? Why only the 1st Group take Additional Maths? Why is the school depriving the kids from learning MORE? And why split Mathematics and Additional Mathematics to be taken in two separate years? I remember taking BOTH papers the SAME year, and that wasn't a problem AT ALL.


What irks me is that in general, the examination boards, the school is lowering the bar and NOT pushing kids to do their best. I tell you... I have never seen my S1 do Maths homework. Only homework I see regularly is his Japanese Language... which even then takes only 20 or so minutes to complete. Mind you. My S1 is at the 'PMR level' this year (Year 9), and taking his iGCSE in 2 years time. When there are 'challenge questions', it is always an OPTION. So surely kids OPT NOT TO DO. How can? They (other kids) say the 1st Group is waaaaaaaaaay ahead than the 2nd Group. Well, from what I hear, almost ALL kids in the 1st Group does outside tuition. Compare this with my S1 who has no tuition, does no homework, and lazes in front of the TV every single day. Everytime I ask him about homework, he says he has completed them. (Once he answered me "Mom. Please trust me when I tell you that I've done my homework. There ought to be some trust between mother and son." I tell you. I was really flabbergasted. What could I say? When he is so right?), and his report is always on target. So I am a bit weary about their so-called reports. And don't you think if my son just does a weeeeee bit more... he would be as good as the 1st Group students? So he can do it. So why why not challenge him? And why close the doors at this early stage when higher level Mathematics will open some doors??

So what is mommy going to do??
I'm spoken to the Class Rep (her son is also in the 2nd Group and keen to do Additional Maths. She and hubby are Actuaries) and she has spoken to the Principal, and is arranging to meet with the Head of the Maths department etc to GET Additional Mathematics subject for the 2nd Group. (Everyone can't cram into the 1st Group. There is always a maximum, thus not enough slots.) We have had a new principal and he is determined to bring the academic standards UP, which is great news.
Meanwhile, I am going to write to S1's Math teacher to voice my concern etc etc... Will try to bug him to PUSH my S1 to the 1st Group. *sigh* I don't want to be the kiasu mom, but I don't want him to NOT do Additional Maths. I really don't mind him staying in 2nd or whatever group as long as the kids are accorded the same learning opportunities. Clearly this is NOT the case. Further discussion with more moms made me even more disappointed. I suppose I was ignorant about the schooling for a while. Thinking we were leaving the school last July, and need not bother. And now we are staying in Jakarta I have to plan to see what is best for my children's education.

Apparently, the school is discouraging kids from taking Higher Level Mathematics at IB telling them that it is hard. WTF? As a school or parent, we should not discourage our kids to NOT do something because it is hard. What are we teaching them? Take the easy way out ALL the time? My friends tell me that the school wants to have lots of As and if students take harder subjects, it might result in less As and more Bs or Cs. Aiyo. How can? My S1 says he wants to be a doctor (maybe too much HOUSE, perhaps?) and that would require HL Maths, HL Chemistry, HL Biology in a lot of universities. So I can't let him miss out on Additional Maths at this level. Otherwise, the jump from iGCSE Maths to IB HL Maths would be very great.

I was also disappointed to find out (though it does not concern me) that the 5th Group in the school is doing Foundation Level Mathematics instead of the Extended Level. This means that the maximum grade attainable is a C .... no matter how hard the kids slog. I feel that being a fee-paying school, they shouldn't even have this Level. I am sure a lot of the parents do NOT know this. Otherwise they would be doing all they can to move their child up the learning curve, be it by extra tutoring or whatever. It's like before they even try to study hard, you put a limit to a maximum of C. And from last year, expansion of brackets will be removed from the syllabus for this Foundation Level. This instantly brought to mind an email that circulated around...
If you recall-
The question was: Expand (x+2)(x+3)
The student did this: ( x.....+.......2 )( x .....+.......3 )
This will be what the 5th Group students be doing if given this question!!

And I went to my first trial tutoring session yesterday. Didn't really teach as she was waaaay ahead in her class already. She is in the 3rd Group, but she had some old books from 2 years back from her previous British school in Europe. And the work she has done in Year 7 then is not even touched-upon in her current Year 9 class. So you say lah. The standard of Mathematics in this school must be waaaaaaaay below normal. So what was the only outcome of the session?
Mom was pleased that she is now agreeable to move to a higher level group, i.e. 2nd Group; whereby she previously strongly opposed (so much so that she would shutdown and not do any work). Kids!
So will I get another session? I told her mom "No need". What's the point when she is already waaaaay ahead in her group. Perhaps only when she moves up to the next group, and has to play catch-up.

So back to my blog title.... Everybody in the Science stream does both Mathematics and Additional Mathematics. All sama-sama same same. No need to fight. Better kids get better grade. The not so good kids get lower grades. I still think a C in Additional Mathematics is better than NO grade in Additional Mathematics.
We cover more topics in more depth (eventhough my class then was like 40-over people)... maybe because we were FORCED to do practice sheets as homework???
And when I look at some PMR workbooks, the topic depth coverage is more than what my S1 is currently doing. *sigh* The sad thing is my school fees then were in the tens of Ringgit, and here... the school fees can make my nose bleed.... As the Cantonese saying goes "LAU PEI HUIT" especially when we have to pay our own school fees in August...

PENGSANZZZZZ