WHEN I read about the ‘failings’ of the Malaysian education system, I strongly wanted to rebut with a ‘No’.
My school years were my best learning experience.
I do know a few things about learning experience because developing learning experience is what I do for a living in the United Kingdom. I have designed courses for clients such as the UK Ministry of Justice, analysed learning gaps for a top UK car company, trained an international non-governmental organisation, as well as developed compliance courses for the UK authorities.
Learning experience is the most important aspect in education.
Whichever pedagogic and andragogic approaches we choose, the key is learning experience. I think it is connected with stimulating the “happy ” chemicals in the brain — endorphins, dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin.
My best learning as a child was in Malaysia. When I reflect on the learning experience of my children in the UK, I can sincerely say that their learning experience could not match mine. Yes, they have more opportunities in the UK. They went on field trips organised by the schools. They visited Spain, Switzerland and France. They have state-of-the-art equipment, dedicated and knowledgeable teachers, and nice lunches, too. They have meetups and parties with their friends.
But, something is missing. If I were to put a word to this type of
learning experience, it is “benign”.
Where is that supremely important, energy-bursting sense of adventure? I know that things have changed. School environments have changed. People and policies have changed. However, what child or adult doesn’t like a sense of adventure?
Perhaps that is why developmental psychologist Peter Gray stresses the importance of free play: “Children are designed by nature to teach themselves emotional resilience by playing in risky, emotion-inducing ways. We deprive children of free, risky play, ostensibly to protect them from danger. In the long run, we endanger them far more by preventing such play than allowing it. And, we deprive them of fun.”
My primary and secondary schools were a sanctuary where dreams were created, friendships fostered, ideas implemented and arguments lost with friends. In this world, teachers were bystanders. As long as we didn’t burn the school down, they were fine. We spent more than 10 hours there, even on Saturdays.
We owned our school. We raised funds through food sale to visit Penang and Pulau Pangkor. We collected funds to paint our classrooms and we did not even think of getting permission.
We just turned up on a Saturday morning with buckets of paint.
We listened to our head teacher, who taught us the most ludicrous way to swear (we were teenagers, you see) and for years, my colleagues were perplexed when I kept muttering shoes, shoes, shoes!
And, that freedom starts with the recognition of children’s right to education, trickling down to national legislation, shaping policies and guiding organisations (schools, colleges, nurseries, universities and the ministry ) in setting up their governance, functions and technical measures.
Despite the changing learning environments, one aspect of my learning remains to this day: freedom.
From freedom (we were free to paint our classes and organise events and trips) came empowerment (we raised funds and collaborated with other schools), and from empowerment we created (yes, we not the teachers or schools) our own learning experience and that experience became our foundation to be who and what we are today.
We are ordinary people. Are we millionaires? Chiefs of this and that? Prominent people? I suspect many of my friends are like me, ordinary people.
But the impact of fabulous early learning experience created an insatiable desire to learn — after completing my PhD in law, I ventured into project management, policy development, research, and human rights consultancy.
Now, I am an organisational learning and development practitioner specialising in digital learning.
As part of the process of transforming the education system, I hope the Education Ministry will start with a cross-party conversation on children’s rights and principles that will guarantee that every child matters and that no child will be left behind.
DR SUZIANA SHUKOR
The United Kingdom