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I’ve just finished my first paper for my finals. It was something called the Law of Ass…there’s something missing in that sentence but it doesn’t matter because I really believe that I’ve been made an ass. It’s not that I have anything against taking finals, but I simply find the whole exercise of going through months of lectures as virtually pointless. It’s not like I studied for the past three months. Countless hours have been wasted going to class with me nodding off or my mind wandering from football to girls. I’m not the kind who studies or even take notes unless there’s an exam coming by, and frankly speaking, I think most of us are like that. We study last-minute, the genetically embedded procrastination gene working overtime to lure us with various distractions from something as interesting as a football match to something as inconsequential as an afternoon nap.
So we wait, and we delayed, and the phrase “Sebulan lagi” sounded so fresh in my mind. Next thing we know, it’s already the final week of lectures. Seriously, that’s exactly how I felt. I was caught surprised when the lecturer asked us if we find her lecture interesting and that she hope she won’t have to see us next semester. Stupidly, I asked “But aren’t we meeting next week?” The girl next to me looked me straight in the eye and said, “Next week dah takder kelas laa..kan nak finals”. Déjà vu, definitely. Every semester it’s the same thing all over again. That’s my point actually. I just don’t like the fact that I’m wasting time. I do understand that some students love going to lectures, but there’s a proportion of us who can’t give a rat’s ass what the lecturer’s saying.
Give me the whole course outline, proper notes, articles and 2 weeks to study everything and hit me with my finals. And then a 2 weeks break, with the cycle repeating itself all over again. At this moment, I’m spending 3 months (or more- I could never get that right) going to class just hanging out, then taking my finals, then spending 2 and a 1/2 months doing nothing but fill up this blog (that’s how long our mid-year break is), with only two semesters per year. I could be done with the whole course in a year and a half, god-willing. It’s a waste of time and for what? I don’t remember what I learned the last semester, if that’s the intention of having lectures and all that. I’ll definitely not remember any of the details (ie. case laws etc2 and for those not taking law- business theories etc2) by the time I graduate, nor do I need to. For example, a businessman needs to know that when there’s a surplus of demand, the prices will go up. He doesn’t need to know how to draw the graphs or calculate the whole damn economy. It’s not like I couldn’t look up cases on the computer or even textbooks. Is somebody going to fire me if I refer to books when researching for a case? Hey, maybe I could just take it easy and study just so I could pass since it’s all going to be useless anyway.
But in this current climate of so many graduates not being able to get jobs (according to the papers – 80 000 estimated), I wouldn’t want to risk working as a rubber tapper (not that there’s anything wrong with tapping rubbers, I’m just lactose intolerant..wait, that’s milk isn’t it? *laughs sarcastically*). You see, I think most of us have realized long ago that you don’t really use 80% of what you tried so hard to remember during school and university. The only reason we’re still sweating it out trying to remember is because we know our future employers have no better way to easily assess potential employees. Yes, some might be able to charm them despite below-average scores, but not many of us look like Hans Isaac or Paula Malai Ali. So we depend on our grades. It helps us get into university, colleges, scholarship and work even though that very same employer would later realize that the Dean’s List Dude is nothing more that a Photostat machine with zero creativity. But what else does he have to go by? Doing well in your exams means you’re dependable; you’re at least half-way intelligent, you’re strong willed, you’re hard-working and at the very least – you’ve got your priorities straight. Not everyone can be Bill Gates – a college dropout who turns into a billionaire. Even he employs many people based on their paper qualifications.
Until there’s some way employers can assess prospective employee by their ability to do the particular task they’ll be employed to, there’s no other way but to slug it out studying to score for your exams. But I still want to see a one-year degree program available as an option. I need the money to get married. AHAHAHHAHAHAHA….
I seriously doubt that anyone is still visiting this blog, what with me failing to write in for the past few weeks. It’s just been hectic at the faculty so close to my finals. And no, I haven’t started revisions yet. Work is finally letting up, but not yet complete. I guess by this weekend I’ll be free to loaf around. Oops. I forgot. The Finals is in a week. Yea yea, everyone goes through the same thing, but it still doesn’t make things better now does it? Maybe I should just watch TV instead of reading?
Yeap, you heard me right. Go tune in to your TV if you’re awfully short on motivation to study. I’m just extending what the Education Ministry is saying. Apparently if you’re finding it hard to cope with normal, rudimentary English, go watch television! It appears sound enough, because even I admit that television has taught me a lot, especially when it comes to colloquial English. I’m just questioning the intelligence of the Education Ministry to even suggest such a method as acceptable. The issue has cropped up because students are finding it hard to cope with learning Maths and whatever else they have to in English. Now, if you’ve ever studied Maths in English (I did- I had a great but impatient tutor during high-school), you would know that it doesn’t involve complicated English. Yes, they used scientific terms, but then everyone needs to learn it too. The problem they’re having is with communication English, and for Maths it must have involved nothing more that basic elementary English. My point is this: if they’re struggling with Maths in English, how are they coping with English subject itself? Don’t tell me they can handle English but not Maths? If that is the case, then the Education Ministry must take a serious look at our English language education.
The Education Ministry’s 3M policy should have dealt with this situation during primary school itself. “Membaca, mengira dan menulis”- in both BM and English. Of course it’s a fallacy to assume everyone will be able to by the time they reach secondary school. I know plenty of people who can’t speak or write in English. But then shouldn’t the responsibility of educating them lies in the hands of educators through a comprehensive and intellectualized syllabus? The Ministry must realize that when it comes to language and learning it, everyone has a different speed to learn. The syllabus and our school system must take this into consideration. Logic states you can’t pass someone who can’t even string proper sentences. But that’s exactly what’s going on in Malaysia. Some of my friends managed to enter University, doing law, but can’t even form a single proper sentence (syok ar lepak ngan korang!). I had to help him out time and again, and it amazes me how poor his Basic English really is. I’m even more amazed that he managed to get a B2 for English for his SPM. He said even he was surprised. And then they sent these kids to University where they will struggle, wasting precious time and effort.
Even learning through television is not proven to improve your mastery of the language. It does help, in some ways, but the negative impact relying on television is far greater. Take my little brother, the perfect example of a spoilt youngest sibling. He’s standard four now, and based on my rough estimation, he has spent double the time I spent at his age watching television. Yet, he is shy to speak in English, and his sentences are seldom proper, usually ending with the inevitable lah. It is apparent that besides the education system and television, the culture where your kids grow up in is pertinent to the issue of speaking English properly. And that’s another issue the government must look at. The racial polarization at school appears to be overblown, but the picture is far from rosy. Communication among races appears to be truly minimal. Even studying in a school smack in the middle of urbania cannot disguise the lack of mixed friendship. And even if you do mix around, it doesn’t mean you’ll learn how to speak English. You are better off than some, sure, but at the end of the day, you’ll be learning to speak improper English and the cycle goes on and on. Incomplete sentences, the “lah” syndrome, laughing when speaking English – these are all about attitude towards the language.
So how do we solve this? I don’t have the time to write more, or to even suggest that I have a solution, but I do know that relying on television is a bit of lazy way to learn something. I do know what they’re good for though- sex (or maybe not so good after all). Just kidding. Cheers.
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