*Trumpets sound*Today I give to you all yet another reflection for my curriculum development class!Can you feel the excitement?
In class,we learnt the meaning of Philosophy which means love of wisdom.Our teacher mentioned that everyone has their own philosophy in life,I actually went home to reflect upon this question about my other philosophies in life because I already know what my main philosophy in life is.My main philosophy in my life is to use the gifts and knowledge I have to help other people.I guess that is why I want to become a teacher because I want to share my knowledge with other people.There are so many people in this world who are not as lucky as me to receive a good education,a roof above their heads to do revision or even proper schools to study in.It reminded me of the time my lecturer told us which just so happen to be the same lecturer teaching me this subject,about the time he went to all the rural schools to observe the teaching progress.He told us that there were no tiled floors in the school and the facilities were really poor.The school was a wooden school.I felt so grateful but at the same time ashamed because I have always complained about what I did not receive but in fact there were people worst off than me.
I want to help these people who are not as fortunate as me in my life.This whole situation reminds me of a quote by one of my favourite authors,the ever so famous,J.K Rowling.She said,"It is a moral responsibility when given more than you need to do wise things with it and give intelligently".Such wise words.It also reminded me of what a homily given by the priest for the mass I went to yesterday,he said in his homily that we have to give what we have to help those around us.It is not just charity but a responsibility as well.This philosophy of mine of helping those who are less fortunate has given me the boost to one day work with Teach For Malaysia.I feel that this is a good opportunity for me to put my philosophy to practice.As the saying goes,actions speaks louder than words.I cannot just think about how great it would be to help others,I have to actually change my words to action.
Now,going back to my other philosophies in my life.Other than that,I think it is important to stay humble.No matter who you are or how far you have come in life.If I do become a successful or a well-known lecturer one day or maybe even a famous celebrity(it could happen),I hope that I will still have gratitude towards the teacher who have helped me along my journey.This reminds me of a bible verse that the priest always reminds us during Ash Wednesday and that is :-
We should always remain humble and never think that we are more superior than another person no matter what the circumstances are.We are all human beings.I have many other philosophies as well but I will share them with you readers in future reflections.I asked my lecturer about his philosophies in life.He told us that his philosophy is to travel as much as you can and learn as much as you can.I think he has a really good philosophy,I guess that is why he is doing his doctorate because he loves learning so much.The class continued touching about the fundamental questions of philosophy which were:-
1.What is real?(Metaphysics)
2.What is truth?(Epistemology)
3.What is value?(Axiology)
.I was a bit daunted because the three words in parenthesis were three bombastic words I have never came across.
Moving on,we discussed about the definition and purpose of education.We have discussed about this topic many times but it was always good to do a recap.It is always good to remind ourselves what education is for and be grateful for it.We were also asked the relationship between education and society.Many answers were given.Education changes society in so many ways.It helps with mobility in stratification and many people want that especially the poor.Education is the key for them to have a better future a better life not just for them but for their family.I know of quite a number of people who have had a better life because of education.Bear in mind education does not take place in just universities and formal institutes.My father was dirt poor when he was young but he worked really hard to have enough savings to study in a small institute in Taiwan.With the knowledge he used from studying in that small institute,he managed to start his own business and is able to provide a comfortable life for my brother and I.Our lecturer told us that our curriculum is based on society.I never realised that before and it was an epiphany for me.He told us that our Chief Minister was furious that our standard of English in Sarawak was not on par with the standard of Bahasa Malaysia.He stressed that he has to be equal and I agree!English is so important at this day of age.It is pretty hard to find a job if you are not fluent in English or communicating in English.I suggest that the government should start establishing English medium schools like how they used too in the olden days or encourage parents to speak English to their children.Moreover,I think we Malaysians have a really unique language of our own which is Malaysian English which is really similar to what the Singaporeans call 'Singlish' but we need to teach our younger generation the difference between Malaysian English and proper English.Some parents and English teachers are quite against Malaysian English and has totally scrap this any trace of Malaysian English from their daily conversations.I for one believe that we should embrace this sort of English but we should also be fluent in proper English.I feel that our Malaysian English is fascinating and amusing and it makes our country what we are.Maybe this video will give you more clarification about what I am talking about.
And this is something I found on the Internet for your laughs.
Furthermore,we learnt about the relationship of philosophy and curriculum and that philosophy is the starting point for curriculum which I agree on.Without philosophy there is no guide for the curriculum.The teachers will be like the blind leading the blind.I strongly believe that philosophy gives teachers a sense of purpose for teaching.Every teacher needs to have some sort of philosophy or else why the heck are they even teaching?Philosophy helps a teacher to know the purpose of education,what subjects are of value,how should students learn and even deciding on the materials needed to teach students.
Other than that we learnt about Ralph Tyler's view of philosophy and the relationship to school purpose.
We learn many things from school,school makes what the world is today.A technological moving globe.Mr Wan explained that we learn the use of psychology of learning in school and it is divided into three parts,cognitive,behavioristics and humanisitc.Through psychology,we learn the needs of human beings and values we should have.It is school we learn the values we need to hold as human beings.We learn many values from our parents but there are many families in this world that are broken and the parents of these broken families may instill bad values to their children.It is the school's job to make sure that students are taught about good moral values to mold students to be better people for the sake of our country.
We also learnt about the four major philosophies and I have reflected upon as them as well.
1.Idealism
Reflection:I think this is almost every teacher's ideal teaching style especially the perfectionists..It is about learning something that will last a long time.Subjects like language and Mathematics.I really hope to put this philosophy to practice when I am a teacher but I do think that since idealism is about achieving something that is perfect,it will take a lot of time till many teachers are able to reach this level but as the saying goes practice makes perfect.It promotes abstract thinking which I think most asian countries are lacking.We are always taught to memorise everything instead of think critically.More teachers in Malaysia should implement this philosophy.
2.Realism
Reflection:Students learn to come to their senses and the real world.Realism teaches about logical and rational thinking.We need this sort of thinking in every Malaysian.We need great leaders to think logically for good decisions for our country.This type of philosophy has to be practiced in classrooms for the sake of the students because they are the future leaders of tomorrow.They are the ones who are going to run the country one day.My sentiments are that the 2020 vision will not happen but no in 2020,I believe it could happen in the future if our generation were to think ethically,have good knowledge about the economy and political happenings which are the three things that are included in the realism curriculum.
3.Pragmatism
Reflection:Nothing is forever,so students need to be taught about practical things.Topics that they can use at this day of age.It focuses a lot on problem solving especially in the present.There are many new arising problems these days and a pragmatic curriculum gives students the tools to solve these problems that they will come upon in the future.
4.Existentialism
Reflection:It stressed about self-fulfilment which I believe everyone is looking for.It touches on human emotions and finding purpose which I believe is what we all need.Many people like expressing themselves through things like art,music or literature.These things are the things that gives the people in our world entertainment and enjoyment or an escape from reality.Many people who love these sort of stuff and actually pursue the performing arts or something that has a relation to any sort of art form are often criticised in our asian culture for its insecurity but I believe that we need these sort of people are willing to take risks to go after what they really love because it gives them a sense of purpose in their lives and without these people we will not have good music to listen to,good movies to watch or great television series to watch either.Do not tell me that you never listened to a Taylor Swift song when you are heartbroken or if you are a boy,do not tell me you have never listened to an Ed Sheehan song when you were dumped.I hope to use the existentialist method to teaching in my classroom which focuses on teaching through self-expressive activities,experimentation and methods and also media.I feel that this is the best way to teach the younger generation.What young person does not like music or movies?
We as teachers should think of ways to make the class as interesting as possible and not stick to boring classroom teaching.Times have changed and people have changed and I think it is about time teaching has changed as well.We need to help students find their passion,whatever it is and support them but obviously their passion has to be something that gives a positive impact.Not every child wants to be a doctor or a lawyer,we need to teach them to embrace their passion.Do not be this teacher or parent when you grow up:-
That is all from me(for now).Hope you enjoyed this week's reflection.
References
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