The rote style of teaching in Malaysian schools has been debated and discussed for a long time (discussion for another day!)  What is more disturbing is reverting to BM for Science and Maths.  The reason: children in rural schools will understand better.  There are so many opinions around this issue and I don’t know if we are delving into things deeper.

I was searching for the meaning of school in dictionary.com and this was one definition: the activity or process of learning under instruction, esp. at a school for the young.  English is not my first language as is the case of most Malaysians, granted I was studying in Brunei where BM was used for one subject.  The reason my parents sent to me to this missionary school was to learn English and not to improve my Hakka which is what I spoke at home.

Call me crazy but I always thought school was used to learn something new and not to teach you something you already know.  Boy am I glad I speak English.  I have held positions in a regional role  because of my ability to speak English.  These positions were hardly workable for Thais, Indonesians, Koreans and Japanese…we saw a lot of Singaporeans, Malaysians and Australians holding these roles.  It is not a language used only in Western countries but it is a common language used even in Asia Pacific.

That has made me proud to be Malaysian…our versatility and ability to adapt…I will continue to ensure my son remains a global player and send him to an international school.  Thank goodness I have the means to do so.  As for him being a Malaysian, I will teach him the values of generosity, openness, versatility, tolerance, visionary (ie not myopic) and faith in our God.  I believe these are some of the traits of being a Malaysian.