11/15/2010
Doing away with exam results for school admission
I read an article by Kelvin Teo in NewAsiaRepublic blog calling for the doing away with exam results for school admission. He mentioned many good points about how the over emphasis on exam results may not be producing leaders with a heart or caring for the people. And of course all the fears and pressure of examinations. He also cited the doing away of school ranking as a move in the right direction after parental protest that ranking is bad. In the same vein, grading is equally bad.
I must say that it is a revolutionary idea and worth thinking about. Let’s do away with all examinations or have examinations without results. Then we can remove all the ills and apprehension of parents and students. And no one can go around bragging about getting straight As and looking down on those who got straight Cs or worst. The parents and children will be most pleased.
And we can advance every student to the university as universities too will have no exam results to base on for student admission. And when there are too many students applying for tertiary education, there are many well tested means to award places. Balloting is a good idea, fairly easy to use. A kind of COE, certificate of education, can be introduced and parents can bid for them for admission to tertiary institutions. Or a quota system, based on whatever criteria of race, language or religion, or parental status can be considered.
One thing for sure, foreign universities will be out of the picture as they will likely to continue to look at exam results which our students by then would not have. But never mind. Make sure our tertiary institutions are ranked number 1 to 4 in the world ranking and our students need not bother to go overseas for their education.
The more I write, the more brilliant this idea appears to be. I think I am now convinced that we don’t need school examinations at all.
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7 comments:
This idea is so moot that it is like saying pigs can fly!
Then we will be producing half past six doctors, engineers, lawyers and God forbid, politicians. Imagine that the guy who is operating on you wasn't really qualified but got into uni through balloting or coe bidding and he probably was an ex 369 active member just served time for the Downtown East rumble! I'll rather have MPs talking cock in good English in Parliament than Ah Ter and Ah Kow hurling hokkien expletives to each other like they do in Taiwan.
Leaders with heart and caring for the people are born, not made by circumstances.
As for those Singaporeans going overseas for university education, anecdotal evidence suggests that most do so as their grades were not good enough to enter local universities. So doing away with exam results is like taking away their last life line.
If we can do away with examinations, the next logical step will be doing away with schools.
Then parents will be happy, children will also be happy. No stress and everyone is equal. No grades to compare.
What has all the tinkerings over the years done to our education system?
Our university rankings are sliding. Our spoken and written English gone to the dogs.
The idea of making everyone "the same" or "leveling the playing field" will create more sissys.
Without competition, and the sense of competition instilled from an early age, these kids are going to grow up thinking (more than they do now) that the world is made of milk and honey, and that making a living just happens "naturally" without any need for serious work or striving to be better than your peer -- so that the best comes forth from the both of you.
the writer is probably some dog-shit loser who has failed at life. Now there is nothing wrong with events of failure in life. We all get some. The reason the education systems fails is that it treats failure with "shame".
When you look at it, although you might deserve some "shame" for your failure, "shame" is just another emotion. It is not "real".
What the education system fails to teach, and thus itself is a collosal failure - is how to (at the very least) maintain your "spirit" so you do have the emotional muscle to deal with failure and either recover, manage the situation or exact better opportunity from the situation.
New age fucking assholes like to get "fluffy". They'll tell you bullshit "There is no failure, only a 'result'" to hopefully make you "feel" better.
Why is everything valued on the yardstick of "feeling better"? Is everyone fucking ill?
Feeling you emotions and acting rationally despite what your instincts tell you is the sign of a well-developed, mature, adult human being. The public education system is definitely lacking in this area of "education".
The govt want you to come to them, the govt, for a "political solution" if you fail. In that way, the govt can stay relevant and stay in power.
Everybody fails. Everybody is unequal. There is no "level playing field".
If you can deal with that, chances are you'll make it quite well in life, and perhaps even occasionally feel good because you really deserve it.
The article was from a blog that claims to be liberals.
Yes. Western-influenced progressive liberals are going to change Singapore.
And Singapore will pay the price.
This can be solely blamed on the PAP: they were so authoritarian for so long, had ready bad attitude toward freedom of speech and expression, that they drove many Singaporeans -- especially the spoilt young ones -- into the welcoming, loving arms of people who love the UN, Obama, The French Revolution,... people who probably have a framed copy of the "Declaration of Human Rights" proudly adorning a wall (or two) in their green, "environmentally friendly" house.
Singapore, the western-influenced liberals are going to teach you a nice lesson. And I'll be laughing my freedom-loving, liberal-hating balls off!
The Socialist Liberal Brain
Just imagine, then the western-style liberals take over Singapore, all your brains will change to the above.
And you will all be "enlightened".
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