Between the 2 generations

When the Ministry of Education announced that the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2023 exams will take place from 5th Dec to Mar 7th next year, my wife and I started to feel some stress. The form 5 students (including our daughter) academic year for 2023 is shortened by almost 3 months!

It is a well-known fact that preparation for an important exam can be stressful times for children, parents and the teachers, even with adequate time. As for me, I am a believer of hard work. Nothing can replace it.

The importance of Exam.

In the era of meritocracy, the practice of testing student’s academic prowess based on examination has established itself as the general “modus operandi” that not all students are made equal – nor would we want this to be so. However, there have been increasing calls to relook the effectiveness of having tests and exams.

The importance of exams cannot be denied. Even though exam results do not define who they are as a person or their potential, we cannot deny that good result matters!

I am taken aback to read or hear people satisficing themselves sharing stories how successful a person can be even without completing their university degree, such as the life story of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.

In my opinion, teachers should counter the trend to belittle education by advising students on much more expansive future career paths would be with higher education to emphasize the importance of completing their education.

My school days.

The school days life is a wonderful chapter in my memories because I learned dedication and hard work is the key to success.

Looking back, I have great friends many of whom remain closed with me until today, good experiences and good memories.

(How I wish to capture many moments with them. We do not have many photos like our children have as there was no smart phone during the era…no selfie!)

I studied at Sekolah Rendah Ibrahim in Sungai Petani during the primary school and later enrolled at Kolej Sultan Abdul Hamid (KSAH) in Alor Setar, Kedah.

This school has shaped us to be the best that we can be. Our teachers have taught us the importance of working together and being involved in sports and other activities besides academics.

I was the first batch where Malay language was a medium of communication in the national education system where Sijil Rendah Pelajaran (SRP) and SPM were conducted in Malay in 1978 and 1980 respectively.

I was an average student and not a fan of subjects requiring much memorisation. Thus, my result was just “cukup makan”.

Note: I wish to thank all teachers for their love guidance, care and support that they have extended for the twelve long memorable years.

SPM – Past and present

Educational curriculum and assessment systems have evolved through the years such as the Education Ministry has introduced the School-Based Assessment to move away from the dependence on paper-and-pencil tests.

I managed to list few observations where it is interesting to share the differences between the non-millennial and millennial (Gen Z):

Exam Result Outcome: Our SPM result was based on grade either Grade 1,2 or 3. People will usually ask what your grade is and later will continue to ask, how many units (grade 1: up to 24 units, grade 2: 24-32 units and grade 3 is above 32 units.

Nevertheless, for the millennial, the achievements are based on counting the score for numbers of A+, A, A-, B+, B, C+, C, D, E and G.

Source of Information: When we wanted more information, it could only be obtained through teachers or our seniors. Google and internet were beyond imaginary. The nearest to google is an encyclopaedia sets which could be found in library.

The millennial enjoyed the benefit of digitalization where there are various sites that information can be obtained from a click of a button.

Public Examination: Now, there are no common public examinations until the students reach Form Five. They sit for the SPM examination in the 11th year. (The Year Six primary school assessment test (UPSR*) and the Form Three lower secondary assessment (PMR) were abolished in 2021 and 2014 respectively).

This may be the reason why the students feel stressful facing only SPM examination. (*Note: During my time, UPSR was conducted during year 5.)

Education Tools: There was no internet and electronic gadgets in the past. Thus, there was no e-learning such as using google meet/zoom after school hours. Nowadays the millennials have been far advanced with the technology where laptops have been used in preparing the exams.

YouTube channel has guided delayed/repeated classes and these can be used to help in understanding any subjects. (When they needed a break, they will play or watched the dances videos in YouTube ie Blackpink… haha )

Preparation for the exam

There is no definitive answer to the best way to prepare for exam, as different students may have different learning styles, preferences and goals.ie I did not stay up late or wake up early in the morning to study.

I function better in the afternoon or during the night I remember when the teacher explains a topic in class, it seems easy to understand. However, the moment I tried to do the questions on my own, I forgot the steps. Thus, a proper study method is important. It is all about technique!

I strongly believe that one of the most effective ways is to run through past papers. By doing so, one would know what to expect and how to answer the questions under time pressure. So, we are fully prepared when it comes to real situation.

Plant the World with Hope!