SPM School Exams: Part 2

How do we support our children

Education is a shared commitment between dedicated teachers, motivated students and enthusiastic parents with high expectations. The importance of teamwork has never been greater than it is right now.

The rule is, for a student to be successful during this unprecedented time, it has to be a team effort together with parents and teachers.

Parents role

We, as parents, always have high hopes and expectations. However, we ought to realize that times have changed, the distraction available have increased many times over and the level of competition has scaled up tremendously since our time.

Thus, we need to be proactive and involved in equipping our children with appropriate tools and techniques.

We need to be fully engaged in this process to help them to be successful and not just urge our child to score as many “A’s” as possible.

I still remember how my father motivated me by telling me to emulate some of successful relatives and his simple words “Son, having an education gives a person more options and opportunities. Doing well at school can greatly increase our chances of success in life.”

Let’s not forget to always motivate and doa (pray) for our children.

Teachers/School Role

We are fortunate to enroll our daughter in a school where teachers are committed and fully invest their extra time in ensuring students understand the key to acing the examinations. The teachers are caring, focused and able to engage in helping the students.

We are impressed that all the teachers involved in preparing the student to face SPM are aligned and having the same goals. We observed this during the engagement “temu murni”/ feedback session at school.

This is the unique strength of Sek Menengah Kebangsaan Rantau Petronas, Kerteh where my daughter goes to.

The teachers have strategized and made diligent schedules until the exam day of each specific subject. They were willing to sacrifice their time giving extra classes after school and almost every weekend.

To me, they are creating the best possible educational experience of working towards exams and inspire the students to work hard to achieve their goals.

My Concern

I do not wish to make comments on the current education system as I do not have the full overview of the issues, government expectations etc. To my understanding both of my points below was not surfaced or experienced by me during the school days.

It is a reality that millennials era students are obviously facing all kinds of pressures. This is a matter that deserves prompt attention because too much stress affects students negatively.

We need to find and identify the source of their stress which may prevent them from reaching the best. Rightly, this duty lies with every people who are close to them. It is also reported that some children may feel alienated by the content of the curriculum or failed to see the purpose of schooling.

Lack of interest for school /dropping out student leaving the system before completing their secondary school. Nearly 30,000 registered candidates did not sit for SPM 2022.

It is also sad to see that there are students deciding not to pursue higher education after sitting for SPM. (About 115,939 SPM school leavers in 2020 chose not to further their education, making up 35.16% of the intake.) This raises questions about the future and direction of Malaysian youth.

Most importantly, the ministry of education needs to enhance students’ awareness towards the importance of education while also equipping them with knowledge, skills and interest for future careers.

My Hope

I have high hope that one day, Malaysia education system will be one of the best within the developing countries where the education system promotes students’ creativity, innovation and problem-solving skills.

The development of soft skills and critical thinking must also be introduced. Most importantly, students should feel the enjoyment of learning which resulting in exciting and looking forward to pursuing education beyond SPM.

As parents, we should always understand that one fundamental trait stays the same – all parents want the best for their child. On the other hand, we want perfect transcript, and we are willing to accept that our child has to deal with the stress (beyond stress may lead to depression) but with far less pain.

It will take some time for us to understand that examinations are not everything in education. To me, it is the learning that matters. Maybe, it is too soon to look at Finland’s educational system – consider it one of the best in the world where there are no standardised assessments, term examinations or end of year examinations.

Plant the World with Hope!