ƸӜƷ•¨¯`•My Recuerdos•¨¯`•ƸӜƷ

Back in 2006, when I sat for my Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), we were allowed to take as many subjects as we liked (provided we paid of course) and we had only 9 gradings in the SPM, ranging from the coveted 1A right down to the dreaded 9G. Since then, there have been changes. Students are now limited to 10 subjects and I was told by my dad earlier this month that there would be changes in the SPM gradings. A new grade; A+, will be introduced. Click here for the source article.

Today's NTV7 evening news brought this topic afresh into my mind when the new grade was described as "a more refined way of identifying the truly good students" (this is not a quote mind you...more or less this was said). It got me feeling a little skeptical. I'm no education expert but common sense got me wondering...Do we actually NEED a higher grade in SPM??? I mean, isn't 9 enough already??I have been browsing through forums where there are mixed reactions to this new grade. Some are outraged; they don't want another grade to worry about, some approve; they agree it will be a truer reflection of their academic abilities, while the rest remain indifferent.

Over the years, as the results for the public exams (UPSR,PMR,SPM,STPM) are released there will be news of several students scoring strings of As and rising numbers of students scoring As and so on. Then there will be questions raised about whether the As actually mean the students will continue to be successful in future studies or the grades have merely been inflated. My parents often told me that in their time, back in the 1970's and earlier, scoring an A (notice AN A...not As) meant you were practically a genius. Now, score only one A in SPM, people will probably label you as a no good, lazy student who probably wasted your school years sleeping in class (not strictly true as some people just aren't the studying type but are talented in other ways). But do you get what I'm trying to say here??? You just can't deny that an A now is just not the same as an A 30 years ago.

Personally, I feel that the government's move of introducing this new grade is to pull back up the 'value' of As. However, they can actually achieve that without introducing another grade. All they have to do is impose stricter marking and grading system for the papers. For example, if initially you need 80 marks to score a 1A, make it 90 marks to score a 1A. Then there would be no need to introduce the new A+. But of course, if they did that, there might be a sharp drop in the students' achievement graph. And I guess that wouldn't be a very good motivation for the school-leaving students who are about to enter into a new stage of their education life. No one likes to receive a slip with bad results. Plus I think suicide rates might increase, seeing that there have been cases where students commit suicide over missing out on one A. Hmm...I could see a lot of problems ahead if they were to do what I suggested. So I guess that's why the introduction of A+???

For now, I am not against the introduction of the A+ grading. However, it remains to be seen whether it WILL actually be a way to give the truly high academic achievers their due recognition. I believe that if the government were to stick to their word and set a very high requirement for students to obtain A+, then this may just be the solution for the salvation of SPM gradings. So, I will be crossing my fingers as my brother (who is 17 this year) along with all the other Form 5 students sit for their SPM in 2 week's time.

Just do your best and your results will reflect your effort.Don't worry about the new grading.

Disclaimer:
I am not indicating that students who have achieved As in the past years are undeserving of them. On the contrary, I acknowledge their hard work and sacrifices to obtain those beautiful results slips. I merely support the more specific move to select the best of the best in the awarding of scholarships and training programmes.

I would be like to hear other opinions or responses to my post.
Please post them in my comments section which you will find at the bottom of this post.
Thank you.

Everybody's talking about the earthquake that rocked Sumatra and caused tremors around the Klang Valley.This is the latest news sourced from The Star. Click here to read.

If you're expecting me to tell a thrilling tale where I experienced the floor move beneath me, you're in the wrong place. Sorry..I missed the earthquake. That sounds rather offhand, forgive me, but I think I can live without that experience.

I was swimming while it happened.
Yup, I was in the water, doing some laps and some silly games with Yean Shan (doing stunts in the water and swimming the entire length of the pool underwater and things like that) and I didn't feel a thing. It was only when I got back to my room to find my FaceBook homepage flooded with "OMGtherewasanearthquakethefloormovedwhathappened??" status updates. Even some people complaining why they DIDN't feel anything. I'm rather glad I didn't have to feel the tremors. I might have thought the building was falling apart and panicked.

I'm not an expert on earthquakes but I do know that an earthquake was BAD when it hits a 7.9 on the Richter scale because the worst ever was a 8.1 or something like that. This is sure to be on the front page of newspapers tomorrow. Another natural disaster that will put us more in awe of Mother Nature than ever taking into mind the precedents of the 2004 tsunami and the 2005 Hurricane Katrina (why do they give disasters female names????); to name the two which I found really terrible. It will not be pleasant to read of the damage and grief it brought. I can't imagine what it feels like to lose a home or a family, somebody or something that you love and worked hard for, in a matter of minutes.

I pray that no worst will happen because there was another earthquake before this bad one. The previous earthquake claimed 128 lives. I dread to think the death toll for this one. Pray for the victims. Pray for the people who will be going there to rescue and help. Pray against any more disasters. I'll be keeping an eye out for any donation funds for this in church and I hope many others will be doing the same. Or maybe go the extra mile and pitch in to help. It is not enough to shake our heads at the news and pat ourselves on the back that we don't stay in Sumatra. DO SOMETHING!!!

Back in 2002, when the announcement about the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English was made, I felt a mixture of approval and disappointment.

Approval, because I felt that it was a good move. One that would improve the English language proficiency among Malaysian students.
Disappointment, because I had just missed the opportunity to learn those subjects in English. I was among the last batch who was taught Mathematics and Science in Bahasa Malaysia.

Now, the Ministry Of Education has announced that thay are going to revert from English back to Bahasa Malaysia in 2012.
The reason being that students are yielding poorer results in the two subjects taught in English.
My main concern is what will happen to the level of English of our Malaysian students.

Speaking as a student who was taught all my subjects, except English and English for Science and Technology (EST), in Bahasa Malaysia, I can be called a sideline observer. I have watched while my juniors study those subjects in English and even helped my younger brother in his Mathematics homework at times. I believe that PPSMI policy was a good one but it is the general attitude towards it which has created all the problems. The implementation was maybe too sudden and the teachers were not very prepared for it, since most of them also came from the BM syllabus.

We Malaysians are very driven with grades. We revere strings of A1s. But is it over-glorified??
Now lets look at the English grading in SPM. My teachers used to tell us that 'very easy' to get A1 in SPM English but for GSCE (generally known as 1119,triple one nine) it is hard. I have never understood why we have to have two gradings. I got A1 in both gradings but I have friends who got A1 in the SPM English but a B3 in the GSCE. Why not just show the GSCE grade alone??Is that not a more credible result??

So how can the students do well in Maths and Science when they don't even understand the subject they are being taught in??? Even so, the solution is not to stop teaching in English. That is the step backward that we all should not be taking. Working towards improving English should be the aim. Well, I only hope during the time we have until 2012, they will develop and improve the teaching of the English subject in schools. And also do their best to improve the current teaching instead of letting all the problems continue just to prove themselves correct, that English yields poor results in those subjects.

I supported the PPSMI policy despite missing out on it because I felt that the use of English in those subjects would benefit Malaysian students when they leave school and pursue tertiary education; especially when they pursue professional courses or are sent to study abroad.
I am currently studying to achieve a professional qualification with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). After 2 and a half years in this course, I remain in no doubt that my reason for supporting PPSMI is justified. Being able to speak, read and understand the English language well gives you an advantage,better understanding and saves you from from having to flip through a dictionary too often. We're running a race in this world and being held back because of language limitations isn't a pleasant thing.

Please do not take me the wrong way. I am not against the national language. Not at all. I am proud to be able to speak 3 different languages, Bahasa Malaysia among them. But I feel we must not only know a language; but to know it well. Claiming that we are good in English but saying, "I am boring" instead of "I am bored" doesn't give us much credit. I know it is important to uphold the national language but we must strive to keep up with the rest of the world.

So please support the good use of English.