seventy percent.

yesterday, on my drive back home from work, i was listening to BFM in the car, as i normally do on most days. talkback (the name of the program) was having a discussion on the recent national education blueprint 2013 that was recently published and open to public.

in particular, they were talking about how the blurprint had disclosed that 70% of malaysia's english language teachers had pretty much failed their cambridge test and were unfit to teach. seriously, 70%! what are they teaching in our national schools? there was also a disclosure that some

so anyway, the callers consisted of old-timers, parents and young ones - sharing their stories on how they (and their children) picked up and learned english. basically, what people were saying was, it started at home. AT HOME. either they picked it up from tv (hot fave apparently, haha), video games and books. and a lot of people mentioned that parents also communicated in english at home, which obviously helped. for these kids, schools need to enhance their resources and materials - there were some cases (actually a LOT) of students pointing out how the teacher was actually using wrong grammar or pronounciation. oh, dear.

this doesnt mean teachers should be released from their responsibilities and accountabilities of actually teaching well. far from it. because for kids who don't live in urban areas, who don't have parents that are exposed to english - they need good teachers. they need support, encouragement and good reading/writing/communication material.

but the reality of the matter is: we're in trouble. when even english teachers can't seem to string together a sentence properly, how are we to expect that the non-urban students to perform? they might be able to memorise stuff, but that's not really learning. and what happens when they go for interviews - are they going to memorise scripts for that too?

i'm not sure how exactly the ministry is going to tackle this problem; but they could take a cue from Teach For Malaysia - an excellent program that sources graduates to go and teach in areas that REALLY need help. they are paid relatively well (don't lah compare to investment banking or whatever) but most importantly, the entry requirement is HIGH. these fellows (i think that's what they're called) are given really good training.

i'm no expert but at the end of the day, i think the problem with our education system (especially for the teachers) is that teaching seems to be such an easy cop-out route for a lot of people. bad exam results? takpe, apply jadi cikgu, dapat masuk maktab. want to have a relaxed life? apply jadi cikgu. have a daughter who doesn't know what to do with her future after spm? apply jadi cikgu, bila dah kahwin nanti senang nak mintak transfer ikut suami.

and no, i'm not making up these answers. these are actual things i have heard from actual people.

but why are our standards for teachers so low? this is an honorable job - you're educating a generation of young minds. only those who really want to teach, should teach. not just because you don't have anything better to do with your life.

this actually saddens me. because i have friends who are teachers, and they work really, REALLY hard. they really care about their students. sadly, they are bogged down with so much administration work and reports that this distracts them from their actual work: TEACHING. and nowadays, we have schools (and principals) who are hell-bent in competing with each other on whose students scores the most straight As. it's all exams, exams and exams. nobody seems to care WHAT these kids learn or HOW they learn it - they just want you to score as many As as possible!

i guess, it's also the pressure of this whole rat race we're in. just talking about myself for example, i don't think i could just up and leave my job now, with the pay and benefits i get - to go and teach (my lack of patience is another issue altogether, haha). cost of living is very expensive these days; and i need all the income i can get. so i'm not surprised that other professionals are also reluctant to do the same. seriously, at work, i am surrounded by brilliant minds and talent - inquisitive professionals - sometimes i wonder, if all of these incredible people were out there working as teachers, how amazing would that be for our education system? sadly, all of us are tied with our own commitments - and life just doesn't work that way.

maybe, one day, we'll find a solution to this. until then, let's just do what we can in helping educate our own kids, and the kids around us.