Issues in Education

preparing our students for
a life of tests or
the test of life

The topic that I want to discuss about education in Singapore is the contentious issue of examination results as the end state versus lifelong learning as the aim of education.  
Singapore has been able to garner the top scores in various international assessment of learning such as PISA and TIMSS. This performance is repeated many times over the last few decades in the Ordinary Level, the Advanced Level, the Advanced Placement and the International Baccalaureate examinations. The focus on examination results has become the sole pre-occupation of many parents and students alike that eventually led to the mounting of stresses amongst parents and students. In a news report as recent as 27 July 2015, a girl from a top school committed suicide over 2Bs despite a string of distinctions in her O level examinations. In her parting message to her parents, she was sorry for not performing better in her examinations and has disappointed them.   
Such a distorted perception of life and success has prompted me to revalue my role as an educator. As we prepare our students for major examinations after examinations, have we indirectly conditioned them to prepare for a life of tests rather than the test of life? The over-emphasis of tests and examinations as the ultimate aim in education has distracted us from the real purpose of education, which is bigger and broader than the examinations.
As a student, I have been interested in learning as I was simply curious about things. My voracious appetite for learning ranges from Literature to Philosophy and Mathematics to the Sciences. In fact, the library was my universe in which I explore it with patience and excitement. Classes are always an opportunity for me to share my learning with my classmates and my teachers. I was blessed with great teachers who motivated me to learn more and gave me opportunities to develop myself to whom I am today. There were frequent instances where the teacher simply gave up the class to let me teach. 

In the course of my work as a teacher, I have sought to change parents’ perceptions of exams as the end state of learning. Through interesting and challenging lessons, I have constantly reminded my students to focus not just to ace the examinations, but to ace learning itself. I have provided a safe environment for students to ask questions and to give their opinions over the learning materials rather than to deliver the lesson materials. I hope that through my small little actions, I am able to get students to be excited about learning itself, rather than to pursue a grade without a purpose. With the correct attitude, I believe strongly that we can get our students to face the test of life rather than a life of tests. 

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