I've been noticing this worrying phenomenon that is rather prevalent among students. Unfortunately, it has also happened to me.
I realised that I know nuts about engineering, even though I am supposedly doing engineering. It is becoming very scary, when one of my favourite profs starts asking the LT:"Okie everyone, tell me intuitively how does an inductor work. Anyone?" There's a long awkward silence.. Some brave soul eventually ventures a formula, but no one can really explain it in a way that shows understanding.. (intuitive understanding is quite important, if you have read "Surely you're joking, Mr Feynman!". It's important to build a mental model for your own understanding.)
After talking to another prof of mine that I respect a lot, I suddenly realised fundamental differences between the way he took his education and me. He often asked why about the things that he was taught, and his healthy skepticism for teachers showed. He also dedicated a lot more time than I did studying in his undergraduate years, in his words, " studying day and night, only breaking for sleep and meals." His fundamentals in mathematics, engineering, computational analysis, physics and chemistry are so solid that I am in awe. He is probably one of the few profs that I have ever met that has read through every book that's sitting on his bookshelf. I once wandered into his office and asked him a question that was not within the module that he was teaching. Nonchalantly, he told me to flip to the x-th chapter of the textbook on the second shelf in the middle column. That was pretty amazing (and I found the answer that I needed). (Btw, he's from an European country, not Singapore.)
Can we change the education system? I think we can. We can start by inculcating a habit in kids to always ask "Why" 3 to 5 times about the things that they are being taught in school. Googling is so easy that kids should be able to find what they need and assimilate that knowledge. Another method would be to ask kids to just keep trying to understand something they don't immediately grasp. They can try watching a video, drawing diagrams, reading another explanation.. just don't give up.
Implemented successfully, I think that would collectively result in a 10 - 20 IQ jump across the whole population, which is more than enough to spike a few Nokias in Singapore. =)
Trying to de-school myself, with the limited amount of time I have. Funnily, this is the first time in my life I think I'm actually enjoying the feeling of learning. I'm going "err..." or "Brain-freeze.." a lot more often, but it's quite interesting.
"studying day and night, only breaking for sleep and meals" .... He is probably one of the few profs that I have ever met that has read through every book that's sitting on his bookshelf.
ReplyDeleteYour prof puts me to shame 'cos I'm one of those who have a lot of books on my shelf and yet haven't read 70% (?) of them. I buy books hoping to read them, but never actually find the time. :-) Knowing this, I still buy, hoping that *someday* I would find the time.
But reading books on the shelf is not the point. The point I want to make is that going to college is not (necessarily) about "studying day and night", though if that's what makes you happy, pls do.
Going to college is about learning how to learn and learning what you care about (remember Steve Jobs and what he said about learning serifs). For me, I spent 15 hours a week putting holes in paper targets while I was in college. What for? No real reason. I just thought it was cool. :-) (Or maybe I have violent tendencies? :-P)
While it is actually true that I can probably pick up any handgun and blow someone's brains out within 50 m, this skill isn't particularly quite useful as a prof. :-) HOWEVER, life's not so simple. Shooting is actually an incredibly stressful sport that trains discipline, tenacity and the ability to take stress. So, while I might just have made myself look like a violent man, the point I'm trying to make is "it depends".
There are lots of things in life to learn. It's not just about books and study -- though I'm not discouraging you from "studying day and night" either. If you like that, pls do. It would probably improve your grades believe it or not.
The moral of the story is that learning is not an act. It's really an attitude. It is actually possible to be "studying day and night" and learn nothing; or you can do something apparently frivolous and still learn stuff.
The problem with many Singaporeans is that they do not have the love for learning. :-(
Hmm, wanting to changing the education system is a noble idea.
ReplyDeleteBut you seem to have neglected the fact that teachers in Singapore are in fact a product of this education system that have earned both admiration and derision from groups of people, depending on who you ask.
@Bernard,
ReplyDeleteThere's actually nothing wrong with the system. The problem is really in the heads of the parents and students.
If their heads are wired right. The current system is fine. Objectively, I think our system is better than anything I've seen anywhere else. :-P
"If their heads are wired right. The current system is fine. Objectively, I think our system is better than anything I've seen anywhere else. :-P"
ReplyDeleteYup, if their heads are wired right, it'll complement the current system well. The thing is, the current system usually results in developing a different kind of mentality than what is actually "right" in students and parents, that probably would not arise if we were not existing in the current system. So the system is also partially at fault imho. It feels incomplete.
But ya, I'd rather have spent my early years studying in SG than Canada :P
*I'm glad I spent
ReplyDelete@Prof Ben:
ReplyDeleteHi Prof Ben, I understand that reading books on the shelf is not the main idea.. What I mean to bring out is that this prof can either easily handle any engineering problem or figure out a way to do it, because he spent a lot of time building a very solid foundation. Regrettably, I did not, and I'm paying the price for it now by having to dig up old stuff all the time. He is actually a very good example of someone who has learnt how to learn. E.g. He does not prepare notes for students for the level 3&4 modules, expecting them to come in for lectures having read and analysed the relevant chapters in the textbook. He questions their understanding of the concepts.. etc.
The main point that I wanted to bring out is that we do not emphasize acquiring the full understanding of what we are taught.. It's rather touch and go, just for exams. I'm sure it's a combination of both teachers and students, but I would rather think that since students are responsible for their own education, they should do more.
The "day and night" refers to the dedication to be good, which most people can't put themselves through. It's one thing to want to be good, it's another to devote your time to it.
@Bernard
I think you need to be responsible for your own learning outcomes =) It's no pt externalizing.
@Shannon
The education system is right for producing workers for the manufacturing economy =)
I think you're amazingly lucky to have experienced an alternative, so you can compare =) I'm sure both has its advantages and disadvantages..
@all
I see a lot of lip service being paid to refining the education system, in terms of project work, creative learning.. Sometimes we miss the simple things such as a habit of questioning, healthy skepticism and telling students to not give up trying to understand things that they don't get immediately.
@Prof Ben
ReplyDeleteIf you don't think you can read the books on your shelf, please lend some to me.. =) I'm sure there are some pretty interesting books..
@Ryan,
ReplyDeleteI guess it's okay to touch and go for the stuff you don't really care about and will never actually need. Remember that you will never use 95% of the stuff you learn in school anyway.
Sure, you are welcome to borrow books from my shelf. My students do that all the time. Bernard Shum has one of my books even as we speak. :-)
@Ryan: I loved reading this post. Please post more of your thoughts, can? Far more interesting that just links. =)
ReplyDelete@Cedric
ReplyDeleteOkie, writer's block and lack of time.. =p
I shifted my links to Buzz liao, it seems more natural on Buzz.
@Prof Ben
Yay! (books!) =)
(Is it 95% cause we never get to choose 95% of the stuff we want to learn? haha. nvm.)