You'll Finally See the Truth

Nobody likes to fail a subject.

Even for some students who give up on their studies and can't be bothered with their SPM grades, there is an ultimatum: you must not, regardless of the circumstances, fail Malay.

If a candidate fails his Malay paper, he or she will automatically fail SPM.

Teachers used to scare us, they'll say, "Don't you dare fail your Malay, or you'll end up with no certificate."

So even if you did study for other subjects, get A1s and all, fail your Malay, you fail everything.

I love that equation, by the way.

Yesterday daddy was flabbergasted when reading the Star. Our Deputy Prime Minister, also the Education Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that he was surprised that English is not a 'must pass' subject for SPM like Malay.

To be frank, none of the teachers told us, "You must not fail English." For me it was unnecessary, how can you fail English in SPM? Not only is it surprisingly difficult to fail English in SPM level, but it is out of the question. How could you fail the international language? How are you going to survive?

Perhaps the majority of the 500 feedbacks, who objected making English a 'must pass' subject, decided to let their children study in Malaysia and work in Malaysia, then die in Malaysia. Not that it is a bad thing, but sometimes you gotta aim high.

1. English is an international language.

Even the Chinese in China cannot afford to fail English. The government even took the trouble to employ English teachers from almost every country in the world to help their students. Like it or not, English is the essential tool of survival in the world today.

By making English a 'must pass' subject, students will take the effort to learn the language well and consequently, improving their English. Us Malaysians will be much more capable in working for international companies and survive in the international market.

2. Again with the politics.

It's stupid saying that if English is a 'must pass' subject, then the students are under the colonisation of the English language. As Dr. M said, "They are more concerned on politics than education."

Please don't make this a political issue. Please don't carry a fake coffin walking around trying to tell the whole Malaysia that the Malay language is being marginalised or something like that. If a student is going to take a job that doesn't require any contact with English, and he or she can survive with that meagre pay, well then, why not just make English an elective subject instead of a core subject?

Even a guy selling Ramly burger on the streets needs to know English.

3. About the students in rural areas.

For all you know, these students might read more than your city-grown kids do. Donate English books to these students. Send English teachers there at least once every fortnight for an intensive English class with these students. Don't just sit there and protest how unfair it is for these students who have minimal contact with English, get up and do something!

If making English a 'must pass' subject is unfair to these students, then denying them a good education to groom them for a better future is unfair too.

4. How in the world can you fail SPM English?

I think we can all understand if a student fails the GCE-O Levels English, since it's marked by British examiners who expect flawless English as it should be in UK. But SPM English? I don't want to sound proud or conceited, but SPM English is really too easy. Just count the number of people who scored A1 for SPM English.

5. Teach grammar in schools.

All I can remember learning about grammar in school is doing worksheets. Teachers assume our primary school teachers or even kindergarten teachers taught us well. My tenses were crazy before a full-drill class of grammar (yes only grammar, 2 hours of grammar) by Mr. Sean.

Worksheets don't always work. It's like asking a robot to answer all the questions, makes the whole task so mechanical. Language is an art, not a branch in mechanical science.

6. You just gotta love the English language.

The base of the English language is the usual ABC, not as difficult as Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Khmer, Russian and Greek. The pronounciation ain't as difficult as German. The only thing that gives you a mild headache is the tenses. See? It's not that difficult.

Now, go improve your English. I have to brush up mine as well. Tata~