As we strive to keep the quality of our education system high, we subconsciously focus too much on creating a world-class learning environment, resulting in the overemphasis of 21st century education in educational institutions. To ensure the plan produces desired results, academicians and researchers attend courses, conduct empirical studies and hold academic discussions to come up with new and improved pedagogical approaches to cater for the needs of Generation Y learners including the introverts and extroverts, the disciplined and problematic, the gifted and differently-abled, and the privileged and underprivileged.
The effort to make students engage in a creative and effective learning process with teachers taking the back seat may help learners experience a new learning style, but does it guarantee students the chance to become lifelong learners, intellectual thinkers who make justified decisions while believing that right is right and wrong is wrong?
While educational institutions play an important role in helping children become passionate learners and thinkers with confidence and courage, parental influence and the myriad sources of entertainment children are exposed to are two contributing factors that determine the children’s way of thinking.
No matter how much effort teachers put in correcting children’s wrong mindset about the purpose of education, children’s motivation to learn and succeed will not last, unless parents support their children to stay motivated at home. Parents may monitor and help their children complete homework and revision or spend time with them by engaging in educational and beneficial activities or games that feed their curiosity and challenge their thinking ability.
As schools realise that the millennial generation needs to be approached and educated using special ways, parents also need to apply smart parenting by not resorting to nagging, scolding and complaining about their children’s bad habits and mistakes while comparing them with others. Parents should not rub the salt into the wound by throwing tantrums, as the brainwashing process will cause mental and emotional torture. However, this idea does not suggest that children should be mollycoddled and defended when their action is wrong. Rather, it means that parents should turn finger-pointing into sharing sessions whenever children misbehave or fail to perform well in studies. They should communicate with their children in the most stress-free way to maintain a healthy parent-child relationship.
Children’s ability to think wisely and rationally is also influenced by their choices of entertainment. Books, movies, music and social media are sources of entertainment children cannot live without. However, some children love to listen to songs with inappropriate lyrics and watch movies with indecent or violent scenes. These children, figuratively speaking, try to refresh and energise their minds while “breathing dirty air”, which results in them having “polluted minds” filled with negative thoughts. In this case, parents should ensure that their children’s excitement to follow trends will not cause them to be addicted to the wrong entertainment that will affect their emotional, psychological and social wellbeing.
As for teenagers, instead of opting for mind-blowing and thought-provoking stories that encourage inquisitive thinking, many prefer to read novels with low quality or clichéd storylines, not realising that their minds are manipulated as they get carried away with emotions. This unhealthy habit is not worth their precious time. When everyone else is moving forward and chasing dreams, it is feared that these teenagers cannot stop craving for the wrong food for thought. When it comes to improving the quality of our thinking, simple stories with strong messages are all that we need. Animated series like Upin & Ipin and Bola Kampung, as well as old-time favourites including Usop Sontorian and Kampung Boy are advisable options for entertainment. These hilarious and entertaining television series teach the audience about racial harmony, sportsmanship, teamwork, camaraderie, friendship, and the importance of knowledge, unity, respect and lessons in life.
Ensuring our children focus on their studies was yesteryear’s goal. The challenge today is to engage them in this age of transformation where knowledge is powerless without leadership, communication and survival skills — which learners need to develop, apply and improve from time to time.
The ability to think positively and have noble intentions may make children optimistic individuals, but they need to walk their thoughts and prove their positivity can benefit others, too.
Confucius said: “He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.” It is time for us to produce thinking learners with extraordinary ideas and exceptional talents who tick all the right boxes. Hopefully, they can contribute to the development of the nation and ensure that our 58-year-old ship will continue cruising in the right direction while promising a smooth journey.
Muhamad Solahudin Ramli is a secondary school teacher in Marang, Terengganu