I was thinking of an adjective to describe the recent spate of incidents that involved the youths of our nation but I failed. No one word alone is sufficient to qualify the magnitude of shock that was triggered. Many questions have been raised over the social media wondering what and where has gone wrong. Is our society heading toward destruction or has it crumbled already? For me, among the many words that ran through my mind, one echoes more strongly than the rest and that's ‘helpless’. I feel helpless, I have always felt this way in my years of service. I have resigned to doing my best to make a difference to those students whom I have crossed path, others I could only wish them all the best.
Having been in schools for umpteen years - 15 years in the public school and 16 years in the private school, I have become discouraged at the end of the journey. There is so much to do but so little time and conviction among the executioners (principals, teachers and education officers). Distorted visions, wrong priorities and selfish agendas have directly and indirectly incurred so much loss in the students - their time and learning in schools. This is one of the reasons more and more privately own home schools have mushroomed over the recent years. People have lost faith in our education system, those who are financially sound send their kids to private and international schools. Those who can't afford have to bite the bullet and think of ways to provide the best for their children's education. Is private education better? Yes and No depending on the schools.
Is the present education minister solely to be blamed for what has been rotting in our education system for years or decades? Is sacking her the solution to all menace? Absolutely not! There are some matters she has not handled well but she should not be the one bearing the brunt for all evils in schools. There are cracks in our education system that have wasted our people's money and time over the decades. No matter how good a policy look on paper, it is the execution of it all that determine its success. Sadly, the cascading workshops have been carried out but many teachers and schools have failed in their missions.
Imagine the challenge of one trying to raise good kids with good values in a family , the challenge of raising good citizens through our education system is even more demanding. It takes everyone, yes everyone in school - the principal, the teachers and the students to make it happen. Unless a revamp happens, we are deceiving ourselves that our kids are well taken care of in schools. I have served in the education industry for 3 decades, I'm yet to see good changes in the school subjects especially in the primary.
School is boring for many of our students, so what is interesting for them? The social media of course! There are some exceptions- parents who don't allow their kids to have a handphone until they are mature enough to know what's right from wrong, what's good from evil, and to be able to make a wise decision with regards to what they see and read over the social media. Majority of our children are connected to the social media the minute they get up. Bring their handphones to school is more important than having packed the right books in their school bags. When they are in school, we are not able to get them engaged with what makes them tick, what makes them curious, what makes them wiser, what makes them a wholesome person. Any school can have their vision and mission statements well written on their display board, the outcomes are very often skewed.
Our students, even children as young as two, are connected socially, Try taking their gadgets from them, you'll notice they become lifeless, they don't know how to occupy their time with good things. They have been exposed to countless evil that have a detrimental effect on them. I still remember the peak was during Covid-19. After the schools were reopen, more students were disciplined for sharing harmful contents. Suddenly we heard of Discord, Roblox, and so on. There was no turning back, the tsunami of social ills have started. The school had tried so hard and we knew without the parents, we were fighting a losing battle. Sad to say, every time a digital or safeguarding workshop was held, the number of parents attending was pathetic.
So what I'm saying is this, there is a broken connection in schools and also at home. More and more students are disconnected in their learning, they study for study sake, There is little change in their behavior. The conviction is not there. One subject that should be abolished in school is Pendidikan Moral. It is a dead subject despite it's title. If learning doesn't have an impact on one's behavior, then it is a dead subject. What we need is a good and effective mental wellness program for our students, not moral studies. Teachers should be at the front line to change. Don't just finish the job, do it with conviction, talk to the students and know each of them well. Be more observant and give students your time. Be genuine during homeroom sessions where values and wisdom are imparted. Students need to know we care before they come forward to talk to us. I often told my teachers before, “if it's not your cup of tea, then leave the profession”. It's a hard pill to swallow but it's true.
Many students need to have their voices heard, they need to have input of good voices, real voices from people who care for them, not the fake character from social media. The technology has advanced so much now they students have their confidant in social media, one they don't meet but they can talk for hours. Where are the teachers and parents who are supposed to be their confidants? My heart goes out to those students who need to be heard but found no help. Some of them have bottled their emotions because communications at home and in school have broken down. Their resort is to turn to social media.
Parents need to wake up, don't leave the responsibility to educate our children to the schools. We need to make changes and ask for help if we notice something amiss in our children's behavior or we know we have been wrong in our parenting. Put our pride down, seek the right help. Everyone is on the same page, there is no embarrassment in acknowledging our weaknesses in our parenting. Our children needs to get back the right connection starting with parent-child communication. Talk with them, get to know them and do something before it's too late. Those parents who have been successful in bringing up children who are responsible in the use of social media can offer tips to other parents who need them.
What has happened is only the tip of the iceberg. Many other forms of evils are under the water that are waiting to surface. Let's hope there is awakening in families, schools and the ministries. Bring back the right connection from head to heart while we address the problems stemming from the wrong connection of social media. Young parents who provide digital gadgets to even their toddlers need to gain back their control. Start young and start now as the saying goes “Melentur buluh biarlah dari rebungnya”. Let's do something, we can and we must!
GAN BH (bhgan1706@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact creator@newswav.com.
