Suara Hati Ayahku

Salam

Many of my friends sent their children for the purpose of '..  I want them to be educated as well as Tun Mahathir'.

See .. that is the aim of most modern parents in the Klang Valley.  They took Mahathir as their best point of reference.  They want their children to get the best education so that they can:


(i)  appreciate the value of education
(ii) after getting the education , they can compare which is which in terms of monetary , spiritual values and others.
(iii)  express their views intelligently, logically, maturely, responsibly, accountable, integrity, humbly at times when you have to in front of the dead ones and

(iii)  see that to survive to the best nation , we must be able to see things that commoners can't

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How to measure?

We can assess how much our children has equipped themselves as far as education when they can measure

(i) how many certificates UPSR, PMR, SPM, STPM, Matriculation MOHE
(ii) how many degrees -  Bachelor, Masters, PhD and Post Doctoral
(iii) how much money was used to raise a kid up to PhD level of education .  Is it RM500,000? and
(iii) what jobs they are doing including an ability to be an entrepreneur if time demands one

Types of measurement?

There are two types in measuring this:

(i)  formal measurement /  assessments
(ii) informal measurement / assessments

But we must remember - are we measuring things that we want to measure using the right equipment ( Kubiszyn and Borich, 2003) and are the figures correctly displayed etc etc.  Have we covered the syllabus/ curriculum? (Nik Aziz, 1999).

examples:

a)  find the length of an African  tapioca     -  We must use a long ruler , a measuring tape - but why African?  may be we haven't coveredthe whole syllabus when chinese tapioca is also long.  Have you measured it yet?
b)  find the temperature -  we must use thermometer  degrees ferenheit/ centigrade.  The boiling water is 100 degrees Centigrade but how about the current in the lightning that struck somebodies faces/ bodies in such a condition the faces  turned absolutely charcoal, pit black?
c)  find happiness ?  - you are married to the right lady, live in a proper homes, drive proper cars etc etc
how many children do you have now,  you have any handicap kid at home darling?, you can live with your in-laws peacefully?  your working collegue can they accept you as a short , small , petite body size malay?
d) find the exact time of the lecture ?  - use a watch/ timer.  Alas ..  most of the students are blind. How?
e)  grade 'A' in SPM Mathematics -  you score 37/40 questions correctly

but in the end ..
we found that .. this world is not an easy place to measure things that are not fixed.  20 years ago getting a masters you gained employment as a lecturer in a malaysian university but now to qualify for the same job .. you must have at least a  Ph.D.  See?  things change.

Last 30 years , we measure happiness with the lady we wanted to marry after our convocation.  But now after 30 years on the road and getting 10 kids ..  we think happiness is not as defined as  before.  Why?  because all our kids .. have left the nest and they wholly supported their mum high and dry.  You?  you are left alone to defend yourself.

See?  education is not eternal. One day it was spelt like this ..and when tomorrow comes, the measurement tool is changing.  Last time, getting an Enid Blyton book is a reward for securing a success in English paper SPM/ GCE "O" Levels but nowadays .. getting iPAD is the trend.

So how ladies and gentleman? Can you help me?

Wallah huaklam.( God KNows Best).

References:

Kubiszyn, T., and Borich, G. (2003).  Educational Testing and Measurement.  Classroom Applcation and Practice.  7th Ed.  USA:  Wiley  
Nik Aziz Nik Pa (1999).  Nilai Intelek . Kuala Lumpur:  UM