Introduction
As salaryman and salarywoman i.e. folks who work for employers, our long-term viable options thus do not include private and international schools. Instead, it's either going to be a fully-government school or a government-funded school.
My husband and I are from a different educational background, although both of us sat for the SPM examination in the final year of our secondary school (or high school). He started his education at a national-type Chinese school, or SJK(C), while I started my primary education at a missionary-owned school that receives partial government-funding, but is otherwise known as national school, or Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK).
Fast forward to the present
From my observation when I happen to walk or drive past primary schools nowadays, at least the ones near my place, I see an obvious racial segregation among the schools.
(1) SJK(C) - Predominantly Chinese pupils, with a small number of Malay and Indian pupils.
(2) SK - Predominantly Malay pupils, with a small number of Indian pupils. I did not see any Chinese pupil.
Is it true that the ones from my generation are really gone? What are the factors that lead to the current trend in relation to the type of school vs. racial background?
This or that, which is better?
Despite various debates as to the pros and cons of each type of school, upon gathering as much as input possible, I still do not know which is better - SJK(C) or SK?
Although I've heard an equal number of good and not-so-good stories about SJK(C), it's certainly unfair for me to make any comments for I have never been there myself. Among the main comments that I've heard from various folks are high amount of homework and high level of stress. But who am I to judge if the pressure exerted in school, if it's true, is really unbearable?
The Chinese school dilemma
There have been a number of successful people whose alma mater are SJK(C). But at the same time, there are some who did not get through SPM due to problems with Bahasa Malaysia, which is the medium of instruction for all national secondary schools and is a compulsory SPM subject to pass. Therefore it's highly-subjective, what works well for one may not work for another.
My early experience as a "murid sekolah kebangsaan"
For SK, here's sharing some personal experience on the early days of my life as a pupil of SK back in the 90's. I'll share not only the language aspect, but also all things related to the ups and downs that I went through in Primary 1.
(1) Prior to beginning my formal education, as a child, I could understand a bit of Malay language (Bahasa Malaysia or BM). I can faintly recall having mingled with a few Malay girls slightly older than me who lived near my mother's work quarters at Kg. Sg. Terap, Batu Gajah for 5 years. By the time I was 6, I've moved to another area. However, as I've never really spoke BM prior to starting school, my command of BM then was only limited to listening and not speaking.
(2) Back in the 90's, there's a good mix of pupils of all racial backgrounds at my school. That's the true Malaysia - diversity! There's also where we learnt about each other's cultures from a young age.
(3) One of the first things taught by my good form teacher Puan Nor Aini was how to seek the teacher's permission to go to the toilet.
(4) We spent almost the entire year polishing our alphabets and suku kata, which is the foundation to read and spell in BM.
(5) English was taught beginning from the second semester of Primary 1.
(6) Primary 1 back then comprised a light blend of subjects - BM, English, Mathematics, Music and Physical Education. And Islamic Education for Muslim pupils and Moral Education for non-Muslim pupils. The aim was to create a strong foundation before moving to higher levels. It's a drastic contrast from schools nowadays where pupils are loaded with heavy-going content of subjects right from primary 1.
(7) Language and Self-Defence: During the early months, apart from what's taught by my teachers, I could not speak more. The down side was being unable to defend myself in certain situations. The following is not a grudge statement, but purely to share a true experience.
My mom used to stock my pencil case full of pencils for fear that I wouldn't have enough to use in class. A classmate who sat near me lost a few of her pencils, that also happened to be the same brand as mine... during the heydays of the red-bodied Staedtler Atlas HB pencils.
When being asked by my teacher whether I had taken my classmate's pencils, I said "tak ada" (no) but could not explain the reason I had so many was because my mom had packed that amount for me to school.
Unfortunately, with my silence + circumstantial evidence i.e. I was having so many pencils while my classmate's were lost, I was wrongfully-scolded for taking things that didn't belong to me.
(8) The reasons my parents chose to put me in Sekolah Kebangsaan:
- Both of them came from English schools and thus SK sounded less strange to them compared to SJK(C).
- My dad feared if I could not catch up in BM and English if I go to SJK(C), and the consequences that follow.
- My mom had an initial idea of putting me in SJK(C) because she understood the challenges of being a non-Chinese-reading Chinese and did not want me to go through the same. But she gave up the idea later upon considering my dad's view.
- My parents also had concerns of them not being able to teach me how to do my homework in Chinese. But it turned out that I've never sought their help for homework anyway.
The good 6 years in SK and my limitations
If you were to ask me whether I think my parents had made a right choice by enrolling me in SK, or if I regret their choices, well, here goes:
(1) I'm grateful for the good guidance and care provided by all my teachers from Primary 1 to 6.
(2) Although my primary school teachers were predominantly Malays, I had neither been discriminated against nor received unfair treatment.
(3) SK is a good place to learn BM due to the vast opportunity to speak in the language.
(4) When it comes to work life, I'm thankful that with my school background, I feel comfortable working in places where the majority of my colleagues are Malays. Likewise in friendship.
(5) Incidentally, despite the above, most of my Chinese friends from SJK(C) are alright as well. For instance, my housemates and a few of my Mandarin-speaking classmates at Sedaya (now called UCSI) had been very understanding when I could not speak Mandarin to them in the beginning. Thanks to being with them for a year, plus a few more years with some friends from China, I managed to learn sufficient Mandarin to speak it almost daily nowadays.
(6) But I have a limit in relation to what I can read. I heard that Chinese newspapers have lots of juicy news and articles, and wish I can read them too.
(7) I noticed that many SJK(C) pupils are very good at mathematics. Although I do not know exactly why, I suspect it's due to the high amount of homework, something akin to practice makes perfect. Anyway, being not a very studious person, I don't think I would have made a good SJK(C) pupil because I actually dislike homework.
Conclusion
SJK(C) vs. SK, both have their respective pros and cons. It's also not easy to ascertain whether a child will be better off in which type of school.
As for Alvin, it's still a long way before I know for sure what school is suitable for him. A recap:
As
a former very premature baby, Alvin is physically alright on the
whole. However, he is at higher risks of developmental delays and other disorders compared to his peers who were born at the right time. Despite his intelligence in some areas, he has delays in language (started to talk at the age of 4 this year - prior to this he was silent, with some mistakes between "you" and "I") and fine motor (task requires the usage of pencil is still a challenge for him).
What if?
If Alvin were to go to SJK(C) like 99.9% of his peers from his kindergarten, will he be on par in terms of language before Primary 1 so that he can cope with learning multiple languages simultaneously, especially without significantly jeopardising BM? Unless one is prepared to migrate, the national language is undeniably crucial. Walk into any government department, e.g. to renew an IC or to get treatment at a government hospital, knowledge of BM is very important to get around in Malaysia.
In terms of fine motor delay, just in case if improvement is not up to the desired level, imagine the nightmare of having many pages of Chinese-writing homework on a daily basis. This is because repeated writing is the only way to learn how to write Chinese words. Dr. Raja once mentioned that at the moment, SJK(C) may be a bit overwhelming for Alvin due to the amount of subjects and homework.
If Alvin were to go to SK... Although you may tell me that he's my child and therefore I shouldn't be bothered so much by others' opinion, I also do not want to be conveniently blamed for depriving my child of a chance to learn Chinese language properly, or for any unforeseen problem that Alvin may face in SK.
Just like how my parents found themselves more comfortable with SK due to their own background, I believe my husband and my parents-in-law will be more comfortable with SJK(C) because they've been there and hence they know what to expect.
Apart from a few words learnt from kindergarten such as "nasi", "telur", "hujan", etc, If Alvin were to attend SK, his command of BM will be considered very low compared to the majority in class who are expected to be native speakers. And recalling my unpleasant experience of being a defenseless primary 1 pupil, I won't be surprised if Alvin will go through it. As trivia as it may look, it was a huge heartache for me as a child back then.
The wishlist
Sometimes I wish I have, say 6 months of exclusive break where I can teach Alvin basic BM before school-going age. To brush up his alphabets, suku kata and important vocabulary just like what I was taught in school. So that just in case if Alvin is indeed better-suited for SK, he will not be badly-behind and suffer from not being able to speak up.
But if Alvin somehow gets through all his current challenges, I won't have any reservation about him attending SJK(C) although I may at first wonder what's it like.
How do other parents balance between themselves and their children's school and leisure? I also wonder what are the important criteria that parents take into account in deciding what school to send their children to.
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