Thoughts About Civics and Moral Education...

**A quick disclaimer to say that first hand, i know that there ARE a lot and lot of good caring teachers in our schools who really care for the kids and devote a lot of time being there for them outside of the classroom. In pointing out certain systemic limitations, I do not in any way mean to discredit the wonderful work of these dedicated teachers. This post is meant as a comparison of school and home.

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The Ministry of Education (MOE) will shine a spotlight on developing character and instilling values in students, said Education Minister Heng Swee Keat yesterday.

The CCE curriculum will be co-created by schools and MOE.

It will incorporate existing programmes such as Civics and Moral Education (CME), National Education and Co-Curri- cular Activities (CCA).

Mr Heng said the education system needs to nurture citizens of good character so that "everyone has moral resolve to withstand an uncertain future".

Globally, he said that there are changes in traditional social structures of families, lifestyles and consumption of media.

Read the full article here.

Certainly, I do not dispute that the MOE is on the right track to focusing on the moral aspects of educating every young person who passes through the system. Looking at the moral landscape of our nation, I'd say better late than never! ;) Hope it's not too little too late! (Case in point, ask any typical teenager or child on the street what their views on homosexuality is, and the answers will more likely than not show how shaky the future of our society's family structures are.)

My friend recently told me that she decided to send her girl to a mission primary school believing that they will place emphasis on character education. I have taught in a mission school before. I can safely say that whatever the school does cannot compare with what I (and I dare say, most homeschoolers in general) do at home for my children, in terms of "CME" or Civics and Moral Education.

Consider the following points:

Schools and Homeschooling Parents have Different End Goals for Education

Schools function to help students achieve results in a given "terminal" exam. For example, Primary schools prepare students for the PSLE, for Secondary Schools- the 'O' or 'N' levels. This is their primary function. Their responsibility for the student ends when the student completes the exam. 

Homeschooling Parents on the other hand are not only looking for their offspring to pass some exam. They are preparing them for life as an adult: working life, marriage and family life, etc.  Homeschooling Parents look long term and have the whole person education of their child in mind. It extends far beyond educating their child in simply academics, but physical, social, emotional, and in many cases, spiritual aspects. 

This is the key reason why I believe that homeschooled children have a better "moral education". Because their teachers are their parents.

Homeschoolers practice Seamless and Non-segmented Teaching and Imparting of Values.

In schools, the system designates a (dismal to begin with) number of periods to TEACH or instruct CME education. Interesting as the anecdotes in the lessons may be, I always felt that the CME curriculum was artificial and contrived and mostly it came across as just a very good suggestion for the kids to choose to follow or not. 

Maths period is maths period, Geography period is Geography period. CME period is CME period. (Students will say, if your CME teacher is also your Maths teacher, then CME period is often also Maths period.)

As a homeschooling parent, whenever I apply for one of my children to homeschool, I am bound by MOE to produce a daily timetable for the Compulsory Education Unit to see what my child will be doing everyday. There is no CME period there. Why?

Because character and moral education permeates everything we do. I can't separate my "Teacher" mode from my "Parent" mode. 

A child hands up work done untidily, even if it was all correct answers, I will make the child erase and re-do. This is neatness and I believe that one can tell a lot about a person's character from the standard of work and the presentation of that work.

Proverbs 20:11  Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.

Exposure time

One hour a week of CME for a child at school. Ok, let's throw in a CME related school assembly, bringing the total to 2 hours a week. Oh yes, and there's the Co-Curricular component that is supposed to count for character education. Compare that to the exposure time the child has with his fellow morally clueless classsmates and peers- 6 hours a day or more. 

I'm being too harsh? Find me a parent who can say that their child has gone to school and picked up good habits and character traits. I can safely say that majority of parents interviewed will say their kids came home with vulgar language on their lips and p_rn in their minds (and phones).

A homeschooled child on the other hand is constantly interacting (not one way interaction, mind you) with an adult and constantly under her/ his watchful eye.

Down to the way a child talks to his or her sibling, or talks to me, I will address it if it is not correct. I have the authority to address it. And I have power to mete out the consequences of any bad behaviour at my disposal. This can't be said for the school teacher/ maid/ child care teacher/ tuition teacher..etc.

Day in, day out, all our waking hours, activities we do together, interactions with other people, eating meals, hanging the clothes, playing or working, practicing on our instruments, observing how others work, etc etc etc. How can I any more emphasize that character education is really a way of life.

Which brings me to the next very important point.

The Character of the Teacher.

 My ex- MOE teacher friend was telling me how colleagues were cheating on their spouses... love triangles happening in the staff room by parties who are, themselves, married. And mind you, this is in no way an isolated incident.

(On a not-so separate note, I do wish that MOE would do a study on how many high level MOE officers have suffered divorce or separation from their spouses. And find out the reasons why it happened. )

 The first thought that comes to mind is: ... and these are the people teaching the kids how to have happy and healthy relationships???

I hope I am not striking a "holier than thou" tone here, but come on... you can't give what you ain't got.

Also, I believe I can say that a teacher doesn't have children of their own and cannot intimately understand the issues of raising a moral being first hand. I started teaching before getting married and having children. In retrospect, I know I would make a much better teacher now that I have gone through the process of raising children from labour pains to pre-teenhood. (In the next couple of years or so, by God's grace, I can say "teenhood" J.) This is not to discredit teachers out there who aren't parents to say that they can't teach CME. It's just that it's different coming from a parent. :)

Hey wait a minute, I hear you say... there are some pretty lousy parents out there too. Totally agree. :( May God help us parents reading this to reflect seriously how we have been loving and training our children.

And school teachers come, and school teachers go. The parent is a parent to that child FOR LIFE.

So, if you buy my hypothesis that successful character education can only be imparted using a parent- child model in a maximum interaction setting (eg. the home), then looks like the MOE has to recruit very committed and big hearted teachers and "brain-wash" some of the existing ones to be willing to parent all the 240 or more students they teach.

My advice to parents who place the character outcomes of their children very high on the priority list: DIY. Homeschool.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[wendy]

excellent post. i remember picking up foul language and bad behavior not from home but from school too. that's why i agree that homeschooling is the only way to go.

[Jo Matthews S]

Teachers teach. Character cannot be taught. When schools attempt to 'teach' character education, it becomes superficial. What's more, we can't be sure that ALL teachers belief in the same 'correct' values. School leaders would be more busy hunting for data to measure the success of their character education programs to report in the year end appraisal- what are the key performance indicators for the success of their character education? Are the students going to keep track of how many good deeds they have done? Are students going to be presented with certs to recognize their good deeds? Oh please...The poor teachers already have so much on their plates!
Teachers teach English, Maths, Science. Parents inculcate values.

[Suwei]

Hi Wendy, yes, that would be one very good reason to homeschool. There's a saying I like pertaining to child training: "Train, don't re-train." I understand that there's a lot of re-training that needs to be done when a child comes home from school.

Yes, Jo, I think you have a point there. MOE shouldn't be the main ones to inculcate values. Parents should.

But to bring the point one step further, then that would mean parents have to take up the slack.... by staying at home more and being with their children more? That would affect the economy, and that, in Singapore, is a no-no.

So by the design of our public policy to reward and help working parents to raise their children in schools and institutions, the lion's share of the job of teaching values somehow will fall on schools and school teachers.

It's an upside down world we live in.

[Chris]

Hi,

I am interested in the homeschooling. Can you advise me how do I go about doing it? From application to preparing curriculum, etc...