Picture the following: an eight-year-old boy or girl sitting upright on a chair behind a small table for five hours a day five days a week. The student has to stay still, oblivious to movement, while obeying and listening to an innuendo of ‘objective facts’ uttered by an adult.
One can imagine the level of creative opportunities and the level of critical thinking attitude the student is exposed to during their time at school.
I am a learning support educator who has spent the last nine years with students aged eight to 10. At times, while in class, I tend to look at students and feel upset, to say the least, with the way the educational system is set up.
I was a student 20 years ago and, to my knowledge, little has changed in the class structure. In particular, I am referring to the square-shaped classrooms, seating positions, the prison-like lining up for movement, the passive attitude students are made to experience in school, the time spent listening to someone as opposed to a mutual dialogue and the book- based tasks.
In contrast, we are living in a world where change is synonyms with progress and rightly so. However, this does not apply to the educational sector in our beloved Malta. Putting to rest any form of creative ideas and critical thinking attitude with students seems to be one of the goals of our educational system.
The education system in Malta seems to completely ignore the very human nature of our students.
Humans are by nature curious and creative and it seems like schools are doing their very best to deeply impair the innate curiosity and creativity of our students on a daily basis in the classroom setting.
By doing so, students are unknowingly made to experience a form of dehumanisation of their true selves.
Putting to rest any form of creative ideas and critical thinking seems to be one of the goals of our educational system- Mark Frendo
On the other hand, the dehumanisation of our students is passing through a multitude of rote learning experiences. The quest for a healthy discovery of the development of one’s inner abilities is still a mystery in schools. Filling out handouts and books together with following a rigorous set of syllabi has become the one and only goal of our educational system.
Learning how to interpret a text or critically address a situation has become so bizarre that students find it so hard to make up their own mind without feeling guilty. It seems like our dear students feel like they are being judged or that there is only one right or wrong answer.
A detachment from the very core of the human person was and still is present in our classroom settings.
Thus, a radical change in the way we define education needs to be seriously considered. Continuous development training for all our educators needs to focus on how we can support the development of the human person together with and not separated from academics.
It is high time to rethink how education and learning is passed on to our dear students within our schools.
It is high time to seriously discuss how we can ignite students’ imagination, thinking skills, creative abilities and critical and constructive attitude by being active agents of their own learning within the classroom setting.
Multiple open and fearless discussions need to take place among stakeholders and students themselves in order to have a healthier school system and a society built on the true values of the human person.
Mark Frendo, a learning support educator, has a BA in Communication and a BA Honours in Facilitating Inclusive Education.