http://unrectified1530.blogspot.com/2011/08/blog-post.html
您点击上面的链接，就会看到我爸爸妈妈写给尊孔独中潘永强校长的公开信。我在2011年7月18日亲手把它交了给潘校长。今天是10月18日，那封公开信交了给他恰好3个月，我爸爸妈妈还在等着他的回函或来电。
http://unrectified1530.blogspot.com/2011/08/open-letter-to-headmaster-of-confucian.html
The link above will take you to an open letter written by my parents to the Headmaster of Confucian Private Secondary School. I personally handed the letter to Mr. Phoon on July 18, 2011. Today is October 18, exactly 3 months from the date he received the letter. My parents are still waiting for his reply.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Saturday, October 8, 2011
尊孔独立中学一群家长致函董事长沈德和：强烈抗议派学生出外募捐林连玉纪念馆基金
尊孔独立中学一群家长
致函董事长沈德和
强烈抗议派学生出外募捐林连玉纪念馆基金
强烈抗议派学生出外募捐林连玉纪念馆基金
致：
尊孔独立中学董事长
沈德和先生：
事关：抗议派学生出外募捐林连玉纪念馆基金
我们是贵校的一群家长，我们除了在日前收到由贵校发出一封要求我们献捐林连玉纪念馆建馆经费的公函外，又看到10月6日的南洋商报报道，说 你还准备派我们的子弟出外募捐。
我们写这封信给你，是要强烈的抗议在你领导下的尊孔独中，竟然要派我们的子弟出外，为一个已逝世20多年的尊孔前教师林连玉筹募纪念馆基金。
正当整个华社对“林连玉基金”的合法性提出质疑甚至报案的时候，林连玉已不幸的成为一个争论性的人物。林连玉纪念馆的事，不是已经由一个名叫“LLG文化发展中心有限公司 ”的公司公开进行吗？我们如果要捐，早就捐了，何必烦劳董事长？是不是因为LLG公司最近面对了捐款困难而改向我们尊孔独中家长下手？
我们尤其无法容忍的是：你是依据什么理由要我们的子弟冒险上街募捐？你知道尊孔独中会面对什么后果吗？我们希望你能先答复我们下列四个基本问题：
1. 我们送我们的子弟到尊孔独中，付了所有费用，你的责任就是为我们的子弟提供教育服务，我们的子弟何来义务为你们出外募捐？
2. “教育法令”和“雇佣法令”允许你这样做吗？
3. 万一我们的子弟在外出事，你有为他们购买意外保险吗？
4. 你有付他们工资及补偿他们因失去学习时间和精力所造成的损失吗？
除了上述涉及法律的问题，我们也认为此事也牵涉到原则的问题。要学生为一个前任老师建纪念馆(还不是为尊孔独中筹募经费) 而出外募捐，此例一开，如果你董事长日后生意失败面临破产，难道也因为你对尊孔有贡献，而要动员全体学生为你出外捐款解救你的破产吗？
因此，我们在愤怒之余，必须写这封信给你，并希望更多家长看到我们的回应后，也会提出类似的抗议。我们希望你会及时收回这项决定，否则，我们保留采取进一步行动的权利，包括投报教育局及劳工部。
我们也希望你会有这个量，不会因为我们的这封联函而为难我们的子弟。
学生家长：
谨启
2011年10月8日
Monday, October 3, 2011
Thoughts on 'How to improve our children’s English skills?'
（要看华文版，请点击这里。）
I have been told since young that English is very important. My father constantly reminded my brother and I to master the English language, and my mother encouraged us to watch English cartoons and read English storybooks to strengthen our English foundation. Our family’s conversations were also mostly in English, so as to let my brother and I learn how to speak English fluently. Today, I must thank my parents’ careful guidance, for without it English would not be one of the languages that I can communicate in, and I would not be able to read, listen, speak and write in English. Ironically, it was also the careful guidance mentioned above that would lead to many amusing incidences between my brother and I, and certain former English teachers of ours.
When my brother was in kindergarten, his English teacher once attempted to educate her students on the names of various human body parts. She pointed to her cheeks, and said, “This is ‘chin’,” then she proceeded to point to her chin, and said, “This is ‘cheek’.” My brother immediately pointed out that she had mixed the two body parts up, to which she insistently replied that she was not wrong. When my brother went home, he told our parents about this, and my mother went to the kindergarten to ask about this matter. The teacher said she would check it up, but in the end the matter remained unresolved, and the teacher continued to let her poor kindergarten students confuse their “cheeks” with their “chins”.
How to improve our children’s English skills? — Lim Mun Fah (The Malaysian Insider, 17/9/2011)
SEPT 17 — We have been told since young that English is very important. Even my father, who does not know how to read English, had kept telling me so.
Today, I’m telling my children the same thing: English is really important!
However, their English skills are even worse than my poor English.
It is an undeniable fact that not only my children, but many young Malaysians, regardless of primary school leavers or university graduates, have poor English skills.
Our English standard used to be ranked among the highest in Asia as Malaysia used to be a British colony.
Oops! Our former prime minister said that we have never been colonised as the British were just invited to give advice here.
Today, English symbolises status and authority.
English-stream schools were abolished in the 1970s and even though English language lessons have been retained, its standard has plummeted.
Even if we shut our eyes and cover our ears, we still have to admit that English is an international language, as well as the language of science and technology. It is playing an increasingly important role in politics, economy, culture, education and communication.
Everyone knows the fact, including our politicians.
Therefore, many of them have recruited home tutors for their children or sent their children abroad to learn English. This is in fact an open secret.
Due to the dropping English standard, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad realised years ago that we must do something to save the situation. Therefore, the first step to rescue our English standard was taken, which was to teach Science and Mathematics in English.
However, it was another wrong decision. Why should they teach Science and Mathematics in English but not improve English language lessons?
Therefore, the Education Ministry decided to abolish the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English policy in phases and set the ultimate goal of restoring the policy of teaching Science and Mathematics in the vernacular or Bahasa Malaysia by 2014.
It remains an issue over whether such a change is a correct or incorrect move.
Today, the Education Ministry has come out with a new policy in which a new syllabus will be introduced while 300 foreign English language teachers will be recruited. The ministry is also planning to make English a compulsory pass at the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).
I am not an education expert and thus dare not jump to conclusions. However, I am worried about our children, who have mastered neither their mother tongues nor English. Meanwhile, our officials have been stressing the competitive advantages brought by mastering English but neglected its connotation of humanities. How should we improve our children’s English skills under such an environment and attitude? — mysinchew.com
(http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/how-to-improve-our-childrens-english-skills-lim-mun-fah/)
Today, I’m telling my children the same thing: English is really important!
However, their English skills are even worse than my poor English.
It is an undeniable fact that not only my children, but many young Malaysians, regardless of primary school leavers or university graduates, have poor English skills.
Our English standard used to be ranked among the highest in Asia as Malaysia used to be a British colony.
Oops! Our former prime minister said that we have never been colonised as the British were just invited to give advice here.
Today, English symbolises status and authority.
English-stream schools were abolished in the 1970s and even though English language lessons have been retained, its standard has plummeted.
Even if we shut our eyes and cover our ears, we still have to admit that English is an international language, as well as the language of science and technology. It is playing an increasingly important role in politics, economy, culture, education and communication.
Everyone knows the fact, including our politicians.
Therefore, many of them have recruited home tutors for their children or sent their children abroad to learn English. This is in fact an open secret.
Due to the dropping English standard, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad realised years ago that we must do something to save the situation. Therefore, the first step to rescue our English standard was taken, which was to teach Science and Mathematics in English.
However, it was another wrong decision. Why should they teach Science and Mathematics in English but not improve English language lessons?
Therefore, the Education Ministry decided to abolish the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English policy in phases and set the ultimate goal of restoring the policy of teaching Science and Mathematics in the vernacular or Bahasa Malaysia by 2014.
It remains an issue over whether such a change is a correct or incorrect move.
Today, the Education Ministry has come out with a new policy in which a new syllabus will be introduced while 300 foreign English language teachers will be recruited. The ministry is also planning to make English a compulsory pass at the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).
I am not an education expert and thus dare not jump to conclusions. However, I am worried about our children, who have mastered neither their mother tongues nor English. Meanwhile, our officials have been stressing the competitive advantages brought by mastering English but neglected its connotation of humanities. How should we improve our children’s English skills under such an environment and attitude? — mysinchew.com
(http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/how-to-improve-our-childrens-english-skills-lim-mun-fah/)
Ensure sufficient English teachers before making subject compulsory, govt told (The Star, 3/10/2011)
Monday October 3, 2011
PETALING JAYA: Parents and teachers say that the move to make English a compulsory pass subject in national examinations needs strong supporting structures to succeed.
Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (PAGE) chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said the proposal to make English a must pass subject in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations was a good move.
“At the same time, we need to ensure there are enough English teachers to properly teach the subject.
“Otherwise it will be unfair to impose English as a compulsory subject if students are not being equipped to do well in the subject. As it is, teachers are still teaching subjects that they are not trained for,” she added.
Yesterday, MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said a timetable should be set to make English a compulsory pass subject in the SPM.
“Mother tongue languages should also be encouraged and eventually made compulsory in all national schools.
“If such initiatives are planned properly with a staggered timeline, they are achievable,” he said in his speech at the MCA's 58th annual general assembly yesterday.
Malaysian English Language Teaching Association (Melta) president Dr Ganakumaran Subramaniam said students needed to be provided with opportunities to use English within the school environment.
“This need not be confined to just classroom lessons; students can be encouraged to use the language in school projects or co-curricular activities.
“The methodology of teaching English should also be more motivational and interesting to better engage students.
“There is no one solution to solving the issue; there needs to be a comprehensive and integrated approach,” he said.
A secondary school English teacher from Selangor said that examinations alone were not enough to ensure students were able to master English.
“The current assessment system does not adequately determine whether students have basic English language skills.
“If the examinations were useful, then all our students should have no problem with English because the passing rates and number of top scorers in the subject keep increasing,” she said.
(http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/10/3/nation/9619786&sec=nation)
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