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THIS has reference to 'Teachers guide us a lot' (The New Paper, 22 Apr).
I am a former student of Meridian Junior College and I am grateful that the school provided me an opportunity to achieve what I have today.
I find it disturbing that the results Meridian Junior College attained were compared to those of 'elite schools such as Hwa Chong Institution... and Raffles Institution'.
It seems to suggest that Meridian Junior College, which is 'perceived to be weaker', should not be attaining better results than elite schools.
And 92 per cent of the cohort from Raffles Institution obtained distinction - 3 per cent less than Meridian Junior College.
Yet no one is suggesting that Rafflesians are being spoon-fed.
I can confidently say that students in Meridian Junior College are not over-guided in their project work.
My project work teacher never told me what to write, but instead, pointed out holes and areas of improvement in my drafts.
I was left to decide if I wanted to improve my paper and if I chose to improve it, I could decide on how I should do it.
I think there is nothing wrong with providing guidance.
I think we should be more worried if teachers are not guiding the students, but instead, accept the work that the students submit. That means the teacher may not be doing what he or she is paid to do.
After all, project work is a competition.
If students are spoon-fed, then I don't think they will have to do so many drafts because they will get it right in the first few tries.
I had to redo the paper again and again because my teacher would not tell me how to write it. I think it took great effort from my teacher to read and re-read the large number of drafts submitted by many students.
I am convinced that the teacher did so because she cared. The student gets to decides the number of drafts he/she wishes to submit.
I remember that my classmate submitted only one version for a certain segment because he felt confident about it.
Good teachers
To say that project work is unfair because students will do better if 'they are lucky enough to get a good teacher' will mean that all other subjects are unfair.
Students taking mathematics, chemistry or other subjects will also do better if they are 'lucky enough to get a good teacher'.
Finally, I think Meridian Junior College obtained their good record in project work because the students and teachers care about this subject.
They put much time and effort into it, and I feel that it would be unfair to discredit the students for the long hours they put in.
FROM READER MAK WAI KEONG
This article was first published in The New Paper.
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