Term 3 Week 3

After reading the open letter, I could not help but feel grateful of studying in an IP school. The description of O Levels is quite terrifying. She has to memorise tons of stuff in order to meet the expectations.
Janalle Lee's views on the current education system is that it needs change. After all these years, we are still in a "Third World" education system, yet, we have long moved on to First. We should be taught how to ask "Why" instead of forcing information down our throats. Another flaw is the lack of character development. Character development in school is only taught for the sake of it, instead of concentrating on how to impart the values.
I disagree with her views. Firstly, the education system has changed. During the 1960s, education was survival based. However, it changed in late 19th century to knowledge based. Therefore, the education system was changed from Third World to First World. Furthermore, in the current society, the words first, second and third world are not really feasible. These terms were invented during the cold war to describe the countries in the war. First World being countries were democratic and capitalistic, Second World being the communist states and Third World represented the countries that did not ally with USA. As the world is developing faster and faster, these terms are no longer applicable.
However, asking "why" is appropriate. Yet it is not discouraged in the education system. We can always go online and Google: Why is carbon a metal, or why is the sky blue. It is not whether we are able to ask "why" that is affecting us, it is whether we want to ask "why". If the writer was so curious, she should just research on it using her own free time instead of writing an open letter.
I feel that values should be taught by our parents, not the schools. Schools, are made to impart knowledge from teacher to student, not values. Our bilingualism is needed as English is used to communicate with the Western society and to break the racial barriers while our mother tongue language is used to impart values from parents to children.