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Saturday, October 25, 2008

History in primary schools... Agree or disagree?

This is one of the hot topics in Malaysia now. Well, frankly, to me, you can agree and disagree with this statement if you look at it at different angles....

You can disagree, because there are already a lot of subjects for a 7 year old kid. When I was in primary school, I had to study grammar (Chinese, Malay and English), writing (Chinese, Malay and Chinese), science, maths, art, music, PJ and Kajian Tempatan. By adding history to the list of subjects, the 7 year old have to suffer even more, at such a young age... Pity the poor fellows! Need to suffer at such a young age. My sister even worst, need to take extra science in Chinese and maths in Chinese. By adding history, both parents and kids will have to suffer. Furthermore, I think adding history at a young age will cause them to memorize the facts rather than understanding the purpose of learning history. Memorization will help the students improve their concentration but will they learn how to apply history in their daily lives?

But, there are pros by adding history into the primary syllables. History enables students to prepare and plan for their future. It also enables students to pick the right people who could serve as role models. They will also learn useful skills like critical thinking at a young age, cause and effect relationships and ability to read and summarize materials. History, also teaches us about our present.

So, to agree or disagree? That's the million dollar question.
One can argue forever about who its necessity. But I think, as a student, I would disagree adding history in primary schools...

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