Gabriela Mistral’s verses came to my mind when I reflected on the meeting I had with the Sixth Formers of St Edward’s College last Monday afternoon:
“We are guilty of many errors and many faults, but our worst crime is abandoning the children, neglecting the fountain of life. Many of the things we need can wait. The child cannot. Right now is the time his bones are being formed, his blood is being made, and his senses are being developed. To him we cannot answer ‘Tomorrow,’ his name is today.”
To try and connect with them I tried to put myself in their shoes and travelled 40 years back when I was also starting my Sixth Form. At their age I did not like people who turned up at school and gave us long boring speeches and then just before the time was up we would be told: “Would you like to ask a few questions?”
Very few students would put up their hand to ask something. Most of us wanted to get out of that room as quickly as possible. So I told the young people I met at St Edward’s: “I am not giving any speeches. Please let us talk and listen to each other. What would you like us to talk about?”
The initial stiffness disappeared and the young men and women started asking questions and soon they moved on to comments and opinions. I really enjoyed the stimulating hour I passed with them. I hope they felt the same way. Some of the questions were really tough, and their penetrating looks prevented me from trying to get away by giving glib answers. In fact, I am sure I left some questions unanswered.
They asked: how long is it going to take to change our education system and make it more meaningful and interesting for us students? I explained that education is a never-ending voyage and not a destination, so change is constant. They were insistent. Why does it take so long to change the SEC and MATSEC exam system? How do you expect us to speak up in class and engage in discussion, when for so many years in class and at home we are told to shut up and just listen? When will the University of Malta have more flexible entry requirements? Should education simply mean mastering the techniques to pass exams or should it enable us to acquire the skills that we are going to need in the real world? While putting pressure on us to perform well and succeed, are you giving us adequate support to reach the targets you set us?
They feel that Systems of Knowledge has failed and its continued existence is an admission that our education system is culturally poor; and then, as a token, we put in a subject at post-secondary level.
They also want the teaching of English and Maltese to be adapted to the bilingual reality of the Maltese islands. They stressed the need to modernise the teaching of Maltese and offer students more contemporary literature. They believe that the state, through better tax relief schemes, should help parents educate their sons and daughters in independent schools. We also discussed that the quality of education depends mostly on the quality of teachers and how continued professional development of teachers is an essential element of a successful education system.
Teachers also need educational resources to make schools more enjoyable and stimulating. They complained that there are too many subjects at secondary level and they are not integrated. We also discussed that having more students continue their education after the age of 16 should not mean that standards should be lowered. Equality and quality are possible in a sound education system that aims at opening up opportunities to as many young people as possible.
They wanted to know what I think of the International Baccalaureate (IB) as, together with Verdala International School, St Edward’s College is the only local educational institution that prepares students (16 to 19 year old) for the two year IB Diploma Programme “for success at university and life beyond.”
The IB’s philosophy is to “encourage international-mindedness in students. To do this, we believe that students must first develop an understanding of their own cultural and national identity. We encourage a positive attitude to learning by encouraging students to ask challenging questions, to critically reflect, to develop research skills, to learn how to learn and to participate in community service.”
It is clear that the IB is far from being an exam system at pre-university level. It is a whole educational philosophy that inspires the three programmes (Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma) for children and young people aged from three to 19. You cannot expect students to be taught traditionally and rigidly from the age of three to 16, where they are drilled to pass exams that test their skills to memorise facts and information and then expect them all of a sudden to flourish, become creative and analytical and explore knowledge passionately and learn how to use this knowledge in the real world. After being spoonfed for 13 years, they are not going to be come independent learners overnight. The IB is innovative and demands deep commitment from students and teachers and requires a lot of support from schools and colleges.
I told the young men and women I met at St Edward’s College last Monday afternoon that they are lucky and privileged to be going through the IB programme as I have no doubt that if they take it seriously and work hard at it, it will prepare them well for the challenging times ahead. I can understand the painful adjustment they have to make in their attitudes, mindsets and levels of commitment. But they will be amply rewarded.
I told them that it would be dangerous to give them the illusion that they can succeed in life without really trying hard. The rest of the world does not owe them a living and they must be prepared well to take on the tough challenges of today and tomorrow’s globalised world.
I reminded them that when the SEC and MATSEC exam system were introduced in the mid-90s the idea was not simply to substitute the Oxford, London and Cambridge O- and A-level exams and stop the flow of a lot of money to these three English Universities.
The MATSEC was originally meant to be modelled on the IB System. But that has been done only in name, by introducing the system of having to pass two subjects at Advanced level, three at intermediate level and Systems of Knowledge. The IB is a new whole educational approach while the MATSEC exam is basically more, much more of the same.
SEC and MATSEC need to be changed as part of the changes we need to carry out in the whole system. We have to change the whole educational process, and SEC and MATSEC must be part of the new ways we need to educate our young people better and more in tune with the world of the 21st century.
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