Teach For Malaysia - Wong Theen Yew's Story
Underdogs to Champions – how these kids taught their teacher a lesson
“They lost by 3-15 in the first set. We, the teachers, were already shaking our heads. Everyone wrote them off, including myself. No one believed what would happen next.
They fought. And they fought hard. Real hard.
Despite trailing behind again in the second set, they came back time and time again, unwilling to give up. By sheer willpower and grit, they forced a deuce and won the second set 17-15.
The second set gave them momentum for the third and their hard work finally paid off. At the end of the day, they topped their group with pride.
These are mostly kids from the "back" classes. These are kids I would feel so stressful to teach. I scolded so many of them before for misbehaving, to the point where I was already losing faith in their potentials.
And today, they put me to shame for judging them too quickly. They reignited my belief that there are strengths in every single one of them. They showed me how to have some real steel, immense fighting spirits and undying perseverance.”
Teach For
Malaysia 2014 Cohort Fellow, Wong Theen Yew, an University of Oxford graduate
wrote this post after learning an invaluable lesson from his kids at a sepak takraw match. In choosing to join TFM,
Theen Yew said, “I joined TFM with one purpose in mind, that is to play my part
in building Malaysia, which has given me so many privileges in my pursuit of an
excellent education.”
Having had the privilege to obtain education within the
borders of a developed nation, we have the chance to look back and contrast
Malaysia’s education system against the UK’s. Where has that left us?
o
Do we understand the privilege we have received and the
responsibility that follows?
responsibility that follows?
o
Have we considered, and then wrote off excellent education
for all children in Malaysia as an unrealistic dream?
for all children in Malaysia as an unrealistic dream?
o
Have we forgotten that each child has his or her own unique
strengths,
and that each child is intrinsically valuable and worth fighting for?
and that each child is intrinsically valuable and worth fighting for?
o
Have we judged too quickly?
More often than not, where a child is born
determines his or her whole life trajectory. As of 2015, one fifth of all
Malaysian children do not end up completing their secondary school education.
44% do not meet minimum proficiency levels in Reading and 60% do not meet
minimum requirements in Mathematics. (1) But it doesn’t always have to
be this way.
Every year, Teach For Malaysia selectively recruits the best and
brightest minds to be placed into high need schools across the country. Our
Fellows are employed full-time and are paid a salary competitive to fresh
graduates for two years. Over this course of time, our Fellows are coached and
trained, and will have the opportunity during their 2nd year to
initiate and implement their own project to address the problems within their
school and community. At the end of the Fellowship, Fellows will graduate with
a Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) and will have the option to either
continue teaching or seek employment in other sectors with our corporate
partners. Khazanah, Mckinsey, CIMB Bank and PricewaterhouseCoopers are some of
our corporate partners who recognize our Fellowship as a prestigious leadership
development program.
Here at TFM, we constantly remind ourselves not to judge, but
instead to believe that there will be a day where every single child in
Malaysia will obtain excellent education.
Each child is special and valuable, and worth fighting for. Newton’s First
Law of Motion states that an object will continue its state of motion unless
acted upon by an external force. We are that external force. Join us and be a
part of the movement of change for the better.
Visit
www.teachformalaysia.org to find out more and join our movement
to fight against education inequity for the future of education in Malaysia.
Source: (1) Malaysian
Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025
1 comments:
Chef here We've done Malaysian days for you in the past.
We like to put your lse Society on the map! And let the School know about your society (free exposure)
The LSE Fourth floor restaurant in the old building is the Main catering facility of Lse.
come and see us and LETS work out at Date and Menu. please contact Mark 0207 955 7813 or email M.D.Hawkins@lse.ac.uk or pop up and ask for Mark Monday to Friday 9am to 2.30pm.
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