By and large, West Spring Secondary school tries to support the study of Literature. It is a compulsory subject in Secondary 1 and 2. However, that is where the Literature programme meets a problem - only a handful of these students will opt to take elective Lit (pure isn't offered). In the past two years, the entire cohort has managed to barely fill half a class (~20).
The lower Secondary Literature syllabus is comprehensive enough, ensuring that they are exposed to poetry and prose from a variety of sources. I've taught Sec 1s something as simple as "Cartoon, the Coffee-Shop Boy" (a local poem), and I've also taught Sec 2s how to dissect Sonnet 18 by Shakespeare. For the past 2 years, the Sec 2s have also been studying Romeo and Juliet.
In my short time here, I believe the problem lies largely with the students' unwillingness to take Literature at the 'O' Levels. The standard of English is the best you can expect from a neighbourhood school (in fact, in West Spring the standard is pretty high compared to the surrounding schools in the Bukit Panjang area, with the exception of Government High), so it's not entirely an issue of students having to struggle very hard to meet the linguistic challenge. I've asked all 4 of my Literature classes (one Sec 2 Express, one Sec 2 NA, one Sec 1 Express, one Sec 1 NA) whether or not they like the subject, and the general response is a 'no' because they think it's too difficult. And yet when I call for responses and prompt them in dissecting poems, I find that they are capable enough to voice an answer that demonstrates some understanding, even if they do not yet have the technical language to write it down and discuss it.
The state of Literature in the school is, I feel, no fault of the institute itself. The teachers are as passionate about the subject as I can hope for, and even the modes of assessment take into account more than simply regurgitation of data. Both last year and this year, there is an alternative mode of assessment that accounts for a generous portion of their final grade (I think up to 20%). Last year, students had to act out a segment from Romeo and Juliet. This year, they intend to take the alternative assessment in a different direction, and they are still discussing it before implementing it in Term 3.
I believe the problem is more deeply rooted in the society's perception of the subject. Until that changes, the infrastructure itself can only do so much. In West Spring, I think the pieces are in place. All it needs are people who are actually interested in taking the subject.
Having said that, I believe that all of West Spring's efforts (and the efforts of any school, really) will account for nothing until there is a fundamental shift in the mindset of the general populace. The recent debate has highlighted the fact that our education system is, for all its reforms, still largely one that favours certain disciplines and industries more than others. The oft-repeated line about how it is "easier to score" in other subjects throws this problem into the spotlight. Whether or not it is really easier to score in other subjects is a moot point. The point is that when students consider studying any subject, the major concern is whether or not it is easier to deliver all the correct answers, and not whether or not they are able to pick up the cognitive skills that will bring them to the solutions they are looking for. With this mentality, they are not coming to school to learn anything useful - they are merely chasing grades because the grades promise something; a job in this-and-that sector, a secure position in this-and-that industry, a future in this-and-that profession. And the reason they pass over Literature is because as a subject it is not readily tied to the cash value of any particular job... or if it is, then it is mainly to the professions that teach it, or to the artists who create literature, which stacks poorly against the more financially attractive things like medicine, law and banking. Literature cannot offer that kind of easy security because the things that come with it - critical thinking being just one of them - are not easily monetized.
What is troubling about the discussion that has been generated is the fact that many still dismiss Literature as a subject that is not meant for everyone. They fail to understand that although linguistic ability does play a part, Literature is not exclusively about poetic flair. Behind the artifice there is a mode of thinking and analysis that is useful in any industry. But that is not to say that the artifice is immaterial - the ability to express oneself is part and parcel of what it means to be human because it involves communication. I'm not saying that people of all professions should be able to write sonnets or speak in iambic pentameter, but I am saying that no matter what job a person is in, the ability to present an idea or thought with some degree of eloquence is incalculably valuable.
And until people see that Literature is less about just spouting verses than it is about thinking and communicating, students will continue to aim for the subjects that lead to specific jobs in the mistaken belief that they will never need the things that they could have learnt in Literature.
No comments:
Post a Comment