EST

here are more updates:

>3-5th April HKSBP Zon Timur Drama at our school

>The dining hall is now shocking PINK!

>a 'waterfall' in progress in front of the SAC

> KJ has asked the F5 for some 'sumbangan' to build a 'bumbung' atop the 'verandah' in front of the bilik guru.

>Cikgu Mad is now P.K. Ko, Cikgu Razuki plak Principal for SMK Dabong.

I have yet to get pictures.


Today's discussion is on EST, the supposedly 'killer' subject, among many others like Physics, Add Maths, etc. etc. However, EST is the least favorite one since people don't actually see the point in learning it, yet the marks are so hard to get.

The thing is, before the SPM results were released, the school admin were already discussing wether to not allow students to take EST or not, and then, during the SPM registration, they decided to give an option wether to take EST or not for SPM.

People were okay with that.

UNTIL

the SPM results were released, showing a steep drop in EST performance.

due to that, the principal decided to BAN students from taking EST for SPM.

henceforth, many were not happy with it, especially those who initially take 10 subjects for SPM, so they are only left with nine subjects.

and probably the principal caught sight of my sour face during the assembly, he went to see me personally to convince me to not take EST as well.

His reasons for not taking EST:

>EST has no market value, it is not a prerequisite for scholarship offers

>the teachers at school who teach EST do not have a science degree, and therefore unqualified to teach EST

>A drop in EST performance will do large damage to both the school performance and the students' performance

> 9A's is just as good as 10 A's with a B in EST, in fact better, and 9A's is just enough to be called to an interview.

> it is too difficult to separate the students who take EST into one class and rearrange the schedules.

My (and a few others) reasons for insisting that I take EST:

>the competition for scholarships has increased at an overwhelming rate, and therefore, it is more difficult to be given the priority to be called for an interview when there are many other straight A students with ten plus subjects

>EST is the art of critical thinking, application of general knowledge and knowledge based on the scientific knowledge in Physics, Chemistry and Biology, which the syllabus itself lacks. (talk about memorising facts!)

>even if the teachers who teach EST does not have any degree in science, we can still apply our own knowledge into our essays, and we already have other science teachers as reference. It is the application that is important in EST.

>there is no need to separate the students, the PnP process can proceed without a change in schedule because the EST can proceed with their lesson at the allocated time, whereas the students who do not take EST can use the time for other subjects. Even if the school admin want to abolish the EST period in the schedule, it shouldn't be a problem because EST is a subject that only focusses on application of facts and not learning the facts. Exercises can be given outside PnP hours.

>he already gave a choice intially wether to take EST or not, so the students are not forced to take EST and they can take EST in their own free will. Besides, a student that performs well in EST should be allowed to take EST, so there shouldn't be any problems imposed on the school's EST performance.

so, readers, do share your views on this issue.

SHOULD EST BE ABOLISHED?