After spending a week in a Malaysian primary school (SK Tanjung Malim) and observing both the teachers and students it is easy to see many differences compared to schools in Michigan. Likewise, I also was able to observe a few similarities between the two schools.
One of the first things I noticed about the SKTM was the way teachers are greeted when they enter the room. As soon as the teacher comes into the classroom and says “Good morning class,” the students immediately respond with “Good morning teacher.” When they say this, all students are standing and do not sit until the teacher allows them to. This is a tradition not employed by schools in Michigan. If this were required of students at home, I believe the initial reactions to such a change would not go over well. While I believe the Malaysians do this to show respect to their teachers (I feel it is demanded from the teachers), in Michigan the respect is earned. I cannot say which is a better way to start lessons, with demanded respect or the kind that is fostered through interaction, but it definitely is a big difference between Malaysia and Michigan.
Another difference that is clearly different from home is the way teachers move from class to class. Instead of having their own classrooms, teachers in SKTM move from class to class when it is time to teach their specific subject. It seems like this would be an annoyance and a waste of time. As soon as the Malaysian teachers enter the classroom they have to spend at least two or three minutes getting their materials set up. In Michigan teachers are able to move fluidly from one subject to another, from one lesson to the next with minimal down time. It makes me wonder if this is why (even despite the large class sizes) the teachers feel like the students are unruly at times.
One other difference I noticed throughout all classes at SKTM was most materials were taught through rote memorization. Especially in an English class I sat in on, the teacher was constantly saying, “Say this word,” “Spell this word,” “Read this sentence,” and “Repeat it again.” After a whole week of observing, only in one class (science) did I see the teachers using group work, peer-to-peer assistance, or creative lesson plans. At home, and especially from my education at MSU, I have learned this type of rote teaching is not only boring and lacks engagement, very few students truly learn materials in this way. It makes me question whether students are learning meanings and underlying big ideas or just memorizing for moment.
Amidst all of these differing practices used in the classroom, I was also able to notice some similarities. Many of the teachers give students certain time limits to work on their assignments before moving on to another activity. For example a teacher would say, “You will have five minutes to finish your sentences.” She then gave another warning when the students had one minute remaining. Teachers also do this at home; it gives the students a fair advantage and allows them to monitor their own learning. And because I spent a lot of my time in lower levels (year two and three) the teachers also gave reminders about working quietly and independently. This is a typical, everyday practice used by teachers in Michigan as well. Overall, many classroom management skills have been the same.
Going hand-in-hand with the topic of classroom management is the way in which teachers and students interact. The teacher-student relationship is very much like a parent-child relationship. The teachers are caring but I feel they demand respect from the students and expect them to follow their directions immediately.
In addition to making observations in the classroom, I was able to spend some time studying the teachers of SKTM outside of a teaching situation. From my time spent in the staff room as well as in the canteen at the teacher tables, I saw that many teachers are very close friends. Rarely did I notice teachers working as colleagues in the staff room. Rather, they were playing music, showing family photos, or working independently on lessons at their desk. Just from a week’s worth watching and note taking I feel like the teachers are more like friends who are very open with each other. While it was nice to feel camaraderie amongst the staff, at home it seems teachers are stick closer to a colleague role at school, friends outside of school. I was also surprised to see little compilation of resources, ideas, or time spent on lessons even though many of the teachers teach the same subject. This can be both similar and dissimilar to teachers at home. I really feel that lesson planning with fellow employees not only improves lessons but it also creates a more uniform way of getting through the curriculum in a fair way and effective way.
The last relationship I noticed was between students. Overall, the students seem to be friends like students at home. Similarly, there are groups of friends, class clowns, and students who often picked on. Slightly different though is that the segregation between sexes seems to be greater than at home. Boys mostly play with boys, the girls chat with their female friends. Also like students at home, boys seem to express themselves through physical aggression while the girls are quiet and spend a lot of time giggling. One main relationship dynamic I have noticed though, there seems to be a slight separation of friends amongst the Malay students, Chinese, and Indians. Each ethnic group often keeps to themselves. I can see this more in the girls than the boys but that may be due to the fact female students are slightly more culturally identifiable. I rarely see the Muslim girls playing or talking with Chinese or Indian girls. It often seems too, Chinese boys are picked on more often than other boys.
In addition to observing the people at the school, I also made notes about the classrooms and school itself. In general all the classrooms are very bare; there is a lack of student work on the walls, classroom rules, or bright colored and encouraging posters. The student desks are arranged in rows all facing the front. There are no bookcases, student workspaces, or comfortable chairs to be utilized by either teacher or student. Even the teacher must bring their own whiteboard markers and materials since there is not a class set. This lack of ownership for space, objects, or room usage makes school seem a very uninviting place to be. The classrooms and even the school as a whole lack a lot of learning materials that schools in the US often have. For example, my year 2 students were beginning a new unit learning about money. Typically when American students are taught this topic, there is play money available for the students to manipulate. When I asked if there was something like this at SKTM, my mentor looked at me as if I was out of my mind. She said, “No, we don’t have anything like that here. I think if we did there would not be enough for all the students in the class. In general, I feel the Malaysian schools rely strictly on their texts and workbooks for learning. With the exception of science, I have not seen any class provided with materials used specifically for learning.
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