Chinese Schools Essay Example for Free

Chinese Schools Essay Chinese schools have come a long way since the colonial days. Over the years and with the evolution of the national education system, Chinese schools have had to face countless threats to their survival. Despite this, Chinese schools have gained popularity and have enjoyed high enrolments, even among non-Chinese students. It has been reported that at least 10 percent of students studying in Chinese schools come from non-Chinese backgrounds. A number of factors contribute to this growing phenomenon. First, Chinese schoolteachers are well known for their high level of commitment. For this and other reasons, students from Chinese schools often excel in public examinations especially in Science and Mathematics. The other attraction of Chinese schools is that students are required to learn an additional language, Mandarin, which is a highly marketable skill in the job market. Chinese Education: A Historical Perspective The beginnings of Chinese education in Malaysia can be traced to the early nineteenth century. It was recorded that by 1815, there were already three Chinese schools in Malacca. One was founded by the London Missionary Society. With regard to the other two, sociologist Yang Qinghuang suggests that at least one would be a school founded by the Hokkien people. Scholar Zheng Liangshu suggests that some old-type Chinese schools might have existed in the Straits Settlements since the end of the eighteenth century. For a long time, Chinese schools in the Straits Settlements received neither help from the British government nor assistance from the government in China. Despite this, they thrived —funded mainly by clan and dialect associations. When faced with political and financial difficulties at the turn of the twentieth century, the Ching government of China changed its attitude towards overseas Chinese and began to promote Chinese education outside of China. It implemented educational reforms based on a proposal by Zhang Zidong. Following the reforms, the curriculum was revised to include Chinese Classical Literature, History, Geography, Mathematics, Moral Education, Physical Education and other optional subjects like Commerce and Drawing. In Malaya, Chung Hwa Confucian School in Penang not only adopted this new curriculum (it was the first to do so), it went further to include English as a subject. Support from the Ching government, however, was short lived. It ended with the fall of the dynasty. Chinese schools that attempted to run modern educational programmes (with a modern curriculum and incorporating English as a subject) faced enormous challenges. On the one hand, they were constantly in need of more funds. On the other hand, they lacked competent teachers. Furthermore, they had to compete with the more established English schools. Even so, there were five hundred Chinese schools with modern educational programmes established in Malaya and Singapore in 1920. By this time, textbooks for these schools had departed from the classical into the vernacular Chinese language (baihuawen). Because of their impressive growth, the British government decided that it could no longer afford to ignore Chinese schools. On 29 October 1920, it introduced the Regist ration of School Ordinance to restrict the activities of Chinese schools in the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States by way of registration and inspection. In 1935, control was further tightened: textbooks and teachers from China were prohibited. Only local materials and Malaysian-born teachers were allowed, and activities in Chinese schools came under strict scrutiny. Despite these challenges, Chinese education continued to thrive until it was suspended at the time of the Japanese Occupation of Malaya. After the war, Chinese schools resumed operation. By 1946, their number had ballooned to more than one thousand in Malaya. However, following the Barnes and Fenn-Wu Reports (June 1951) and the Education Ordinance 1952, Chinese education was exclude d from the national education system. The Chinese community rallied to form Jiao Zong (United Chinese School Teachers Association of Malaya, UCSTAM) and Dong Zong (United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaya, UCSCAN) to safeguard Chinese education. The Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) joined in. Its president then, Tun Tan Cheng Lock spoke these memorable lines, †¦Chinese in Malaya †¦ should be given Chinese education †¦ The dialect or mother tongue can be likened to a person’s shadow, and is inseparable from the person himself/herself † (translated from Chinese). Efforts to safeguard Chinese education became even more difficult following the Razak Report in 1956 and the Education Ordinance in 1957. Thereafter, Chinese primary education was officially included in the national education system, classified as standard-type primary schools with Chinese language as the medium of instruction. However, Chinese secondary schools were excluded from the system when the Lower Certificate of Education examination (L. C. E) was introduced in English. This was not in accordance with the promise of fairness to other ethnic languages in the country as specified in the Razak Report. Furthermore, the Chinese community were horrified by the terms of reference in Paragraph 12 of the Razak Report: †¦the ultimate objective of educational policy in this country must be to bring together the children of all races under a national education system in which the national language is the main medium of instruction. Paragraph 12 was subsequently omitted following strong opposition from the Chinese community headed by Jiao Zong. Both the Rahman Talib Report (1961) and the Education Act (1961) reaffirmed the education policy as stated in the Education Ordinance 1957. Since government financial aid was vital to the survival of Chinese secondary schools, more than half of the 41 Chinese secondary schools then had little choice but to ‘convert’ itself into English medium national type secondary schools. On hindsight, many Chinese view this decision as a big mistake. The remaining 14 schools refused to give in, and have remained ‘independent’ to this day. The MCA facilitated this ‘conversion’ as it was satisfied with the verbal promises made by the Education Minister that the government has no intention to exercise its authority granted under the Act to change Chinese primary schools to national schools and that Chinese schools are allowed to allocate one third of their curriculum for learning Mandarin and Chinese literature. † As a consequence of this concession made at the secondary school level, development of Chinese education in Malaysia was restricted thereafter to the primary school level. The New Education Act 1996 posed an even bigger threat. It threw into question the status of national-type schools that were not established under Section 28 of the new Act. In fact, prior to this during the initial stage of implementing the ‘3R system’ (Reading, Writing Arithmetic) in 1980, Chinese schools had already been challenged to forgo their medium of instruction. Materials for learning all subjects except Mandarin were available only in Bahasa Melayu. In response, Dong Jiao Zong and various Chinese guilds and associations submitted a memorandum to voice their opposition to the Ministry of Education in 1981. The schools were given the assurance that the government had no intention of changing the character of Chinese schools. However in the ensuing years, Chinese schools were asked to consider the concept of ‘integrated schools’ (1985) and Vision Schools (proposed in 1995, implemented in 2000), in addition to the latest 2-4-3 resolution that sought to introduce the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English (proposed in 2002, implemented in 2003). Despite these challenges, Chinese schools seek to maintain emphasis on the Five Aspects of Formal Education in Confucianism (Wuyu Jiaoyu) namely, moral (de), intellectual (zhi), physical (ti), social (qun ) and aesthetic ( ei) education. Until today, Chinese schools m continue to value discipline, respect for the elderly, courtesy, personal character and morality, rather than marketable skills such as computer literacy, Mathematics and Science. Some Reflections How does the development of Chinese education affect the church community i Malaysia?n Should we stake our claims to citizenry and defend our right to be educated in our own (mother tongue) language? What about racial integration? Is it possible to promote Chinese education without further polarising the different communities? First, we have a moral basis for defending Chinese education. Being given the choice and having the opportunity to be educated in one’s own language is a universal human right according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948. Chinese education ha s existed in this country since the nineteenth century. As such, I believe we ought to defend the right of its existence in the same way as we would for the education of other ethnic communities in their own languages. Second, there is value in the Chinese school culture that is worth speaking up for. Even though outsiders might consider the Chinese community uncompromising in its stand with regard to educational issues, it must be pointed out that it is not just about safeguarding the Chinese language but it is also about retaining the ideals of holistic education. Furthermore, Chinese schools have a tradition of nurturing dedicated schoolteachers, and the Christian community should be at the forefront to encourage this culture of service and excellence. In the past, many of them have had to pay a high price for their conviction and dedication by becoming ‘martyrs’: Zhuang Xiquan, Chen Taomin and others were deported for opposing the Registration of School Ordinance 1920; Lim Lian Geok and Yen Yuan Chang were deprived of citizenship in 1961; Lim Huang Sheng and Sim Mow Yu were jailed under the Internal Security Act in 1987. Chinese education aids evangelistic work among the Chinese community. It provides students with a better understanding of the Chinese culture. Whereas in the past, the content of Chinese education was often influenced by traditional beliefs and practices, the Chinese education system today is more open to intellectual discourse on rethinking and repositioning the Chinese identity. The main grouse against Chinese schools is the lack of racial integration since students come from predominantly one ethnic background. The question we must ask is, is this acceptable or healthy in a multi-ethnic society like Malaysia? Most advocates for Chinese education would argue that it is less than ideal but what choice do they have? If national schools were to adopt a more holistic philosophy, and their teachers showed a more credible record in terms of commitment and disciplining of students, and if they provided students with the opportunity to study their own languages, racial integration would be less of an issue and Chinese students would be more evenly distributed between national and Chinese schools. Despite this obvious shortcoming related to racial integration, I still advocate Chinese education for what it offers. Clearly, through its holistic philosophy and track record, it has produced many responsible citizens through the years. Chinese education continues to play a significant role in nation-building and church life in Malaysia. Florence Kuek lectures Mandarin at Universiti Teknologi Mara.

cloning :: essays research papers

Cloning. It looks as if the variant of manipulating nature based on the idea of multiplying human beings is coming within the reach of modern science quickly. Today's scientists have already been able to clone a sheep. The living result is Dolly: a normal ewe, alive and kicking, she's just an exact copy of her celldonor. When more of less the same technique would be used on humans, that would mean the solution of many problems. Infertile and gay couples could have a baby by having themselves cloned. Serious diseases like Alzheimer and Parkinson could be cured by transplanting unaffected cells (donated by an embryo that is a clone of the patient himself) into the brain. Donor organs would no longer have to come from outsiders, but could be produced with stemcells (cells that carry the potency to develop into any part of the human body) from the copy of the patient. This process prevents the organ from being rejected by the patient's body, because it is built out of the same tissue. So what's all the fuss about? In order to create a kidney for instance, first a complete embryo (a clone of the patient) has to be 'produced' in order to donate the kidney cells. After the embryo has fulfilled its task, it will be aborted. But even 'producing' the embryo by cloning already raises a lot of problems. If cloning is practiced on humans in order to provide children it will cause huge infant mortality. When cloned children grow up they'll probably have to face an identity crisis, because they'll exactly resemble one of their parents. Another disadvantage of cloning is that it can easily be used for a lot of questionable aims, like in the book 'The Boys from Brazil'. My opinion. I admit cloning human beings to grow spare organs is a very tempting idea. On the other hand aborting your own clone sounds awful. I'm absolutely not against 'normal' abortion, but in relation to cloning I feel it's somehow wrong. cloning :: essays research papers Cloning. It looks as if the variant of manipulating nature based on the idea of multiplying human beings is coming within the reach of modern science quickly. Today's scientists have already been able to clone a sheep. The living result is Dolly: a normal ewe, alive and kicking, she's just an exact copy of her celldonor. When more of less the same technique would be used on humans, that would mean the solution of many problems. Infertile and gay couples could have a baby by having themselves cloned. Serious diseases like Alzheimer and Parkinson could be cured by transplanting unaffected cells (donated by an embryo that is a clone of the patient himself) into the brain. Donor organs would no longer have to come from outsiders, but could be produced with stemcells (cells that carry the potency to develop into any part of the human body) from the copy of the patient. This process prevents the organ from being rejected by the patient's body, because it is built out of the same tissue. So what's all the fuss about? In order to create a kidney for instance, first a complete embryo (a clone of the patient) has to be 'produced' in order to donate the kidney cells. After the embryo has fulfilled its task, it will be aborted. But even 'producing' the embryo by cloning already raises a lot of problems. If cloning is practiced on humans in order to provide children it will cause huge infant mortality. When cloned children grow up they'll probably have to face an identity crisis, because they'll exactly resemble one of their parents. Another disadvantage of cloning is that it can easily be used for a lot of questionable aims, like in the book 'The Boys from Brazil'. My opinion. I admit cloning human beings to grow spare organs is a very tempting idea. On the other hand aborting your own clone sounds awful. I'm absolutely not against 'normal' abortion, but in relation to cloning I feel it's somehow wrong.

Member of Parliament Essay

This puts the rest of the team in a situation that could cause stress and extra work that they wouldn’t have had to deal with if the team member had done what they said they would do. In order to avoid this it is important for all team members to understand the importance of doing what they are assigned to do. †¢A team member who does not meet deadlines There are many things to consider when something goes wrong when you are a part of a team or group. The first thing I would do is make sure that the deadline was known and that the team member understood the deadline and what was supposed to be completed. If there was a misunderstanding then I would make sure that the rest of the team didn’t have the same misunderstanding about the deadlines and their importance. This situation is especially true for me and this assignment. I was late in submitting my portion and it has put team members in this exact scenario. The way I would handle this with myself, is to make sure I know how important deadlines are and how the impact the work of the rest of the team. I would let myself know that people are relying on me to have my portion of a project or assignment done in order for their portions to be implemented and the final project to be completed. In order to avoid this in the future, I will make sure that I keep track of all deadlines and schedule my time accordingly.

Biography of Dom Pedro I, First Emperor of Brazil

Dom Pedro I (October 12, 1798–September 24, 1834) was the first Emperor of Brazil and was also Dom Pedro IV, King of Portugal. He is best remembered as the man who declared Brazil independent from Portugal in 1822. He set himself up as Emperor of Brazil but returned to Portugal to claim the crown after his father died, abdicating Brazil in favor of his young son Pedro II. He died young in 1834 at the age of 35. Fast Facts: Dom Pedro I Known For: Declaring Brazils independence and serving as emperorAlso Known As: Pedro de Alcà ¢ntara Francisco Antà ³nio Joà £o Carlos Xavier de Paula Miguel Rafael Joaquim Josà © Gonzaga Pascoal Cipriano Serafim, The Liberator, The Soldier KingBorn: October 12, 1798 in the  Queluz Royal Palace  near  Lisbon,  PortugalParents: Prince Dom Joà £o (later King Dom  Joà £o  VI), Doà ±a  Carlota JoaquinaDied: September 24, 1834  at Queluz Palace, Lisbon, PortugalAwards and Honors:  Multiple Brazilian and Portuguese titles and honorsSpouse(s): Maria Leopoldina, Amà ©lie of LeuchtenbergChildren: Maria (later Queen Dona  Maria  II of Portugal),  Miguel,  Joà £o,  Januà ¡ria,  Paula,  Francisca, PedroNotable Quote: It grieves me to see my fellow humans giving a man tributes appropriate for the divinity, I know that my blood is the same color as that of the Negroes. Early Life Dom Pedro I was born with the lengthy name of Pedro de Alcà ¢ntara Francisco Antà ³nio Joà £o Carlos Xavier de Paula Miguel Rafael Joaquim Josà © Gonzaga Pascoal Cipriano Serafim on October 12, 1798, in the Queluz Royal Palace outside of Lisbon. He was descended from royal lineage on both sides: on his fathers side, he was of the House of Braganà §a, the royal house of Portugal, and his mother was Carlota of Spain, daughter of King Carlos IV. At the time of his birth, Portugal was ruled by Pedros grandmother Queen Maria I, whose sanity was quickly deteriorating. Pedros father Joà £o VI essentially ruled in his mothers name. Pedro became heir to the throne in 1801 when his older brother died. As a young prince, Pedro had the best schooling and tutoring available. Flight to Brazil In 1807, Napoleon’s troops conquered the Iberian Peninsula. Wishing to avoid the fate of the ruling family of Spain, who were â€Å"guests† of Napoleon, the Portuguese royal family and court fled to Brazil. Queen Maria, Prince Joà £o, young Pedro, and thousands of other nobles set sail in November of 1807 just ahead of Napoleon’s approaching troops. They were escorted by British warships, and Britain and Brazil would enjoy a special relationship for decades to follow. The royal convoy arrived in Brazil in January of 1808: Prince Joà £o set up a court-in-exile in Rio de Janeiro. Young Pedro rarely saw his parents; his father was very busy governing and left Pedro to his tutors and his mother was an unhappy woman who was estranged from her husband, had little desire to see her children, and lived in a different palace. Pedro was a bright young man who was good in his studies when he applied himself, but he lacked discipline. Pedro, Prince of Brazil As a young man, Pedro was handsome and energetic and fond of physical activities like horseback riding, at which he excelled. He had little patience for things that bored him, such as his studies or statecraft, although he did develop into a very skilled woodworker and musician. He was also fond of women and began a string of affairs at a young age. He was betrothed to Archduchess Maria Leopoldina, an Austrian Princess. Married by proxy, he was already her husband when he greeted her at the port of Rio de Janeiro six months later. Together they would have seven children. Leopoldina was much better at statecraft than Pedro and the people of Brazil loved her, although Pedro found her plain and continued to have regular affairs, much to Leopoldinas dismay. Pedro Becomes Emperor of Brazil In 1815, Napoleon was defeated and the Braganà §a family was once again rulers of Portugal. Queen Maria, by then long descended into madness, died in 1816, making Joà £o king of Portugal. Joà £o was reluctant to move the court back to Portugal, however, and ruled from Brazil via a proxy council. There was some talk of sending Pedro to Portugal to rule in his fathers place, but in the end Joà £o decided he had to go to Portugal himself in order to make sure that Portuguese liberals did not entirely do away with the position of the king and royal family. In April 1821, Joà £o departed, leaving Pedro in charge. He told Pedro that if Brazil started moving toward independence, he should not fight it and instead make sure he was crowned emperor. Independence of Brazil The people of Brazil, who had enjoyed the privilege of being the seat of royal authority, did not take well to returning to colony status. Pedro took his fathers advice, and also that of his wife, who wrote to him: The apple is ripe: pick it now, or it will rot. Pedro dramatically declared independence on September 7, 1822, in the city of Sà £o Paulo. He was crowned emperor of Brazil on December 1, 1822. Independence was achieved with very little bloodshed: some Portuguese loyalists fought in isolated locations, but by 1824 all of Brazil was unified with relatively little violence. In this, Scottish Admiral Lord Thomas Cochrane was invaluable: with a very small Brazilian fleet, he drove the Portuguese out of Brazilian waters with a combination of muscle and bluff. Pedro proved himself skillful in dealing with rebels and dissidents. By 1824, Brazil had its own Constitution and its independence was recognized by the United States and Great Britain. On August 25, 1825, Portugal formally recognized Brazils independence; it helped that Joà £o was the king of Portugal at the time. A Troubled Ruler After independence, Pedro’s lack of attention to his studies came back to haunt him. A series of crises made life difficult for the young ruler. Cisplatina, one of Brazil’s southern provinces, split off with encouragement from Argentina: it would eventually become Uruguay. He had a well-publicized falling-out with Josà © Bonifà ¡cio de Andrada, his chief minister and mentor. In 1826 his wife Leopoldina died, apparently of an infection brought on after a miscarriage. The people of Brazil loved her and lost respect for Pedro due to his well-known dalliances; some even said that she had died because he hit her. Back in Portugal, his father died in 1826 and pressure mounted on Pedro to go to Portugal to claim the throne there. Pedro’s plan was to marry his daughter Maria to his brother Miguel, which would make Maria queen and Miguel regent. The plan failed when Miguel seized power in 1828. Abdication of Pedro I of Brazil Pedro began looking to remarry, but word of his poor treatment of the respected Leopoldina preceded him and most European princesses wanted nothing to do with him. He eventually settled on Amà ©lie of Leuchtenberg. He treated Amà ©lie well, even banishing his longtime mistress, Domitila de Castro. Although he was quite liberal for his time—he favored the abolition of slavery and supported the Constitution—he continually fought with the Brazilian Liberal party. In March of 1831, Brazilian liberals and Portuguese royalists fought in the streets. He responded by firing his liberal cabinet, leading to outrage and calls for him to abdicate. He did so on April 7, abdicating in favor of his son Pedro, then 5 years old. Brazil would be ruled by regents until Pedro II came of age. Return to Europe Pedro I had great troubles in Portugal. His brother Miguel had usurped the throne and had a firm hold on power. Pedro spent time in France and Great Britain; both nations were supportive but unwilling to get involved in a Portuguese civil war. He entered the city of Porto in July of 1832 with an army consisting of liberals, Brazilians, and foreign volunteers. Things went poorly at first because King Manuels army was much larger and laid siege to Pedro in Porto for over a year. Pedro then sent some of his forces to attack the south of Portugal, a surprise move that worked. Lisbon fell in July 1833. Just as it looked like the war was over, Portugal got drawn into the First Carlist War in neighboring Spain; Pedros assistance kept Queen Isabella II of Spain in power. Death Pedro was at his best in times of crises, as the years of warring had actually brought out the best in him. He was a natural wartime leader who had a real connection to the soldiers and people who suffered in the conflict. He even fought in the battles. In 1834 he won the war: Miguel was exiled from Portugal forever and Pedros daughter Maria II was placed upon the throne. She would rule until 1853. The warring, however, took its toll on Pedros health. By September 1834, he was suffering from advanced tuberculosis. He died on September 24 at the age of 35. Legacy During his reign, Pedro I was unpopular with the people of Brazil, who resented his impulsiveness, lack of statecraft, and mistreatment of the beloved Leopoldina. Although he was quite liberal and favored a strong Constitution and the abolition of slavery, Brazilian liberals constantly criticized him. Today, however, Brazilians and Portuguese alike respect his memory. His stance on the abolition of slavery was ahead of its time. In 1972, his remains were returned to Brazil with great fanfare. In Portugal, he is respected for overthrowing his brother Miguel, who had put an end to modernizing reforms in favor of a strong monarchy. During Pedros day, Brazil was far from the united nation it is today. Most of the towns and cities were located along the coast and contact with the mostly unexplored interior was irregular. Even the coastal towns were fairly isolated from one another and correspondence often went first through Portugal. Powerful regional interests, such as coffee growers, miners, and sugarcane plantations were growing, threatening to split the country apart. Brazil could very easily have gone the way of the Republic of Central America or Gran Colombia and been split up, but Pedro I and his son Pedro II were firm in their determination to keep Brazil whole. Many modern Brazilians credit Pedro I with the unity they enjoy today. Sources Adams, Jerome R. Latin American Heroes: Liberators and Patriots from 1500 to the Present. New York: Ballantine Books, 1991.Herring, Hubert. A History of Latin America From the Beginnings to the Present.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1962Levine, Robert M. The History of Brazil. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.