· Students sleep in class.
· Students do their own stuffs while teacher is teaching.
· Teachers nag for at least half an hour before the learning session begins.
· Students have their own groups in class.
· Students pay no attention to teacher.
· Students fail to understand the instruction.
These are a few situations in some schools in Malaysia nowadays. While some students come to school to study, some come without purposes. The only thing that a teacher normally does is to nag at the group of the delinquent students, and this will usually lead the teacher to have not enough time to teach what he or she has planned earlier. The question is whose fault is this? Is it the teacher or the students themselves? Or is it the organization?
Have you ever heard of the issue of streaming classes? I am sure the term of streaming classes is very familiar among us. It is the act of separating high-rank students from lower-rank students. There are pros and cons to every action and so does this method. While some believe that this approach may help in producing a more knowledgeable and competence generations, some are wise enough to spot its defects. Nevertheless, it also has its own advantages. Through some observations, I have listed down the pros and cons of streaming in school.
A better learning environment is one of the advantages of streaming in schools. It helps to prepare appropriate materials to teach students according to their abilities. Streaming also helps to lessen the feeling of inferiority among students as they are all at the same level. Indirectly, this will help in boosting their confidence. Apart from that, this system could help students to understand better by learning step by step.
Nonetheless, the disadvantages of this system surpass its advantages. The streaming of classes could be risky as study has proved that it promotes little mobility between each stream [Feehan, C. (2007, October 31)]. Students in low-ranks classes will stay weak while those in high-ranks will move up. This could bring negative impacts to most of the students as they will never improve their abilities throughout the schooling years. During my school years, I had witnessed lots of students who stayed in the same low-rank class until the end of the schooling year. In the end, they still failed to move up beyond their low-rank level. Studies also have proved that students in low-rank classes are likely to not be able in achieving their full potential. In low-ranks classes, students will normally be given average learning materials suitable to their learning needs. Without teachers noticing, they are actually pampering the students by only giving them average materials to work with. This causes students to prefer to stay in their comfortable zone and do not have the initiative to go further beyond their abilities. Apart from that, students may find learning is troublesome and boring because there is no competition involves between the students since they are of the same level. This may likely occur in low-rank classes. The students will eventually start to disengage themselves from study and may develop negative impression about school and studies.
Understanding the concept of functional theory will help the school system to organize a better classroom environment. Studies have proved that a class with mix-abilities students can contribute to success among students. In a mix-abilities classroom, teachers can asks the elite group of students to aid the average students in their studies. For example, teachers can assign the students to work in groups so that they can assist one another in completing the task. Having mix-abilities classes in schools can help in tightening the bond between the elite and the average learners and thus this will help in promoting a balance society among the students.
Apart from that, it is essential for us to apply our knowledge of the conflict theory in this matter. In this case, it deals with the inequality of abilities among the group of students. With the implementation of mix-abilities classes, students can have a healthy competition among themselves. It challenges the weaker students to strive harder in order to put themselves alongside the elite group of students, while the elite students will compete among themselves and others in order to maintain their elite status.
Throughout this observation, I have found out a few essential elements that could help me to get closer to society especially students. First, it helps me to understand more about parents’ expectation of their children learning needs. By understanding their expectation, I can explain to them the benefits of placing their children in a mix-abilities classroom. Second, it helps me to deal with students of different level of ability. Thus, I can use variables of teaching methods to match the learning needs of students. Third, this observation has taught me that students are interdependent with one another and therefore I must not group them into their respective abilities when teaching them. Instead, I should let them mingle so that they can complement one another in carrying out the learning process. In conclusion, although streaming in schools may bring benefits to students, it prevents the interaction between the high-rank and the low rank students. It is important for us to let students with different levels of intelligence to mingle with each other so that they can assist one another and promote a healthy competition among them. We should be aware that if a group of the students fail to do well in their studies, it will affect the whole system. For example, if they score low marks in examination, the percentage of students who pass the examination will be lowered too.
