Interview: Editor Shashivarmaan on giving students a voice and finding out ‘What Students Want’

In 2016, when my SPM results were announced, it was devastating. It was the results that I expected but wasn’t enough to make my family happy. Being a science stream student, I didn’t do well in my science subjects which closed the doors for me to become an engineer or a doctor just like what my parents expected.

The devastation wasn’t from the results, but from my family members who were disappointed.

It led me to call an old teacher of mine, Mr Abel Cheah, who had served as a Teach For Malaysia Fellow in my school in 2012, to talk about my problem. He advised me that it’s not the end of the journey and offered me an amazing opportunity to spearhead this project that aims to empower students.

Shashivarmaan during the early days of the What Students Want planning. — Photo courtesy of Shashivarmaan Thevaraj

I think we see it in the daily scenario of a classroom. Teachers lead the lesson in the classroom and the communication is usually one way.

Why is this so? Maybe most teachers think students are incapable of making their own decisions. Similarly for parents who try to pressure their children by asking them to be what the parents want them to be without realising that the child might have thought out a future for him or herself.

Whenever a student voices out in the classroom, he or she will be deemed “rebellious” or recalcitrant because the teacher might find their own position in the classroom under threat. I personally had an experience in my school where one of my friends who gave some suggestions to change teaching method of Maths was alienated by the Maths teacher. In fact, most of the teachers ignored her presence in classroom and one day she felt depressed and cried.

That was the point I realised that students are taught to conform and are not allowed to speak out or else they will be punished for their disobedience.

The objective of this book is to allow the students to articulate a realisable vision for themselves, their community and their country, to unleash the hidden talent within them especially in arts and also to instill the belief within them that their voices are valued and can drive change.

I had my personal objective as well through this book, which is to create other student leaders to initiate their own projects. Since it’s a student-centred book, I solicited submissions from students all over Malaysia with the help of the fellows who were placed in underprivileged schools.

Their submissions could be in any form that reflects their vision as students. Many students submitted their work through drawings, drama script, story and essays. A student editorial board was formed to select the best pieces and make some edits only in the aspects of grammar to preserve the originality of the submissions.

Shashivarmaan presenting at the Teach For All Global Conference 2015 in Bulgaria. He was selected as one of seven student leaders from around the world to share about student leadership, presenting the ‘What Students Want’ book project. — Photo courtesy of Shashivarmaan Thevaraj

I think the whole education system was designed in a way that people actually study to score in exams but not for mastery. That’s why students end up lacking in purpose and vision.

Real life isn’t like standardised exam questions. It’s a constantly changing environment that requires strong interpersonal skills that our current system fails to cultivate.

From an early age, our parents would advise us to go to school, study hard, score well in exams and get a good job. But I haven’t seen any parents telling their kids to go to school, learn a lot things and be a knowledgable person.

There’s a quote which perfectly describes adults’ actions to empower students — “It takes a village to raise a child”. It starts with parents.

We need a new style of parenting where the parents really understand their children. By understanding their children, it’s not about what their kids like or don’t like, but about what they’re good at and their key strengths and weaknesses. Parents shouldn’t expect teachers to do all those things. It’s ultimately the task of parents to understand their child’s behaviour and psychology inside out.

On the other hand, teachers should teach not for exams but for mastery. Not to expire the interest of the child but to inspire learning and curiosity.

Education inequity poses a serious threat to the students. Education is something that everybody should be given equal access to because one way or another, it’ll help to empower them or change their destiny forever.

Inequity breeds social problems among students and if we could tackle inequity in education, I think we could solve problems involving students.

Student labelling and categorising is  also another issue that I think needs to be addressed. Segregating students based on their academic performance or ‘intelligence level’ based on exam marks should be abolished. All students are intelligent and they’re good at something which they don’t know and that’s why they come to school, to educate themselves to find what they’re good in the first place. We should allow students to mix with peers from different backgrounds and different thinking so that they understand each other, help each other and finally lift each other up.