Analyzing Educational Standards
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It's my dad again, sending me something on WhatsApp.
Ever since he read some of my articles on Steemit, he’s been quite impressed with me. It’s funny because no one in our family enjoys reading or writing. Not a single one. I have three brothers, and they all despised writing essays. I ended up writing so many on their behalf. Anyway, whenever Dad comes across something of historical or other importance, he makes sure to share it with me (helping me with content, lol). So, just this morning, I received this message with an accompanying text:
1945 انگریزوں کے وقت میں پانچویں جماعت کا پرچہ ملاحضہ کیجئیے ' اور اپنے آپ سے سوال کیجئیے کیا یہ پرچہ آج کی سولہویں جماعت کا سٹوڈینٹ حل کر پاۓ گا ؟ کیا آپ کسی سوال کا جواب بتا سکتے؟؟
Translation: Take a look at the fifth-grade exam paper from the time of the British in 1945 and ask yourself: can a sixteenth-grade student of today solve this paper? Can you answer any of the questions?
Courtesy of my father: a bunch of retired military doctors who have a WhatsApp group where they share things like this. Cute, aren't they?
Annual Exam 1945
Science Subjective
Total marks: 75
Time: 2 Hours
Note: - Cleanliness: 3 Marks
Fifth Grade Science Subjective
I- Why do the days and nights become shorter and longer? Write in detail. (15)
II- a) Why doesn't the sun change its shape like the moon? b) The moon appears to be as big as the sun.
c) Planets and stars move in their respective orbits.
d)Some stars are bigger than the sun but appear smaller in size. ( Total marks 15)
III- Write the benefits of latitude and longitude.
Kohat (a city in Pakistan) situated at the eastern longitude degree of 15, when it is 2 PM at Greenwich, what time will it be there? (15)
IV- Explain the reasons for the Earth being round. Why does it appear flat to us? (15)
V- What is science? Write a brief note on it. (15)
Science Practical
- Use a compass to find the directions.
- Prove refraction with an experiment.
- Observe a particle with a magnifying glass and prove that smaller things appear appear larger in it.
You might wonder why this paper was set by the British. For those unfamiliar with Indo-Pak history, the British colonial administration in India, which encompassed the region that later became Pakistan, established and enforced educational policies and systems during their rule. This included designing curricula and examination papers for schools. The fifth-grade exam paper from 1945 was a result of this colonial education system, reflecting the educational standards and subjects deemed significant by the British authorities of that era.
As for why I translated it into English, there are two reasons:
Firstly, to ensure that you can understand it.
Secondly, for my children, who are in grades 10, 7, and 5. I want them to be able to solve the problems in this paper. However, I'm not sure if they would understand it in Urdu, as they haven't been taught this subject in that language. Therefore, I translated it to make it easier for them to comprehend and work on.
If you are still following my context, i shared with you an accompanying message that my father sent me with this paper. Lets share with you again:
Take a look at the fifth-grade exam paper from the time of the British in 1945 and ask yourself: can a sixteenth-grade student of today solve this paper? Can you answer any of the questions?
Well, to be honest, I can't solve at least two of the questions. Okay, I can seek help from the internet and understand them later to solve them. I might have an excuse because I haven't been in touch with science for quite some time now.
But I will also be giving this exercise to my children. I know they also won't be able to solve those two questions. I know this because I'm familiar with their curriculum.
What are your thoughts on this? Is this exam paper too difficult? Are some of the questions unnecessary? And why do you think the standard of education in our country, especially, has been declining? At least, that's what I perceive.
What are we achieving with the current curriculum? Do we need to change our approach to the education system? I've been hearing suggestions that we shouldn't teach certain things anymore. Instead, we should focus on practical skills, like teaching children how to do taxes. People are suggesting we should forget about theorems and extensive math exercises. What are your thoughts on this? I believe these exercises are necessary to perhaps enhance their analytical thinking skills.
But then again, I'm not an educationist!
Please join the discussion in the comments section. I'm sharing the link to this publication with several people who are eager to read and discuss these ideas. Perhaps something good will come out of it.
Countries colonized by England would be more advanced than those colonized by other countries. They colonized but prioritized education, not natural resources.
At that time, the world of technology was not as advanced as it is today, you will become smart in just a matter of seconds. Choices A, B, C, D in each question, we can be correct just by guessing them.
Today's educational standards are not decreasing, but the world is now teaching us to change educational patterns. The purpose of schooling and the learning tools are also very different.
In ancient times, parents basically sent their children to school with the aim of being able to learn knowledge that we did not yet know and to form a character in students so that they could differentiate between good and bad.
In the past, students were very limited in accessing school lessons and in the past it was a shame that there was not as much access to learning resources as now, so no matter how small the learning information they got, it was very meaningful. Previously, there was a curriculum where teachers had to be more active in providing students with information, now it is curriculum 13 where students have to be more active in getting information.
I salute those who study under wax and with ink on skin. They have limitations in everything, but their enthusiasm for learning makes us live "nicely" now.
It's great to read your publications, maybe your son should answer that one question so your father doesn't wonder...
🤗🌼
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Well, those are very good questions. I studied most of them in the lessons of natural science, and later geography. Are they on a fifth grade level? I'm not sure. I think I studied something like this in the fifth or sixth grade. Only I didn't study in 1945 😆
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Yes, they are.
guess you have a pretty good educational standard. I think all European countries have maintained their standards of education. That's my perception, at least!
As far as we are concerned, we have all kinds of standards. There are so many systems prevailing here. Sarkari schools (government schools) – don't even ask about them – little to no teaching and learning there! And then such an amazing shift/contrast at the graduation level. The dynamics change abruptly. You have to compete with hundreds of thousands of students to get admission into these prestigious universities in the government sector, especially for professional degrees like medicine and engineering.
But if we talk about schools in government sector, you wouldn't want your kid anywhere near those. Our parents studied in those schools because, back then, there were no private schools. But now, each private school has its own curriculum, books, and I don't even know what else.
Here, the more expensive the school, the better its standard. And most of the good private schools are not affordable. There are even some memes going around here that parents are scared the private schools might someday ask for a share in their property.
But still, in my opinion, these schools are not able to maintain the standard of education. It's just hefty fees and unnecessary gimmicks.
They keep parents distracted with things like Color Day, Vegetable Day, and other pointless activities.
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I tend to think that we have a good level of education. We have the absolute majority of public schools. There are also private ones, but state ones provide a sufficient level of education so that a child can enter any university.
My child is studying under a special program called "Intellect of Ukraine". This does not mean that some special children are selected there, just that the curriculum is different from the usual one. For example, this year, at the age of 8, Darinka studied the structure of the simplest molecules and the types of electron orbitals. I learned it at the age of 12. I did not want to burden my child at all, when I was choosing this program, I was told that it was much more interesting. Later, it turned out that it is still more complicated, but the material is presented very interestingly, often in a game form, with numerous videos, illustrations and visual examples. All this is accompanied by thematic practical tasks. In a word, I am satisfied. 😊
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.. I have read these questions. I'm wondering which ones you don't have a direct answer to right away without a hint?
And another question: is the level of difficulty of the exam questions age or has it decreased now compared to 1945?
Хм ... я прочитал эти вопросы. Мне интересно, на какие из них у тебя нет прямого ответа сразу без подсказки?
И ещё вопрос: уровень сложности вопросов на экзамене возрос или понизился сейчас по сравнению с 1945 годом?
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I understand how to determine the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and how to convert it to my local time but not on reference with using latitude and longitude.
I am familiar with some benefits of using latitude and longitude but not in enough detail to cover 15 marks.
But I can definitely pass the exams with some 80-90 percentage.
This question doesn't have a straightforward answer. In some sense, the difficulty has increased, but perhaps the standard of education has decreased.
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A very unusual set of questions.
Our exams ask more specific questions. For example: formulas, definitions, theorems.
But I understand the logic of your exam questions. It develops imaginative thinking and is useful in practice.
Thank you, friend!
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