R.E.A.L passion for education
“EDUCATING children at any level is not just about teaching and preparing them to excel in examinations,” said Datin A.K. Chan, who recently joined R.E.A.L Education Group (now part of Paramount Education) as senior adviser for education.
She acknowledged its importance but said that should not be the only focus.
“Equally important is the task and responsibility of helping these children grow and develop throughout the many years they spend in school,” she continued.
“The ultimate aim is to groom them into well-balanced and well-adjusted young adults capable of finding happiness and success in their personal lives as well as careers so that they fit in well and can function in any society around the world.
“We know education is changing all the time,” she explained.
“New implementations and regulations are always being introduced, but there are two areas that are constantly being scrutinised and reviewed by educators the world over.
“One is curriculum. What are we teaching in school? What are our children learning? Are they gaining useful knowledge that is relevant to the world they live in?
“The other area is teaching approaches. How are we teaching our children? How do they learn in school nowadays? Are we guiding them to develop the right attitudes towards their studies and other pursuits? Are we teaching them appropriate skills so that they learn better?” she queried.
Chan aims to work closely with R.E.A.L Schools’ administrators to support and ensure the delivery of its curriculum and teaching pedagogy is successful.
She acknowledged that much work needs to be done towards creating and maintaining an ideal environment for students to grow and learn in.
That includes instilling a positive learning culture within the school community that is understood, accepted, and practised by students and teachers alike.
Chan’s distinguished career in education, which spans more than 40 years, has seen her serve in both government and private academic institutions.
A few years after embarking on a teaching career in 1975, she was appointed principal of SMK Convent Sitiawan at age 32 – one of the youngest principals of a secondary school in Malaysia then.
Prior to joining R.E.A.L last year, Chan was academic director of Sekolah Sri KDU and also its founding principal back in 2002, with 19 years of experience as principals of various government schools.
She surmised that the quality of a school is determined by the quality of its teachers.
“But school administrators are the ones who take charge of the quality of the teachers. They need to demonstrate great leadership while having a clear vision of what they want to achieve over a period of time, and purposefulness in whatever they choose to implement in the school. Having said that, I believe the quality of a school cannot exceed the quality of its teachers,” she reiterated.
Exuding firm belief and commitment, Chan concluded, “As educators, we must always see ourselves as persons entrusted but more importantly, ‘trusted’ to fulfil this great responsibility.”
She said R.E.A.L Education recognised that with its recently launched well-researched transformation plan that was designed to drive all its schools in one giant leap forward together.
In her new role, Chan seeks to ensure the effective delivery of R.E.A.L’s teaching and learning approach while encouraging teachers to adopt more interactive teaching strategies.
She is also still committed to the values and practices that promote students’ overall development while placing strong professional focus on the learning needs of students from all levels.
■ For enquiries, call R.E.A.L Schools at 03-9021 3601 (Cheras campus), 03-7842 3228 (Shah Alam campus) or 07-386 4468 (Johor Baru campus).
Visit http://www.realschools.edu. my for further details.