Translated by WINNIE CHOOI
Sin Chew Daily

PENANG -- Cluster schools have always been working towards a mission of encouraging growth not only among the students but also among the schools.

Principal of SRJK Kwang Hwa, Chen Bing Xin, who has just received the Cluster School award from the education director-general Datuk Seri Abdul Ghafar Mahmud, emphasises that the school focuses on "Duckling Teaching Strategy" which emphasises sharing instead of the "Rooster Teaching Strategy" which denies the strength of others.

"Maths Doctor" to the assistance

"Our school has implemented different teaching methods to instil in the smarter students a willingness to help their weaker classmates. For instance, the "Mathematics Diagnostic Centre" is one of the highly recommended examples," said Chen.

This method allows top performing students to act as "Maths Doctors" to guide other students from Standard Four to Six to improve their command of mathematics during recess.

Chen said this was conducted inside a classroom where past UPSR exam papers would be compiled and for use at the "Mathematics Diagnostic Centre."

With the guidance from the "Maths Doctors," the participating students are arranged to solve the maths problems.

The students appointed as "Maths Doctors" would be given name cards as a form of recognition from the school.

Highly impressed by this innovative concept of learning, Education Department officers hope the idea would enhance the students' performance in Mathematics.

It is noteworthy that even the education superintendent from Kedah has visited Penang to learn about this concept so that it could be promoted to the schools in that state.

The spirit of sharing in "Duckling Teaching Strategy" should not be confined to the students in that school but be extended to other schools and the community at large.

RM500,000 fund from education department

SRJK (C) Kwang Hwa was nominated by the Penang Education Department in 2008 and is currently the only certified cluster school in Penang. The school was concentrating mainly on teaching, fund raising and reconstruction works back then, resulting in delays in documentation and reporting.

Documentation was started in 2010, and the certificate was awarded only recently.

As a cluster school, SRJK (C) Kwang Hwa is given RM500,000 from the Education Department for school construction as well as oversea study expenses for the school principal and teachers.

On January 30, the Education Department announced the sixth edition of cluster school list that includes seven secondary schools and eight primary schools.

The Education Department has set a target of achieving 300 cluster schools throughout the country by the year 2015, against 213 today. The students' learning skills and extra-curricular activities would be the main benchmarks for the cluster school evaluation.

SRJK (C) Kwang Hwa has set the goal of achieving more than 90% of students scoring distinctions in UPSR Mathematics.

Rookie Award

"We were the only primary school taking part in the robot contest," said Chen. The inspiration of broadcasting music through robot from computers has won the school the Rookie Award.

Chen went on to say that students were encouraged to unleash their talents with the assistance from the school. While adults sometimes have problem understanding the children's thinking, they should nevertheless allow the students to exert their potentials.

For instance, a student by the name of Zeng Zhe Rui has obtained outstanding award in a drawing contest in Japan, where he portrayed a grandfather waiting for his grandson returning from school at the paddy field, in his drawing titled "My homeland."

Programs to accommodate parents' needs

Besides excellent learning skills and outstanding extra-curricular activities, the students' physical health is also of utmost importance.

Consequently, besides exploiting the student's talents, the school has recently launched several programs to reduce the number of text books needed, protect the students' eyesight and promote healthy diet.