on the news tonight

This semester in my advanced English class I gave a current events speaking assignment. It began as an idea to get the students more comfortable in speaking English formally. The assignment was pretty standard-- read a current event article from an English paper, write a summary on it, present the summary to the class, and then lead a class discussion on the topic with discussion questions. However, this assignment has turned into one of the best assignments I've ever given, and here's why.

First of all, I am blown away by the students' fluency and critical thinking put behind their presentations. Again, I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I guess I forgot that they are all future pastors, and fairly effective public speakers.

Second of all, these presentations have been informative beyond belief. Not only have I received information about the government in Myanmar or the latest dispute about property fraud in Malaysia, but I've received actual opinions. This in itself is one of the wonders of living in a foreign country-- you gain a perspective you could have never had otherwise.

In the class, the students have the freedom to express their discontent: with the government, politics, and the lack of freedom of religion, generally taboo topics in daily conversation. It's been really amazing for me to just sit back and listen as they formulate their opinions, discuss their plan of action as a future church leader, and decide ways to address it within their own communities.

It's always a really humbling experience for me as a teacher when I finally admit that my students know a lot more than I do. When you get down to it, they have had years of life experience that I have yet to have. I mean, while I was in high school, some were already married, working, and travelling. But, for me to be an effective teacher, I had to come to this realization, and be comfortable teaching with this knowledge.

Anyway, I just wanted to take the time today to highlight one of these great presentations. This particular student was presenting on the concept of 1Malaysia. 1Malaysia is a fairly new concept, set out by the Prime Minister. Its focus is to unite the people of Malaysia, though the people and religions are many and diverse. I've heard a lot about 1Malaysia since coming here (it's advertised constantly), but this class was the first time I had the chance to hear the perspective of the local people.
To summarize, my students proceeded to discuss their feeling of the concept's falseness, and how it is only a slogan of empty promises. They discussed the difficulty of uniting a nation of such vast differences, and how religions will always clash. They highlighted the unfairness of a government that doesn't support its lower class workers, and that the idea of a cohesive nation is impossible to imagine when unfairness is a daily occurrence.
My curiosity was growing-- was there anyone in the class that thought 1Malaysia could be achieved? Did they all think that it was impossible for different religions to get along, especially in the light of recent bombings within Malaysia? Can religions even unify within themselves?

These questions hang not only within our classroom walls, but within the whole country of Malaysia. I feel very privileged to be a weekly fly on the wall for these rising questions and conversations.