A Greater Need to Build the Hands On Skills of Our Children

I had a nice gathering with a bunch of present and ex-colleagues of mainly Physics teachers and was discussing about the practical skills of our present day students. We all shared the same sentiments, the hands-on skills of our students have declined over the years.  We had stories of students who were not able to strike matches, students who did not know how to tie a simple pendulum - they said that they never tied shoelaces as their track shoes came with shoe laces tied and their parents or maids would tie it back for them after the shoes are washed.  There were students who could not handle drills, and almost drilling their hands when by using the hand to hold a wooden stick directly below the hole to drilled.  Students who also had problem using saws and hammer and would be terrified when given the tools.

These are the group of students, who spent their childhood at home playing with toys, computers or drilling on homework.  They had a different childhood from many of us teachers,who did not have access to computers which only became a common household item when we were in university or when we were working.  We had spent our childhood playing with neighbours, running around in the neighbourhood, building structures to have war games (though I was a girl, I was always following my brother and engaging in the activities he was involved in).  During mid autumn festival, we had lanterns or some made lanterns from pomelos peels, tin cans which we lighted candles in. For me and my friends, we also spend quite alot of our teenage years, fishing, camping and also staking out in abandoned kampungs with durian trees to wait for durians.  Alas, what a childhood we used to have.  It is no wonder, the kids do not have the hands on ability to build or handle apparatus in Physics experiments.

I shall resolve that my children will not be like that and I feel that the hands-on practical work should have a greater emphasis not only in the Secondary and Pre-university school years but also starting at a very young age.  Children should be exposed to various activities that require them handle tools, build things.  Performing the experiment and getting them to just infer or deduce results, which many schools are doing are just not sufficient.  You must literally do the work, get "dirty", handle the tools to acquire the dexterity for more complex work later.