@raum to be honest I have mixed feeling about it. On one hand I’m happy that they are trying to make school curriculum more suitable for individual students. I can see some books that even fit specific regions of the country. The old system uses the same book for the entire country, so I’m glad they finally acknowledge that not all students can learn like that.
But on the other hand, I’m afraid this is going to be really chaotic. If I can take away anything from this thread, it’s that textbooks are typically distributed state-by-state, or at least district-by-district. Here they seem to want each school to make the choice. This can get really confusing because no school is the same, and each school would have way different curriculum from each other. Coupled with the fact that this is a small country, that would give parents a real headache.
And there are two big things that really stands in the way of this project and I don’t think they really think about it carefully: cram schools and the exam system. Cram schools are essentially the requirement of all students here. It’s not required by law, but you will be in a severely disadvantage position if you don’t take cram lessons. Cram schools are required because lessons at schools just don’t provide students with enough knowledge to pass exams, and of course no parent wants their child to be behind their peers. Cram schools work because the curriculum are the same in all schools. But if this project is to succeed, it will put a whole new pressure on everyone, from students who have to study according to the textbooks in both official class and cram class to parents who have to find the right cram class to teachers who have to prepare lessons according to students’ school. I may have to prepare lessons in the future and I already have a panic attack thinking about it.
As for exams, I think you @raum know how it goes, because it is similar to the ancient time. But for those who don’t know, every year we have an exam for entrance to universities. The exam paper is the same across the nation. The exam is already stressful enough with one official curriculum. Now it’s going to be even more chaotic with different curriculum. How can people guarantee that an exam paper will be fair for everyone if each school teaches students differently? And how can examiners make an exam paper that incorporate all the textbooks out there? Again, more stress for everyone involved.
I like their idea, but I don’t have any hope for the future.