Sir Robert Hutchinson (1871-1960) adalah antara salah satu doktor yang terkemuka dalam sejarah perubatan Barat. Beliau terkenal sebagai seorang doktor yang berpengalaman, analitikal dan kritis, filosofis dan juga agamawan. Ada satu rangkaian doanya yang aku rasa agak menarik.
From inability to leave well alone
From too much zeal for what is new and contempt for what is old
From putting knowledge before wisdom,
science before art,
and cleverness before common sense,
From treating patients as cases and from making the cure of a disease more grievous than its endurance
Good Lord deliver us
Sir Robert Hutchinson
President, Royal College of Surgeons
Science before art?
Aku teringat sewaktu aku di tingkatan empat, aku ada memasuki satu pertandingan debat Bahasa Inggeris. Tajuk perdebatan pada peringkat separuh akhir ialah "Literature as a compulsory subject in secondary school student" Aku berada di pihak pro-pembangkang. Maknanya, jangan wajibkan sastera, cukuplah, mata pelajaran yang sedia ada pun tak larat nak baca :)
Hari ini, aku ada terbaca satu artikel dalam New Strait Times bertajuk "For undergrads, it's all about 'cari makan' " oleh Chok Suat Ling. Inilah sebabnya aku terkenangkan kembali nostalgia sekolah menengah itu (hehe). Berikut ialah beberapa petikan dari pada artikel itu:
The higher education minister is concerned about the dwindling number of students taking up humanities courses. This has opened up, once again, the longstanding science versus humanities debate
What students want, or indeed clamour for, are those programmes bluntly referred to as the cari makan courses, that will enable them to easily secure jobs, preferably well-paying ones, when they graduate. These are the science-related courses and, to a certain extent, business management programmes.
The dwindling number of students taking up humanities courses was serious enough for Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin to voice his concern last week. He said if the trend continued, the humanities -- which encompass courses such as literature, philosophy, music, art and history -- might become irrelevant in future. This would have negative consequences, he cautioned.
"We would have a generation of highly-educated people but they might be totally clueless about things outside their areas of specialisation.." notes Chu Chin Koo, a lecturer at the Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology University.
This scenario is even more glaringly apparent here, he adds, as Malaysians generally do not read for pleasure.
"In the West, the reading habit is still very much alive. Science graduates can thus contribute meaningfully in conversations about subjects outside their scope of expertise. In Malaysia, it is all about getting that gilt-edged scroll and securing a job thereafter.
"I have always believed that when we do something, we tend to emphasise one thing and ignore the others," notes former Universiti Malaya (UM) vice-chancellor Datuk Rafiah Salim:
"It is a pity really. History, for instance, is important as we stand to learn a lot from our past. The focus on science will not wane, but become even more unrelenting.
"We can't run away from this. It is the way forward and we will just have to adjust and adapt," says UPSI's Aminah.
"And if job prospects are indeed the prevailing concern, students should be reminded that it does not matter whether they take science or arts.
"In the end, it is whether they have the requisite soft skills. It is those with excellent communication, leadership and critical thinking skills who are most likely to land the jobs."
Kali ini, aku tak berhajat untuk membuat apa-apa kesimpulan atau andaian, kerana flow of thought aku sendiri pun tidak tersusun kemas lagi. Cuma, aku senaraikan beberapa ibu-ibu idea yang boleh dikembangkan di sini:
From inability to leave well alone
From too much zeal for what is new and contempt for what is old
From putting knowledge before wisdom,
science before art,
and cleverness before common sense,
From treating patients as cases and from making the cure of a disease more grievous than its endurance
Good Lord deliver us
Sir Robert Hutchinson
President, Royal College of Surgeons
Science before art?
Aku teringat sewaktu aku di tingkatan empat, aku ada memasuki satu pertandingan debat Bahasa Inggeris. Tajuk perdebatan pada peringkat separuh akhir ialah "Literature as a compulsory subject in secondary school student" Aku berada di pihak pro-pembangkang. Maknanya, jangan wajibkan sastera, cukuplah, mata pelajaran yang sedia ada pun tak larat nak baca :)
Hari ini, aku ada terbaca satu artikel dalam New Strait Times bertajuk "For undergrads, it's all about 'cari makan' " oleh Chok Suat Ling. Inilah sebabnya aku terkenangkan kembali nostalgia sekolah menengah itu (hehe). Berikut ialah beberapa petikan dari pada artikel itu:
The higher education minister is concerned about the dwindling number of students taking up humanities courses. This has opened up, once again, the longstanding science versus humanities debate
What students want, or indeed clamour for, are those programmes bluntly referred to as the cari makan courses, that will enable them to easily secure jobs, preferably well-paying ones, when they graduate. These are the science-related courses and, to a certain extent, business management programmes.
The dwindling number of students taking up humanities courses was serious enough for Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin to voice his concern last week. He said if the trend continued, the humanities -- which encompass courses such as literature, philosophy, music, art and history -- might become irrelevant in future. This would have negative consequences, he cautioned.
"We would have a generation of highly-educated people but they might be totally clueless about things outside their areas of specialisation.." notes Chu Chin Koo, a lecturer at the Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology University.
This scenario is even more glaringly apparent here, he adds, as Malaysians generally do not read for pleasure.
"In the West, the reading habit is still very much alive. Science graduates can thus contribute meaningfully in conversations about subjects outside their scope of expertise. In Malaysia, it is all about getting that gilt-edged scroll and securing a job thereafter.
"I have always believed that when we do something, we tend to emphasise one thing and ignore the others," notes former Universiti Malaya (UM) vice-chancellor Datuk Rafiah Salim:
"It is a pity really. History, for instance, is important as we stand to learn a lot from our past. The focus on science will not wane, but become even more unrelenting.
"We can't run away from this. It is the way forward and we will just have to adjust and adapt," says UPSI's Aminah.
"And if job prospects are indeed the prevailing concern, students should be reminded that it does not matter whether they take science or arts.
"In the end, it is whether they have the requisite soft skills. It is those with excellent communication, leadership and critical thinking skills who are most likely to land the jobs."
Kali ini, aku tak berhajat untuk membuat apa-apa kesimpulan atau andaian, kerana flow of thought aku sendiri pun tidak tersusun kemas lagi. Cuma, aku senaraikan beberapa ibu-ibu idea yang boleh dikembangkan di sini:- Sains lebih tinggi dari sastera? Atau sebaliknya? Atau saling memerlukan?
- Segulung Ijazah. Untuk pekerjaan atau untuk ilmu?
- Specialist atau generalist?
- Ke mana arahnya graduan-graduan kita sekiranya terperangkap dalam dimensi ini? Makin maju? atau sebaliknya?
Apapun, setakat ini kesemua buah-buah idea, secara kabur-kabur, menunjukkan satu kesamaan yang agak mudah difahami, tapi mungkin susah untuk diamali. Ia adalah "Keseimbangan".
Barangkali kita boleh pelajari sesuatu dari Firman yang Maha Esa dalam kitabNya:
“Dan demikian kami jadikan kamu ummah yang pertengahan (wasat) untuk menjadi teladan dan saksi kepada umat yang lain”. (Al-Baqarah, 143)
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