Thread by @mrazamtweet

#b 'Teknik menjawab' is not a series of rituals that you carry out to secure an A in the exam. You don't get guaranteed an A just through superficial actions like highlighting keywords or drawing meniscus or inserting isi tersirat.

The problem is students and teachers treat teknik menjawab as some sort of pseudo magical ritualistic gestures that will bring a certain outcome. Draw a pentagram, slaughter a chicken, and your wish will be granted.

Some remote Pacific Islanders in 1940s came in contact with Allied and Japanese soldiers who were more technologically advanced and thought the soldiers were gods who had many "cargo" (canned food, electronics, modern stuff)

After WW2 ended and the soldiers returned home, the islanders still wanted the "cargo" so they built bamboo radios and wooden flight control towers as a kind of ritual to summon the "gods" back to their island and bring cargo to them.

The islanders thought that if they can't get hold of real radios and towers the soldiers used, they still can get the same results (i.e. cargo) by making a fake bamboo copy, because it looks the same superficially.

This is essentially how students treat the idea of 'teknik menjawab'. They highlight keywords or draw meniscus or insert isi tersirat so their exam script looks superficially good. The rituals have been carried out, so an A grade shall appear.

Highlighted keywords are a hallmark of conscientious reading. Tidy meniscus is a hallmark of proper scientific documentation. Isi tersirat is the culmination of a deep engagement with the text. But students & teachers are content with just mimicking these hallmarks. Bamboo copies

And just like the islanders who waited patiently beside their bamboo radio for the good cargo to come, students exit the exam hall anticipating an A grade after peppering their paper with the ritualistic 'teknik menjawab' bits and pieces.

Whose at fault?
Teachers for not explaining that these 'teknik menjawab' are actually outward manifestations of good academic behavior like conscientious reading or scientific documentation.

Whose at fault?
Students for treating 'teknik menjawab' as holy writ and pseudo rituals.

Whose at fault?
Penceramah jemputan and tuition classes for presenting 'teknik menjawab' as a quasi-mystical aura ritual that must be carried out to appease the unknowable arcana of exams, and for providing students with a false sense of security once the rituals hv bn fulfilled