The “Stone Age” of mediocre design schools

Prologue
Looking back into Malaysia Design education for “Young Guns”, it is a ”Bless” now in compare to the old schools where the “Delivering Gaps” are inevitable consequences.

The Early Impressions of studying design courses are meant for those who can’t excel in academic.
The market niche for design students is relatively small, partly due to our own premature design industry as well. Thanks to many passionate Fine Artists who take the initiative to give a kick-start for Malaysia art & design education or else there will never be one. Thank you to all pioneer artists.

90’s - The “Mushroom” era of Design College
Seeing the growing new number of mediocre design colleges at the early 90’s are catastrophe finding to me as many students are not well taught, those self-claim educationist (merely capitalist dude) are only weakening the design education in our country rather than contributing to it. What they do is only training a group of skill workhorses rather than a pure artist, designer and thinkers.
Eerily this stills a trend till now in some mediocre colleges.

21st century – The ‘me too” clone war

All the sudden the Art & Design courses seems to be so potent that any T**, D*** or H**** colleges can simply running it without much empathy on the value that they will give to the naive students. Fresh graduate is mechanically employ by meeting the “paper for paper sick” and assume they are ready to teach, that’s all! (No problem just shoot with what in the syllabuses as being told by their BOSS)

Sigh! O.M.G, I sincerely wish this would not happen to his or her own innocent kid. (I bet it would not because they may just send their kid to a better school, because they can smell their own kind).

The return of the “Jedi”
Join the design education at 1994 after resigning from my Art Director post; it is due to my passion for teaching and dream of contributing in design education.

Little that I can do at the beginning stage as lecturer until back in 1998, I was lucky enough to be the head of a design college, together with Mr Alvin. It was during my tenure days there I introduce Mind Mapping, Creative thinking, Conceptual Illustration & bringing in the advertising expert like “Ah Sir” to join us.

Yes, they call us the “FONG WAN”(Martin & Alvin).

Chapter 1
The Stone Age in the new millennium
Art & Design education now partially gear with new technologies and teaching methodologies have brought many benefits into knowledge transfer & holistic learning, I am truthfully glad to see this new landscape. *But this credit on viable to the honourable colleges.

Stone Age era claimed here are referring to the colleges/university practice me-too strategies by offering design courses for the sick of “Profit Margin”, where goes the humanity and social responsibility value among those provider?

Design courses syllabuses are badly run and inexperience teachers are employ thus will only bring our society into retrogress

It is still too early or simply we are not there yet for social responsible conscious, why it is still many amateur design colleges/university around?

In term of improvement, Malaysia Design education will retard if these “Mediocre Design” education providers are still around but fortunately some authorities steps in to impose some regulation in these stone ages.

I have been thru the ice ages of the late 80’s.Luckily & also unluckily the focus during that time is more towards skill base rather than holistic learning. That is not to be blame of because the design industry it self need more skill persons.

Seeing many young kids being polluted with wrong direction and fall victim in this Capitalism system make my stomach full of butterfly. “May all students be enlighten by the “Environmental factors”, please read more books and think out of your box now. Read, read and listen... yes at least read my “Blog”, hope it will help.

To be continue.

Disclaimer
Throwing in my 15years experiences into this “Blog” with personal view in design education industries are merely my own point of view with no discrimination to insult or causing indirectly harm or losses to any party. Please read it with open mind, I may be wrong & any comments are welcome.

Jumping here and there with friction of story, philosophy, and self learn knowledge may put me in the test of time (life) or even in contrary situation with empirical and pedagogy critics. I apologize in advance, if my “post” is too provocative & sarcastic for you to digest.

Footnote;
Delivering Gap – Value expected from the paid service is not fully or properly delivers by the services provider both the institution and the lecturers.Environment factors – Culture, Technologies, Education systems, Up-bringing & Cognitive factors.