TARA FOUNDATION
VISIT TO ASIA PACIFIC UNIVERSITY
TARA Foundation gives its students a glimpse into the university lifestyle to encourage students to pursue tertiary education.
Stories bring facts to life, make the abstract concrete and, through meaning making, walk the listener through the mind of the scientist or mathematician (Ellis, 2005) to understand the value and application of such concepts. Wells (1986) argued that storytelling is a fundamental approach of meaning making. Community participation helps youth become empathetic citizens who could potentially continue similar work when they become adults. Additionally, youth who give back to their communities develop leadership skills, learn the importance of helping, and gain work experiences.
Benefits of storytelling in early childhood education includes :
- Improved language skills
- Heightened memory
- Fosters imaginative, creative thinking and cognitive skills. …
- Encourages enthusiasm for learning, writing and reading. …
- Develops cultural and moral understanding.
- Better communication skills
- Increases curiosity and imagination. …
- Emphasizes focus and social skills.
Research has it that 90% of school students would drop out of high school, before they can sit for the Malaysia’s Examination Certificate (SPM). When investigation the cause of this phenomenon, it was brought to light that most students opt to stop put their studies at a halt for two reasons. Firstly is because they choose to go to work with their parents, to help the family’s financial status. Secondly, is because students don’t see the necessity to study till they reach Form 5, as they know for sure they will not continue their tertiary education.
To ensure this mindset is killed in its roots, TARA Foundation makes a regular effort to take students on a field trips to various universities. This is to give students a glimpse of what happens at university level. We wanted students to see the perks of graduating from university: the increased pay, the abundance in knowledge and opportunities. We wanted students to be assured, that sacrificing a few years to focus on their studies, would only yield more fruits in the future, for them and for their families.
At the end of this trip, students were astonished to gather what they observed at Asia Pacific University. Some of them had even decided what they would like to pursue a career in, while the rest were motivated to finish schooling and move on to college.