5, 6 & 9 July
Update on comments:
- A South American Woman living and raising her family here in South Africa commented how different her school experience was to her children’s. Hers was one of military dictatorship, where there was no encouragement of personal opinion and critical thinking.
- An engineer commented that there is a need to balance both hemispheres of the brain, ‘rational/irrational’. Creativity with logic, if this is not developed and encouraged we become ‘half-wits’!
- A dance teacher discussed how the introduction of the new CAPS system, replacing OBE, makes life easier for teachers. What I understood is that it stringently adheres to text books and prescribed syllabus, making learning more standardised.
- A young mother is concerned about schooling for her young children. She has no confidence in the government schools delivering sound education. Her alternative is Private schools which are expensive. Good education costs.
- A man in his twenties who had suffered a stroke and is putting much effort into his rehabilitation, feels that education is the backbone of a country, which the government needs to take more seriously and develop better standards. He also feels that the abolishment of trade-schools was a mistake. That this form of education readily equipped people with workable skills.
- I also was informed of new educational systems emerging from the USA. Anyone, anywhere, can follow a syllabus, studying at their own pace. Once the curriculum has been covered and papers delivered, the student pays for the degree and then gets assessed. This self-motivated, self-generating method of study and educating is largely a result of the global information explosion.
Some personal reflection
I need to explore what defines education;
is it just the exposure to a body of knowledge, understanding of which being
verified by exams? Can it also mean the growing of people culturally and
intellectually? During a conversation home schooling was discussed. A mother
said what happens is a learner scurries through the work, finishing the
assignments quickly and then wants to go out and play. Is this a problem if the
work covered is in order? If being educated is merely the acquiring of
qualifications, maybe distance learning is a good development. It means I can
manage my time getting on with things which really interest me. Why does
learning, education, boring, chore seem to fit in the same sentence?
Comments
Post a Comment