A couple of weeks back I was lucky to be part of an education seminar that was attended by some fine minds in the education sector in this country. As the proceedings got underway with people discussing issues, something in me occurred. As people were discussing what the problems were in township schools I began asking myself one question: What kind of problem are we having in the township schools? I even went as far as asking one University lecturer whether he thinks we are having a societal problem. These questions came about when I started to realise that it is a jungle out there for our learners.
Some honest questions that we need to ask ourselves as a community are becoming unavoidable. Some of these questions might be yawn generating ones because I had been banging on about them for weeks. One question I would like to bring to the fore today is whether our society is capable to deliver the skilled professionals that our economy is in dire need of. I know you might be thinking “Mara what's wrong with him, there are a lot of skilled individuals that are coming from our community”. This is right but is our society capable of producing the mass that our economy needs. One might ask what society is capable enough to be the machine that will run the production of these skilled individuals. That is a fair question because we need to ask especially under current socio-economic situation in the township.
But it is also important to note though the economic status is part of the problem but is not the not entirely the problem. The way we are doing things can contribute extensively in creating a generation that values and respects education. I think central to this creation of a proper society is making sure that this society cultivates a culture of learning. Such a society will be able to value and have respect for education. Children born in this society will pass on to their kids idea of valuing and respecting education and they themselves will benefit from this. Question that comes to then is how do we then start to build that kind of society? Also what should be everyone’s responsibility in creating such a society? As we ponder these questions as the community we need to also think about how have we been doing things, how are doing things? Ok two many questions and that’s probably complicating things even more than they are now.
Let’s start with this we get 6yrs with the children before they start conventional schooling system. Does our society cultivate a culture of learning even at this six year block. Ja I know many will say “but we can’t afford educational toys for our kids”. What do we then do in this case? Surely we can find not costly ways to ensure that kids are mentally stimulated at this stage. Remember if we can try and get the basics right at this stage we would be laying the much needed foundation on the culture of learning. As kids enter the mainstream schooling they would be able to adapt easily to the environment. I believe that this should continue through out the schooling system. Things might get a little more complicated especially since we all understand the education background of this country, but I believe if we show the care and support to kids then they will continue to develop further the culture of learning that we want them to have. Building such a society is not only vital for delivering the skills needed by our economy but also it is important for community development because such a societal mindset is central to the development of our community. This is the way I see it, how do you see it:proedparent@gmail.com
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4 comments:
Hooray! Luk for president!
Great blog! I'm looking forward to reading this :)
Dude, I'll send you some comprehensive comments on the article by email.
j
Lukanyo,
I think all your points are important. But i'd also like to ask how its possible to create a culture of learning when the culture of learning that these communities had possessed in the past has been destroyed by the type of society we live in? How can a child learn anything in a school with 40 children to a class? Yes, learning must start early but if the only parent who knows how to read is off at work for 12 hours a day, how can she/he teach their child anything? How can the parent teach the child to read if they get home and don't have electricity?
So, I think we need to look deeper and combine what you are saying with some structural changes to both education and the society as a whole. We need to dismantle this culture of defeatism. We need to stand up for our rights because realising that you are worth something and you do have a right to housing, education, participation in decisions that effect your life, etc, is a learning process in and of itself.
thanks for the article.
hi luk: you raise many big questions. let me add one. i travel a lot for work, and am always surprised by the different attitudes towards education that exist around the world. in other developing countries, especially in asia, education is clearly seen as *the* way towards creating a better future for yourself and your children. parents work hard to send their children to good schools. that does not seem to be the case in south africa. why?
without mulling over the reasons, let's look at solutions. IMHO one way to create a desire for education, is by bringing people together, as ikamva does. once you see the opportunities that a university degree creates and you develop the confidence that you can succeed academically, you are more likely to pursue further studies. and it might well take one generation of learners that have to go through this process, before they can in turn teach their children.
best - P
Some muddled comments/thoughts:
Inducing a culture of learning will take a considerable amount of time. I will share some thoughts about how I think this could be possible but I think there are other issues that should be considered simultaneously that may be more effective in producing the “right goods” in the short term.
We are facing increasing graduate (tertiary) unemployment rates and at the same time many skilled positions are vacant. I believe this is indicative of a number of problems. Firstly, that the universities are not equipping students with sufficient skills that firms find them employable even if they are studying the fields in which there are jobs available. Secondly, that there are insufficient students entering into careers that are most highly demanded. Thirdly, firms are under-investing in skills training and are unwilling to employ individuals that require additional training. From the firm's standpoint this makes sense - if they provide additional training they incur a cost and the individuals are more employable for other firms that may be able to afford a higher salary. Fourthly, a considerable amount of hiring occurs through personal networks. This is particularly true of small and medium sized companies that can not afford a (sizeable) HR dept. Given that many township youth do not have strong ties to employment networks (although this is changing) they have less access to the information about current jobs.
What does this all mean? I think that one thing we need to concentrate on is better coordination between the private sector, tertiary institutions as well as schools. In so doing, students can become more aware of high-demand skills, tertiary institutions can supply the "correct" knowledge to students to make them employable. Government could create training incentives that are more effective than the SETA setup, and it could also implement a nationwide unemployment agency. These are some of the ways I think we can be producing the "right goods" in the short term (well at least a portion thereof).
Obviously we still require structural change within the education system to ensure that more individuals are able to access the opportunities our society has to offer. (This is more directly related to your post - I apologize for the diversion.) In order to create a culture of learning I offer some small ideas:
* We need kids to feel inspired about what they are learning, to understand why it is important to acquire knowledge, to understand how the knowledge is useful, and to know what opportunities knowledge can bring for them.
* We need to create discipline towards learning. Learning needs to be part of one's daily routine from a young age. While I understand the issues raised by jsacks regarding the obstacles faced by parents in township communities are prevalent and difficult, I think there are small things that can be easily implemented, some examples:
-- While illiteracy is a problem in SA, there are many literate individuals that are unemployed. Perhaps the parent is at work but there may be neighbors, older siblings that can read books (available at libraries) to the young kids from a young age.
-- Due to the importance of learning English, one potential exercise could be to learn a few new English words while helping with household chores. Or set homework that the child has to learn a set number of words during the day that they need to share with you later in the day.
-- Encourage kids to talk about an issue over dinner. This could be something that may have happened that day. Something they read in a newspaper at the library or something they read in a book.
--By setting small tasks at a young age, kids become accustomed to homework and hopefully by setting tasks that are fun for the kids they also enjoy learning. Offering rewards such as getting off a household chore for doing well with an assigned learning task is also helpful.
-- While educational toys are unaffordable, there are many educational books that teach writing, math, etc… for young ages. Libraries are open to requests from community members and such books can be sought out and used by parents/older siblings with the kids.
So how do parents know what to do to encourage learning? This is where I believe the government and its various institutions need to play a more active role. Parental education can occur at schools when they collect their child's report; at community halls at suitable times to enable parents to attend. Libraries are also important in that they can get literate volunteers to read to children in the community on a weekly basis, they can also assist kids with working through educational resources.
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