WHERE ARE WE REGARDING EDUCATION?

WHEN I reflect on the struggle for an excellent educational system in South Africa one asks the question: Where are we in education?

Government ignores the fact that for every two primary schools we have in South Africa we only have one high school.

As you can deduce we have too few high schools. What happens to the 50% of students who leave grade 9 or are 15 years old? This is a major problem which government does not want to address.

This should be a concern for all to all of us. What happens to the children who cannot get into school for grade 10. Government must address this issue immediately. The role of the teachers is to see that our children receive the best education possible.

The teacher’s responsibility is to see that students can read with understanding, to write and to do Maths. We can blame government if they introduce illogical ways of learning and expect teachers to carry this over to students. Universities must be strong on this when training student teachers.

I remember having to go to the Mowbray College of Education in Mowbray in 1997 to listen to a seminar on Outcomes Based Education (OBE) by the Father of OBE, American William Spady. His philosophy was that the child must be involved in self-discovery and must work at his/her own pace. All teachers know that the basics must be taught in all our grades.

Once students are grounded in the basics it makes it easier for our students to grasp more difficult concepts.

I have faith in our students to do their best to improve the system of education in SA.

We can do it!