Independent Education

Transcription

Independent
Education
Published by ISASA Publications
Volume 17, No 2, Winter 14
Independent
Education
contents
18
REGULAR FEATURES
40
18
A hunger for learning in Howick:
Tembelihle Primary School joins
ISASA – By Carolyn Hancock
24
International Pre-University College:
A world-class bridge to tertiary
education – By Joan Hope-Jones
28
The Association of Hungarian
Independent Schools – By Zsofi Bak
6
From the editor
8
Snippets
10
Letters to the editor
12
From ISASA’s
executive director
32
Tamping down the rhetoric on school
choice – By David Cutler
14
Education around the world
40
36
Class act
Holding hands: The St John’s–
Masibambane Teacher Internship
Programme – By Pier Myburgh,
Patrick Lees and Pieter Steyn
54
Teaching tips
44
58
Getting to grips with our languages
Where have all the leaders gone?
7 May 2014: a ‘teachable moment’ –
By Simon Weaver
76
Green globe
46
Kindermusik: A good beginning never
ends – By Cheryth Robertson
85
E-bytes
48
88
Autism spectrum disorder update –
Part two
E-views
50
96
Reviews
Inclusion at United Herzlia Schools –
By Geoff Cohen
59
Creativity takes courage –
By Pauline Constable
60
Into the here and now: Hilton College
shares an archaeology project –
By John Roff
111
Another brick in the wall
112
List of corporate members
Independent Education • Winter 14
3
4
62
Mind over matter: P4C at Holy Rosary
School – By Monica Baart
64
A successful strategy for all schools:
Solution Focused Philosophy at the
School of Merit – By Jacqui von CziffraBergs and Merritt Watson
66
Schoolboy rugby concussion: Causes
and precautions – By Shameemah
Abrahams
72
Community involvement in schools: is
QLTC the solution? – By L.H. Modisane
78
Saving the forest leopards: inspiring
environmental education at Glenwood
House School – By Clare van Rensburg
89
Five ways I’m using Google Glass in my
schools to enhance education – By Jay
Eitner
90
How technology trends have influenced
the classroom – By Carl Hooker
78
About our cover: Teacher and student: the most important
relationship of all? Educator Petula Dagee and Grade 4 learner
Nooreen Parker share the marvellous mystery of mathematics at the
School of Merit in Edenvale, Johannesburg. Turn to page 64 to learn
more about how this new ISASA member uses a Solution Focused
Philosophy.
Photographer: Shireen Arbuthnot
Views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily
those of ISASA, its members, or the editor.
From the
ISASA Publications
ISSN 1560-2265
© ISASA 2014
editor
Published by:
ISASA Publications
ISASA Publications has moved.
From 3 March 2014,
ISASA Publications is now
based at the main ISASA
offices in Houghton,
Johannesburg
Please note new telephone numbers
Independent Schools
Association of Southern Africa
16 St David Road
Houghton 2198
Johannesburg
South Africa
PO Box 87430
Houghton 2041
South Africa
Tel: +27 (11) 648 1331
Fax: +27 (11) 648 1467
Websites:
www.ieducation.co.za
www.isasaschoolfinder.co.za
www.isasa.org
Publisher & marketing
David Lea
Tel: 082 441 5754
E-mail: [email protected]
Editor
Fiona de Villiers
Tel: 082 930 3375
Advertising
Bronwyn Boffelli
Tel: 083 306 8320
Editorial Panel
R Steyn, F de Villiers, D Lea, M Scher,
M Thiel, P Gower, L Klement
Art direction, design & layout
Resolution
Tel: 083 274 7944
Printers
Typo Printers
Independent Schools
Association of Southern Africa
Executive Director
Lebogang Montjane
T
he review on page 96 of this edition of Independent
Education confirms that the catchphrase ‘big data’ is
trending right now.
We used to call it ‘information’ – but, declared author
Caleb Carr prophetically in his 2000 cult novel Killing
Time: A Novel of the Future (Random House), “It is the
greatest truth of our age: information is not knowledge.”
There is now so much data available at the click of a
button or a flick of a screen, that perhaps ‘ignorance is
[still] bliss’. Consider this bizarre recent occurrence,
recounted on the www.theconversation.com website: a
Dutch student, pre-empting the venal intent of big
business to ‘mine’ his personal data for commercial gain,
decided to sell the lot at auction.
‘The lot’ equalled Shawn Buckles’ location and
medical history, his personal calendar and all his social
media data, including his e-mails, consumer preferences
and internet browsing history.
The €350 Buckles received at the auction on 12 April
2014 seems a paltry sum if one considers that, for
example, some insurance companies are already
calculating your premium increase based on data they’ve
pulled from your digital footprint, but Buckles has made
a significant point, and history.
The mere concept of big data can make one anxious.
Yet consider the next stage: the ‘big data mash-up’ –
incredibly large databases – designed, explains Lora
Fleming from the University of Exeter in the UK, “to
share information and accelerate progress across a range
of issues.”
Data of any size is notoriously unreliable due to
uneven analysis methods. But it’s getting bigger by the
minute and demands attention. Says Fleming, the
challenge is to “turn it into meaningful findings that will
help us to make changes to the way we live”. In no arena
is this more important than education (see page 100),
where people all over the world are searching for new
ways to create the perfect learning environment to ensure
academic success.
While the statisticians refine their algorithms,
Independent Education brings you big data ‘the old
fashioned way’, in the form of a bumper edition. Our
format may be traditional, but the question is exactly the
same: ‘What makes a good school?’
ISASA’s executive director Lebogang Montjane kicks
off the debate on page 12. In his elegant review of the
work of Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, Montjane makes a
crucial observation: “…Goodness in schools is not
uniformity… This is the characteristic strength of
ISASA’s membership, that our schools pursue their
distinct missions that serve their particular communities.”
Carolyn Hancock, who teaches at one of ISASA’s
newest members in Howick in KwaZulu-Natal, echoes
Montjane’s beliefs. To make – and keep – Tembelihle
Primary School ‘good’ despite challenging circumstances,
Independent
Education
she wants to help “weld together a team that has one
vision and mission” (see page 18).
If there’s anything the big data mash-up phenomenon
and stories submitted by our member schools can show
us, it is that collaboration can create excellence. On page
50, principal Geoff Cohen, telling the remarkable story
of United Herzlia Schools in Cape Town, widely
regarded as a ‘best practice’ model for inclusive education
based on open enrolment, reminds us all that “it is not
possible to become complacent, arrogant or smug. There
is no chance at all of ‘knowing it all’.” A wide network of
supportive partners, contends Cohen, and a
“conviction… that the first choice wherever possible is to
include [all] children in the mainstream… for them to
be part of their communities… and mainstream society”
makes Herzlia a ‘good’ school.
Collaboration continues across ISASA schools. The
whole-school Positive Behavioural Interventions and
Supports (PBIS) programme introduced by Khalil Osiris
(page 54) to Vuleka SSB High School in Johannesburg
has contributed to a dramatic rise in the school’s
academic results. On page 59, art teacher Pauline
Constable recounts how the Independent Examinations
Board Gauteng visual arts cluster support group is
invigorating art teachers, and on pages 62 and 64
respectively, educators at Holy Rosary School and the
School of Merit share how they discovered and finetuned for their own specific purposes, two particular
philosophical approaches to schooling.
Instead of quibbling ad nauseam about the differences
between public and private schools, says David Cutler
on page 32, let’s all unearth how to create and sustain
good schools everywhere. L.H. Modisane agrees, and
many readers will relish his story of the potentially
revolutionary government-initiated Quality of Teaching
and Learning Campaign (page 72) and its current
challenges in Limpopo state schools.
The last word goes to well-known South African
education commentator Graeme Bloch, writing for
www.theconversation.com on 14 May 2014:
“South Africa has been chosen as home to a section of
the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope… can we
interpret all the data coming in? Can we keep a satellite
in space to send video and data where it is needed?
“We need to find a cure in Africa for malaria, a
disease that floors millions of young children. Yet, with
the right science, this disease should be easily curable.
Similarly, HIV/Aids is now primarily a sub-Saharan
disease. We need the best scientists to find a cure.
“So we need the best mathematicians and
scientists… we need… a national discussion in every
country on where we are going and the kind of
education that will get us there.” snippets
Go big or go home: drama and
celebration at DSG Grahamstown
St Andrew’s College and
the Diocesan School for
Girls (DSG) in
Grahamstown in the
Eastern Cape recently
presented Ipi Zombi?, a
production of
bewitching visions from
the pen of provocative
South African theatremaker, Brett Bailey.
The play is based on an actual event. On 29 September 1995, a
van carrying 15 boys from Carl Malcolmess School went off the road
28 km from Kokstad. Twelve boys were killed. One of the survivors
reported seeing a flash of 50 fiendish women in the wild sweep of
headlights — and community hysteria mushroomed overnight. This
saga, complete with savage ritual and schoolboys on the trail of
vicious witches, begs for a production of spectacular proportions.
Through the creative genius and superb direction of Wesley
Deintje, Ipi Zombi? reflected the spirit of collaboration that exists in
the drama, art, dance and music departments of both schools.
Not to be outdone by the seniors, DSG Junior School has just
staged Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, based on the children’s
classic by Roald Dahl. The play was a visual feast of giant sweets, little
machines, dolls, geese and of course a host of Oompa Loompas!
DSG kicked off its 140th anniversary this year on the first Sunday
of the academic year, when the staff and scholars of DSG enjoyed a
commemorative chapel service, after which they formed the number
140 on the grass field. The festivities concluded with a celebratory
brunch at which cupcakes emblazoned with the DSG logo icing were
served.
Several more events have been planned to mark this significant
milestone. The official DSG Founders’ Day falls on 26 July. Happy birthday, Mr Henning
On 26 March 2014, pupils and staff
at St Stithians College in Randburg,
Gauteng, wished a very happy 80th
birthday to Mark Henning, who was
the college’s third headmaster from
1968 until his retirement in 1988.
On his retirement, Henning took
on the role of editor of Independent
Education magazine for 12 years.
He also remained active within
educational circles, and was a
member of a number of
investigative government
commissions into education.
Lanner House runs, walks and toddles!
Lanner House, an
ISASA school
situated in
Worcester in the
beautiful Breede
River Valley of the
Western Cape,
recently held its Ewe
Rock Trail Run. The
run has its own
special place in The
Runner’s Guide to
Getting active for a good cause: the Lanner
Races in South Africa. House/Ewe Rock Trail fun day
The event has grown out of the school’s annual walkathon, to the point
where it is now a fixture on the local running community’s calendar.
This year saw the introduction of a 2 km toddle (so that the whole school —
which starts at age two — could be included) in addition to the 5 km and
10 km fun trail runs/walks already in place.
This year, over 400 runners, walkers and toddlers participated to help the
school, a public benefit organisation, raise funds and increase its community
involvement and advertising activities.
All finishers were rewarded with a medal and, in true ‘platteland’ style,
finishers were also placed in a lucky draw for a whole Karoo lamb. Five ‘firsts’ for St Conrad’s
St Conrad’s College in North West province is the first school in the
province to offer robotics to students. In 2013, St Conrad’s received the
Northern Free State Regional 2013 Performance Award Performance
Award at the National Robot Olympiad, organised by Trophy Robotics
and The First Lego League of South Africa.
St Conrad’s students can also join a gaming club that is “registered
with Mind Sport South Africa (MSSA), an affiliate of the South African
Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC). Our club
members participate in a number of provincial competitions,” says
executive head of the college, Jacques Nel.
This year has seen the inauguration at St Conrad’s of the first
school-based AstroTurf in North West, installed by Belgotex/Greenfields.
Provincial parliamentarians and local municipal dignitaries attended the
special event, the highlight of which was a clash between North West
University and the University of Pretoria. “We identified the need for a
synthetic playing surface, not just for our own school, but also for the
greater community,” says Nel.
St Conrad’s nurtures its talented athletes. Lesego Senokwane was
selected to play for the national under-17 cricket team at the end of
last year. Cyclist Hazel Magill was crowned the South African champion
in the junior ladies age group last year and represented South Africa at
the 2013 International Cycling Union (UCI) Mountain Bike World
Championships, in Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal. The boys at St Stithians Boys’ College sang Happy Birthday to Henning
in a chapel service. The members of Henning House gathered for a
photograph and were treated to a birthday cupcake, handed to each
personally by Henning.
From the editor: The Independent Education team joins the rest of the
ISASA ‘family’ in wishing Mark Henning a very happy birthday. 8
Independent Education • Autumn 11
St Conrad’s celebrates its new AstroTurf
Loads more room — and resources —
at Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite
Catholic School
Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic School, situated in Liefde-enVrede, Mulbarton, south of Johannesburg, is growing.
Construction of the new intermediate phase building began in February
2014 and is expected to be ready for the 2015 school year. It will add 12
new classrooms, a suite for speech and occupational therapy, an aftercare
centre, staffroom, an additional administration area, a canteen, science
laboratory, music, art and media rooms and a library to the school.
the Congregation
of Maronite
Lebanese
Missionaries, on
12 February 2014
during his visit to
its mission in
South Africa.
Plans are to complete the new building and immediately move onto
the construction of the school hall and high school. Sports facilities will
also be developed as part of the construction.
Our Lady of
Lebanon School is
now in its fourth
Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic School
year and classes
will soon have a new intermediate phase building
have grown from
Grade RR to Grade 4. Class sizes are kept to approximately 20 learners to
allow for the needs of each individual learner to be attended to.
The ground was consecrated, in the presence of the current learners
and staff, by Reverend Father Malek Abou Tanous, the superior general of
The extended campus will allow the school to offer a rich variety of
sporting codes and extramural activities. John Wesley turns 25
John Wesley School Pinetown is celebrating its
25th anniversary this year.
In 1979, the original school premises were built
on the Methodist Church campus in Pinetown in
KwaZulu-Natal, and the number of learners quickly
grew to 75.
In 1987, disregarding apartheid policy, the
school became multiracial.
centre block and 12 classrooms. A hostel was built
in 1999 and in 2000 the pre-primary and junior
primary sections moved to Pineholme to create a
unified school.
A state-of-the-art swimming pool was built in
2011, and a combi-court and modern cricket
practice nets in 2012. As learner enrolment has
increased by 88% since 2005, a third Grade 1
class was established in 2013 and one for
Grade 2 students in 2014.
(L-R) Principal Helen Birchall with
Beryl Turner (head: junior primary)
In 1992, the nearby Pineholme property was
The principal of John Wesley School,
and Sindy Zulu (head: senior
donated to the Pinetown Methodist Church for its
Helen
Birchall, recounts, “Looking back, I am
primary). Collectively they have over
educational ministries and, in 1995, generous donors 41 years’ service at John Wesley
justifiably proud of what we have collectively
made it possible to complete the school hall, media School
achieved.” A 10th birthday for Pecanwood College
Ten years and eight months ago, Petra Geerdts convinced Centurus to
help build a school at Hartbeespoort Dam in North West province. Ten
years later, Geerdts has unfortunately passed away from motor neurone
disease, but her memory lives on in the peace garden at Pecanwood
College.
The school
began in the old
farmhouse,
nicknamed ‘the
shed’, in January
2005. Fifty-seven
eager young
students took part
in the opening
ceremony of
Pecanwood
College.
Pecanwood College is now ‘home’ to 700 students full of passion
and pride, and has had the number 10 painted on its sports fields. There
are many other activities planned, including a 10 km fun run; a memory
box, to be buried outside the main office and reopened in another 10
years; a leather-bound book for messages of goodwill from all members
of the Pecanwood family; a flag-hoisting ceremony; a whole school
showcase performance; the official opening of the Mandela quad on
19 September 2014; and a gala dinner the following evening. Mountain Cambridge goes to court
It may be tucked away in Hartbeespoort,
but the Mountain Cambridge School is
always out and about.
In March this year, the school’s Grade
10, 11 and 12 art students shared their
knowledge with Grade 9 learners during a
trip to the Constitutional Court in
Johannesburg to mark Human Rights Day.
The Grade 9s were able to learn from
the older students about the wood
carvings by John Baloyi and the mediums
and themes employed by equally famous
artist Cecil Skotnes.
The group then toured the notorious Number Four prison block, as
well as the old women’s jail, now the premises for the public protector.
Learners were allowed into some of the old cells and learned about the
equally harsh living conditions of hardened criminals and political
prisoners.
The tour ended with a look inside South Africa’s highest court. A
superb example of post-colonial architecture, the court building and
great African steps were built from the actual bricks salvaged from the
old ‘awaiting trial’ cell block, symbolising how South Africa’s future is
growing out of an acknowledgement of its past. Independent Education • Winter 14
9
letters to the editor
Independent Education welcomes letters for publication.
E-mail us at: [email protected]
All letters must include the writer’s name and address, even if a pseudonym is used.
Letters chosen for publication may be edited for length and clarity.
Find expanded versions of some of these letters on our website at: www.ieducation.co.za
supporting. A bequest was given to us in trust to help establish
libraries in Grahamstown East. This exciting and at times frustrating
work attempts to engage teachers, the Department of Education and
various communities. What it has revealed to us is the eagerness of
many children to find books and read. And from this work have
grown children’s reading groups and book clubs.
Become a ‘Friend’ of a library near you
The South American writer Jorge Luis Borges wrote, “I have always
imagined that paradise will be a kind of library.”
Perhaps there is a need in your area for a ‘Friends’. Perhaps one
already exists and could do with your support. Helping libraries and
encouraging readers in some small way is something we can all do.
Unfortunately for many South Africans, poor schooling and other
privations impede progress in reading.
It might interest readers to hear of a ‘Friends of the Library’ project in
Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape, which has been highly successful
and could be copied in other places. In 1999, the ‘Friends’ came into
being. The initial aim was to raise money to obtain new books for
libraries in underprivileged parts of the region.
Sincerely
Rosemary Smith
Chairperson
Friends of the Library Committee, Grahamstown, Eastern Cape
There are now eight libraries under the aegis of the Friends. The
raising of money includes subscriptions, a mini féte, book sales (books
donated by the public) and bimonthly lectures in the library hall. The
emphasis is on ‘Friends’, on the roles of supplementing and
From the editor: In our next edition, we will feature the one of the
programmes that has grown out of this worthy cause, the Lebone
Centre at Kingswood College, an ISASA member school in
Grahamstown.
Managing the modern hostel
I am the new housemother at Bishops Preparatory Schoo
l in Cape
Town in the Western Cape and would love to get in touch
with
other people in similar positions to discuss and share ‘best
practice’
guidelines.
For example, I would like to know how ‘houseparents’
in our many
varied schools deal with various day-to-day issues in the
boarding
environment. And, what sorts of ‘free-time’ entertainmen
t are
offered by schools for boarders, and how involved are
houseparents with this?
I’m also interested in how the role of the houseparent
has
changed. While boys and girls are away from home, they
need lots
of love. However, social networking means they can still
be in
contact with parents several times a day. Unsettling and
confusing,
or a good thing?
Finally, I’d love to hear how other carers in school hostels
deal with
the temporary boarding facility now offered by many school
s to
accommodate parents going away on business. How do
we ensure
that these ‘temporary boarders’ don’t negatively affect
the
boarding house environment?
I would like to set up an affinity group for houseparents
or join
one, if it exists. Such a group could support and encou
rage young
people with an interest in such pastoral roles (frequently
called
‘stooges’).
Sincerely
Erica Lappan
[email protected]
ease?
Can we get over maths, pl said: “I’m thinking of dropping
e of my pupils
I cringed again today. On
sible for our pupils
literacy.” Why is not pos
ths
ma
e
tak
to
[core maths]
tical literacy?
to CHANGE to mathema
m well in their careers.
thematics and I wish the
Some pupils excel at ma
els them as losers.
bly the school system lab
Others don’t and invaria
nuclear warfare, but
, mathematicians gave us
lms
Psa
the
us
e
gav
ts
Poe
following scenario
argument. I have seen the
s and
this is far too simplistic an
ent
tears and negotiations, par
to
too often. After weeks of
tics
ma
the
ma
Fred to switch from
ve 80%
abo
counsellors finally allow
to
ths
ma
in
38%
m
d goes fro
ject.
sub
mathematical literacy. Fre
er
oth
ry
goes up by 10% in eve
in maths literacy. He also
in.
aga
ss
cla
in
d starts to smile
And most importantly, Fre
many other things that
ortant, but there are so
Yes, mathematics is imp
ils.
pup
ining the lives of our
are more important in def
Sincerely
Andrew Renard
hamstown
St Andrew’s College, Gra
tion
The ISASA publ
ication Independ
ent Education is
a welcome read
always
that crosses m
y desk.
Macmillan is a
corporate mem
ber of ISASA to
to keep abreas
enable us
t of what’s happ
ening in privat
in the region. In
e schooling
dependent Educ
ation, as one of
sources of info
those
rmation, does
not disappoint
articles, some fo
. The mix of
cusing on activ
ities at independ
schools and ot
ent
hers focusing on
issues relevant
stakeholders in
to all
the whole educ
ation sector; so
celebrating wha
me
t has gone befo
re and others de
the future, all co
bating
ntribute to an
excellent publica
tion.
Continuous de
velopment of st
akeholders in th
education aren
e
a is essential. W
e need more pu
of this quality to
blications
assist in the ex
ecution of this
task.
Sincerely
Bernita Naudé
Publishing dire
ctor: Macmillan
South Africa
If you would like to subscribe to Independent Education, please contact
David Lea at telephone: +27 (11) 648 1331, or via e-mail at [email protected]
10
A quality publica
from ISASA’s executive director
What makes a ‘good’ school?
BY LEBOGANG MONTJANE
Even though it was in my late teenage
years when I discovered that education
could be studied as a subject, I
remember the two books that
introduced me to the concept of
education as a scholarly discipline.
T
he first was The Good High School – Portraits of Character
and Culture by Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot1 and the
second was by Henry Rosovsky, The University: An
Owner’s Manual.2
In relation to the first book, what intrigued me about it was
its title. As a child, my parents often reminded us children that
they were sacrificing to send us to good schools. Through this
book, I then had an opportunity to explore what goodness
actually means. In this article, I write to you about LawrenceLightfoot’s seminal work. Even though it was first published in
1983, this book remains in print and her findings still resonate
in the present.
‘Good’ does not mean perfect
In this book, Lawrence-Lightfoot documented her visits to six
divergent types of schools to explore what makes a good
school. Of the six schools, two were independent: Milton
Academy, a school for day and boarding scholars close to
Boston in Massachusetts, and St. Paul’s School, a full boarding
school in a bucolic New Hampshire setting. But LawrenceLightfoot found goodness in all her case studies, taking care to
caution at the onset to reject any notion of goodness being
equated with perfection. She wrote,
“The search for ‘good’ schools is elusive and
disappointing if by goodness we mean something close
to perfection… In fact, one could argue that a
consciousness about imperfections, and the willingness
to admit them and search for their origins and
solutions is one of the important ingredients of
goodness in schools.”3
Essential to ‘good schools’ then are those that are not
complacent about their failings and are not naively utopian
about the educational enterprise. As a head of an ISASA
member school told me, it is not whether there will be
problems at school, it is how they are dealt with that
determines a school’s quality.
A good school fulfils its mission
When returning to this book as the new executive director of
ISASA, it is uncanny how Lawrence-Lightfoot’s postulations
of what constitutes a ‘good school’ mirrors ISASA’s guiding
principles of quality and values. Also, by implication of her case
studies in which all six schools were different, the third pillar of
12
ISASA’s vision, diversity, is addressed in the sense that
goodness in schools is not uniformity, but can be achieved
through pursuing divergent missions. Lawrence-Lightfoot
underscores that even though her subject schools meet the
standards of goodness, this does not denote that they are
equally good or that the objective of quality can be equivalent.
“It is clear that these six schools are not equally good; neither
do they judge themselves by the same standards,”4 she declares.
The barometer of how good a school is depends on how well it
is fulfilling its mission. This is the characteristic strength of
ISASA’s membership, that our schools pursue their distinct
missions that serve their particular communities.
Good schools have ideological clarity
In order to successfully fulfil their missions, says LawrenceLightfoot, schools, although within the world, need to
demarcate themselves from the broader society through clarity
of vision. She elucidates thus:
“The protection and solace good schools offer may
come from the precious abundance of land, wealth,
and history, but they may also be partly approached
through ideological clarity and a clear vision of
institutional values.”5
These values are generally lived out through the practices,
rules and expectations good schools set for themselves, defined
by Lawrence-Lightfoot as: “… A strong sense of authority…
reinforced by an explicit ideological vision, a clear articulation
of the purposes and goals of education.”6 Indifferent
educational values weakens the ability of a school to deliver a
sound education.
Leading from the front, but not alone
As should be expected of any examination of schools,
Lawrence-Lightfoot looked at the human component of
schools, being management, teachers and pupils. Like many
others, she too acknowledged the centrality of leadership to a
school’s success, saying: “The literature on effective schools
tends to agree on at least one point – that an essential
ingredient of good schools is strong, consistent, and inspired
leadership.”7 At each school she visited, Lawrence-Lightfoot
interrogated the leadership style of each principal. She
found that each one fashioned their leadership
style around their own personality. Each head
embodied their school, its history, present
and its future aims. Leadership styles
ranged from more authoritative to
participative decision making.
However, a common thread was the
recognition by all the heads that they
needed support if they were to be
successful in their roles.
“Rather than standing alone,
it appears that these principals
and headmasters recognise the
need for intimacy and support as
essential ingredients of effective
leadership. They seem to need an
intimate colleague, one whom they trust
implicitly, whom they turn to for advice
and counsel, and from whom they
welcome criticism.”8
It is clear that a head cannot succeed if they are isolated.
relationships between teachers and students. In good schools,
regard is not limited to teachers but is also extended to pupils.
Teachers in good schools are able to identify and respond to
the needs of their learners from the perspective of the child.
She explains: “The empathetic stance is a crucial ingredient of
successful interactions between teachers and students. Empathy
is not adversarial; it does not accentuate distinctions of power;
and it seems to be an expression of fearlessness.”10
Since the central mission of schools is the education of the
youth, good teachers have a humane stance towards their
wards. On this point Lawrence-Lightfoot is firm: “Good
schools are places where students are seen as people worthy of
respect.”11 I would add that you can see a dedicated educator
when you observe the great fascination they have with their
work in developing young minds. They revere the
educative process and the young people they
serve.
In a recent interview in which
Lawrence-Lightfoot recalled her
groundbreaking book three
decades later, she encourages us
to seek and record schools that
use good practices which can be
shared with those that need to
improve.
“I would make the argument
more than a quarter of a century
later, that in seeking to transform
and improve schools we need to
find and document those places that
are doing sustained and good work,
and we need to find those principles of
practice that might be transplanted to
other setting.”12
Considering the excellence we possess within ISASA school
membership, we must find ways to continue sharing principles
of good practice within membership. The other distinctive
characteristic of many ISASA member schools is that they are
national resources and their community initiatives extend
beyond their immediate pupils.
“The
measure of the
strength of a good
school, opines LawrenceLightfoot, is centred on the
quality of the relationships
between teachers and
students.”
Good schools employ exceptional teachers
According to Lawrence-Lightfoot, teachers in good schools are
“thinkers”, “intellects”, “pedagogues” and “academics”. The
strength of a school is dependent on its ability to draw a large
number of teachers who exhibit these characteristics.
“[T]hese schools have visible, charismatic teachers –
‘stars’, ‘grande dames’, ‘menches’ – who act as
important catalysis for their peers and who serve as
critical symbols of excellence. There is a chemistry of
proportions – a few ‘duds’, many able teachers, and a
few stars. In order to achieve goodness, therefore,
schools must collect mostly good teachers and treat
them like chosen people.”9
A school’s success is highly dependent on attracting the
most able and intellectually engaged pedagogues and treating
them with high professional regard. Lawrence-Lightfoot is of
the view that in order for teachers to be effective, they must be
treated as mature skilled practitioners.
However, in good schools, respect cannot be confined only
to a high-performing teaching corps.
Good schools focus on quality relationships
The measure of the strength of a good school, opines
Lawrence-Lightfoot, is centred on the quality of the
ISASA attracts good member schools
Since encountering Sara Lawrence Lawrence-Lightfoot
through this book, I have admired her work and the way she
reveals the world through her remarkable skill of portraiture.
Viewing ISASA’s membership in light of this book has been
revelatory and affirming. Lawrence-Lightfoot’s
characterisations of good schools are similar to the criteria
ISASA uses when considering new member schools. ISASA
prides itself in having as its members ‘quality’ schools or as
Lawrence-Lightfoot would say, “good schools”. References:
1.
Lightfoot, S.R. (1983) The Good High School – Portraits of Character
and Culture. New York: Basic Books.
2.
Rosovsky, H. (1991) The University: An Owner’s Manual, New
York: W. W. Norton & Company.
3-11. Lightfoot, S.R. (1983) op. cit.
12.
Walsh, C. (2014) “‘I have always been temperamentally wired to
carry on’ – Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot’s lessons in resilience.”
Available at: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2014/04/i-havealways-been-temperamentally-wired-to-carry-on/.
13
education around the world
A world at war
‘Education Under Attack 2014’, released recently by the
Global Coalition to Prevent Education from Attack
(GCPEA), located in New York City in the US, has refocused
the world’s attention on at least 30 countries where children
and teachers are deliberately targeted in conflict zones.
Tens of thousands of children, along with their teachers, are
bombed, burned, gassed, shot, threatened and abducted. And
armed forces often choose schools as bases and weapons caches
for extended periods, says the GCPEA, which has studied the
effects of war and its aftermath on schooling in Afghanistan,
Syria, Burma/Myanmar, Central African Republic, Chad,
Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Georgia, India, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Nepal, Occupied Palestinian
Who earns what where?
Two new reports have revealed which countries’ teachers earn the
most. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) ‘Education For All
(EFA) Global Monitoring Report 2013/14: Teaching and
Learning: Achieving Quality For All’, educators in Luxembourg
are the highest paid in the world,
followed by Germany, Switzerland,
South Africa, Denmark and the US, in
that order.
The 2013 Global Teacher Status
Index (GTSI), compiled by Peter
Dolton, professor of economics at the
University of Sussex in the UK, and
Dr Oscar Marcenaro-Gutierrez,
associate professor at the Department
of Statistics and Econometrics at the
University of Malaga in Spain, rates Singapore as the place where
teachers earn the most. Other countries in the top five are the US,
South Korea, Japan and Germany.
At the bottom of the UNESCO list is Central African
Republic where, although a family needs at least US$10 per day to
survive, the average teacher earns just US$5 per day. Liberia,
Narcolepsy in Norway
In 2009, Norwegian health authorities urged
citizens to protect themselves against the threat of
swine flu.
More than two million Norwegians complied by
getting a Pandemetrix jab.
Between then and now, a growing percentage of
Norwegian children have developed narcolepsy.
The incurable neurological condition – caused by
the brain’s inability to regulate sleep cycles – makes
people experience excessive daytime sleepiness,
hallucinations and other symptoms.
Because it cannot rule out the possibility that
Pandemetrix caused the condition, Norway’s
government has been forced to pay out over
14
Territory/Israel, Pakistan, Philippines, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri
Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Thailand, Uganda, Nigeria and Yemen.
The GCPEA report details the devastating long-term effects
of war on schoolchildren and schools, and on the long-term
economic development of affected countries. Guinea-Bissau and Democratic Republic of the Congo also pay
their teachers a relative pittance.
GTSI research finds that Egyptian teachers earn the least in
the world.
In both reports, several Asian countries famous for producing
excellent academic results do not make the top 20. There are also
dramatic discrepancies between the two analyses with regards to
salaries of teachers in Asian countries.
The UNESCO report says that one
in four young people around the world is
unable to read a single sentence, and
concludes that good teachers are the key
to improvement.
However, few teachers around the
globe – including in high-income
countries such as New Zealand and
France – are adequately trained to teach
children the basics, the report finds.
Moreover, 5.1 billion more teachers are needed by the year 2015.
The report predicts that “it will take until 2072 for all the
poorest young women in developing countries to be literate; and
possibly until the next century for all girls from the poorest
families in sub-Saharan Africa to finish lower secondary school”,
because of gender-based barriers. US$13 million to suffering families. Says
Hanne Noeklby, director of infectious
diseases at the Norwegian National
Institute of Health, initial investigations
indicate that the spike in numbers of new
narcolepsy diagnoses at this time in
Norway, Sweden, Finland, France, Britain
and other countries can be linked to the
Pandemetrix injections of 2009, although
more research needs to be done.
The current maximum payout for a
child who was under the age of 16 at the
time of the injury is the equivalent of
US$330 000 for a permanent
disability. ‘Nobel in teaching’ announced
On 17 March 2014, at the Global Education and Skills Forum
in Dubai, the world’s biggest teaching award, dubbed the ‘Nobel
prize for teaching’, was introduced.
In November this year, one expert educator on the planet
will be awarded the sum of US$1 million. The award is
funded by billionaire education entrepreneur and
philanthropist Sunny Varkey, and applications are now open
at www.globalteacherprize.com.
Varkey founded the Global Education Management System
(GEMS), the largest network of private for-profit schools in the
world, with 132 schools and 142 000 students across the Middle
East, Africa, Europe, China and India. Its foundation is headed
by former US president Bill Clinton.
The forum was intended to increased philanthropic
contributions to global education. Said Clinton in his keynote
Taking it to the teachers
Thousands of US teachers want to redesign the school day
The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest teacher
union in the US. It recently asked its members to answer one
question: “If you could redesign… school structure… what would
the school day, week and year look like?”
The research was part of the ‘Voices, Ideas, Vision, Action
(VIVA): NEA Time in School Exchange’ project. Says Dennis van
Roekel, NEA president, the study is “empowering” for teachers and
New hope in Jordan
Zaatari is the biggest Syrian refugee
camp in Jordan, ‘home’ to more than
90 000 occupants – more than half of
them children, whose schooling has
been disrupted due to conflict in their
home country. Only three schools
operate, on a haphazard schedule, in the
camp. For many, just getting to one of
these institutions poses a threat to life
and limb.
Famous Syrian actor and director Nawar Boulboul recently
brought a different kind of education experience to Zaatari’s
youngsters; labelled ‘Syria’s lost generation’ because they have been
‘absent’ from school for more than three years.
Boulboul, renowned for his social activism as much as his
appearances on Syrian television, set up a simple tent in the camp
and started rehearsing scenes from Shakespeare’s plays with his
troupe.
Steadily, curious children joined in scenes specially adapted for
them. Boulboul has struggled to keep his programme going with
16
Sunny Varkey announces the ‘Nobel prize for teaching’ on
17 March 2014 at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai
address: “Every dollar invested in education returns US$53 to
employers through a better qualified, more productive
workforce.” its findings should be used to influence education policy in the US.
The voices of the polled educators resulted in several ‘actionable
ideas’ compiled by a NEA special committee. Respondents were
most vocal about the need to add to federal and district policies the
voices of communities and families to ensure their civil rights and
equity for all students.
Survey respondents also cited a need to change the school
calendar to shorten the long summer break. This would enable
teachers to not only cover core curricula, but to do so in innovative
ways. Many also called for a longer school day, which would
include planned time for teacher collaboration and remedial
assistance for students with special needs. NEA also found that
teachers feel that class sizes must be capped at 25, and that they
deserve to be recompensed for working longer hours.
A majority of teachers also called for children to be grouped
according to ability and not age, and for the school day to start later
to “meet the needs of students’ growth and biological
development”. Activities making up the school day should be
shifted around for the same purpose, said respondents, many of
whom called for extramural activities to start, not end, the school
day. Decisions about what to do when should be up to each school,
teachers added. sporadic funding, but has taught the children
that all a great actor needs is imagination.
The goal of the programme was a free
public performance on World Theatre Day,
on 27 March 2014, to draw attention to the
plight of children around the world affected
by war. Adds Boulboul: “Our programme
builds children’s literacy and social skills, and
provides them with a safe space to discuss and
understand their feelings of loss, fear,
isolation, and anger through the universal
themes of Shakespeare’s works.”
On performance day, 100 young Syrian refugees made their
professional acting debuts in shortened versions of Hamlet and
King Lear in front of a crowd of thousands. Explaining that the
children had been involved in every aspect of the production, an
emotional Boulboul said: “I wanted to show that these children are
not worthless… that they have something real to contribute.”
Significantly, both plays deal with exile, leaders losing touch with
reality and countries divided by rivalry.
Said a young Lear, “I do not feel lonely any more in
this place.” new member
A hunger for
learning in Howick:
Tembelihle Primary
School joins ISASA
BY CAROLYN HANCOCK
In 1993, a number of members of the
Howick Methodist Church (HMC) had
the vision to provide an early childhood
development programme to learners
from poor communities in the greater
Howick district in KwaZulu-Natal.
O
ver the following 15 years, the preschool grew and
flourished at the ‘Old Parsonage’ on the HMC
property. In 2008, the school increased in size
dramatically when Brentwood United Methodist
Church in Nashville, Tennessee, generously purchased a
property consisting of three classrooms, restrooms, offices and a
hall for the development of a primary school at 90 Main Street
in Howick. To meet the requirements for registration with the
Department of Education, a suitable ablution block was then
added to the school.
In late 2010, the HMC was asked to accommodate 120
learners from Merit Christian School, run singlehandedly by
Joyce Ntuli out of a derelict shed in Howick. Luckily, further
funding was attained and three more classrooms were built.
Tembelihle takes off
Having incorporated Merit Christian School, Tembelihle
Primary School was now able to offer grades 1 to 4. Space was
a key challenge at this time: a large class of children from grades
18
3 and 4 learnt together in a single classroom. At the end of
2010, further funding from local and international donors
enabled the school to build an additional classroom and library.
At this time, the school governing body (SGB) decided to have
one class in each grade from Grade RRR to Grade 7. This
meant that children could remain at the school until the end of
primary school. It also meant there would be sufficient
classroom space for our 300 learners and 11 qualified teachers.
Wacky Wednesdays enliven the working week
The day at Tembelihle always starts with a prayer at ‘line up’.
As a Methodist church school, we believe Christian standards
should be upheld, but support all learners of other faiths. The
day is busy, with subject teaching interspersed with remedial
assistance and our volunteer reading programme.
Our more senior learners enjoy interactive teaching and the
popular ‘Wacky Wednesday’ – a concept based on the Sugata
Mitra1 philosophy of self-learning. On Wednesdays, our
learners are given the opportunity to discover knowledge by
means of investigation and experimentation. They learn all sorts
of things, from how baby nappies work to Newtonian fluids!
Our day ends with our 14:00–15:00 time slot, during which
each learner gets to play a sport and participate in a club of their
choice, including chess, sewing, newspaper literacy, puzzles,
exercise dancing and an environmental club. We strive to enhance
the learning experience by giving our learners a chance to
participate in activities that they may not be able to do in their
homes, many of which are located in informal settlements in
and around Howick such as Shiabizali, above the Howick Falls.
Sponsoring as many as possible
The people from these communities are largely unemployed
and our learners sometimes do not have access to running
water, electricity or sanitation in their homes. Some of our
children are orphans whose parents died of Aids-related
illnesses, and they now live with aged grandparents who survive
on a small old-age pension. The SGB tries to find sponsorship
for as many of these disadvantaged children as possible, who are
among the thousands who cannot find placement in public
schools in the Howick area. This ongoing action is part of our
relationship-building with other public and independent
schools in our area.
Creating strong ties in our community enables us to fulfil
our mission to make a positive difference in the lives of
underprivileged children in the Howick community. The school
works with the Department of Social Welfare to provide a
nutritious lunch for all of the pre-primary school children. Due
to a very generous donation from a company in the USA, from
the start of the second term this year, all primary school
children will be receiving a nutritional supplement, a sandwich
and fruit every day.
Various successes
Music also provides sustenance. Indeed, it is for us ‘the food of
love’.2 The Tembelihle Choir was started in 2011 by John
Tungay, the founder of the Drakensberg Boys’ School choir,
with a group of 24 talented children between the ages of eight
and 12 years. Some of the choir’s notable performances include
singing a challenging programme of classical music with
combined adult choirs from Durban, Pietermaritzburg and the
Midlands under the baton of well-known Johannesburg
conductor, Richard Cock. Following these performances, some
of the children were invited to attend the Royal School of
Church Music Summer Schools3 in 2013 and 2014. The
Tembelihle children shone among choirboys and girls from all
parts of South Africa, and one of the children – a young boy
from an extremely poor family in Howick – received the
prestigious award of top chorister.
Tembelihle is proud to have joined
the Eco-Schools Programme4 and is
currently receiving assistance with our
projects through the Midlands
Meander Education Project,5 as well
as from the local branch of the
Wildlife and Environmental Society
of South Africa (WESSA).6
In 2013, we decided to enhance the
standard of education offered at the
school through the introduction of
technology, in the form of laptops for
teachers and data projectors. Teacher
training has been provided by
SchoolNet,7 a not-for-profit
organisation that provides information
technology integration for teachers
and education managers. We are
delighted to soon be partnering with
SchoolNet in an initiative supported
by Microsoft, to explore the use of tablets and Xbox Kinect to
further enhance the academic performance of our younger
learners, thereby making learning more interactive and fun!
“We aim to provide our children
with a strong foundational
education and hope for a
brighter future.”
Money matters
Other teacher training is encouraged. Two of our preschool
teachers initially began as cleaners at the school and have
subsequently qualified as proficient and dedicated teachers.
Whilst the school is currently well structured and resourced
we face numerous challenges.
Funding for capital improvements at the school and the
development and implementation of teaching and learning
programmes is limited. We also cannot pay our teachers what
they would receive from better-resourced schools in our
surrounds. Thus, sadly, often our younger teachers use the
school as a stepping stone to a better-salaried position
elsewhere. Our aim is to minimise staff turnover and weld
together a team that has one vision and mission. The first step
is to ‘add value’ to the experience of teaching at Tembelihle.
This means making the experience of teaching a pleasurable
one by meeting individual needs where possible. Often, also,
committed teachers here tell tales of the inherent joy they
discover on a daily basis.
For example, it was noticed that a young Grade 2 boy turned
his head away each time his teacher was speaking, and she
realised he was hard of hearing, turning to catch some sound
with his better ear. An audiologist supplied the child with a
hearing aid free of charge and later that day during the singing
lesson, his teacher caught a look of pure delight and amazement
20
on his face as he heard the sound of music for the first time in
his life!
Another challenge is that of space. We have very little
communal teaching space and a tiny playground that needs to
be shared by all. The local municipality has recently granted us
access to a large piece of land which thanks to a local earth
moving company, we have levelled and grassed for use as a
sports field. We celebrated a few weeks ago with an action
packed sports day which was thoroughly enjoyed by the
children, parents and staff.
Independent status a driving force
As we confront our challenges every day, we are reminded of
the value of independence. We decide which learners to enrol at
the school, which teachers to appoint and we control the
governance and the financial status of the school. We are able to
implement our philosophy of education, while still working
closely with the Department of Education to provide a solid
foundation for our learners.
It was, in fact, when we registered with the Department of
Education that we became aware of ISASA and the benefits we
could derive from being a member school. One of these was an
Early Childhood Development Conference held at Cowan
House which our teachers were delighted to be able to attend.
Membership of ISASA will help us remain committed to ‘the
pursuit of excellence’.8 References:
1. See, for example:
https://solesandsomes.wikispaces.com/A+bit+about+SOLE+%26+SOME.
2. Shakespeare, W. (1997) Twelfth Night, or, What You Will. New York:
Dover Publications.
3. The Eco-Schools Programme is an international programme of the
Foundation of Environmental Education (FEE) and is active in 51
countries around the world. (Source: http://www.wessa.org.za/what-wedo/eco-schools.htm.)
4. See: http://www.rscm.com/.
5. See: http://www.midlandsmeander.co.za/social-responsibility.
6. See: http://www.wessa.org.za.
7. See: http://www.schoolnet.org.za/.
8. This commitment is part of the school’s mission statement.
advertorial
Cambridge helps teachers and learners in
South Africa achieve excellence in education
Cambridge International Examinations is
the world’s largest provider of
international education programmes and
qualifications for five- to 19-year-olds.
We are proud to be part of the University of Cambridge, one of
the world’s top universities, and trusted for excellence in
education. In South Africa, students in 90 schools take our
examinations. This year, schools will enter students for
approximately 20 000 Cambridge exams.
skills, which are valued by universities. This means that Cambridge
International A Levels not only help students to get into university,
but also to get on – at university, and in life and employment
beyond.
We’ve spoken to senior staff in schools in South Africa about their
students’ experience of Cambridge International AS and A Levels.
Mark Brown, principal at Ashton College in Johannesburg, said:
“In a modern technologically advanced society, critical,
independent and creative thinking skills are essential along with
problem solving. Cambridge International A Level helps to develop
these skills in students.”
Kate Byrne, head of Sixth Form at St John’s College in Houghton,
Johannesburg, spoke about the way Cambridge International A
Levels have prepared her students for university. She said: “The
courses are also academically challenging. We’ve found that our
students undertake these qualifications because of the large choice
of subjects available and also because the qualification provides a
solid grounding for successful study at university.”
Brown’s experiences are similar. “Cambridge International A Levels
not only equip students with knowledge to help them at
university, but also with valuable skills to maintain academic levels
in fields of higher education and beyond. For any student
intending to study further, the best preparation possible is the
Cambridge A Level route.”
Cambridge also helps teachers
Cambridge International Examinations
At Cambridge International Examinations, we understand
education. More than 10 000 schools in over 160 countries are part
of our Cambridge learning community. Our mission is to provide
excellence in education and our vision is that Cambridge learners
become confident, responsible, reflective, innovative and engaged.
We work closely with schools in South Africa to help them deliver
the best possible education to students. Our approach is flexible,
so schools can offer Cambridge at every stage of education or
focus on specific stages. This means schools are free to build a
unique curriculum which reflects their values.
Cambridge International AS and A Levels: getting in and
getting on
Finally, Byrne and Brown commented on the way their schools had
benefited from teaching Cambridge International A Levels.
Brown said: “Schools that join Cambridge and offer qualifications
such as Cambridge International A Level also benefit from the
professional development for teachers. Teachers are encouraged to
research, find cutting-edge material and keep abreast with
changes in society and the syllabus.”
Byrne agreed. “As teachers, we also benefit from the rigorous
syllabus and the freedom it provides to structure and plan our
lessons. If a school is to choose a qualification that is recognised by
universities and employers worldwide, we would recommend this
internationally accredited examination.”
Our Cambridge International AS and A Level syllabi, taken in over
125 countries, help students develop a deep understanding of
subjects, as well as independent learning and constructive thinking
*Age ranges are for guidance only
22
23
featured member
International Pre-University
College: A world-class bridge
to tertiary education
BY JOAN HOPE-JONES
One of the problems facing South Africa
is the high dropout rate at tertiary
institutions.1
M
any students who complete matric are not ready to
cope with the challenges of further study. Even those
who have gained distinctions in the national
examinations for school leavers often experience
difficulty adjusting to the rigorous demands of university
courses, due to the gap between their emotional and academic
maturity and the level of these attributes required to excel at
further studies. The gap between secondary school and
university is also vast. Often, inadequate preparation at
secondary school for tertiary studies is directly connected to
high university dropout rates.2
International Pre-University College (IPC) is a unique college
and ISASA member situated near Sandton in Johannesburg,
Gauteng. It provides a crucial service to independent education
in this country, successfully bridging these gaps by providing
secondary school learners with all the skills, direction and
qualifications they need to prepare for, and succeed at,
university. In this way, we truly are a ‘world-class bridge to
tertiary education’ – a motto we cherish.
Helping youth with demands of tertiary education
The college empowers young people to cope with the rigorous
demands of further study, with a particular emphasis on
enhancing mathematics, science and business skills. We provide
for small classes with personalised attention in a structured
academic environment, and extend our care to our unique
‘Homestay’ boarding programme. Due to this unique
arrangement, the college continues to attract students from
24
many different countries and backgrounds. Our Homestay
mothers and fathers provide a wonderful support system for
students away from home, and become actively involved in the
studies and daily lives of the students in their care.
As a Cambridge International Examinations Centre, IPC
offers the International General Certificate of Secondary
Education (IGCSE) and AS and A Level courses that enable
students to qualify for matriculation exemption.3 These courses
are not only accepted at South African universities, but are
recognised internationally. Students may enter the programme
at the age of 15 at IGCSE level, with the intention of then
proceeding with AS and A Level courses. A one-year postmatric programme is also available, to improve chances of
university acceptance or to offer students a year in which to
develop and grow at their own pace to ensure ease of
functioning and academic achievement at university. A team of
incredible staff with extensive experience in their teaching
subjects is at the helm. Our students are at the core of our
activities, and the passion and determination of our staff allows
us to hone and foster the needs of our students to help them
become successful in the real world.
“IPC for me has done exactly what was
promised, namely to ‘unlock my full
potential’ and to ‘build a bridge to my
tertiary education’. To me, the
abbreviation IPC represents the words
integrity, perseverance and confidence,
as well as my college – the
International Pre-University College.”
– Michael Ogoso, Uganda
Individualised learning
programmes at IPC
A unique aspect of IPC
is that we do not put
students into grades.
When students enter the
college, they are assessed
in every subject and
attend classes at an
appropriate level. They
also have a
comprehensive
psychometric evaluation
and career assessment by
qualified educational
psychologists. Each
student has a unique
timetable tailored around
strengths and
weaknesses. This enables
them to develop at their
own rate in each subject,
and they are only entered
for examinations once they are assessed by the staff and are
prepared and ready. This reduces the pressure on the student
and reduces examination anxiety. This process results in a staged
assessment tailored specifically to suit each student in every
subject.
qualifications, are often not accepted, so the IPC has always
created the ideal home for them to achieve matriculation
exemption for entry to our universities. Students who have
begun their IGCSE studies in Namibia, Zambia and Botswana
need to continue to AS Levels before entering our universities,
and so we have been able to attract these students as well.
An important history
In 2008, Centre ZA 013 moved away from St Stithians
IPC has a rather interesting background. It started at
College and joined Sekolo sa Borokgo,6 and was renamed SSB
St Stithians College in Randburg,
Pre-University College. Under
Johannesburg, while I was
SSB, the college flourished and
teaching the sciences there some
until the need for expansion
“I met many people from all around the grew
years ago. We began our postbecame apparent. In January
matric programme in 1989,
world and the Homestay programme has 2013, the college was bought by
initially offering Unisa first-year
a consortium of our teachers and
helped me, not only in improving my
courses.4 The Unisa programme
their family members, and we
was initially adequate, but we
English language ability but also, while were able to move to bigger
soon realised that we were
premises and develop the
living with people from different
limiting our intake to students
laboratory facilities. The college
who were not necessarily
backgrounds, I have learnt a lot more became independent and we
university material. Some of the
subsequently changed the name
about other cultures.”
Unisa first-year courses were also
to International Pre-University
not recognised by other
College.
universities, so the search for more
Multiple benefits at IPC
suitable curricula began. We
Students from as many as 20 countries have completed their
eventually began the Cambridge International A Level
Cambridge A Level studies in our centre. Many of these
programme in 2000, and so our Cambridge International
students have used AS Levels to qualify for matriculation
Centre ZA 013 was born as St Stithians A Level College. The
exemption, which has enabled them to complete their studies
college was awarded fellowship status and became a University
either at South African universities or abroad. Some of our past
of Cambridge International Examinations Fellowship Centre in
students who have achieved superior grades in full A Levels
2003.5
have been awarded advanced credits in certain courses at
We never doubted our decision to follow the Cambridge
universities in South Africa and the United States. This has
International curriculum, and this programme has been my
resulted in them being given exemption from the first year of
passion ever since.
university study. Superior grades in carefully chosen Cambridge
Students from other African countries such as Democratic
International A Level subjects can result in up to one full year
Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Nigeria, who apply to
of credit. One example is Kyla Mills, who is our psychology
universities in South Africa with their matric equivalent
– Alban Mongane
Bulibirha, DRC
25
“The once hopeless and bitter little girl
became strong and independent by the
end of 2006. I had had an entire year
to learn how to be a bigger, better,
braver version of myself. Whatever the
cost of the Higher Education Certificate,
it pales in comparison to the benefits I
received during my post-matric year at
International Pre-University College.”
– Kyla Jane Mills
lecturer and student supervisor. After completing matric, she
joined us for the accelerated one-year A Level programme. Her
A Level grades allowed her to enter the University of the
Witwatersrand (Wits) and proceed directly into second year in
psychology and English literature. She is in the process of
completing her Master’s degree in psychology.
Wherever one wants to go, locally or internationally,
Cambridge International qualifications can help to make it
happen. In the US, the qualifications are accepted at over 400
higher education centres including Harvard, Yale and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Another one of
our past students, Nicholas Kögl, joined us in 2008 for the
accelerated one-year A Level programme. This year, he
graduated from Harvard University in Boston with an average
of 92% (with philosophy as a major) and has been accepted at
Cambridge College to study an MPhil in business
management. Students are also accepted into leading
universities in Canada, India, Pakistan, New Zealand and
universities in the European Union.
While we don’t want to encourage the ‘brain drain’ from
South Africa, it is a harsh reality that places are limited in our
national universities for courses such as medicine and
engineering, so our curriculum makes it possible for students to
study medical degrees in, for example, Latvia, Cuba, Cyprus
and Mauritius, and engineering degrees in the United Kingdom
and India.
26
We find Cambridge International AS and A Levels very
flexible as they allow us to offer almost any combination of a
wide array of subjects. Students have the freedom to follow
either a broad course of study or to specialise in a particular
area. The content is multicultural and includes many countryspecific courses – for example, it is possible to write isiZulu and
Afrikaans through Cambridge International.
The Cambridge system also provides a world-class support
service for teachers and examination officers, offering a wide
range of teacher materials to member schools, plus teacher
training (online and face-to-face), expert advice and learner
support materials. Exam officers can trust in the reliable,
efficient administration of exam entries and excellent personal
support and customer services.
Learning for life
International Pre-University College is an exceptional
institution that produces not only exceptional students but
exceptional people. With the help of the standards laid out by
Cambridge International Examinations, our students not only
develop understanding and knowledge essential for further
study, but also independent learning and constructive thinking
skills that help them become independent learners and equip
them for life. Joan Hope-Jones is principal at International Pre-University
College in Johannesburg.
References:
1.
John, V. (2013) “Dropout rate points to lack of support.” Available at:
http://mg.co.za/article/2013-05-17-dropout-rate-points-to-lack-ofsupport.
2.
SA Study (n.d.) “2013 matric success overshadowed by weak university
preparedness.” Available at: http://sastudy.co.za/article/2013-matricsuccess-overshadowed-by-weak-university-preparedness/.
3.
See, for example: http://www.cie.org.uk/programmes-andqualifications/cambridge-advanced/cambridge-international-as-and-alevels/.
The University of South Africa is widely regarded as Africa’s leading
open distance learning institution. (Source: http://www.unisa.ac.za/
Default.asp?Cmd=ViewContent&ContentID=3.)
See, for example: http://www.cie.org.uk/programmes-andqualifications/cambridge-advanced/cambridge-international-as-and-alevels/.
See, for example: http://www.ssb.za.net/#!middle-school/c1lcp.
4.
5.
6.
international relations
The
Association
of Hungarian
Independent
Schools
BY ZSOFI BAK
Some 10% of kindergartens, elementary
schools, high schools, technical colleges,
trade schools and colleges in Hungary
belong to the Association of Hungarian
Independent Schools (AHIS), founded in
Budapest in April 1992.
I
ts founder chairperson was György Várhegyi, who believed
strongly in the need for a new kind of professionally trained
teacher. Várhegyi also believed that parents had the right to
choose a particular kind of education for their children.
Presently, the AHIS board comprises 15 presidency
members, a three-member ethical committee and a threemember supervising committee.
The AHIS operates openly as a prominent public benefit
organisation and does not participate in political activities.
Open to all
Membership of the AHIS is open to any educational institution
that is maintained by legal entities, private individuals or nongovernmental and non-clerical organisations or foundations
that agree with its aims, accept and enforce its constitution and
ethical codex, whose joining the association is accepted by the
presidium and who then pays the membership fees. The AHIS
board judges the results of a self-evaluation process and awards
the title of ‘Qualified School/Kindergarten of the Association of
Hungarian Independent Schools’ to worthy institutions.
What does the AHIS offer?
The AHIS creates opportunities for schools to find out about
various issues concerning them such as teaching methods,
school administration and curricula. It also provides a forum for
28
schools and other stakeholders to discuss and solve their legal,
judicial, professional and financial problems. It advocates the
interests of independent schools and communicates to them
views and suggestions on laws-in-progress concerning their
activities, and protects member schools from any kind of
discriminatory interference from government.
The AHIS also regularly organises conferences, forums,
meetings and other professional programmes in accordance
with the demands of its members. On these occasions,
members can discuss current professional problems such as
official controls, educational law, pedagogical programmes, the
organisational and advocacy work of the AHIS and the rights
and roles of independent schools.
The Independent Pedagogical Institute
The AHIS also founded and maintains the Independent
Pedagogical Institute, which started its work in October 2001.
It offers general services such as professional counsel,
monitoring, evaluation and training, as well as initiating
innovative education developments and publicly representing
professional autonomy.
Working for the rights of independent schools
The AHIS is intent on reviving traditions, such as music
teaching (in Hungary, the only form of private teaching allowed
during the socialist era was music) and advocating the
adaptation of reputable alternative methodologies such as
Waldorf, Montessori or Rogers pedagogies and cooperative and
differentiated teaching methods.
The AHIS also represents the legal and financial interests of
its member schools to protect their rights to equality,
emancipation and equal opportunity. Currently, private
education has nothing to do with public education, although
private schools must teach the compulsory National
Curriculum. A few public schools have implemented some of
the alternative pedagogical methods the AHIS advocates, such
as child-centredness, self-evaluation, differentiated work in class
and collaborative teaching and learning.
ECNAIS and others
The AHIS also works towards garnering international respect
for its member schools by advocating the need for organised
improvement and best practice in schools. To this end, we are a
member of independent educational organisations such as the
European Council of National Associations of Independent
Schools (ECNAIS).1 We also urge our member schools to
foster positive connections with both national and international
professional education organisations.
Current economic conditions have led to the AHIS creating
a solidarity fund to support its members’ financial activities
where necessary, by granting credit or by other appropriate
support.
Did you know?
•
•
•
•
Two of the oldest schools in the world are located in Hungary:
Pannonhalma Benedictine College, founded in 996AD by Grand
Prince Géza of Hungary, and the Jurisich Miklós Grammar
School in Koszeg, founded in 1328.
Hungary is famous for developing the Kodály Method, a system
for teaching music.
The Hungarian education system is highly decentralised. The
state provides a subsidy to public sector institutions, which
offer schooling to about 90% of children. Administrative control
and management responsibilities are shared by the national
government, local authorities and educational institutions.
Overall responsibility lies with the Ministry of National
Resources.
Education in Hungary is compulsory between the ages of six
and 16 years. At 14 years, the child will attend either a
grammar school devoted primarily to academic studies
(gimnázium) or a vocational school (szakközépiskola). Further
study in institutes of higher education is by competitive entry,
and less than one-fifth of all students go on to colleges and
universities.
The freedom to choose
A range of previous research suggests that pupils achieve more,
and better, at independent schools. In an overview of European
research, Dronkers (2004) concludes that this is the case in
Belgium, France, Hungary, the Netherlands and Scotland, and
to some lesser extent in Germany.2
It was Milton Friedman who famously said, “Choice
produces competition. Competition produces quality.”3 At the
AHIS, we believe that offering parents the freedom to choose
where they want to school their children is a powerful tool for
improving educational service. Zsof i Bak is vice chairperson and executive director of the
Association of Hungarian Independent Schools. To learn more
about the AHIS, visit: www.maganiskolak.hu.
References:
1.
2.
3.
•
•
•
•
•
See: http://www.ecnais.org/object-aims/#.
See, for example: Corten, R. and Dronkers, J. (2004) “School
achievement of pupils from the lower strata in public, private
government-dependent and private government-independent schools:
a cross-national test of the Coleman-Hoffer thesis.” Available at:
http://www.oecd.org/edu/school/programmeforinternationalstudentassessme
ntpisa/33680669.pdf.
See, for example:
http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Friedman.html.
School enrolment in Hungary stands at about 98%. The most
significant obstacle to full enrolment is widely considered to be
the inclusion of Roma children into the school system.
Hungarian is the predominant language of instruction, but in
some areas of northern Hungary, bilingual education is present.
In both primary and secondary schools, summer examination
results determine whether the student advances to the next
grade. Examinations at the end of secondary school are set by
the state and partly used as university entrance examinations.
Because the state funds public schools, private schools are in
the minority in Hungary. Post-socialism, the Catholic Church
funds a growing number of educational institutions.
Hungary has yet to catch up with other countries such as the
United States when it comes to technology in education.
Textbooks in Hungary are also a problem: new ones have yet
to be produced on a large scale since the dawn of democracy.
Before this time, say analysts, innovative thinking and
entrepreneurship – two cornerstones much touted by today’s
Hungarian government – were completely suppressed by the
socialist system. However, literacy rates were high and
technological achievements abounded. Now, there is a lack
29
of funding for teachers, equipment and buildings;
a drain of teachers from the profession; a widespread
closure of schools in remote areas; and a move
away from a teaching career by the best and
brightest graduates.
•
In 2003, the renowned Programme for International
Student Assessment (PISA) results indicated that ethnic
groups like the Roma are disadvantaged by the complex
early selection practices inherent in the Hungarian public
education system.
Behind the locked door
In recent times, reports the blog ‘Hungarian Spectrum’
(HS), the Catholic lay organisation Kolping International
has acquired several former state schools.
One of them was Jászladány Public School. According to the HS,
Jászladány’s municipal authorities decided in 2000 that the school
was not big enough to serve the needs of the 6 000 Roma and nonRoma residents of the town with the same name.
The mayor’s decision was to establish a private school, housed in
the same building as the public one. At the former, tuition fees were
compulsory, although the bills were largely covered by the
municipality.
A locked door separated the two schools for six years.
Those children whose parents could afford the tuition fees went to
the good school; the rest, like the Roma, went to the inferior school.
Says the HS: “The ‘private school’ children received all sorts of
privileges, for example, a free lunch, regardless of need. They were
the first ones to receive free textbooks; the children in the ‘Gypsy’
school got them only once everybody was served in the ‘private
school’.”
Eventually a court order went in favour of desegregation, but in
2013 the new mayor simply handed over the private school to
30
Sources:
1. State University.com (n.d.) “Hungary – educational system –
overview.” Available at: http://education.stateuniversity.com/
pages/629/Hungary-EDUCATIONAL-SYSTEMOVERVIEW.html#ixzz2yDFDAFKa.
2. About.com (n.d.) “The Kodaly method: a primer.” Available at:
http://musiced.about.com/od/lessonplans/p/kodalymethod.htm.
3. Matching in Practice (n.d.) “Secondary schools in Hungary.”
Available at: http://www.matching-in-practice.eu/secondary-schoolsin-hungary/.
4. See, for example: http://www.oecd.org/pisa/.
Kolping International, which gave it the name Szászbereki Kolping
Catholic Elementary School. By the time Roma families were
informed, all the places had been filled. Says HS blogger, Zoltán
Balog, “The head of the mega-Ministry of Human Resources was in
charge of Roma integration in the Ministry of Administration and
Justice. He often expounded on the plight of the Gypsies and
promised all sorts of remedies. These remedies did not, however,
include school integration. In his opinion, segregation works to the
advantage of the underprivileged, most of whom are Roma. They
need special attention to catch up with the other students.”
31
conversations
Tamping
down the
rhetoric on
school choice
BY DAVID CUTLER
Rational minds can differ on most issues,
but trouble arises when disagreement
morphs into unproductive disdain.
U
nfortunately, with respect to education, the latter has
occurred more frequently in recent months. As we
venture into a more uncertain future, one which will
become all the more disrupted by online technologies,
it’s crucial that all educators address and attempt to reverse a
surge of inflamed rhetoric. If not, I fear that all schools – public,
charter and private alike – will suffer.1
Inflamed rhetoric
Since the early fall of 2013, at least three major American
publications have come out vilifying school choice rather than
fostering constructive dialogue on the issue – much less
focusing on how to help all students succeed. Any legitimate
criticism advanced by the authors of these works is tainted by
one fact – they pick fights rather than build bridges.
32
1.
In August 2013, Slate online magazine posted a blistering
condemnation by one of its managing editors, Allison
Benedikt, entitled ‘If you send your kid to private school,
you are a bad person’. The article has over 66 thousand
‘likes’ on Facebook, and its bold title leaves nothing to the
imagination: “You are a bad person if you send your
children to private school. Not bad like murderer bad –
but bad like ruining-one-of-our-nation’s-most-essentialinstitutions-in-order-to-get-what’s-best-for-your-kid bad. So,
pretty bad,” Benedikt writes.2
2.
In September 2013, Diane Ravitch, former US assistant
secretary of education, released her newest book, Reign of
Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the
Danger to America’s Public Schools.3 Ravitch derides school
choice as an outright attack on the public system, while
also accusing education reformers of a “deliberate effort to
replace public education with a privately managed, freemarket system of schooling”.
3.
Recently, Christopher and Sarah Lubienski, professors at
the University of Illinois, released an equally charged
book, The Public School Advantage: Why Public Schools
Outperform Private Schools.4 They argue that there is
“danger in private school autonomy”, especially with
respect to state standards not applying to professional
certification and accountability. In a Washington Post story
about their work, they also write how this “autonomy is
too often used to maintain outdated strategies that may
align with parental preferences but are not particularly
effective for educating students”.5
I don’t doubt that these authors are passionate about their work,
that they have important thoughts to share (regardless of one’s
views) and, most importantly, that each is entirely capable of
less inflammatory rhetoric.
Not long ago, I asked Christopher Lubienski how he and his
wife conducted their research – and to what extent, if any, he
thinks private and public schools could or should work together.
“Professional collaboration is a wonderful thing with
potential benefits for both types of schools and, more
importantly, for the students,” he writes. “But as we put schools
into more competitive conditions, opportunities for such
collaboration diminish. Moreover, for-profit schools have even
less incentive to enter into such relationships.”
It’s this softer tone that has more potential to foster
dialogue.
Reasons for inflamed rhetoric
Still, it’s important to recognise that the inflamed rhetoric has
arisen from significant developments with school choice.
To gain deeper insight, I also spoke with John Chubb, new
president of the National Association of Independent Schools
(NAIS). America’s public school system once served around
90% of students, he says, noting that the remainder enrolled as
part of a private school system – comprising religious,
traditional and independent schools.
But something changed this dynamic in the 1990s, when the
nation began passing charter school legislation – allowing for a
new, independent set of schools to enter the marketplace.
“What happened over the last 20 years is that the happy,
historical coexistence of public and private schools has been
disrupted by the introduction of charter schools,” Chubb says.
“Now, the percentage of families that are choosing alternatives
to public schools is approaching 15%. In addition to that, we
have online schooling that is growing rapidly… We have
home-schooling that’s been growing. That’s 1.8 million
students.”
In the coming years, Chubb says, there will be more choice
and more competition – especially with online education
continuing to disrupt the traditional school system.
“The system will become more dynamic,” he says. “I believe
that ultimately, all schools will be stronger for it.”
I agree with Chubb, and I also understand why his
prediction might alarm some in the public school sector. As
choice develops and becomes more attractive, fewer students
will enrol in public schools, and this could have countless
repercussions for teachers and, in a very real sense, how students
learn.
amicable collaboration can better benefit students – regardless
of where they choose to enrol. How can we accomplish this?
Share, share and share some more:
1.
Share on Twitter: I teach at an independent school, and
while I receive more responses from NAIS members, I’m
delighted when my tweets also stimulate public school
educators like John Bergmann, an innovator of the ‘flipped
classroom’ model.6
How to overcome inflamed rhetoric
2.
But rather than add to the antagonism, I urge all educators,
from all types of schools, to refocus their energies on how
Share on Edmodo: Edmodo has the largest online teacher
sharing community.7 I post all of my stories here.
3.
Share on a blog: Blogging has allowed me to connect with
dozens of talented public school educators, all of whom
I’ve learned from to become a better independent day
school teacher. I’m most grateful to Rick Wormeli, one of
America’s first national board certified teachers. He also
wrote the most impactful book I’ve ever read, Fair Isn’t
Always Equal: Assessing & Grading in the Differentiated
Classroom.8 On several occasions, he has also provided me
with feedback on articles. Our relationship exemplifies the
best of what’s possible when all types of teachers
collaborate.
Use improved rhetoric to prepare for more disruption
A fruitful sharing of ideas today should prepare educators for
far greater disruption tomorrow. About a year ago, I first spoke
with Curtis J. Bonk, professor of instructional systems
technology at Indiana University and author The World is Open:
How Technology is Revolutionizing Education.9
“I think kids in 20 years are going to walk into school and…
hit a map… they might even pick their teachers for the day
coming from Philippines and Singapore and other places.”
have a professional development programme that has grown
pretty dramatically too, as we’ve tried to help faculty members
engage with tenets of online and blended learning and give
them an avenue to explore that field and to engage with it.”
“As choice develops and becomes
more attractive, fewer students will
enrol in public schools, and this could
have countless repercussions for
teachers and, in a very real sense,
how students learn.”
Bonk’s predications are slowly becoming reality. I recently
learned about the three-year-old Global Online Academy
(GOA),10 whose mission statement speaks to how technology
can and should foster a brighter teaching and learning
environment:
“The mission of the Global Online Academy is to
replicate in online classrooms the intellectually rigorous
programmes and excellent teaching that are hallmarks
of its member schools; to foster new and effective ways,
through best practices in online education, for students
to learn; and to promote students’ global awareness and
understanding by creating truly diverse, worldwide,
online schoolroom communities.”
I spoke recently with GOA director Michael Nachbar, who
explained an intricate teacher-training programme, which
requires intense online coursework for potential hires to learn
and gain experience with managing an online class. At the end
of that initial six-week period, successful recruits travel to
Seattle, Washington, where the company is based, to experience
a week-long summer workshop. I’m equally in awe of The
Online School for Girls (OSG),11 which opened its virtual
doors in 2009. I reached out to OSG director Brad Rathgeber,
who says that he wanted to help create a growing consortium
that afforded easy entry for any school that shared OSG’s vision
for girls’ education and online learning. “The growth has been
pretty tremendous on the student front. We also have a pretty
robust student summer programme that enrols… kids over the
summer to take courses,” he says. “On the other side, we also
Collaboration is key
As online learning communities grow, so too will the disruption
in every education sector. No school systems will remain
unchanged.
All teachers must collaborate on how to adapt to quickly
changing circumstances, and how best to prepare students for a
world where essential skills are ever-changing. This may mean
having to drastically rethink how to fund and structure
tomorrow’s schools.
But complacency, or worse still, indignation, directed at any
school system will only stall that progress. David Cutler is a coach, history and journalism teacher at
Palmer Trinity, an independent school in Miami, Florida in
the US. He is the founder of the blog
http://www.spinedu.com/author/admin/.
References:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
34
Charter schools are publicly funded, independently operated schools
that are allowed to operate with more autonomy than traditional
public schools in exchange for increased accountability. (Source:
http://www.charterschoolcenter.org/priority-area/understanding-charterschools.)
Benedikt, A. (2013) “If you send your kid to private school, you are a
bad person.” Available at: http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/
doublex/2013/08/private_school_vs_public_school_only_bad_people_send
_their_kids_to_private.html.
Ravitch, D. (2013) Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization
Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools. New York:
Knopf Publishers.
Lubienski, C. and Lubienksi, S. (2014) The Public School Advantage:
Why Public Schools Outperform Private Schools. Chicago: University Of
Chicago Press.
Strauss, V. (2013) “Are private schools better than public schools?
New book says “no”.” Available at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/11/05/
are-private-schools-better-than-public-schools-new-book-says-no/.
See: http://jonbergmann.com/the-flipped-class-as-a-way-to-theanswers/.
See: https://www.edmodo.com/.
Wormeli, E. (2006) Fair isn’t Always Equal: Assessing & Grading in
the Differentiated Classroom. Portland: Stenhouse Publishers.
Bonk, C.J. (n.d.) The World is Open: How Technology is
Revolutionizing Education. New York: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
See: http://www.globalonlineacademy.org/.
See: http://www.onlineschoolforgirls.org/.
Pikkie
class act
Leading through a fiscal nightmare:
The impact on principals and
superintendents – Part two
BY RICK GINSBERG AND
KAREN D. MULTON
Our research revealed that in the current
tough fiscal environment, school
principals and superintendents1 feel they
are being forced to provide greater levels
of service with fewer resources.
Serious stress
In response to a question about health, 70% of principals polled
for our research used the term stress. One typical comment: “I
don’t sleep at night. I get little exercise. I don’t take vacations
because I think I shouldn’t. I don’t spend quality time with my
family.” Another told us, “More stress has caused headaches,
backaches, anxiety, and sleeplessness.”
I
ndeed, expectations are increasing for schools as high-profile
outcome criteria like adequate yearly progress (AYP)
continue to rise while cuts are affecting services that could
benefit many students. One principal explained, “We are
expected to do more and more with less and less, and the
challenges are not getting any less while societal pressures on
staff and students increase.” Another said, “NCLB2 nails us
with AYP, yet we can’t provide programming to overcome the
challenges.” Principals consistently commented on the growing
levels of stress and concern while having to do more with less.
Cuts affect all
Principals were clear that anyone who thinks that all cuts – no
matter where they’re focused – don’t affect classrooms, doesn’t
really understand the culture of schools. Note this explanation
one principal provided:
“It is impossible to make cuts in a district and not have it
impact teachers and students. We cut a secretary and
many tasks are now falling to teachers. This takes up
their precious time to prepare for students. We cut a
technology integration person, and now teachers are
having to spend more time researching web sites and
online projects. It has further added to our already
reduced office staff.”
Tornadoes of negativity
Though some principals reported that staff have rallied together
due to budget cuts, most were very concerned about the
negativity the cuts had generated. One commented, “I felt
attacked by teachers who believed I played a role in decisions.”
Another principal summed it up this way:
“I had typically reasonable people telling me that they
weren’t going to do their job… I feel we have taken a
huge step backwards in our communication, trust, and
cooperation.”
36
The new normal for superintendents
Superintendents reported that much of the reform and
innovative work underway in their districts had ceased. Cuts
had forced them to focus on basic processes and nothing more.
Faculty and staff were notably concerned about the future. One
superintendent summed up the theme this way:
“Innovation has almost ground to a halt. You can’t push
forward with new innovations without the funding to see
them through. Everyone has an opinion about what
should be cut and that causes relationship problems.”
Dealing with disappointment
Superintendents voiced a common theme of disappointment
with how significant numbers of individuals – both in the
district and beyond – responded to the tough budget climate
and potential cuts. In the districts, superintendents reported:
“No one wants to believe we have to make cuts. Individuals are
territorial and defensive.” Externally, much dismay was voiced
about legislators and how they dealt with schools. One
superintendent was… scathing, talking about “the complete
ignorance and self-serving attitude of many legislators... who
only want to get themselves re-elected ...” This superintendent
concluded, “I am shocked that more of our state leaders don’t
demonstrate leadership at a crucial time when it is needed.”
“The economic outlook for
the foreseeable future…
is bleak.”
Joyless jobs
A large number of superintendents talked about how awful the
job was becoming and how retirement or other types of work
are becoming very appealing. One superintendent’s comments
vividly expressed this sentiment:
“I am very discouraged in my job. I have always prided
myself in doing everything possible to provide for the
learning of all children. For the first time in my career, I
cannot do this any longer.”
A brave face
Leaders often believe they must appear calm and collected
during difficult times. Leaders with such a conception of their
role must show they are strong. So, it’s no surprise that
superintendents talked about their own behaviour in these
terms. One explained, “You have to work hard not to get caught
up in the emotion. You have to be the calm in the storm.”
Ways to survive
The principals and superintendents we worked with also
suggested ways to cope with periods of fiscal strain. Part of the
formula is dispositional, part personal, and the rest is action-
oriented. First, principals and superintendents adopted a ‘cando’ attitude even in the face of difficult budgetary decisions.
On one of the scales we used in our survey, both principals
and superintendents reported strong responses to questions
about finding their way out of a jam, solving problems and
energetically pursuing their goals. A superintendent summed it
up well: “I have not taken any of the concerns personally even
though I have been frustrated. I try to be very positive and focus
on what we can provide not what we cannot provide.”
Take care
Second, we were consistently told about the importance of
taking care of yourself. For some, this meant exercising more,
watching sleep patterns, eating properly and making time for
family and friends. For others, it involved creating support
networks so they aren’t isolated and have colleagues to interact
with. But the theme was clear: find ways to take care of your
health by creating work and home environments that can help
you deal with the job-created stress. Some talked about the
balance that must be created. A superintendent concluded, “I
leave the issues of my job at the job when I leave in the evening.”
Rick Ginsberg is dean of the School of Education at the
University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. He was
director of the School of Education at Colorado State
University, associate professor at the University of South
Carolina and assistant professor at the University of New
Orleans. While at the University of South Carolina, he
worked on a school leadership training project with a
South African non-governmental organisation, focusing
on building leadership capacity for poorly served groups
in South Africa. Karen D. Multon is a professor and chair
of the Department of Psychology and Research in
Education at the University of Kansas, Lawrence,
Kansas. This article f irst appeared in Phi Delta Kappan
magazine (see www.pdkintl.org) (Vol. 92, No. 8, May
2011) and on the www.edweek.org website, and appears
here with the magazine and the authors’ kind permission.
Rein in rumours
Finally, a specific set of actions were identified, including
planning and maintaining clear communication and
transparency throughout a budget-cutting process. One
principal talked about “planning for the worst case scenario”.
Others talked about bringing in interested and potentially
affected parties to brainstorm possible solutions.
Superintendents emphasised the importance of complete
information and getting the facts straight. One said, “It is never
too early to have contingency plans in place.”
Everyone emphasised the importance of ongoing
communication. The grapevine was described as inaccurate and
potentially damaging. Rumour control is best handled with
open and consistent communication. As one superintendent
told us, “Communication is vital. All budget cuts affect an
individual. All budget cuts affect the quality of education.”
Another concluded, “For success, various entities must be
involved and collaboration must occur.”
“Our data suggests that
school leaders are a
resilient breed, but areas
of concern are emerging.”
“The theme was clear: find
ways to take care of your
health by creating work and
home environments that can
help you deal with the jobcreated stress.”
References:
1.
2.
In education in the United States, a superintendent of schools, also
known in many states as a chief school administrator, is a person
who has executive oversight and administrative powers, usually
within an educational entity or organisation. (Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superintendent_(education).)
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) is a United States
Act of Congress that supports standards-based education reform,
based on the premise that setting high standards and establishing
measurable goals can improve individual outcomes in education. The
Act requires states to develop assessments in basic skills. To receive
federal school funding, states must give these assessments to all
students at select grade levels. (Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Child_Left_Behind_Act.)
Additional sources:
Final thoughts
Principals and superintendents are dealing with tough budgetrelated decisions. The economic outlook for the foreseeable
future in most states is bleak. Tending to the health-related and
emotional needs of administrators makes sense, given their
crucial role in leading schools and districts. Our data suggests
that school leaders are a resilient breed, but areas of concern are
emerging. This appears more significant for superintendents
than principals, though both groups are clearly impacted. Given
the climate of growing federal and state pressure on student
performance, finding ways to help leaders personally navigate
difficult economic conditions seems paramount. 38
1.
2.
3.
4.
Hull, J. (2010) Cutting to the Bone: How the Economic Crisis Affects
Schools. Alexandria: Centre for Public Education. Available at:
www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Publiceducation/Cutting-to-the-bone-At-a-glance/Cutting-to-the-bone-Howthe-economic-crisis-affects-schools.GMEditor.html.
Ellerson, N.M. (2010) A Cliff Hanger: How America’s Public Schools
Continue to Feel the Impact of the Economic Downturn. Alexandria:
American Association of School Administrators.
Ginsberg, R. and Multon, K.D. (2010) “Leading in financially
stressful times.” In Conley, S. and Cooper, B.S. (eds) Keeping
Tomorrow’s Educational Leaders: Retaining and Sustaining the Best.
Lanham: R and L Education.
Mai, C., Oliff, P. and Palacois, V. (2012) States Continue to Feel
Recession’s Impact. Washington, D.C.: Centre on Budget and Policy
Priorities. Available at: www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=711.
advertorial
The communicative
approach to teaching
‘additional’ languages
BY LOREN TOWNSHEND
Language policy in South African education
demands that learners study at least one
additional language. Achieving communicative
competence in any language is dependent on the
application of effective methodology. One such
methodology is the communicative approach.
The communicative approach is a methodology that recognises that
language learning is often a result of using a language, not simply
studying it. In the same way that children learn to use their first
language by expressing their communicative needs, even though
they cannot use the language accurately (me want blue blanket!),
the communicative approach recognises that second language
learning can proceed through the application of a syllabus in which:
1. learners are encouraged to develop confidence using the
language (fluency).
2. learners pay attention to structural elements of the language to
develop grammatical accuracy.
Three key principles underpin communicative language teaching:
1. Activities that involve real communication promote learning.
2. Language should be used for carrying out meaningful tasks.
3. Language should be meaningful to the learner.
The teacher facilitates the comprehension of a new language by
creating lessons that present the language in a comprehensible
context. During communicative tasks, the teacher responds to the
learners’ output and assists with problems that arise with meaning or
grammatical forms, and creates opportunities for the clarification and
practice of language.
The communicative approach offers tried and tested methodology
that enhances language acquisition, whether teaching English or any
‘additional’ language.
Loren Townshend is a facilitator in the Language Teacher
Education Unit at the Wits Language School (University of the
Witwatersrand).
For more information, visit www.witslanguageschool.com, e-mail
[email protected] or telephone: +27 (11) 717 4208. Find us on
Facebook: www.facebook.com/witslanguageschool
making a difference
The St John’s–
Masibambane
Teacher
Internship
Programme
BY PIER MYBURGH, PATRICK
LEES AND PIETER STEYN
On their way: Masibambane students
South Africa’s inability to create equal
education opportunities for all her
children remains one of the greatest
challenges of our fledgling democracy.
W
hile great efforts have been made to redress past
inequalities in our political and business
environments, the goal of providing a worthwhile
and equal education for all has not yet been
achieved.1
Teacher shortages and lack of community leadership in
South Africa have reached epidemic levels,2 affecting not only
the quality of education that our children receive, but also their
ability to develop to their full potential and play their part in
ensuring the ongoing success of our democracy. All South
African schools, private and public alike, have been adversely
affected by the dearth of good teachers.
Taking action
St John’s College in Houghton and Masibambane College in
Orange Farm3 have decided to take action. In 2013, we
developed a comprehensive teacher internship programme that
offers high school children from Masibambane College holistic
support during their school years (particularly in matric), after
which deserving candidates are offered full bursaries to study a
teaching degree at the University of South Africa (Unisa) while
working as interns at St John’s College.
This internship is not a social handout. The programme
offers financial assistance, academic and emotional support, and
quality work experience to students who are willing to go the
extra mile to help themselves. The programme demands
dedication and a strong work ethic, supported by the values of
honesty, transparency and accountability from candidates and
programme volunteers alike.
We see the programme as a worthwhile social investment:
our candidates are our assets and the return on our investment
is the passionate, well-trained and dedicated teachers that they
will become. While we demand a sound academic performance,
our main focus falls on the development of each individual. We
build a close relationship with the candidates during their
40
matric year, and through individual and group mentoring
throughout their five-year involvement with the programme.
We believe that this is what sets us apart from other
programmes of its kind.
The internship plan
The programme runs in five-year cycles, which are divided into
two parts: the matric year and the four subsequent years of
Unisa studies. A new cycle starts at the beginning of each year,
so that in the fifth year, five cycles will run concurrently.
Matric year: We provide academic and emotional support
to matrics so that they can achieve the best final
examination results possible. Matrics are invited to apply
for internship at the start of the year. While some of our
initiatives are aimed only at internship participants because
of funding and resource constraints, we try to adopt an
inclusive approach that will benefit all Masibambane
matrics where possible.
Unisa studies (four years): We offer full bursaries, which
include the cost of accommodation and living expenses, an
internship salary, information technology (IT) equipment
and fees. A comprehensive mentorship programme
includes the appointment of individual mentors,
enrichment outings and life-skills coaching. In addition,
the interns become fully integrated into the teaching
faculty and all aspects of the academic, pastoral and
sporting life at St John’s College. To maintain their link
with Orange Farm, they will be expected to spend one
week per term as interns at Masibambane College as well.
•
•
Matric support
We believe in addressing the needs of the students as expressed
by the students. This is why we start each year with an
anonymous survey, which gives students the opportunity to
inform us of their most pressing challenges so that the support
we offer will be of value to them.
In response to their needs, we have put in place the
initiatives listed below. Each of these is reviewed on an annual
basis:
Study room: We have created a safe study area for matrics
at Masibambane College, where they can work and
interact with their peers until 18:00.
•
advertorial
Make this year’s matric
farewell special by
celebrating at Maropeng
Looking for something
unique and special for this
year’s matric farewell?
Why not celebrate it at Maropeng in
the Cradle of Humankind, a World
Heritage Site? The stylish Tumulus
building at Maropeng, with its
modern architectural structure and
interior, is complemented by
Maropeng’s professional and friendly
staff, who will assist you in creating
an event to remember.
Intern Faith Ralane engages in quality one-on-one time with a
St John’s pupil
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
FAMSA: The Family Life Centre (FAMSA) meets with
the Grade 10s, 11s and 12s at Masibambane College, to
chat to them about puberty, pregnancy, contraception and
sexually transmitted diseases, as well as relationships, life
choices and general teenage matters.4
Career Day: We offer a comprehensive career guidance day
at Masibambane College. Last year, over 500 students
attended the day, which included exhibitors ranging from
tertiary study institutions and corporate and professional
careers to jobs that do not require university degrees.
Aptitude tests: Comprehensive aptitude tests are offered to
matric internship candidates. Individual feedback sessions
provide the students with a better understanding of their
own strengths and abilities.
Motivational speaker programme: We source interesting,
successful and motivational people to share their stories of
hope and growth with all the Masibambane students on a
regular basis.
Study schools: During school holidays, the matric
internship candidates spend a week at St John’s, where they
receive additional academic tuition. During this time, they
also sit in on academic, cultural and sports lessons at St
John’s to gain some insight into teaching.
Mentoring: Our mentoring programme offers support to
the students without removing their own accountability or
interfering with the efforts of their teachers. Mentees are
guided to use internet resources to teach them independent
research and problem-solving skills. Social, personal and
emotional problems are referred to professional
psychologists, and coaching on goal-setting is offered by a
professional life coach.
GIBS Business School Bizschool Programme: Candidates
are given the opportunity to attend the GIBS Business
School’s Bizschool Programme, where they are taught selfawareness, workplace readiness (e.g. preparing a curriculum
vitae, interview skills and workplace conduct) and adult life
skills such as time management, public speaking, personal
finances and entrepreneurial skills.5
“Having all of the necessary facilities
is one thing. Being able to provide learners with a unique and
memorable experience that is also affordable is something very few
venues are able to do,” says Magel van de Venter, customer
relationship manager at Maropeng. “The Tumulus building,
suggestive of an ancient underground burial mound, has expansive
open areas that can be transformed from a blank canvas to a dramatic
backdrop for special events.”
Together with a choice of three buffet menu options designed to fit
all budgets, learners can also opt to extend their once-in-a-lifetime
experience by staying over in Hominid House. For a minimal fee per
person, learners and educators have access to comfortable budget
accommodation in Hominid House, followed up by a hearty breakfast
the next morning. Hominid House has four dormitory-style rooms
that sleep up to 120 learners, and has separate communal bathrooms
and rooms for educators.
“Situated in the scenic Cradle of Humankind with its unbeatable
views and the origin of so much of our local heritage, together with
great food and outstanding service, a matric farewell at Maropeng is
guaranteed to be a memorable one,” concludes Van de Venter.
For more information and bookings, go to www.maropeng.co.za or
call +27 (14) 577 9000.
They’re off: intern Sifiso Adams with a crop of young athletes
Extending our reach
in public, learning how to swim, improving IT skills and
managing their own bank accounts to interacting with adults
and children from all walks of life.
Quality education from Grade 0 to Grade 12 will provide us
with quality interns, who in turn will become great teachers. We
support Masibambane College as a school of excellence by
Looking ahead
introducing other programmes to the school when we can, such
The impact that a good teacher has on his or her students, and
as:
the resulting ripple effect through their lives and throughout
The flourishing school: Students are taught perseverance,
their communities, cannot be overstated. Every year, we hope to
social intelligence, curiosity,
offer at least four students the chance to
resilience, self-control and the
study a teaching degree. However, we have
ability to harness their inner
placed no limitation on our output. The
strengths to handle life’s ups and
reach of the St John’s–Masibambane
downs. These skills improve
Teacher Internship Programme can and
students’ academic achievement and
will be as wide as financial and human
their ability to thrive at university, in
resources allow.
jobs and in their relationships in
Masibambane means ‘let us hold hands
and outside of school.
together’.
We invite anyone interested in
One Laptop per Child:
our
programme
(schools, individuals or
Masibambane is the first school in
businesses)
and
who
feels they can make a
Africa to benefit from this
contribution,
be
it
financial
or otherwise, to
internationally acclaimed
talk
to
us
about
partnership
opportunities.
programme, whereby students are
Let
us
hold
hands
to
sustain
our schools,
provided with laptops and teachers
our
students
and
our
country.
Bring it on: intern Nomthandazo Xulu
are given the relevant training
and support to aid reading and other areas of the syllabus.6
Pier Myburgh and Patrick Lees manage the St John’s–
Other internships: We introduce other internships to the
Masibambane Teacher Internship Programme. Pieter Steyn
school where we can, so that the matrics who may not
is head of Masibambane College.
want to become teachers are also offered access to
sustainable alternative careers.
•
•
•
References:
Reaping rewards
In 2013, Masibambane College celebrated a 100% matric pass
rate, with 92% of students achieving an university exemption.
The first four interns to receive internship bursaries – Sifiso
Adams, Nomthandazo Xulu, Faith Ralane and Shingirai
Mudima – have already established themselves as enthusiastic,
hardworking and delightful teachers-in-training in all aspects of
campus life at St John’s College. Each one reports tremendous
personal growth, ranging from overcoming the fear of speaking
42
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
See, for example: http://www.equaleducation.org.za/sites/default/files/
Equal%20Education%20Costing%20Booklet.pdf.
See, for example: http://www.ai.org.za/wpcontent/uploads/downloads/2012/03/No.-72.The-Failing-Standard-ofBasic-Education-in-South-Africa1.pdf.
To learn more about Masibambane College, see:
http://www.educationafrica.com/masibambane-college.htm.
See: www.famsa.org.za/.
See: http://www.gibs.co.za/about-us/na_5/corporate-socialresponsibilty/sustainability-.aspx.
See: http://one.laptop.org./.
leadership
Where have all
the leaders gone?
7 May 2014: a
‘teachable moment’
BY SIMON WEAVER
On 7 May 2014, South Africans went to
the polls for the fifth time since the dawn
of democracy in 1994, to elect a
government and leaders to take us
forward for the next five years.
A
s I looked at the political landscape to cast my ballot, I
found it extremely difficult to be inspired by any of the
leaders on offer for this election. Many of them seem
to be self-serving and power-hungry individuals who
cannot seem to see that leadership is about serving others in a
compassionate and caring way, as well as acting with integrity,
gentleness and decency. Where are all the leaders? As schools,
we have failed our country if we have not been able to produce
trailblazers who can make a meaningful difference in the world.
What is happening in our ‘Beloved Country’?1
The world’s in a very bad way
Margaret Wheatley, a well-renowned academic with a
particular interest in leadership, puts forward some interesting
arguments as to why the world is struggling with a paucity of
good leaders at this time. In her book So Far from Home: Lost
and Found in Our Brave New World,2 she writes that the world
is in a very bad way and suggests that there are three reasons for
this.
First, she points out that the enormous technological
advances that have been made have created a situation where
people have become consumption-driven, opinion-centric and
paranoid: “…the irresistible forces of self-making, consumerism
and the internet interacted and fed on one another to begin the
spiral of descent.” Wheatley points out that advertising and
reality TV creates unworthy heroes to whom we aspire to
imitate and who make us want ‘things’ like cars, houses,
gadgets, the latest hairstyle or fashion accessory.
More for me
Similarly, Joel Stein pointed out last year in Time magazine3
that there has been a significant increase in narcissism. A person
with narcissistic personality disorder is preoccupied with
themselves in terms of vanity, power and prestige. Stein points
44
out that the disorder describes in great
numbers the ‘Millennial’ generation – also known as the ‘me,
me, me’ generation – but affects us all.
We think only about ourselves. We record our steps on
FitBit, our whereabouts on PlaceMe, use Facebook and Twitter
to tell the world about ourselves and what we are doing. What
we have, what we look like and the power we have, has become
all-important to us. Wheatley contends: “This consumer culture
of manufactured selves has left behind more than half of the
Earth’s seven billion people and conscripted millions of poor
people to terrible working conditions to produce what we
affluent consume.” This self-obsession has also tainted many of
our leaders in South Africa, who are absorbed with their own
power and importance, forgetting the millions who are
struggling to survive. They use the plight of the poor to garner
votes and then build mansions to reflect their perceived selfimportance.
Bring back the brain
The second reason why the world is worse off than ever before,
says Wheatley, is because we have become distracted from
thinking clearly about what is happening in our communities
by the new technologies that have come to the fore. The
internet and computers are connecting people in one way, and
yet true connections and real relationships are suffering. Life has
become so hectic and so full of gadgets that we are becoming
more distracted and disconnected. Furthermore, Wheatley
points out, “… as we surfed, clicked and linked on the net,
discovering things that interest us, we didn’t notice that we were
losing fundamental human capacities such as memory,
meaning, making and thinking. We were paying a terrible price
to everything, but we were too distracted to even notice.” Not
only are we losing our ability to relate, we are also losing our
ability to think critically.
“How did you use the
general election on 7 May
2014? Did you use it as a
‘teachable moment’?”
Command and control
Third, notes Wheatley:
“Twentieth-century leaders built
corporate empires, organisations too big to
lead. Inherently unmanageable by virtue of size and
complexity, inherently meaningless by virtue of work reduced to
disassociated part, these behemoths were ill prepared for this
new world of rapid change and unpredictability.” The rising
complexities and the sizes of our organisations have meant that
leadership has gone back to leading by the more autocratic
means of ‘command and control’. Even though leaders are
aware of servant leadership models, they find it far easier under
these complex circumstances to tell others what and how to do
things, instead of trying to empower them.
These three issues have created the following global
conditions, says Wheatley:
“…a world of intensifying emotions and positions moving
to extremes, where anger has become rage, opponents
have become enemies, dislike has become hatred, sorrow
has become despair.
It is a world closing shut, where individuals, groups,
ethnicities, and governments fortify their positions behind
impermeable boundaries.
It is a world where critical thinking scarcely exists, where
there is no distinction between facts and opinions.
It is a world that discredits science as mere opinion, yet
still wants science to give us health, long life, security and
a way out of our problems.
It is a world where information no longer makes a
difference, where we hear only what we want to hear,
always confirmed not contradicted.
It is a world desperate for certainty and safety, choosing
coercion and violence as the means to achieve this.
It is a world solving its crises by brinkmanship and last
minute deals, no matter how important or disastrous the
consequences may be.
It is a tower of Babel, everybody shouting and nobody
listening.
It is a world growing more meaningless as lives are taken
over by values of consumption, greed, and self-interest.
It is a world of people who had been effective and
constructive now feel powerless and exhausted.
It is a world whose growth, garbage and disregard will not
be tolerated by the planet much longer.”
Where are the warriors?
This new world that we live in, which has arisen out of the
Industrial Revolution and the Information Age, has resulted in
us becoming fearful and unsure of most things. When the
going gets tough, we tend to retreat into our private worlds. It is
easier to look after oneself and those closest to us; to ‘feather our
own nests’. Our potential leaders have withdrawn from the
public domain, instead of asking the difficult questions. Thus,
caveat emptor, or as Edmund Burke put it: “Evil flourishes when
good men do nothing.”4
Our schools have a responsibility to produce leaders of the
future, who are able to think outside of themselves, to fight for
the vulnerable in our society and to guide us with integrity. The
missions of most schools today are to ensure that each child
becomes the best they can be. However, this kind of purpose
feeds into the narcissistic vision of the world described by Stein
and Wheatley. Our children must come to understand that the
education they have received is a privilege, and that they have a
responsibility to fix this very broken world.
Wheatley issues a call for warriors who will act with
gentleness, decency and bravery. I would add compassion and
caring. Compassion comprises of two aspects. In order for
someone to demonstrate compassion, they have to become
aware of the plight of the other. Once this happens, they will
then be in a position to care and to do.
Schools must stand up
One of the simplest ways we can teach our children to respect
and to love instead of acting in a bigoted, selfish or
discriminatory manner is to concentrate our efforts on
inculcating manners. Manners are the things we do that show
we respect and care for other people. We also need to ensure
that our youth has the courage to stand up for what is right and
protect those who are vulnerable. When someone is being
bullied, they need to have the courage to say something or do
something to help the victim.
45
If we ‘grow’ empathy with as much vigour as we seek to
‘grow’ the economy, I believe we will be able to fix the many
broken things in this country. We are all in desperate need of
going back to solid values and principles to anchor us in this
turbulent world.
How did you use the general election on 7 May 2014?
Did you use it as a ‘teachable moment’? Did you take stock
of where you as a school leader, administrator or teacher stand
in relation to leadership in our country? Did you seize the
opportunity to pledge to grow our children to serve others?
Do it again, today. Simon Weaver is headmaster at Cordwalles Preparatory
School in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal.
References:
1.
2.
3.
4.
See Paton, A. (2003) Cry, the Beloved Country. New York: Scribner.
Wheatley, M.J. (2012) So Far from Home: Lost and Found in Our Brave
New World. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.
Stein, J. (2013) “Millennials: The Me, Me, Me Generation.” Available
at: http://time.com/247/millennials-the-me-me-me-generation/.
See, for example: http://www.ask.com/question/evil-prevails-when-goodmen-do-nothing.
early childhood development
Kindermusik:
A good
beginning
never ends
BY CHERYTH ROBERTSON
On 16 April 2014, the Kindermusik
movement celebrated its 18th year of
existence in South Africa.
I
discovered Kindermusik 20 years ago, when searching for a
music resource to enrich the experience for a weekly
playgroup I ran for my own three-year-old and her friends.
My studies in music education had made me aware of the
power of music to stimulate the brain and growth in many areas
of childhood development. Furthermore, my own mother had
raised me to believe that each day “you ought to read a good
book, hear a good poem and listen to some good music!”
One of Kindermusik’s earliest curricula, ‘Growing with
Kindermusik’,1 was the answer to my search. It comprised a
wide variety of carefully selected, newly composed and freshly
arranged pieces, performed on acoustic instruments, and an
experience-based approach to music teaching and learning.
46
I was ‘growing musically’ with my child, and the weekly
playgroup with its strong musical emphasis soon became the
Kindermusik class at our local school (Yellowwoods Preparatory
School in Fort Beaufort in the Eastern Cape).
A musical miracle
Kindermusik is an international music and movement
programme for children from birth to seven years of age. It
stimulates brain development and all other aspects of early
childhood growth, by equipping a child with early skills in
musicianship. The programme, which originated in Germany in
the late 1960s and was brought to the US in 1978, has over the
past 35 years expanded its offering into 70+ countries
worldwide.
Kindermusik South Africa (KSA) has its headquarters in
Klerksdorp, in the North West province of South Africa, and
the currently 140 licensed educators in this country fall under
the excellent supervision of CEO for KSA, Dr Heidi Twilley,
and her assistant, Mariaan Steenkamp, who ensure ongoing
training through regional partnerships and conferences.
Kindermusik is based on the research of many experts in the
fields of early childhood music and behaviour.2 The programme
provides a variety of musical and sensory experiences to the
child, in the classroom and at home, and develops skills in
singing, active listening, playing age-appropriate instruments,
movement and dance, creativity and, in the final phase, music
literacy.
Two curricula
Kindermusik offers two curricula: one for the studio, and one
for schools.
The studio curriculum is designed for small groups (eight to
12 children), with parent participation in the class. Until a
student turns three, a parent/caregiver accompanies them to
class and the teacher facilitates musical interaction and gameplay between the adult
and child. From the age
of three, parents attend
only the last part of a
lesson, the ‘Sharing
Time’, fostering the
child’s emerging
independence at this
stage. The studio
programme was
Kindermusik’s first. To
witness the joyous,
strong emotional bond
and understanding
created between a parent
and child, when a parent
can drop their busy work
schedule to dance, sing
and play with their little
one on a weekly basis from babyhood to the age of seven, is a
very beautiful thing indeed. When all the toys of childhood are
long gone, this is a gift that remains for a lifetime.
The school curriculum, ‘ABC Music & Me’, was launched
by Kindermusik International in 2005, in response to a need to
provide quality music programmes in childcare centres and
preschools. This curriculum is designed for larger groups of
children, without parent participation in the class.
‘Home Materials’
Kindermusik believes that every child is musical, that every
parent is the child’s most important teacher, and that the home
is the most important place for learning to take root and grow.
To this end, Kindermusik International has developed its
unique ‘Home Materials’ (a set of materials comprising audio,
story books, instruments, visuals and manipulatives) to
accompany each course in both the studio and the school
curriculum. Some of these materials are available digitally, whilst
others are shipped to South Africa from the US in hard-copy
format. These products enable the parent to ‘take the learning
home’ and encourage repetition and practice of musical skills
between lessons. I believe that in ‘Home Materials’ lies the
power of Kindermusik to stimulate and transform the
young brain.
Kindermusik is an authentic musical experience for a young
child. Specialists from a wide variety of early childhood
disciplines have successfully integrated the methodologies of
some of the great music pedagogues of the 20th century,
including Orff, Kodaly and Dalcroze,3 into the Kindermusik
curriculum for today’s child. In a day and age when parents are
not spending enough time with their children, these materials
encourage interaction between the two in the home
environment.
“Kindermusik teachers bring to
the classroom the unique
combination of a passion for
music and an interest in
working with young children.”
A good beginning never ends
Kindermusik teachers bring to the classroom the unique
combination of a passion for music and an interest in working
with young children. Whether a young parent, a prospective
music teacher or a school administrator, investing in
Kindermusik is a guarantee that ‘a good beginning never ends’,
and it is an opportunity that comes only once in a child’s
lifetime. Everyone should experience the joy, fun and learning
which music brings to life. Cheryth Robertson is a part-time music teacher in the preprimary and junior primary phases at St Andrew’s
Preparatory School in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape and
owner of the Grahamstown Kindermusik Studio.
References:
1. See, for example: http://www.kindermusik.com/about/benefits-of-musicfor-children/.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. See, for example: http://faculty.gvsu.edu/duitmanh/home/
200lectures_files/Current%20Pedagogies%20%26%20Lesson%20Planning.p
df and http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/music/larue/music315/315%20%20methodologies.html.
47
special education needs
Autism spectrum
disorder update
– Part two
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
becomes apparent in children within
the first three years of life and
affects the young brain’s normal
development of social,
communication and other skills.
I
n late March 2014, the United States Centres for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDCP) released its latest ASD
survey, showing a 30% jump in eight-year-olds diagnosed
with ASD since 2008.1
However, said the survey authors and other scientists, this
does not mean that more children are contracting ASD, but
rather that more children are being identified.
ASD students excluded
The United Kingdom-based charity Ambitious about Autism
(AAA) agrees,2 and has released new data of its own. About
four in 10 children in the UK with ASD are being excluded
from school on a regular basis in one way or another, says the
charity.
AAA has called upon the British government to step up its
protection of ASD and other special needs children, who are
missing out on excursions and activities and even, in some cases,
lessons. Forty per cent of parents interviewed for the AAA
survey said that over the last year they had been called by
schools to either fetch their children early or to keep their
children at home.
UK schools have a legal
obligation to educate all children
equally, but the report – part of a
larger ‘Ruled Out’ campaign –
found that about 60% of UK
teachers and administrators feel
underequipped when it came to
caring for ASD students.
Tips for teachers
For schools that include ASD
children, authors Brenda Smith
Myles and Amy Bixler Coffin,
writing for online magazine The
Conversation, have useful tips.3
Each institution should provide a
‘home base’ where students with
special needs can go to escape
48
stress and regain control. Home base is a positive environment
that should feature routinely in the school day.
Teachers should not overemphasise the importance of
handwriting with ASD students. Tablets and other digital
devices can help here. Teachers should also help students to
become as organised as possible, and to create routines that
reinforce stability and familiarity.
Just as with any child, the key to keeping an ASD student
engaged and happy is to focus on a student’s skills. “Testing
content before it is taught allows the teacher to find out the
student’s strengths and weaknesses. The student can then take
part in activities that explore their talents in greater depth,”
suggest Myles and Coffin.
And above all, say the two experts, teachers need to be aware
of changing circumstances, and be flexible enough to deal with
them.
Cut the chloride
As teachers find new ways to work with children, scientists
around the world report new possibilities. Yehezkel Ben-Ari of
the French National Institute
for Health and Medical
Research (Inserm)4 heads a
team that has discovered that
high salt levels present in the
nerve cells of newborn babies
could trigger the onset of the
disorder.
In utero, foetuses need high
chloride levels, but these are
quickly lowered during delivery,
controlled by oxytocin, the
hormone released by the
mother during labour.
“Chloride levels during
delivery are determinants of the
occurrence of autism spectrum
disorder,” proclaimed Ben-Ari in
the journal Science.
“Two American mothers
swear by camel milk sourced
from the Middle East.”
The study strengthened other French research done in 2012,
during which 50 ASD children aged between three and 11
years were given the diuretic drug bumetanide, which made
them expel excess chloride ions in their urine. Their autistic
symptoms improved during the treatment, Ben-Ari said.
The experts may soon have other important clues about
ASD and its causes. In Seattle, USA, at the Allen Institute for
Brain Science, scientists are busy compiling an atlas of the
brain.5
The latest addition is a new map of the human brain in
utero. Scientists are zooming in on the neocortex, the seat of
higher cognitive functioning, using a DNA microarray to
measure gene activity at different stages of foetal development.
This powerful tool suggests that genes active in ASDdiagnosed individuals are ‘switched on’ in the womb.
Less lipstick
And at York University in Toronto, Canada, a team has
uncovered dangerous links between lipids – specifically
ceramides, palmitic acids and cholesterol, used as anti-ageing
agents in cosmetics – and ASD.6 Using real-time imaging
microscopy, the scientists have discovered that the brain lipid
called Prostaglandin E2 can change the behaviour of neural
stem cells, affecting early embryonic development.
The findings caused researcher Dorota Crawford – who
headed up the study – to reassert the argument that the
environment plays a significant factor in pregnant women and
their unborn babies when it comes to the cause of ASD.
Camel cure
Anecdotal evidence of all kinds continues to play a strong role
in the way that many parents are handling children with ASD.
Two American mothers swear by camel milk sourced from the
Middle East. Christina Adams and Zeba Khan reported their
findings to Autism United Arab Emirates.
In 2005, Adams published A Real Boy: A True Story of
Autism, Early Intervention and Recovery,7 documenting her
challenges in dealing with her son’s severe ASD symptoms,
which included food intolerances and allergies, skin problems,
auditory processing delay, expressive/receptive language delay
and constipation. Then she heard about camel milk and its
alleged restorative properties.
It took Adams until 2007 to get through all the red tape and
secure a prescription for frozen camel milk. It costs her
US$2 000 per shipment. “The rest,” she said, “is history.”
“The morning after my son ingested camel milk, he
demonstrated astonishing improvement in behaviour including
eye contact, communication and emotional expression,”
documented Adams in the November 2013 edition of Global
Advances in Health and Medicine.8
Khan also raves about the benefits of camel milk for ASD
children. Other parents in similar situations, however, report no
improvements. Find part three of this report in our next edition.
References:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
See: http://www.cdc.gov/.
See: http://www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk/page/index.cfm.
See: http://theconversation.com/autism-at-school-how-teachers-can-help24528.
See, for example: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ukpdc/collaborators/inserm-frenchnational-institute-of-health-and-medical-research.
See: http://www.alleninstitute.org/.
See: http://health.info.yorku.ca/faculty-of-health-in-the-media/.
Adams, C. (2005) A Real Boy: A True Story of Autism, Early
Intervention and Recovery. New York City: Berkley Trade.
See: http://www.gahmj.com/loi/gahmj.
Inclusion
at United
Herzlia
Schools
BY GEOFF COHEN
Herzlia School was established in 1940
and today has 10 campuses for 2 100
pupils from preschool through to Grade
12. The school serves both the Jewish
and wider community of Cape Town.
I
am proud of the fact that today each campus is fully
inclusive, enrolling pupils with a wide variety of learning,
emotional and physical challenges. Inclusive education is a
developmental approach seeking to address the learning
needs of all children, with a specific focus on those who are
vulnerable to marginalisation and exclusion. It means that the
school seeks to provide a good education to all pupils,
irrespective of their varying abilities. All children are treated
with respect and ensured equal opportunities to learn together.
One of the most important lessons I have learned in my
years as an educator is the fact that schools are a microcosm of
society.
Teaching with care and caution
In any community – geographical, cultural or religious – there
will be a variety of individuals’ strengths and weaknesses. If we
take a cross-section of any community, one will find in its
members medical conditions, learning disabilities, emotional
traumas, developmental disabilities and physical disabilities.
No community exists that is perfect, and we should teach this
to our children at an early age. It is thus logical that in any
given school population, a percentage of children will require
some sort of support to navigate the demands of school or to
have a meaningful educational experience tailored to their
needs.
It is therefore my strong belief that schools must identify
the required support, provide the required support, manage the
cases requiring support and support the teachers who are
teaching mixed ability classes.
50
Teachers will naturally realise that they are teaching mixed
ability classes and will need to structure their lessons
accordingly, valuing the needs of all pupils.
It is clear to me that children need to be with each other,
rather than separated from each other. Children who learn
together, learn to live together. This is even truer when these
children are part of a natural community, such as those
attending Herzlia. Being part of a community gives a person a
feeling of belonging. This, in turn, increases their self-esteem
and ultimately leads to their becoming a more complete and
successful individual.
All of this takes hard work and a will to succeed. The whole
team has to be part of the winning formula.
Teachers have to ‘buy in’ to the concept, pupils need to
understand that they will be sitting side by side with all kinds
of children with all kinds of strengths and weaknesses, and the
parent body has to accept that their own children will be in the
same class as children with special education needs.
All these people have to take on a shared responsibility.
They all have to show understanding of the needs of the
individuals. They all have to acknowledge the differences that
exist between individuals. A culture of tolerance and
acceptance needs to be inculcated by everyone.
I’m sure that most schools have students who battle either
academically or socially. I’m sure that most schools have
students, for example, who excel at sport and students who just
can’t or don’t want to get involved in sport. These children are
already in your schools. You just have to go the next mile with
them.
Herzlia inclusion programme has evolved
Herzlia’s inclusion programme was adopted in 1997 and began
with just five students and one special education needs
coordinator (SENCO). It has evolved into a sophisticated,
fully-fledged programme run by 50 teachers, offering support
at each stage of the child’s academic journey. We currently
employ 21 full-time and five part-time learning support
teachers, six full-time facilitators
plus seven remedial staff
members. This excludes another
20 teachers who are paid
directly by parents.
The number of pupils
requiring extensive learning
support has grown from five in
1997 to 80 in 2013.
For preschoolers, the focus is
on early intervention for both
teachers and parents. Areas
screened include speech and
hearing, fine and gross motor
coordination and a range of
psychometric tests. A full quota of academic support on our
campuses in the form of occupational therapy, physiotherapy,
speech/language therapy, social and emotional support and
remedial therapy is provided.
Support of the child continues into primary and middle
school, where academic demands are greater – teaching
assistants, modifications to the mainstream curriculum and
individualised educational programmes (IEP) are all offered. In
one of our primary schools and in the middle school, we have
introduced an academic support class (ASC) with a dedicated
staff member for severely challenged pupils, such as those with
autism spectrum disorder, Down’s syndrome and cognitive
limitations. Where possible, these pupils are continually
integrated back into regular classes and take part in the life of
the school – outdoor camps, sports days, swimming galas and
cultural and religious activities.
pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills, as well
as to provide them with career-oriented
certification in the area of their choosing.
The literacy and numeracy components of
the vocational programme are based on
adult basic education and training (ABET)
principles, and are supplied to our students
by a company called MediaWorks. An
ABET-aligned programme allows a pupil
to attain nationally recognised certification
from Level 1 (most basic) through to Level
4 (a general education and training
certificate equivalent).1
In addition to the vocational, literacy
and numeracy components of the
programme, the NVC programme also develops practical life
skills in pupils, such as:
money management
dealing with sexuality
living a healthy lifestyle
conflict resolution and assertiveness training
driving licence
functional cooking
social skills training.
Herzlia has been granted permission by the national
Department of Education to offer this programme within our
mainstream school.
At the core of all our inclusion programmes are our learning
centres, run by a dedicated team of SENCO remedial teachers,
social workers, psychologists and a range of outsourced
therapists, who provide academic support from basic
remediation to designing individualised education plans for
pupils. Our centres are equipped with technology, learning
materials and resources to support the programme. All
educators are required to attend regular personal development
training in the area of inclusion, through organisations such as
the South African Association for Learning and Educational
Differences (SAALED).2
“One of the most
important lessons I have
learned in my years as
an educator is the fact
that schools are a
microcosm of society.”
A special vocational angle for high school
In high school, pupils are given the opportunity to select their
own academic track, which includes studying towards the
standard National Senior Certificate, the less demanding
Endorsed Senior Certificate or the National Certificate
(Vocational) (NVC). The NVC programme aims to develop
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
51
“Herzlia is widely
regarded as a best
practice model for
inclusive education in
South Africa.”
Herzlia at the centre of wide network
Herzlia is widely regarded as a best practice model for inclusive
education in South Africa. Our open enrolment policy means
that our many success stories include graduated pupils with
physical disabilities such as blindness, deafness and cerebral
palsy; cognitive limitations; and social and emotional challenges.
Since 1997, an extensive network of professionals has been
referring pupils with disabilities to Herzlia, because of our
reputable programme. The high school works extensively with
sheltered and supportive employment organisations to provide
job-site training and employment opportunities for pupils with
disabilities.
Although we are an independent Jewish school, we have
broadened our network and accessibility to a wide range of
governmental organisations and educational resource centres
that deal specifically with individuals with disabilities.
With regards to career-based training programmes, we have
partnered with INTEC College3 to deliver what it calls a
‘home-school’ programme. Herzlia acts as the oversight body
for the implementation of INTEC programmes. Currently,
pupils are able to choose from the following options for study:
child day care
marketing South African tourism
food and beverage preparation
small business management
make-up artistry
international computer driving licence.4
Each of these courses is modular and requires the pupil to
complete theoretical and practical components before being able
to achieve certification. Throughout the course, pupils complete
various work-shadow placements, which allow them to build up
a network of contacts and to experience working conditions in a
chosen field.
They also attend as many mainstream academic classes as
possible, especially where they may overlap with their chosen
INTEC course. For example, a Grade 10 pupil studying
marketing South African tourism may attend the mainstream
tourism and business studies classes. All pupils attend guidance,
life orientation and Jewish studies classes with their
mainstream peers.
•
•
•
•
•
•
52
Complex arrangements make for success for all
Although there are shared core components of the pupils’
programmes, each programme is specifically tailored to each
pupil in terms of level of difficulty, time frame of completion
and individual pupil preference. The shared belief that we need
to recognise successful learning as an individual’s personal best
enables us to achieve success for every pupil.
As it stands, across the Herzlia network, approximately 20%
of children on each campus make use of educational support
services. A further 20% make use of social and emotional
support services and approximately 3% of children in the system
have individual facilitators. Within the broader South African
context, there are 400 000 children with disabilities, and 64 000
of these children are accommodated within special schools.5
If we take these statistics into account, what we are trying to
do with the NVC programme is to establish a long-term
educational and life plan for children with special needs.
By encouraging independence and functionality of these
pupils, we thereby reduce the burden on the community as a
whole as these individuals can become functional, productive
members of society.
It is through these and similar measures that we believe that
we are able to cater for a very broad spectrum of pupils, beyond
what most mainstream schools are able to do. We have
instituted these measures out of the conviction that while there
is certainly a role for specialised schools, in accordance with
trends both in the South African education system and abroad,
the first choice wherever possible is to include children in the
mainstream, and for them to be part of their communities in
particular and mainstream society in general.
We all need assistance
In the very last paragraph of his book, Long Walk To Freedom,6
the late Nelson Mandela wrote:
“I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great
hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to
climb. I have taken a moment to rest, to steal a view of
the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back at the
distance I have come. But I can rest only a moment, for
with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not
linger for my long walk is not yet ended.”
That first hill that I climbed was to take Herzlia on a
wonderful yet difficult journey. There are so many hills to climb.
With each new pupil came a new set of challenges.
It is not possible to become complacent, arrogant or smug.
There is no chance at all of ‘knowing it all’. That is what makes
our chosen life at Herzlia so rewarding. It reminds us that we
are all human; that we are all fallible. Geoff Cohen is director of education at United Herzlia Schools
in Cape Town in the Western Cape.
References:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
See, for example: http://www.abet.co.za/.
See: http://www.saaled.org.za/.
See: http://www.intec.edu.za/.
The International Computer Driving License (ICDL) is a global
computer literacy initiative developed to provide knowledge about
information technology (IT) and enhance competence of using
personal computers and common computer applications for all the
citizens of the world. (Source:
http://www.icdlgcc.com/about_us/index.htm).
See, for example: Monama, T. (2012) “Many disabled not at school.”
Available at: http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2012/05/24/manydisabled-not-at-school.
Mandela, N.R. (1995) Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of
Nelson Mandela. New York: Back Bay Books.
teaching tips
TIPS FOR TEACHERS
BY KHALIL OSIRIS
My journey to establishing the first
Positive Behavioural Interventions and
Supports (PBIS) AFRICA School in
South Africa began in New Orleans,
Louisiana, in the US.
T
Sharland’s visionary leadership provided me with an
opportunity to work with her staff to establish Vuleka as a
National Demonstration School Site (NDSS) for PBIS
AFRICA. Researchers from America have expressed great
interest in learning from Vuleka by exploring ways to train
teachers to deal effectively with behavioural issues, the
primary focus of PBIS AFRICA.
The courage to use COCMP
Research has shown that teachers’ actions in their
classrooms are significantly more impactful on learner
achievement than school policies regarding curriculum,
assessment, staff collegiality and community involvement.2
Numerous studies have also confirmed that teachers who
have high-quality relationships with their learners have fewer
discipline problems and rule violations than those who do not
have high-quality relationships.3
PBIS AFRICA does not leave teacher-learner
relationships to chance. In addition, at Vuleka, family
involvement has played an important role in the successful
implementation of PBIS AFRICA. We found that our
efforts to develop meaningful opportunities for
parents/guardians to get involved in school activities resulted
in their children doing better academically. And by
strengthening home-school partnerships, we not only
provided additional academic support for learners, we also
created important community and cultural connections for
Vuleka’s school staff.
here, I was director of an education consulting
company called Circle of Courage Mentoring
Programme (COCMP). The COCMP curriculum
provided school districts with evidence-based
interventions for learners (and their parents/guardians)
engaging in at-risk and high-risk behaviours.
‘At-risk’ learners were defined as those performing below the
25% margin on district assessments and common grade level
assessments. ‘High-risk’ learners were defined as those
performing below the 10% margin on the same assessments.
The COCMP curriculum was designed to help learners
overcome behavioural challenges through small-group and
one-on-one mentoring. Application of this curriculum
provided schools with an effective way to implement PBIS,
which is the only approach to addressing youth misbehaviour
that is specifically mentioned in US law.
PBIS in America is the law.1 It is a research-based
framework and/or strategy, not a curriculum or programme.
While school districts are required to comply with PBIS
legislation, many districts struggle to do so. The COCMP
curriculum helped schools document their journeys
effectively.
A meeting of minds
While visiting South Africa in 2011, I talked to numerous
teachers and principals, and discovered a need for PBIS here.
In 2012, I was introduced to Melanie Sharland, managing
director of Vuleka SSB High School, at a talk I gave for
educators. Founded 25 years ago with 59 children and four
classes, Vuleka is a highly regarded independent school that
provides excellent, holistic and affordable education for
children from pre-primary to matric.
54
Sharland and her teaching team decided to test the
COCMP programme at Vuleka during the last term of 2012.
We used the COCMP curriculum to introduce school staff
to the core ideas and practices of a new model called PBIS
AFRICA. As a result of the positive impact the programme
had on teachers, learners and parents, in 2013, Vuleka became
the first school in South Africa to implement what is now
known as PBIS AFRICA.
A closer look
The following is a list of the key features that have been
implemented successfully at Vuleka:
A common vision/values, purpose and approach to
discipline throughout the school:
Establishing a school-wide discipline policy that staff
and parents support.
•
•
Training staff to use consistent methods
of teaching the behavioural expectations
and responding to misbehaviour.
A small number of positively stated
behavioural expectations for all learners:
Teaching three to five positively stated
school-wide behavioural expectations,
which are discussed and reinforced every
day in each classroom and throughout the school.
•
Procedures for teaching behavioural expectations:
Using positive teacher language, intentional
relationship-building and collaborative problem-solving to
teach learners what school-wide behavioural expectations
look and sound like.
Engaging learners in structured social skills development,
including practice of expected behaviours and direct
feedback.
•
•
A continuum of procedures for encouraging expected
behaviour:
Using practices such as Morning Check-in, an example of
expectation creation with learners.
Teaching, modelling, practising and reinforcing/roleplaying with the whole class.
Using further teaching, modelling, practising and
reinforcing/role-playing and individual written agreements
with teachers and learners who need more intensive
support.
Doing group reflection activities, such as talking circles
and musical/theatrical presentations.
•
•
•
•
A whole-school strategy for the whole country
Vuleka School is committed to implementing high-quality,
scientifically validated instructional practices based on learner
needs, monitoring learner progress and adjusting instruction
based on learner response. If you would like to turn your
concerns about education in South Africa into positive actions,
join the PBIS AFRICA movement. We believe it is better to
light a candle than to curse the darkness. Professor Khalil Osiris is founder of Positive Behavioural
Interventions and Supports (PBIS) AFRICA. He conducts
workshops with parents and teachers, including long-term
professional teacher development at schools. He also provides
interventions for at-risk learners.
References:
1.
2.
A continuum of procedures for discouraging inappropriate
behaviour:
Responding to misbehaviour with positive redirecting
teacher language and corrective consequences.
Using collaborative problem-solving strategies, such as
class meetings with the whole class or small groups and
problem-solving conferences with individuals.
•
•
Ongoing evaluation of effectiveness:
Observing learners, reflecting on the success of practices,
and adjusting the programme implementation process
accordingly.
Using the PBIS AFRICA’s school-wide and classroom
assessments to collect data on the use of specific strategies.
•
•
3.
See, for example: Randy Sprick’s Safe & Civil Schools (n.d.)
“PBIS – what you need to know.” Available at:
http://www.safeandcivilschools.com/research/papers/pbs-pbis.php.
See, for example: Marzano, R.J. and Marzano, J.S. (2003)
“The key to classroom management.” Available at:
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educationalleadership/sept03/vol61/num01/The-Key-to-ClassroomManagement.aspx.
See, for example: UNESCO Bangkok (2006) “Positive discipline in
the inclusive, learning-friendly classroom. Embracing diversity: toolkit
for creating inclusive, learning-friendly environments: specialized
booklet 1: a guide for teachers and teacher educators.” Available at:
http://unesco.org.pk/education/icfe/resources/res10.pdf.
Additional sources:
1.
2.
3.
http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2011/08/
circle_of_courage_program.
http://khalilosiris.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/pbis-article-the-teacherfebruary-2013-dragged-1.jpg.
http://www.wwltv.com/home/Convicted-felons-warn-students-thatspiral-of-crime-that-leads-to-prison-72106392.html.
55
Vuleka SSB High School: the best results ever
The 2013 matric class of Vuleka SSB High School
achieved a total of 55 distinctions – the best
matric results in the Matric Centre’s 14-year
history.
For many independent schools, these results are not
uncommon and are usually expected by teachers and parents.
But what makes these particular results so extraordinary is the
fact that they were achieved in the face of a merger with Vuleka
School in June last year, which of necessity involved curriculum
changes and administrative and financial restructuring.
The aim of the partnership was not only to provide the
Johannesburg community and surrounding townships with an
affordable first-class education for pupils from Grade 000 right
through to matric, but also because it was important to SSB to
be part of a bigger organisation as well as the Anglican diocese.
From Vuleka’s perspective, because of the number of failing state
schools,1 the partnership with SSB High School means it can
now offer a good high school for its primary school children to
attend at the end of Grade 7.
A significant presence and past
Vuleka had its origins as a junior primary bridging school that
aimed to prepare students for entry into a more effective
educational system. From 2001, it took the decision to grow
and include Grade 7. Today, in addition to Vuleka SSB,Vuleka
runs three primary schools (Grade 0 to Grade 7), three preprimary schools (Grade 000 to Grade 00) and an Assisted
Learning Centre in the greater Johannesburg area.
Sekolo Sa Borokgo (SSB) High School was opened in 1993 in
Randburg, Johannesburg, with 28 pupils, by Anne Nettleton and
Sonja van der Leur, because apartheid laws prohibited nonwhite students from attending good public schools. SSB’s Matric
Centre history started in 1993 with an adult school programme
that offered evening classes in basic education. In 1998, a parttime school was opened, which enabled failed students to
rewrite matric with appropriate educational support. Most
students were in their 20s or 30s, and many of them only
took the subjects that they had failed before and which they
needed to pass the Senior Certificate. Part-time staff members
were used, some teaching at both the middle school and
Matric Centre.
AEC, Zenex and ISASA lend helping hands
In 2001, the Zenex Foundation – which provides financial
resources to disadvantaged learners, teachers and schools in
the fields of mathematics, science and language education –
partnered with SSB on a pilot project and offered scholarships
for Grade 10 and 11 learners with potential in maths and
physical science. In 2002, a group of SSB Grade 10 pupils,
consisting mainly of scholarship students, moved to its Matric
Centre and, in 2003, the first group of SSB students wrote the
National Senior Certificate final examinations. SSB was finally
running a full high school, taking students from Grade 8 through
to matric.
Vuleka SSB High School worked closely with the Alexandra
Education Committee (AEC) and the Independent Schools
56
Role-playing he
lps resolve beha
vioural issues
Association of Southern Africa (ISASA) Maths and English
Programme and Student Sponsorship Programme to achieve its
matric results in 2013.2
The AEC raises funds for bursaries to provide quality secondary
education for boys and girls from the township of Alexandra in
Johannesburg. The organisation also selects children from
primary schools in Alexandra affected by poverty and places
them in leading high schools. The ISASA Maths and English
Programme and Student Sponsorship Programme also give
bursaries for pupils to study at schools with a reputation for
delivering quality schooling.
It’s onward and upward for all at Vuleka and Vuleka SSB!
References:
1.
2.
See, for example: Staff writer (2014) “2013 matric pass rate:
Proof of good education or failing the youth?” Available at:
http://mg.co.za/article/2014-01-07-2014-matric-pass-rateproof-of-good-education-or-failing-the-youth and Nkosi, B.
(2013) “Matric results hide inequality of education.” Available
at: http://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/matric-results-hideinequality-of-education-1.1627192#.UvJgNvmSxx0.
The Alexandra Education Committee was established in
1996 by Deane Yates, who initially in his private capacity
sought children living in Alexandra whose results at primary
school level were impressive. (Sources:
http://www.alexeducation.org.za/ and
http://web.mit.edu/urbanupgrading/upgrading/caseexamples/overview-africa/alexandra-township.html.) To learn
more about the Zenex Foundation’s involvement in education
and the ISASA programmes mentioned in this article, see:
http://www.zenexfoundation.org.za/evaluation-and-researchreports/isasa-mae-project, http://www.sanews.gov.za/southafrica/more-teachers-be-trained-maths-science and
www.isasa.org.
teaching and learning
a
Sith
nda ukulala
Getting to grips
with our languages
s’
Mu
BY TESSA DOWLING
My students are a tired bunch.
T
hey drag themselves into class with hooded eyes, clutching
cups of coffee, cellphones and each other in a weary,
lugubrious manner, as if to warn me not to expect too
much of them. Because they’re, like, “so tired, hey.”
Exhausted. Today in class one girl yawned (at the risk of sending
you to sleep, I would just like to point out here that ‘yawn’ in all
Sotho languages is edimola and in Xhosa and Zulu zamla and
zamula) so much I thought she was listening to a political speech.
When I ask these exhausted, drained, pooped students what
they like to do over the weekend, their favourite reply is to
(wearily) advance their preference: Sithanda ukulala. (Xhosa and
Zulu for “We like to sleep.”) What happened to youthful
exuberance?!
Wake up!
If only they would get the oomph to do their homework, they
would realise that talking about sleeping and exhaustion in African
languages is paradoxically energising and entertaining! So while
the African language words for the verb ‘sleep’ are standard (Sotho
languages: robala; Nguni languages: lala), there are other
expressions that suggest that
there is so much more to
sleep in Africa than just
putting your head on a pillow
and ‘zzzzzzzz-ing’. Interesting
to see how similar the word
for ‘snore’ is for our South
African languages: ona
(North Sotho), hona (South
Sotho and Zulu), gona
(Tswana), rhona (Xhosa). I
think if we were giving a
prize for onomatopoeic verbs,
the Xhosa rhona would win –
it has a very snore-like
pronunciation! (Remember,
the ‘rh’ in Xhosa is pronounced a little like the Afrikaans ‘g’.)
‘GGGGGGoooooonnnnnaaaaaa!’
‘Twas the dawn that did it
Let’s stay awake by marvelling at the notion of ‘oversleeping’, for
example. In African languages, you do not overdo the sleeping at
all. No, hayi bo! What happens is that the day dawns to your
detriment, i.e. while you are still fast asleep, the implication being
that the sun should have waited for you to wake up before it did
its rising. Thus, it is not the sleeping that should be emphasised or
even mentioned. What is important is the fact that the day has
58
hathala, mntanam
k
u
uk
dawned to your disadvantage. Like, too early for the amount of
sleep that you needed to have.
Thus: Ndiselwe and Ngiselwe (figuratively: ‘I have overslept’ in
Xhosa and Zulu). Let me break it down for you. Ndi-/Ngi- means
‘I’. The verb – s – is ‘dawn’. The extension – el – is used here to
mean ‘to the detriment of ’ when used with the passive – we. Thus
literally: I have been dawned for to my detriment.
A North Sotho speaker agreed with this interpretation of mine,
the slight difference in that language being that O setše (‘You
overslept’) means the dawn fell on you while you were sleeping.
Is translation tiring?
Insomnia is also referred to in this indirect way, as something that
happens to you. Thus, the Xhosa say Ndiphuthelwe when they have
insomnia, which literally means ‘I have been failed [by sleep] to my
detriment’.
The issue of getting tired in Xhosa and Zulu could confuse you
enough to make you exhausted. You see, khathala in Xhosa means
‘care for’, but in Zulu it means ‘get tired’. So the Zulu woman’s
gentle command Mus’ ukukhathala, mntanam (‘Do not get tired,
my child’) would mean ‘Do not care, my child’ to a Xhosa speaker.
But it makes you think, doesn’t it? Caring too much makes you
fret, which can stop you sleeping! So ‘Try not to get worried,
everything’s alright, we want you to sleep well tonight’. And
uzolala kamnandi! (Xhosa and
Zulu for ‘You will sleep well!’)
When Xhosa speakers are
really tired, they think of sugar
cane bending in the wind:
Andidinwanga, ndiyimfe. (‘I am so
tired I am a sugar cane.’) The
image of the sugar cane is used
because it looks like its head or
top is lolling sleepily in the wind.
We speak beautifully – even
in our sleep!
As my students are all so tired, I
am going to ask them to think
about other images of weary
nature that could make them describe their exhaustion more
adequately than ‘I am so tired’. Or are we just a worn-out ‘na-eishon’, with no new ideas? No, I think if we sleep on it, we will see we
have a unique and enthusiastic way of looking at the world. Even
when that world is fast asleep, so beautifully expressed in Xhosa as:
Ilele cum (‘It is intensely asleep’). Tessa Dowling is senior lecturer, African languages section,
School of Languages and Literatures at the University of Cape
Town. In this column, she explores the richness of various
African languages.
Creativity takes courage
BY PAULINE CONSTABLE
It was the great painter Henri Matisse1 who
inspired the title of this article and its
content.
M
any ISASA schools choose to write the Independent
Examinations Board (IEB) examinations. The IEB is “an
assessment body… accredited by Umalusi, the South
African statutory body responsible for quality assurance
for school and adult assessments. The IEB offers external
assessment in accordance with legislation… for schools registered
with it at Grade 9 and Grade 12, at which point successful learners
are awarded the National Senior Certificate…”2
One of the IEB’s core principles is that teachers are a school’s
greatest resource. “Hence… [they] need a voice in how the
[national curriculum] is developed, interpreted and assessed. As
professionals they need support, stimulation and encouragement.
Above all, they need to be part of a vibrant ‘community of
practice’.”3
exposed to the same
difficulties and experiences
confronted by our pupils.
ScolaQuip and Jovi
generously sponsored the
materials for our watercolour
and clay sessions, with the
latter’s brand manager Rehana
Moolla conducting a workshop
on techniques using the Spanish
firm’s highly pigmented watercolour set.
The delighted teachers also got their hands dirty crafting minimasterpieces using Jovi’s air-drying clay, after which they were
presented with a complimentary bag of product samples.
During the meeting, IEB curriculum experts also gave examples
of Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) teaching and
learning ideas.5 Mari Coetzee, art teacher at St Benedict’s High
School, discussed what skills should be developed in preparation for
high school art and gave a spontaneous lesson on drawing a pencil
sketch of a gem squash, focusing on shape and light.
Matisse would have found it marvellous
Come to a cluster group meeting
Such communities are called ‘cluster groups’ and work at local levels
so that teachers may regularly collaborate and share ideas. IEB
visual arts cluster group meetings in Gauteng are attended by more
than 70 teachers, whose schools support the importance of the
visual arts in developing a well-rounded and balanced pupil. This
notion is reinforced by the fact that many teachers leave each
meeting with a wealth of new lesson ideas, image ‘e-banks’, booklets
and PowerPoint presentations. ‘Show and Tell’ showcases the work
being done in schools, and teachers freely discuss challenges and
handy hints when teaching visual arts lessons.
Guest speakers are invited to inspire and enrich the visual arts
teachers by addressing topics ranging from using Williams
Taxonomy to Assess Creativity,4 to deciding what skills require
assessment and how to assess such subjective material in a
constructive way. Assessment is no longer about the finished
product or composition, but rather about the techniques, processes
and skills used to create the artwork.
Generous donations from suppliers ScolaQuip and Jovi
At the recent visual arts IEB Gauteng cluster group meeting held at
St Benedict’s Preparatory School in Johannesburg, each art teacher
was challenged to participate in activities that our pupils are
expected to attempt. Nervously, we all set about the tasks and were
Matisse would have been proud of the IEB art teachers who created
Durer’s Rhino6 with tin foil and recycled cardboard, monsters using
ink and straws, and optical art using Koki pens and recycled CDs,
and using different techniques and ideas for painting with
watercolours.
Thereza Giorza, senior tutor in the arts faculty at the University
of the Witwatersrand (Wits), presented a talk on the philosophy of
art to inspire and challenge school art teachers to introduce this to
their art lessons. If you are teaching in an ‘IEB school’ and you feel you’re losing out,
reach out to your local IEB cluster group. Visit www.isasa.org or
www.ieb.co.za for more details. Pauline Constable is the visual
arts IEB Gauteng cluster group coordinator. She also teaches at St
Benedict’s Preparatory School in Bedfordview, Johannesburg.
References:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
See, for example: http://www.henri-matisse.net/.
See: www.ieb.co.za.
Ibid.
See, for example:
http://www.curriculumpress.edu.au/sample/pages/9781742003139.pdf.
See, for example: http://www.education.gov.za/Curriculum/Curriculum
AssessmentPolicyStatements/tabid/419/Default.aspx.
See, for example: https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/
highlight_objects/pd/a/albrecht_d%C3%BCrers_rhinoceros.aspx.
Into the here and now:
Hilton College shares an
archaeology project
BY JOHN ROFF
Hilton College, a boy’s boarding school
and long-time ISASA member in the
KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, is custodian of
a large area of land, part of which has
been declared the Hilton College Nature
Reserve, used extensively for education
and recreation by all grades of boys at
the school.
O
n the reserve are the remains of an early Iron Age
settlement, dating from between 650 to 780 AD. An
opportunity arose to
include this site and its
significance into the Grade 8
history curriculum, and the
Hilton curriculum development
group joined with the history
department to develop the
project described below.
The project forms part of the
school’s history syllabus for
Grade 8, and aims to develop the
following skills and competencies
in the boys: deduction,
imagination, original thinking
and research. We feel that
learning these skills within the
context of experience ‘in place’
adds to the applicability of the
skills, as well as giving the boys a
unique insight into the nation’s
early history and the importance
of archaeological research in our
country. Part of the power of this
kind of project is that it
60
John Roff
highlights the many ways in which South Africans live and
work, both now (as archaeologists, for example) and in the past
(Iron Age farmers). From the learner’s perspective, the primary
attraction of the activity is probably the idea of detective work,
that there are clear clues to the past in a place they often simply
walk over, and that there is more to most places than first meets
the eye.
Structure
Lesson one – detective activity:
The boys formed small groups, and were given an artefact from
the early Iron Age, without any prior knowledge of its context.
They had to answer the following questions (and were
rewarded for creative thinking rather than historical accuracy):
what is it made of, what was it
used for, how old is it, and what is
it? They were not allowed to do
any formal research at this point,
instead being required to think up
their own responses. This was the
hardest part of the entire exercise
for most of the group, as many felt
uncomfortable with not being able
to look up a ready answer on the
internet.
Lesson two – a talk to set the context:
A talk, demonstration and series of
video clips served to explain where
the artefacts had come from, and
to give a historical context. My
colleagues and I tried to link the
early Iron Age to the students’
current lives by using a physical
timeline (a two-metre stick they
could hold), showing some
significant events of the last 2 000
years – the time of Jesus, the
arrival of the first farmers in
South Africa, the first Nguni
language speakers in South
Africa, the arrival of the
Portuguese explorer
Bartholomew Diaz, the reign of
the Zulu king Shaka, the year
Hilton College was founded,
the year they were born, up to
the present.
We included footage of iron
smelting from a South African
Broadcasting Corporation
(SABC) documentary
Shoreline,1 interviews with a local archaeologist, real early Iron
Age pottery artefacts and plenty of time for questions. These
question/answer sessions helped learners enormously to
consider how and why people live the way they do, both now
and in the past. They also made powerful cross-curricular links
to geography in terms of why people choose to settle where
they do, to life orientation in terms of the many ways different
cultures over time choose to live and express their world views,
and to life sciences through the consideration of how people
long ago lived in a way very much defined by natural processes.
with the process, and staff enjoyed
the new material and approach.
We will definitely be doing the
project again.
Improvements are an inherent
part of process-based learning
work such as this project, and we
plan to improve it by giving the
boys another lesson or two for the
village layout and explanation
portion of the project, as well as by
making the marking rubric
simpler.
This was a thoroughly
enjoyable project for staff and boys. It took advantage of a
unique opportunity, and made the curriculum more relevant
and place-specific. Its cross-curricular approach was beneficial
to the boys’ learning as a whole, and they learnt specific
archaeology skills and knowledge – such as the fact that people
in the past organised their lives around the same needs as we do
now, how to recognise artefacts that are clearly made by people,
and the importance of leaving things where they are found.
“Part of the power of this kind of
project is that it highlights the
many ways in which South
Africans live and work, both now
(as archaeologists, for example)
and in the past (Iron Age
farmers).”
Lesson three – site visit:
We took each class (around 23 boys) to the actual site in the
nature reserve where the artefacts were found, and gave them a
short tour. During the 20 minutes available, we tried to give
them an idea of the extent of the settlement, and showed them
actual artefacts on the surface of the ground. These included
pottery fragments, remains from iron smelting, grindstones and
other similar artefacts. (Important note: it is against the law to
disturb or move any archaeological artefact in South Africa
without permission from the relevant South African
government department.)
Lessons four to six – developing a village layout plan:
The groups of boys were tasked with showing and explaining in
detail what they thought the early Iron Age settlement would
have looked like. To help them in this task we provided several
books, artefacts and displays as reference material. They
needed to show on an aerial photograph the extent of
the settlement, then use a poster to show how they
thought the settlement would have been laid out,
explaining their reasons for each component of their
layout. The boys were rewarded primarily for their
reasoning and explanations for the layout. This is so that
they would have to think carefully about how people
live, what they need and how they relate to their
physical and social environments. An additional benefit
was that the display and other research material were
exhibited in the school library, and were thus available
for boys in other grades to investigate and learn from.
Turn your students into detectives
I have been asked how schools without our facilities might
adapt this idea to their circumstances. I would urge them to try,
if they have some clear evidence of previous occupation,
however long ago. Work with any local historians or museums
in your area, and get your students to undertake the fascinating
task of recreating the past. John Roff is involved with environmental education and
curriculum development at Hilton College. If you would like
to discuss this project and other curriculum development
programmes underway at Hilton (the curriculum
development team is currently working on a nine-lesson
module focusing on musical instruments of the world), contact
Roff at e-mail: [email protected].
Reference:
1. See: http://www.shorelinesa.co.za/.
Results and recommendations
The project took a great deal of planning and
preparation, and required intensive monitoring during
the process. The boys in general chose to engage well
61
Mind over
matter: P4C at
Holy Rosary
School
BY MONICA BAART
Recently, a colleague recommended the
TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson, entitled
‘How to escape education’s death
valley’.1
I
t had a profound impact on my thinking. In the 20-minute
presentation, Robinson outlines three principles crucial for
the human mind to flourish – namely individualism,
curiosity and creativity. He goes on to talk about how
mainstream current United States education culture works
against these principles. He also says that education is mostly
something many teachers labour over and many students have
to endure. I realised then why the likes of Professor Matthew
Lipman developed and promoted Philosophy for Children.
P4C
Lipman created Philosophy for Children, often referred to as
P4C, in the late 1960s.2 P4C uses the discipline of philosophy
as a resource to help children become more intellectually
energetic, curious, critical, creative and reasonable.
Lipman and his colleagues believed that there was, and still
is, a need in education to develop thinking skills. People ought
to be able to think for themselves in the face of competing
values, authorities and ‘prescribed solutions’.
It’s important to define ‘philosophy’. It comes from the
Greek words philos and sophy, and literally means ‘the love of
wisdom’.
Thinking about thinking
How then do we go about creating this ‘love of wisdom’? How
do we cultivate curiosity, creativity and the opportunity for
individuals to think and also share their thinking in a supportive
learning environment? Well, we awaken and develop the power
of thinking through philosophical inquiry.
Introducing philosophy into the classroom has so many
advantages. Here are some we have discovered at Holy Rosary
School since we have ‘bought into’ P4C:
A child’s thinking skills are developed, which we believe is
a very important life skill, especially in the Information
Age in which we live.
P4C develops cooperative discussion and teaches children
how to respectfully agree and disagree with others’ ideas
and opinions.
Children are encouraged to challenge and question in an
established safe and caring space.
P4C enhances the quality of children’s speaking and
listening skills.
Self-confidence and self-esteem is valued and built.
A higher level of creative thinking and reasoning is
stimulated.
We awaken curiosity during P4C sessions by
providing the opportunity to explore
questions.
Let’s face it, everyone is trying to convince
you of something. Perhaps you are tired of being
conned or scared to make a wrong decision.
Perhaps you are confused. I know I often feel
like this. Thinking critically is a defence against
the world of too much information. Philosophy,
says Richard Epstein,3 in the context of P4C, is
the means to search for wisdom and, in so
doing, allow others to do the same.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Finding the way at Holy Rosary
Let me share with you the story of how Holy
Rosary School instituted P4C. Staff were most
fortunate to learn from Karin Murris, an
associate professor at the School of Education at
the University of Cape Town. Murris’s methods
(L-R): Monica Baart, Di Horsten and Brenda Pullen
62
are based on the principles created by Lipman. We have
also shared a workshop with Sara Stanley, who specialises
in creating philosophical worlds in the classroom.4 Using
a year-long curriculum, she entices children, aged three to
five years, to create a unique journey through one long
story. With my colleagues Diane Horsten and Brenda
Pullen, I attended the International Council of
Philosophical Inquiry with Children (ICPIC) conference
in Cape Town in 2013, where we were introduced to two
more inspirational philosophical practitioners – Isabelle
Millon, a French philosophy practitioner and the director
of the Institut de Pratiques Philosophiques,5 who works
with children and teenagers aged four to 18 years; and
Peter Worley, who runs The Philosophy Shop in London
in the UK.6
We thus had exposure to a range of techniques and
methods and took ideas from a range of experts to create
a methodology that would work for us in our classrooms.
“If you are willing to
be challenged in your
classroom, then P4C is
for you.”
How we work
A typical P4C session at our school would follow seven steps:
1. A discussion about the ‘rules of engagement’. Setting
ground rules for the inquiry – such as taking turns;
speaking in a clear voice; not interrupting; listening with
eyes, ears and whole body – is paramount. Following these
guidelines enables children to feel like they are working in
a team and are valued, respected and safe. The teacher’s
role is to support thinking, speaking and learning.
2. Present the stimulus: a poster, picture, story, poem,
photograph, song, artefact, newspaper article and
sometimes a starter question.
3. A discussion around the stimulus, so everyone has a basic
understanding.
4. Thinking time and then paired or small group discussion
reflecting on the stimulus. At this stage, the children
decide on a question that will arise from their discussion
pertaining to the stimulus.
5. The class votes and decide on the question or concept
most important to the majority.
6. The teacher facilitates the philosophical dialogue by
exploring the question.
7. The teacher as facilitator concludes the discussion and
checks that everyone who wanted to talk has had the
opportunity.
(L-R): Jerusalm Negash, Nikita Rebelo and Aaliyah Harikaran
If you are willing to be challenged in your classroom, then P4C
is for you. Like Socrates, you will be developing ideas and
creating wiser, more reflective individuals who embrace a life
well-lived.7 Baart, Horsten and Pullen also advise teachers to visit
http://www.mindboggles.org.za to f ind out about P4C
courses in Johannesburg and http://www.origins.org.za/ for
information regarding participation in inquiries run at the
Origins Centre at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits)
on a monthly basis. Educators can also contact P4C expert
Cathy Fry at e-mail [email protected].
References:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
TED is “a[n] [online] platform for ideas worth spreading”. See:
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_how_to_escape_education_s_death
_valley.
See: http://p4c.com/history-p4c.
Epstein, R.L. and Kernberger, C. (2012) Critical Thinking. New
Mexico: Advanced Reasoning Forum.
See: http://sarastanley.co.uk/.
See: http://www.pratiques-philosophiques.com/instiitute-of-philosophicalpractice.html.
See: http://www.philosophy-foundation.org/.
See: http://philosophynow.org/issues/84/Peter_Worley.
63
cover story
A successful
strategy for all
schools: Solution
Focused Philosophy
at the School of
Merit
BY JACQUI VON CZIFFRA-BERGS
AND MERRITT WATSON
A teacher affects a child’s life forever.
M
ost teachers want to teach children and help children
reach a desired outcome, however “problems are
abound in schools”.1 Some teachers develop a belief
that they need to ‘fix’ children and their problems,
and often take on the responsibility of doing so. To understand
the children better, teachers often tend to label children and
comment on what they have not managed to achieve in their
daily school tasks, and why.
The School of Merit (SoM), an ISASA member school in
Edenvale, Johannesburg, is doing research on utilising a
‘Solution Focused Philosophy’ (SFP), developed by De Shazer
and Insoo Kim Berg,2 to train teachers to become more
strength-orientated and solution-focused. The aim is to make
the SoM a place where teachers understand children as
resourceful, capable and resilient. After two years of training,
our data shows that the teachers at SoM are viewing students
differently and are feeling more motivated and less burnt out.
They have changed their language, they focus more on the
positive, acknowledge what works for each child and have
started collaborating with the children more, thus sharing the
responsibility for learning.
What is SFP?
SFP is an approach that views the child as capable and
resourceful and the expert on what they need to do to change,
no matter what the circumstances might be.
In times of stress or challenge, SFP advocates encouraging
the child to remember their previous successes, so that they
become more confident and more hopeful about themselves
and their goals. The basic assumptions of SFP are:
Children can solve their own problems.
Children should move towards a goal, rather than dwelling
on the past.
Importance is placed on what is possible and changeable.
Children want change and want to overcome their
concerns or issues.
Small change leads to bigger change.
Children are the experts in their own lives and are capable
of defining necessary goals.
•
•
•
•
•
•
64
The School of Merit
The SoM has adopted these key concepts:
If it works, do more of it. If it does not work, do
something differently.
Every child is unique, resourceful and capable of change.
Working collaboratively creates solutions.
Finding ‘exceptions’ (a time when the ‘problem’ is not there
or when it is better) and using these times as building
blocks to do differently.
Big problems do not always require ‘big’ solutions.
•
•
•
•
•
The journey
We embarked on our journey at the beginning of 2012. SoM
teachers underwent intensive SFP training, changing the way
they view children, their classroom language and how they set
goals with children. After each training workshop, the teachers
were asked to fill in a questionnaire on what they found most
useful. Below is a brief overview of the five training workshops
that our teachers have completed.
Training workshop one – finding a ‘strength lens’
The first workshop looked at viewing the school, the staff and
the children through a lens of strengths. In groups, teachers
were encouraged to pinpoint and record their own strengths in
working with students. They were also taught how to look for
and highlight the strengths of the children in their class.
Teachers listed the following elements as the most useful
about the new mindset:
Increased awareness of the role of positivity within the
child and the classroom.
Increased focus on small and large accomplishments.
Increased rewarding of progress.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Increased ability to allow children to take responsibility for
their own work.
Increased ability to look at negative situations in a new
way.
Increased empowerment as educators.
Increased patience.
Training workshop two – burying the old and starting
anew
The teachers were given the opportunity to bury the old way of
looking at children as ‘problem saturated’. Then they ‘planted a
tree’: a new view of a child as capable and resourceful. Staff were
also taught to help children set goals and to scale progress. The
teachers noted after this workshop that:
children become more independent when they scaled their
own progress
identifying and using each child’s strengths helped
everyone to move forward
children need to believe more in their own ability and also
accept that they can make mistakes
teachers need to give students more responsibility
children are more willing to work towards goals if they
have set them.
•
•
•
•
•
Training workshop three – finding exceptions
This workshop was geared towards assisting teachers to
empower children to ‘do differently’ in terms of working
towards changing their behaviour. They were encouraged to
look for times (in and/or out of school) when they were able to
cope where the concern or issue was not present. How were
they getting it right then? They were then encouraged to use
these ‘strengths’ to move towards a solution/goal.
The teachers noted after this workshop that:
when everyone – parents, teachers and students – ‘do
differently’, the result is a far more positive outlook for all
teachers don’t have to be all-controlling – the learners can
do a lot more for themselves
teachers must listen more intently
words can make or break a child.
After this session, teachers noted the following:
The fact that I’ve changed my ‘vision’ in class has opened a
whole new dimension in my classroom.
My communication, work ethic and how we tackle
problems in class have changed.
I use scaling as a teacher in most situations and my
children feel more empowered.
I can now identify a child’s characteristics as a tool to help
them.
I can now encourage a child to develop their own
solutions.
I am able to see a child through ‘solution-seeking eyes’ not
‘problem-seeking eyes’.
Little change leads to bigger change.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
At the end of 2013, teachers were asked the following three
questions to ascertain if there had been a shift in their mindset:
1. What had they found useful?
2. What impact was there on their teaching?
3. What impact was there on them personally?
The teachers noted the following:
What had they found useful?
•
•
There was more collaboration with students.
Giving pupils the opportunity to talk about what they can
do as opposed to what they can’t do was empowering.
•
•
•
•
Training workshop four – how to use strengths to build
solutions
The focus of this workshop was to ‘do more’ and ‘revise’ the
concepts already taught. The teacher’s comments after this
workshop were:
Scaling works well, even with very young children – they
are able to identify their own strengths and areas where
they need to improve.
Use positives when speaking to parents – this makes for an
easier meeting.
Each child is an individual worthy of attention.
An atmosphere of ‘I can’ was developing.
•
•
•
•
Training workshop five – how to make a solution
diagnosis
During this workshop, the teachers were taught to see the flip
side of a negative problem and make a solution-based diagnosis.
For example, ‘hyperactive’ could be seen as ‘energetic’ and
‘anxious’ could be seen as ‘trying to do things perfectly’.
65
Life-long learning
A solution-focused mindset not only empowers the children to
acknowledge their strengths and to take ownership of their
ability and learning, it also empowers and uplifts the teacher. If
the statement “a teacher affects eternity, he never can tell where
his influence stops”3 is true, then approaching teaching and
learning in a solution-focused way can create the foundations
for lifetimes of empowerment, hope and happiness. Dr Jacqui von Cziffra-Bergs is an educational psychologist and
the owner of the Solution Focused Institute of South Africa (see
http://www.psychworkshops.co.za/.) She trains psychologists,
counsellors and teachers to use a solution strength-based
language. Merritt Watson is an educational psychologist and
owner of the School of Merit in Edenvale, Johannesburg.
References:
1.
2.
3.
Kelly, M., Kim, J. and Franklin, C. (2008) Solution Focused Brief
Therapy in Schools. New York: Oxford University Press.
Connie, E. and Metcalf, L. (2009) The Art of Solution Focused Therapy.
New York: Springer Publishing.
See, for example: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_Adams.
Additional sources:
1.
2.
Metcalf, L. (2003) Teaching toward Solutions. Wales: Crown House
Publishing.
Metcalf, L. (2008) Counselling toward Solutions. San Francisco:
Jossey Bass.
“The aim is to make the School of
Merit a place where teachers
understand children as resourceful,
capable and resilient.”
•
•
They found new strategies and tools with which to teach.
Giving children back some responsibility.
What impact was there on their teaching?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Teaching is now more enjoyable and uplifting.
SFP [has] changed [my] perceptions of children and
allows [me] to see each child as an individual.
The more strengths I see, the more I give.
[I am] less rigid in the classroom and more flexible. It’s not
always ‘my way’.
Relabelling the children and the problem into a strength
diagnosis is hopeful.
[I am] much, much, much more patient.
[I am] more inclined to step back and allow the students
to discover and work out their own situations.
What impact was there on them personally?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
66
I am less stressed and more relaxed.
I feel less responsibility and now view learning as a
collaborative experience.
I feel less ‘burnt out’ and more calm.
Positivity is contagious.
I feel less frustrated with children and more excited about
children.
I love what I do more (teaching).
I found my own strengths.
I focused on the positives in my own life.
Schoolboy rugby concussion:
Causes and precautions
BY S
HAMEEMAH
As a science undergraduate student, I
learnt animal laboratory skills to study
brain diseases such as Parkinson’s disease.
I
then came across the MRC/UCT Exercise Science and
Sports Medicine (ESSM) research unit, located at the
Sports Science Institute of South Africa and part of the
department of human biology within the faculty of health
sciences at the University of Cape Town (UCT). After
completing a mini research project for my honours degree on
performance in ultra-marathon runners at ESSM, my
supervisors suggested a concussion project, combining the brain
and sport, for my current Master’s project.
On a personal level, my science journey has exposed me to
the frailties and strengths of the human mind in confronting
physical and mental pressures often unique to the elite sporting
environment.
ABRAHAMS
dizziness, confusion and balance problems, which usually clear
in 24 hours to 10 days after the head knock.3 The highest
occurrence of concussion during a season was reported as 14%
in South African school rugby, while a greater incidence of
22.2% was reported in American high school football.4, 5
According to the recent International Rugby Board (IRB)
concussion guidelines,3, 6 young athletes are more susceptible to
sustaining a concussion, when compared to older athletes.
Fatalities due to traumatic brain injury (including concussion),
from 2002 to 2010, have occurred more often in South African
high schools (six deaths) than in club rugby (three deaths).7
The exact cause of the increased vulnerability to concussion
in school compared to professional athletes is as yet
unconfirmed. However, some speculate that the developing
cervical musculature, a greater head to neck ratio and poorer
tackling technique in the growing youth athlete are possible
explanations for increased concussion vulnerability.8, 9, 10
Young players at risk
Recognise and remove and return to play critical
protocols
The issue of concussion or head injury in rugby is topical in the
sports media and sports science literature.1, 2 Sports concussion
is described as an indirect or direct ‘knock to the head’, resulting
in changes in brain function that often include headaches,
With regard to the resulting neurological impairments, children
require special consideration due to their developing brain and
cognitive function.11, 12 Concussed athletes younger than 13
years old are evaluated and managed differently to adults, as
67
cognitive function differs from adults.3 A second head injury
before complete recovery from an initial concussion, or ‘second
impact syndrome’, can result in long-term neurological damage
and death, which seems to occur more often in youth athletes.1
As a consequence of possible debilitating outcomes, the IRB
has promoted the ‘Recognise & Remove’ initiative encouraging
teammates, coaches and parents to monitor rugby players for
any visible signs of concussion such as unsteadiness,
convulsions, appearing dazed or confused, vomiting or being
knocked out. However, concussion symptoms and signs
sometimes only appear 24 to 48 hours after a head knock.
Therefore, suspected concussions should be referred to qualified
clinicians or health professionals to
confirm a concussion using a holistic
combination of the symptom checklists,
balance testing and neurocognitive
testing.3 The step-by-step return to play
(RTP) protocol involves physical and
cognitive rest until symptoms clear, with
gradual introduction of light exercise,
and stopping any physical or mental
exertion that exacerbates symptoms.
Furthermore, young athletes often
take longer to recover from concussions than adults, with
symptoms sometimes clearing only three months after a head
knock.3, 13 The youth seem to have prolonged recovery and
limited or no medical support, therefore prompting a more
conservative management of concussion.3 The priority for
youth athletes is to ‘return to learn/school’ before attempting
any RTP. Although no guidelines currently exist for ‘return to
school’, temporary absence from school or half-day attendance
should be employed on an individualised basis depending on
symptom exacerbation, academic schedule and clearance by a
qualified medical doctor.14
The research on concussion in South African youth rugby is
limited, with a few previous studies investigating cognitive
ability and injury rates.4, 15, 16 As a consequence of the limited
information on recovery and risk exposure in South African
school rugby and the worryingly prolonged recovery, it is
important to investigate the possible risk factors for delayed
recovery from concussion in youth athletes.
Thus far in our study, we have identified several potential
risk factors for sports concussion, based on the scientific
literature.17 Results indicate that definite risks for sustaining a
concussion are at least one previous concussion and
participating in matches (compared to practice sessions; as there
is often more contact during matches than practices). The other
potential risk factors include: playing a position that in rugby
union is an uncertain risk (some researchers suggest forwards
are at greater risk,18 possibly because they are involved in more
tackles than backs), an indefinite risk for playing environment
(based on the theory that the harder artificial turf potentially
increases risk compared to natural grass), fitness level (based on
the theory that better
fitness means better
technique and reduced
risk), protective equipment
(no conclusive evidence
exists that headgear and
mouth guards reduce
concussions, although this
equipment protects against
fractures and cuts or
bruises) and inherent
genetic profile. The number, duration and type of concussion
symptoms as well as varying cognitive outcomes between
individuals highlight the possibility of an inherited genetic
‘profile’ for concussion predisposition. Research suggests that
certain genetic sequence changes within genes involved in nerve
cell death may be linked to severe outcomes and longer recovery
after a concussion.19, 20
“The focus of our study is to
identify the differences in the
genetic blueprint between young
players who get concussed
compared to those who do not.”
ESSM seeks answers
Developing a genetic profile
The focus of our study is to identify the differences in the
genetic blueprint between young players who get concussed
compared to those who do not. All the DNA and questionnaire
data collected will be compared between players who sustain a
concussion (injured) and those who do not (uninjured) during
the rugby season. The comparison between injured and
uninjured players is necessary to determine which risk factors
predispose rugby players to sports concussion. We hope that the
findings from this study build on the foundation for future
research on the biology underpinning concussion injury. This
study is the beginning of a journey towards discovering a
‘genetic profile’, in conjunction with external environmental
factors (e.g. dangerous playing style, poor fitness), to determine
which athletes are at a greater potential risk of sustaining a
concussion or suffering long-term negative
neurological outcomes (e.g. impaired memory
or learning difficulties). In an attempt to answer some of these pertinent issues, I am
part of a group of researchers from UCT’s ESSM research unit
conducting a concussion research study with several top South
African rugby schools, clubs and professional
teams, including Boland Landbou College, South
African College High School (SACS),
Rondebosch Boys’ High School, Bishops
Diocesan College, Paarl Boys’ High School, Paarl
Gimnasium High School and Stormers, Sharks,
Villagers and UCT ‘Ikeys’ rugby clubs. As part of
this study, rugby players complete questionnaires
that provide personality, medical, sport and
concussion histories as well as computerised
ImPACT© neurocognitive tests for baseline
cognitive ability. In addition, a DNA cheek swab
is donated for genetic analysis of specific genes
involved in nerve cell death and behavioural
Shameemah Abrahams
traits.
68
Shameemah Abrahams spoke on this topic
and her love of science at the 2014 Scifest
Africa, held in Grahamstown in the Eastern
Cape on 12-18 March 2014. Scifest is the
largest annual science festival on the subSaharan African continent. See
http://www.scifest.org.za/.
For a full list of references for this article, please
visit our website at www.ieducation.co.za.
advertorial
Clearing staff against the
Sexual Offences Register
If you’re still asking if the Sexual
Offences Register impacts you, the
answer is “Yes”.
The Sexual Offences Register, is set to start being policed this year,
according to the Registrar of Sexual Offences. The Sexual
Offences Act quite clearly defines the obligations of employers.
Basically, employers who employ people who may come into
contact with a child must, in the prescribed manner, clear their
staff against the register.
10. A ‘question and answer’ document for the school to
disseminate to all staff, explaining why and what will be
happening.
11. Specialised child abuse investigation (sexual, physical and
domestic).
12. Specialised child protection training for teachers, parents and
Grade 1 to 12 students.
Contact Marc Hardwick for a quote on cellphone:
+27 (0) 83 79 66 55 4, e-mail: [email protected]
or visit: www.theguardian.co.za.
These checks are a mandatory legal requirement, and failure to
comply with the legislation could result in the head being
imprisoned for up to seven years.
The Guardian: an expert in child protection legislation
The Guardian is uniquely positioned as an expert in child
protection legislation. As South Africa’s only child abuse
investigation company, we have worked closely with this
legislation for years, and have come up with a comprehensive
solution that not only ensures compliance, but also goes a long
way to ensuring you to stay out of legal danger. A ‘positive’ result
from The Guardian would mean that you need to terminate the
relevant contract of employment forthwith. The Guardian will help
you through this process. We will also assist you to create and
implement a legislatively correct policy to ensure future
employment contracts are compliant.
Our service includes:
1. Biometric fingerprinting of all individuals.
2. Completion of all prescribed employer’s forms.
3. Completion of all prescribed employee forms, including
employee affidavits.
4. Submission of all forms to the proper authorities.
5. Regular follow-up to check that all certificates have been
received.
6. All criminal clearances, including clearances against the Sexual
Offences Register.
7. Certificates for each ‘cleared’ individual, as well as a certificate
for the school stating that the checks have been conducted.
8. Data gathering and capture in a confidential manner, in
accordance with the Sexual Offences Act, a copy of which
will be supplied to the school to ensure internal compliance
with the Act going forward.
9. An alert to the school, should an employee/s check be
returned as positive.The school will then be entitled to a
30-minute telephonic consult with an expert HR professional,
who will provide expert and relevant guidance relating to the
possible termination of the individual in line with current
specific labour legislation.
69
advertorial
How to teach
accurate
reading skills –
LectorSA
leads the way:
Part one
BY MINDA MARSHALL
Lifelong learning is the only way to
achieve success in a rapidly changing
world.
Knowledge and information are currently exploding across the
globe. Never before has it been more important for teachers to
transfer accurate ways of reading with comprehension to students.
The low levels of students’ reading skills play a definitive role in
our poor matriculation results. University students are not
proficient in reading.1 We are faced with real challenges in
accurately addressing the needs of training for the future.2
One of the important life skills that can and should be developed
is accurate and sustainable reading skills.
Accurate and effective reading enables us to act rapidly, creatively
and critically to a world that is ever-changing.3
Illiteracy is one of the leading causes of delinquency, poverty,
frustration and depression, which lead to a loss in productivity and
poor lifestyles and wellness among people in all global
communities.4 Yet high-performance environments are here to
stay, and people require effective solutions that will give them the
opportunity to achieve success in life and to contribute to a
healthy society.
They must have the ability to receive and process information
effectively.
We also believe that silent reading fluency is the area of reading
that is taught the least.5 Students must be able to read
independently, silently, at the proper speed and with a good
comprehension of their subject to make efficient progress in their
studies.
Accurate reading skills enable us to use the eyes and the mind
together to master the process of reading efficiently. This allows
the individual to interpret new information more accurately and
faster.
Expertise in any profession results from the absorption of
knowledge that frames the perspectives about that specific field.6
A successful student is one who “acquire[s] extensive knowledge
that affects what they notice (see) and how they organise,
represent and interpret information in their environment. Such
knowledge later affects their ability to remember, reason and solve
problems. For experts, knowledge is not merely a list of isolated
facts, but it comes into existence within an extremely organised
and contextualised formation.”7
Minda Marshall is Director: operations at LectorSA. Visit
www.lectorsa.com for more information.
References:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Lector has done its homework
A generation of skilled school readers today will produce a highly
skilled workforce for tomorrow.
Lector has studied reading skills and the development of skills and
strategies for 19 years and has received invaluable feedback from
reading centres, schools and higher education institutions using
Lector modules to enhance reading skills.
Our research had reinforced the fact that the digital age has paved
an information superhighway across all nations. It is thus possible
for individuals to acquire knowledge to empower themselves.
70
5.
6.
7.
8.
John, V. (2013) “Dropout rate points to lack of support.” Available at:
http://mg.co.za/article/2013-05-17-dropout-rate-points-to-lack-ofsupport.
Ibid.
See: www.lectorsa.com.
See, for example: United States Department of Labor (1999)
“Futurework – trends and challenges for work in the 21st century.”
Available at: http://www.dol.gov/dol/aboutdol/history/herman/
reports/futurework/report.htm.
See, for example: Sessoms, G. (2014) “Effects of illiteracy on business.”
Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/effects-illiteracy-business22898.html.
See, for example: Rasinski, T. (2013) “Why we can’t neglect fluency – a
personal journey.” Available at: http://www.scilearn.com/blog/why-wecant-neglect-reading-fluency.php.
See, for example: http://business.time.com/2013/04/03/make-yourself-anexpert/.
See, for example: Goehst, D. (2013) “Social media ubiquity requires
synergetic facility management.” Available at:
http://technorati.com/business/ small-business/article/social-mediaubiquity-requires-synergetic-facility/.
71
public sector news
Community
involvement
in schools: is
the QLTC
the solution?
The QLTC can increase volunteerism at school: An official from
the North West Departmentt of Local Government & Housing
serves as teaching assistant at Thelesho Primary School
BY L.H. MODISANE
The Quality of Learning and Teaching
Campaign (QLTC)1 was launched in
2009 as acknowledgement that the
education of our children can no longer
be left only in the hands of education
officials, but should be a societal matter.
T
he campaign takes its cue from the ancient African
proverb, ‘It takes the whole village to raise a child,’
which implies that the whole community has an
essential role to play in the growth and development of
its children. The QLTC campaign aims to achieve this goal
through the mobilisation of a wide range of stakeholders to
participate actively in school activities and contribute
meaningfully to the education of their children. It is a widely
held view that if parents, unions, business, religious leaders,
traditional leaders and other stakeholders can cooperate,
performance in our schools can significantly improve.2
•
The QLTC: What are the issues at school level?
Currently, the campaign is not unfolding to expected levels in
our South African schools, where it matters most. Reasons
advanced by schools are varied and include, but are not limited
to, the following:
Ignorance: Most people are not aware that a lively
democracy and a growing economy depend on an
educated citizenry and a skilled workforce. As a result,
they do not see the need to participate in school activities,
viewing education as the obligation of teachers and those
associated with its administration. This attitude is more
pronounced in communities with high levels of poverty
and illiteracy.
In some instances, the school principal and teachers
may be unaware of the positive impact stakeholder
participation may have on overall learner performance.
They remain fixated on teaching and learning in the
classroom.
Attitude: Ignorance breeds attitude and develops
stereotypes. Observation has shown that most principals
who have not initiated the implementation of the QLTC
•
•
72
•
in their schools have the perception that it is an add-on
responsibility to their work and have no confidence that it
will succeed.3 They view it as another departmental
initiative that is bound to expose their inability to run a
project, and hence wish it to fail. This attitude emanates
from the ignorance of what impact the QLTC can have
on school improvement. In addition, these principals
normally have low regard for community involvement in
the education of learners. They are ignorant of the
potential within their communities. Schools like Thelesho
Primary School in Mahikeng and many others that have
tapped into community resources have proved that rural
community stakeholders can contribute significantly to
education.
On the other hand, some community members believe
that as they do not have a role in school activities, there is
no incentive to participate. They would rather opt for and
volunteer their energies to some remunerative work.
Shortcomings of cascading model of training:
Communication experts have found that the transmission
of a message gets distorted along the communication
path.4 This is the case regarding the cascading of the
QLTC training from the National QLTC Steering
Committee to school level. During monitoring and
feedback sessions, many reports indicate that the
information which reached schools via QLTC training or
workshop sessions was inaccurate and/or insufficient. In
some instances, principals said the QLTC can only be
implemented if all stakeholders listed on the resource
guide are available for inclusion at a school, whilst on the
other hand, some indicated that the QLTC should be
implemented using only officials employed by the national
education department. Apart from transmitting inaccurate
information, some schools did not train their colleagues at
all.5 Feedback was only given at staff meetings, simply
indicating the need to implement.
Inability to start: We have found that during and
immediately after learning how to implement the QLTC
principles in their schools, the QLTC teams display a
greater degree of enthusiasm to implement the campaign.
However, they soon lose the passion and zeal to start. As a
result of this delay, principals find
themselves being unable to set up a
school structure that does not
comprise the full complement of
stakeholders in the community.
The saying ‘If you fail to plan, you
plan to fail’ is then borne out. The
first meeting of school QLTC teams
should, besides clarifying roles,
identify the activities to be performed by each stakeholder
represented.
schools that implement the
QLTC have revealed a
startling phenomenon:
community leaders (dikgosi)
have been waiting to be
invited to take part, and are
eager to partake in future
engagements. In villages,
dikgosi take pride in learning
institutions and want to be part of their development.
They claim to have wished all along to have representation
on the school governing bodies (SGBs).7 The QLTC is
providing them with that platform now. Interviewed
principals say the good relationship with traditional
leadership has improved learners’ behaviour and parents’
participation.
Increased capacity to get donations and sponsorship: To
make presentations to potential donors and sponsors
requires specialised skills, effective networking channels
and dedicated time. Most schools indicate that they
started receiving donations after the launch of the QLTC
at their institutions, because of the initiatives of QLTC
stakeholders. These schools are highly appreciative of the
fact that the principal is always at school to monitor
curriculum delivery, while QLTC members are on the
lookout for donations that can benefit the school one way
or another.
QLTC teams at schools are also able to establish
supportive alumni groups.
“Charora High School in
Bojanala district has, through
its QLTC structure, established
a ‘plough-back’ group.”
Recognisable benefits of implementing the QLTC
Schools that are successfully implementing the campaign have
memorable testimonies to share:
Improved parent participation in school activities: Where
QLTC structures are fully functional, schools are able to
attest to the fact that QLTC stakeholders are very helpful
in mobilising parents to take part in school events.
Volunteerism is promoted: Schools that have functional
QLTC structures have community members volunteering
to perform tasks at their schools. In one school, a parent
has volunteered to offer his labour to replace window
panes and administer burn-out treatment to school toilets.
In another school, parents tended the school garden, and
agreed to share the outputs at a particular ratio without
compromising the benefit to the school.
Strengthened relationships with community leadership:
Interviews6 with principals and coordinators of QLTC at
•
•
•
•
73
Charora High School in Bojanala district has, through
its QLTC structure, established a ‘plough-back’ group.
This group, all former students of the same school, have
dedicated time to offer extra tuition to Grade 10 and 11
learners. They also organise career expos by mobilising
successful former students and youth celebrities to
participate in school events that have been organised.
Former students of Herman Thebe High School in
Mmatau have a functional alumni group that formally
recognises excellent learner performance annually. And in
Morokweng village, former students undertake to ensure
that Grade 12 learners apply to tertiary institutions at the
right time, guiding them on which tertiary institution to
apply to, as well as which courses to pursue.
Empirical evidence?
Extensive research has been conducted on the subject of
parental and community involvement in education. Research
conducted is unanimous, consistent and convincing that
Chipping in: A community member assisting learners with reading
stakeholders’ involvement in education correlates well with
at Thelesho Primary School
8
learner performance and school improvement.
Research conducted by Holly Kreider et
al.,9 for the Harvard Family Research Project
at the Harvard Graduate School of Education
at Harvard University in Cambridge,
Massachusetts in the US, reveals that parental
involvement can promote elementary
schoolchildren’s success, prepare children for
tertiary education and, more importantly,
benefit those children who are less likely to
succeed in their grades.
A senior research associate at the University
of New Hampshire in the US10 found that
parental involvement has a strong, positive
effect on student achievement. Parental input is
consistently associated with higher levels of
achievement, and its ‘ripple effect’ magnitude is
substantial. The research found that schools
would need to increase per-pupil spending by
more than US$1 000 to achieve the same
results that are gained in schools where there is Parents at Blydeville Primary School discuss the QLTC
consistent, effective parental involvement.
3.
Embrace the QLTC
You will never start until you have started. The argument raised
above clearly bears testimony to the fact that parental and
societal involvement is critical for learners’ success. It is
incumbent upon principals and SGBs to embrace the campaign
and implement it in all our schools. L.H. Modisane is a chief education specialist and provincial
QLTC trainer in the North West Department of Basic
Education.
References:
1.
2.
74
Department of Education (2009) “Quality Learning and Teaching
Campaign: Presentation to Portfolio Committee: Parliament of
South Africa, Cape Town.” Available at:
http://db3sqepoi5n3s.cloudfront.net/files/docs/090217qltc-edit.pdf.
Department of Education (1998) “Building school capacity: systemic
support for the process of change.” Available at:
http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/turning/capacity.html.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Khosa, G. (ed.) (2013) Systemic School Improvement Interventions in
South Africa: Some Practical Lessons from Development Practitioners.
African Minds: Cape Town. Available at:
http://www.jet.org.za/publications/jet-systemic-school-iomprovementlessons.pdf.
Author unknown (n.d.) “Organisational communication.” Available
at: http://eunson.net/upload/c21-4/5_60_66172_com21st3e_Ch16.pdf.
See, for example: http://www.parliament.gov.za/live/
commonrepository/Processed/20130507/498297_1.pdf.
See, for example: http://www.nwpg.gov.za/.
With the establishment of the South African Schools Act of 1996,
all public schools are required to have an SGB democratically elected
by members of the school community. See, for example:
http://www.erp.org.za/htm/issuepg_SGB.htm.
Department of Education (1998) op. cit.
Dearing, E., Kreider, H., Simpkins, S. and Weiss, H. (2007) “Family
involvement in school and low-income children’s literacy
performance.” Available at: http://www.hfrp.org/publicationsresources/publications-series/family-involvement-research-digests/familyinvolvement-in-school-and-low-income-children-s-literacy-performance.
ScienceDaily.com (2008) “Parental involvement strongly impacts
student achievement.” Available at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080527123852.htm.
advertorial
Safety
management
systems for
fieldwork and
excursions
BY NIC SHAW
Risk is a part of life.
We take risks by driving our cars, visiting shopping malls or even
getting out of the bath. We accept these risks, because mostly we
can’t function without taking them.
Exposing other people’s children to risk is a different matter.
Many teachers who take children away on excursions and
field trips are justifiably very nervous about the risks
associated with the trip, and in some cases this fear prevents
teachers from organising outings in the first place.
assessment must be written and available for inspection by all
stakeholders. In many parts of the world, risk assessments are a
legal requirement for any activity, and failure to undertake one is
automatically deemed to be negligence.
Plans guide actions
The final part of an OSSM system is the incident and contingency
plan. Guided by the risk assessment, this plan guides actions in the
event of an incident – detailing, for example, how to look after
the remainder of the group, how to call for a casualty evacuation,
what information to communicate with emergency services, how
to manage the press and how to set up communication with
parents and stakeholders.
A comprehensive safety management plan allows for safe and
enjoyable trips and excursions, and gives peace of mind to
organising teachers, school management and parents.
Nic Shaw has 25 years’ experience in outdoor education and is
accredited by the Royal Geographical Society to run its Off-site
Safety Management course in South Africa. Courses will be
offered in Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town throughout
2014/15.
Here I will introduce the principles of an off-site safety
management system (OSSM) to help reduce the risk of
excursions, and to provide a defence in the unthinkable
event of an incident.
Risk awareness
The starting point of an OSSM system is to develop
objectives for the trip. This helps to get buy-in from other
staff and parents, elucidate outcomes and to provide a legal
justification in the event of an incident. After clarifying
objectives, one must gather important information (next-ofkin contact details, medical history and medical aid/insurance
particulars) on each participant and get informed consent
from parents. Many schools and tour providers insist on an
indemnity form. Under South African law, it is impossible to
indemnify oneself against negligence. Also, one may not
indemnify a minor, even if they are your own child. A more
sensible approach would be a risk awareness form that
draws attention to the risk in the situation, so that any parent
giving consent for their child to participate does so aware of
the risks associated therewith.
Risk assessment
Every aspect of the trip must be subject to a formal risk
assessment process. This includes all activities, transport and
accommodation. The risk assessment identifies areas of
potential harm or injury, ranks these in terms of likelihood,
recommends control measures and objectively shows
whether or not the residual risk is acceptable. The risk
75
green globe
Pressing for change in Poland
The Global Landscapes Forum, held recently at the
University of Warsaw in Poland’s capital, provided a platform for
young speakers to talk about their experiences of
environmentalism.
The event was hosted by the Young Professionals’ Platform
for Agricultural Research and Development (YPARD), based in
Rome, Italy, and the Centre for International Forestry Research
(CIFOR), headquartered in Bogor, Indonesia.
Like her fellow speakers, Nadia Manning-Thomas from
Barbados said environmental issues in her own community
affected her at a young age and guided her choice of career. She
added that the most important quality for the youth to cultivate
for the future is adaptability. Stephen Kibet remembered how his
father’s Kenyan farm crumbled to dust due to poor land
management. This spurred Kibet on to learn and then teach the
local community to use readily available, low-cost mapping
technologies to combat soil erosion.
Bruce Campbell, programme director for the Consultative
Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
Climate Change, Agriculture and Food security (CCAFS)
Research Programme from Zimbabwe, introduced another
Kenyan youth activist, Izzy Campbell (no relation) from
More talk, less walk
As global warming affects our planet, so
education institutions must change their
public faces, says Robert Nelson from
Monash University in Sydney, Australia.
Too many seats of higher learning cling
to outdated design aesthetics in accordance
with their status as cerebral havens.
Now, opines Nelson, the ivory tower must
move beyond the idea of a set of discrete buildings surrounded by
gardens and connected by paths.
“Because contemporary campus design discourages human
assembly, it discourages conversation,” he adds. If the physical
Connect4Climate’s video beams across Times Square, New York City
Connect4Climate, an organisation that helps youth concerned
with climate change, agriculture and forestry around the world
speak for themselves.
“[She is part of ] TS1, a rap group unlike any other. TS1 don’t
sing about fast cars, pool parties and whisky but about bicycles,
deforestation and food security,” said Campbell.
“Connect4Climate helped TS1 find an international platform
by teaming them up with Eminem and MTV. The results were
screened across Times Square in New York City. This is the
voice of the future. This is the way of the future. The voice of
revolt. The voice of youth.” campus is to survive the rise of Massive
Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and
other online learning opportunities, it
must convert to socialised learning, or
what Nelson terms “learning through
conversation”.
“As university campus life continues in
the hallowed halls of yesteryear, the
consequence is a downgrading of outdoor
verbal exchange, because people move busily along paths rather
than hang out in courtyards.
“Old-fashioned university design displaces people from higher
education’s conversational heart.” Going green the best for special needs
The Landscape and Human
Health Laboratory (LHHL)
based at the University of Illinois
in the US believes activities in
green settings can reduce children’s
attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) symptoms.
The LHHL first surveyed a
cross-section of parents of children
with ADHD. The parents said
that their children enjoyed leisure
activities such as reading, as well as
more robust exercise, more
76
outdoors. The LHHL then tested children
with ADHD in a controlled setting, after
they had walked in one of three
environments that differed from one another
in terms of greenery: a park, a suburban
neighbourhood and a downtown area. The
findings confirmed that the attention span of
children with ADHD improved after
spending time in more natural settings. The
obvious outcome of the study was that the
LHHL recommends that schools ‘branch
out’ to create outdoor classrooms for
everyday use. Earth Day every day: some ideas
Serious
sustainability
at Sing Yin
What did your
school do to mark
Earth Day (22
April) 2014? You
could have screened
the short acclaimed
2009 documentary
Dive!
Filmmaker
Jeremy Seifert
exposed how much
food Americans
throw away
collectively (96 billion pounds annually) by focusing on ‘dumpster
divers’, or those who search garbage units for their daily ‘bread’.
The film uncovers divers tucking into perfectly acceptable but
‘slightly soiled’ meat and eggs and vegetables and confectionery
‘past their sell-by date’.
Since the economic downturn in the US, dumpster diving has
become an open secret for thousands of families who can’t afford
to buy the basics.
For ‘freegans’– people who employ alternative strategies for
living based on limited participation in the conventional economy
and minimal consumption of resources – diving is a way of life.
According to the website http://autonomies.org/, “Freegans…
recognise that in a… mass-production economy driven by profit,
abuses of humans, animals, and the earth abound at all levels
of production (from acquisition to raw materials to production
to transportation) and in just about every product
we buy.” The US Green
Building Council
(USGBC) recently
released its ‘Greenest
School on Earth’ list for
2013.
Winner Sing Yin Secondary School in Hong Kong is an
institution for low-income families. It has all the right green ‘bells
and whistles’ (and then some) – solar panels, wind turbines and LED
lighting. All classroom windows automatically dim in response to
strong sunlight, a glass canopy collects and stores sunlight, directing it
to the playground when needed, a rooftop and fourth floor ‘mid-air’
garden flourish, motion sensors control the lights, carbon dioxide
levels are monitored and the elevators recover gravitational potential
energy as electrical energy when they move up or down.
In addition, an automatic weather station beams real-time weather
data to classrooms to control the use of air conditioning.
But what garnered the school the award is the way its design
meets its chosen curriculum. At the heart of every project is
sustainability. Even the school’s student leadership programme is
‘green’ – about a dozen students have specific environmental
responsibilities.
The USGBC says the meaning of sustainability depends on each
school’s circumstances. “It’s about using an integrated process. As
Americans we need to look at these schools with humility and
understand that we need to learn from them,” said a council
spokesperson. Puppets in Peru
Iceland’s the answer
Peru’s minister for the
environment, Javier Pulgar
Vidal, recently conferred the
country’s prestigious National
Award for Environmental
Citizenship upon the
The real thing: Save the rainforest!
Amazon Centre
for Environmental Education
and Research (ACEER), for its environmental education
programmes promoting conservation of the Amazon rainforest.
The minister made special mention of ACEER’s Puppet House –
a travelling puppet show for rural elementary schoolchildren in the
south-eastern Peruvian region of Madre de Dios.
ACEER’s director of education, Licia Silva Ortiz, and her
team have created rainforest characters – such as Yoqui the Brave
Parrot – to teach Amazonian children the value of the rainforest,
and why it is important to them and to the world to keep it
standing, intact and used sustainably.
ACEER delivers several critically important education
programmes to rainforest communities and to visiting students
from around the world. It also trains teachers to use ecology-based
pedagogies so that they can, for example, show their students how
to monitor biodiversity. ACEER is also famous for its
ethnobotanical garden, where new species of plants and animals
are nurtured and studied. The Thor Data Centre
(THORDC) in Iceland, in
partnership with Hertford
Regional College in the United
Kingdom, has created the ‘HRC
Cube’, an innovative way
The Thor Data Centre has a nonto provide campuses across
existent carbon footprint
Britain with effective data
storage, online learning programme delivery, web hosting and
information technology services, using Iceland’s unique
combination of freezing temperatures and volcanic heat.
These features mean that THORDC is powered by clean
renewable hydroelectric and geothermal energy sources, and is
renowned for being one of the most energy-efficient and secure
data-gathering and storage centres in the world.
Located just south of Reykjavik, in Hafnafjordur, where the
average winter temperatures is 1.8°C (35.24°F) warming to a
chilly 10°C (50°F) in summer, THORDC has a non-existent
carbon footprint, offering its clients a ‘pay-as-you-use’ system.
Iceland may provide the planet with the antidote to global
warming. Around 87% of Icelanders’ homes are heated using
cheap and energy-efficient geothermal energy. THORDC is also
behind the Emerald Express Trans-Atlantic Cable System,
which should transform trans-Atlantic bandwidth and
connectivity by the end of this year. Independent Education • Winter 14
77
going green
Saving the forest
leopards: inspiring
environmental
education at
Glenwood
House School
BY CLARE VAN RENSBURG
A band of blue-clad teenagers trek
through the dripping forest undergrowth.
T
hey carry machetes, hammers and hi-tech camera
equipment. The soil is coated with a carpet of slippery
moss and dead leaves. In the distance, the majestic
Outeniqua mountains peer over the clouds. The
students dodge spider webs and fallen yellowwood branches
and keep alert for snakes and wildlife spoor. They are on the
trail of the Wilderness female leopard. Their task is to set up a
stationary camera trap to capture an image of their elusive
quarry.
Looking for leopards
This group of 20 students forms
the core of the Glenwood House
Environment Society. They are a
student-driven club spearheading
environmental change in a young
independent school in George,
Glenwood House School. The
society’s motto is ‘Proterra’; they
are ‘for the earth’. The society’s
mission is to raise the awareness of environmental issues in the
school and community – particularly the plight of the beautiful
and mysterious local leopard, which has become the society’s
mascot.
The school partnered with the Landmark Foundation1 in
2009 in an effort to raise awareness of the threat to local
leopard populations. The threat to these animals is acute.
“There are probably no more than 350 leopards left in the
Western and Eastern Cape Fold Mountains areas,” says Monica
Vaccaro, Landmark’s education officer. The leopards’ habitat has
gradually shrunk and become more and more fragmented,
while the big cats are under constant threat from farmers who
shoot or gin-trap them in a mistaken bid to protect their
livestock. “What these students are doing is part of a critical
body of scientific research,” says Vaccaro, explaining that the
Landmark teams have set up numerous camera trap grids in a
bid to count and identify the leopard population in the area.
The Glenwood students monitor the cameras and regularly give
feedback to Landmark about the animals whose images they
capture, including leopards and their prey.
Such was the level of intrigue that the students raised funds
and purchased their own motion detection cameras in 2012.
The group regularly places them in
remote forest locations around the
George and Wilderness areas. The
cameras are triggered by motion when
an animal steps into their field of view.
They have light and motion detection
sensors and can record thousands of
images or video footage. This
integrated project requires the students
to service the cameras, test them,
charge the batteries, select appropriate
locations to set them up as well as collect and analyse the data
and present feedback to the Landmark Foundation. The
students also have to deal with real-life research problems. Last
year, one of the two cameras was stolen and damaged, so now
they are very secretive about where they place the equipment. In
addition, the students had to design and make lockable steel
boxes to house the equipment. Despite these challenges, the
project continues to flourish. As a teacher, I can’t think of a
better way to teach students about scientific research and the
power of citizen science.
“I can’t think of a better way
to teach students about
scientific research and the
power of citizen science.”
78
Patience yields pictures
The students clearly enjoy their regular expeditions into the
local forests to collect their data. They live in the hopes of
spotting their leopard or her mate or cubs. “This is an
experience you can’t get in school,” says Joseph Rautenbach, a
Grade 10 student who has been involved with the project for
the last two years. The sentiment is echoed by other students in
the group. “We get to be in nature and experience the
outdoors,” says Anne Marais. “I love going to pick up the data
from the camera,” says Johanna Rein. “We get to see the
wildlife in our local environment, like the caracal and the small
baboons that creep up to peep into the camera. We often have
to spend time looking into wildlife books to identify
mongooses, otters and genets.”
The students agree that they would love to catch a glimpse
of a leopard, but for now they are content with striking
photographs and videos of her prey: bushbuck, bush pig,
baboons, otter, genet, mongoose and duiker. “If her prey are
here, then it’s only a matter of time before she steps in the path
of one of our cameras again,” says club chairman Byron
Raymer.
In 2010, the group had a breathtaking experience. They
captured an iconic image of the local female leopard feeding on
a kill with her two tiny cubs. This inspired the students to
continue their dedicated work to conserve her habitat. They
approached landowners and farmers in the George and
Wilderness areas in a bid to secure her territory. The students
regularly interview farmers to check if leopard and other
predators have been seen on their land, and encourage them to
employ non-lethal predator control. In addition, the Glenwood
House students have accompanied Landmark’s biologists on
fieldtrips to tag and collar leopards.
The students of the Glenwood House Environment Society
regularly share the data from their camera traps with the entire
school during assemblies. Jacome Pretorius is the club secretary.
She explains how important it is to share this information with
the whole school. “The other students are excited to see what
game we have photographed; the videos are often hilarious,” she
says. The group also shares their results on their own Facebook
page for friends and family to see
(https://www.facebook.com/#!/GlenwoodEnviro).
The Environment Society began the Glenwood House
wetland project as an Eco-Schools project.2 Students from
Grade 1 to matric helped to dig a huge L-shaped trench over
seven metres long and seven metres wide. Indigenous wetland
plants such as sedges, grasses, reeds, bulrushes, palmiet and
arum lilies were donated by parents, and the wetland began to
take shape. Watsonias, red hot pokers, sand lilies and other
bulbs were later planted in the area surrounding the wetland,
and insects quickly flocked to the marshy ground.
During an invertebrate survey conducted by the Grade 8
class in 2013, over 30 different insect species were seen. Tiny
wriggling mosquito larvae and pond skaters were collected from
the standing water using hand nets; the carnivorous dragonfly
and damselfly were observed sunning their wings at the water’s
edge. Students watched a water scorpion use its tail as a snorkel
to suck in air from above the water’s surface. A giant waterbug
was observed preying upon other tiny invertebrates. These
members of the family Belostomatidae lay their eggs on the
male’s back. They can grow up to four inches and even catch
small fish! A fishing spider was seen lying at wait by the edge of
A wonderfully wild wetland
In addition to the Leopard Project, the school has also gained
significant recognition for its wetland work. The students of the
Glenwood House Environment Society created a diverse
wetland ecosystem on an area of muddy grass on the school
grounds in 2009. Over the last five years, this habitat has
flourished and attracted many species of insect, six species of
frog and a variety of indigenous birds. The school wetland is fed
by rainwater and fills and empties with the seasons. It holds
back huge volumes of water from flooding the adjacent rugby
pitch during heavy rains, and stores this water during dry
periods. Wetland plants filter the water, trap sediment and add
oxygen. The wetland also offers a place of shelter for a huge
community of organisms.
No more room at the inn: Glenwood’s insect hotel
79
the water and then sprinting across the surface of the wetland
to catch its prey. Fishing spiders can even slide under the
surface of the water, encasing their bodies in a slivery film of air
to breathe while diving.
Four biomes home to an array of animals
Glenwood House students spent many hours planting four
separate biomes surrounding the wetland to encourage further
biodiversity. A fynbos biome was planted north of the wetland
and includes members of the erica, protea and restio plant
families. A succulent bank was planted to represent the plants
of the Succulent Karoo biome. The bank contains many aloe
species, spekboom, sour fig, vygies, pig’s ear and the rare
haworthia. A forest biome to the north and east of the wetland
was planted with yellowwood, stinkwood, ironwood, keurboom,
river bushwillow, karee and Cape fig trees during our annual
Arbour Weeks. Collectively, the four biomes now occupy an
area the size of a hockey pitch.
Many terrestrial invertebrates have also been noted in these
biomes, including several colourful ladybird beetles, elegant
praying mantis, crane flies, grasshoppers, stinkbugs, crickets,
butterflies, earthworms, centipedes, cockroaches and snails. Bees
swarm around the red hot pokers in June and July. These insect
species act as valuable pollinators, decomposers, predators of
smaller species and prey for the mammals, birds and reptiles
that have occupied our wetland ecosystem.
The wetland has become an essential foraging and breeding
habitat for six species of frog. Raucous toads are commonly
found along the bank of the wetland or in between the reeds.
Cape stream frogs and clicking stream frogs have also made this
area their home. A painted reed frog was noted in 2013. This
year Jared Prinsloo, in Grade 8, discovered a forest rain frog,
which had buried itself in the mud at the edge of the wetland.
These round-bodied frogs have a small head and short legs.
They have stubby toes with no webbing and digging tubercles
on their heels. Unlike other species of frog, which lay eggs in
water, rain frogs lay their eggs in burrows on the forest floor.
The rain frogs are so called for the soft chirruping call they
make during soft rain.
The wetland is often visited by birds including the hadeda
ibis, red-knobbed coot, grey heron and spotted dikkop (spotted
thick-knee). Tiny sunbirds visit the ericas to drink nectar from
these tubular fynbos flowers. The wetland offers abundant
nesting sites for four striped mice, which can be seen scurrying
through the dried grass. And in March 2013, when students
were working close to the wetland, a graceful green and yellow
boomslang slithered past!
Glenwood’s insect hotel: an invaluable teaching and
learning tool
In an effort to protect the wetland biome, the students avoid all
chemical herbicides and pesticides. They pull weeds by hand
and use bark mulch between the plants to keep weeds down.
They don’t allow the removal of any wildlife from the area and
avoid disturbing birds’ nests. The society does a regular litter
‘pick’ and have removed all the alien black wattle trees
surrounding the biome. The wetland is used as an outdoor
classroom and the school has even hosted visiting lecturers from
the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI)3
and the Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildflowers
(CREW).4
Glenwood’s latest addition was to build its own insect hotel.
The refuge for invertebrates was built by Grade 8 students
during a practical workshop in celebration of World Wetlands
Day.5 The structure stands on the grounds of the school
wetland and was made entirely of recycled materials. It consists
of seven stacked wooden
pallets with natural materials
in each compartment.
Decomposing wood will
attract burrowing beetles,
while damp carpet, dried
grass, pine cones, corks,
hessian sacks, bricks and
bamboo will provide a
habitat and nesting grounds
for other insects. The
wildlife stack will eventually
harbour a number of
beneficial insects, which may
act as valuable pollinators of
the flowering plants on the
school grounds, as
decomposers, seed dispersers
and pest controllers. The
exhibit will form a
permanent teaching aid to
students at Glenwood
House School.
Learning about leopards: Glenwood students study data gathered by the camera traps
80
Another watery world at which to wonder
Student-driven environmental education
Over the past 10 years, the school’s Environment Society has
rigorously maintained its Eco-Schools status, its wetland is
flourishing, the leopard monitoring project continues to bear
fruit and the whole school has been drawn into beach cleanups, seabird conservation and our recycling programme. The
school group continues to be involved in fundraising and
awareness campaigns for rhino anti-poaching and Earth Hour.6
This year, over 30 indigenous trees will be planted on the school
grounds as part of Arbour Week 2014.7
“This group of teenagers has done an enormous amount,
often going way beyond the call of duty, to further conservation
and environmental education in the Glenwood House School
community,” says principal Dennis Symes. “They are showing
us the power of student-driven environmental education.” Clare van Rensburg is a natural science teacher and
Glenwood’s Environment Society coordinator.
References:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
See: http://www.landmarkfoundation.org.za/.
The Eco-Schools Programme is an international programme of the
Foundation of Environmental Education (FEE) and is active in 51
countries around the world. (Source: http://www.wessa.org.za/whatwe-do/eco-schools.htm.)
See: http://www.sanbi.org/.
See: https://www.botanicalsociety.org.za/SiteAssets/Lists/News/EditForm/
Who%20are%20the%20CREW%20and%20why%20join%20them.pdf.
See: http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/world/world-wetlands-day.
Earth Hour is a worldwide grassroots movement for the planet
organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
Earth Hour 2014 was scheduled for 29 March, from 20:00
to 21:30 during participants’ local time. (Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Hour.)
See: http://www.gov.za/events/view.php?sid=41660.
Exciting discovery: a forest rain frog
81
advertorial
Technology,
Millennials
and the Net
Generation:
Part one
BY J LIEBENBERG
Anyone who has been involved in
education for a significant period of time
will be able to name a piece of
technology that was once touted as the
next great solution/game changer – and
have at least anecdotal evidence of how
this never materialised.
Attend any one of the annual ‘education shows’ locally or abroad,
and one cannot help but come away feeling quite cynical about
technology and the lengths vendors will go to to sell their
appliances/devices – all in the name of better education. My own
latest pet peeve was a TV vendor trying to convince bystanders
that one can only understand the true nature of DNA when you
see it in 3D. Really?
As a result of these kinds of experiences, many educators and
school principals are quite sceptical about the use of technology in
the classroom, viewing it more of a distraction than a ‘value-add’.
It is therefore understandable that these educators will also
question whether the latest technology fad can be used
successfully and sustainably in a classroom environment.
The principals and educators in this category find themselves
confronted with a problem: their learners are immersed in
technology. Says author Jean Twenge: “Today’s youth are exposed
to digital technology in many aspects of their day-to-day existence –
this has a profound impact on their personalities, including their
attitudes and approach to learning.”1
Millennials and the Net Generation
It has become commonplace to differentiate between different
generations and their characteristics in discourses on education
and innovation. In fact, most of us are quite familiar with terms
such as ‘digital natives’2 and ‘Millennials’.3 Although the suitability
82
of the former term has been questioned, there seems to be some
consensus that people between 1982 and 2004 can be called
Millennials. (The case has not yet been made for those born after
2004 (some prefer 2000) – Generation Z, Net Generation,
iGeneration and Post Gen are a few labels that come to mind.)
The more significant issue is the common thread that informs
heuristics like these – namely an attempt to come to grips with
learners who are comfortable with technology in one form or
another as part of their daily lives, and the challenges this poses
for education.4 (Normally in discussions like this, one would have
to point out that these kind of umbrella terms do not really apply
to a country like South Africa, because of the differences between
rural and urban communities. However, as far as technology –
and specifically mobile technology – is concerned, it is fair to say
that even rural learners are already exposed to mobile technology
to some extent.)
So clearly, as far as our learners are concerned, technology is not
going away. As Millennials and the Net Generation, they will be
increasingly immersed in technology, specifically mobile
technology (phones, tablets, wearable devices), and this exposure
will keep influencing the way they think and interact with the
world and also what they expect from their education
environment.
Find part two of this article in our next edition.
Dr J (Lieb) Liebenberg is the CEO of IT School Innovation.
References:
1.
2.
4.
5.
Twenge, J.M. (2009) “Generational changes and their impact in the
classroom: teaching Generation Me”. Available at:
http://healthinfo.montana.edu/2011%20WWAMI%20Conference/GenY%20Med%20Ed%202009.pdf.
Prensky, M. (2004). “The emerging online life of the digital native:
what they do differently because of technology, and how they do it.”
Available at: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/PrenskyThe_Emerging_Online_Life_of_the_Digital_Native-03.pdf.
Howe, N. and Strauss, W. (2013) “The 7 core traits of Millennials.”
Available at: http://nameless-the-movie.com/blog/the-7-core-traits-ofmillennials/.
Eckleberry-Hunt, J. and Tucciarone, J. (2011) “The challenges and
opportunities of teaching ‘Generation Y’.” Available at:
http://www.jgme.org/doi/full/10.4300/JGME-03-04-15.
advertorial
Doing it right
with Dial a
Nerd
Technology is becoming the key
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In recent years, South African schools have been making huge
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Dial a Nerd partners with schools
At Dial a Nerd, we have over 15 years of experience in the IT
sector and have partnered with a number of schools in developing
their IT infrastructure and technology plans for the future. These
schools include Bryneven Primary School, McCauley House
Catholic School, Greenside High School, Brescia House School and
the Open Learning Group.
We recently assisted St Dominic’s Catholic School for Girls in
Gauteng with a massive overhaul of its IT system. Its vision was
for every classroom to be equipped with the same technology.
Harry Van Der Burgt, the school’s IT manager, says: “With
approval from the school board, we divided the vision into six
major phases. The first phase included the installation of a robust,
scalable network to cover the school and allow for growth in all
classrooms, facilities and offices for the coming years.”
Proper planning brings benefits
The benefits of bringing technology into the classroom that we
have personally witnessed include:
Better memory recall and increased learning capability by replacing
the ‘chalk and talk’ method of teaching with interactive boards
that incorporate visuals, colours and sounds.
Elimination of bulky paraphernalia by replacing files and books
with electronic devices such as tablets and notebooks.
Promotion of ‘real time’ learning with easy access to information,
stored on servers and safe internet sites.
Better lesson preparation by teachers: with data stored on a
central repository such as a server, sharing, updating and
communicating information is made easy.
Increased acquisition of skills for university and the workplace
through the with everyday use of e-mail, the internet,
spreadsheets, web applications and other communication devices.
Sound advice from Dial a Nerd
When establishing an IT programme, we feel that it is important
for schools to do the following:
•
•
Establish a robust, expandable core network.
Establish relationships with strong IT partners to help you
implement new technologies.
•
Research the right technology and make sure you get buy-in
from teachers and learners.
•
Communicate clearly, get feedback, create a project plan and
then implement.
For the best way to implement the most appropriate IT
solution in your school, contact us at telephone:
010 007 0012, e-mail: [email protected], or visit:
www.dialanerd.co.za.
Dial a Nerd Business acts as an outsourced IT department for
small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that require rapid,
reliable and professional technology support.
84
e-bytes
Negroponte and neural dust
Nicholas Negroponte is no stranger to controversy. In 2005, the
founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s
MediaLab started One Laptop per Child (OLPC), which works
with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to
deliver low-cost laptops to children in developing nations.
In early 2014, Negroponte – often dubbed ‘Negropodamus’ –
caused a stir at a TED conference (TED is an online platform
for sharing ideas) when he put forward his latest techno
predictions.
“In 30 years,” said Negroponte to the TED audience, “We’re
going to be able to literally ingest information. Once
information is in your bloodstream, some kind of mechanism
could deposit the information in the brain. You could take a pill
and learn English or study the works of Shakespeare.”
The words of a visionary or a lunatic? Cochlear and retinal
implants and implants to ‘drive’ prosthetic limbs are already old
news. Now, at the University of California, Berkeley, scientists
are working on microsensors called ‘neural dust’ that, once
implanted into the brain, will enhance the speed at which we
acquire new information.
The microsensors are a form of brain-computer interface.
The trick to further advancement, say scientists, is to implant
technology without causing harm to the brain. At the Pentagon,
scientists are working on brain implants that will improve the
way we wage war, providing soldiers with hypernormal focus,
perfect memory and a ‘no sleep necessary’ feature.
Says Negroponte, before the end of 21st century, keyboards
and touchscreens will be antiques. Gary Marcus, professor of
psychology at New York University, agrees. “By the end of the
century, many of us will be wired directly into the cloud, from
brain to toe.” Independent Education • Winter 14
85
Badges are better
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are changing the face
of global higher education.
Now some academics and companies in the US are driving a
change to ‘alternative credentialing’, in the form of digital
badges.
A growing chorus of employers say that traditional degrees
are literally not worth the paper they’re printed on. According to
publishing company Pearson, what employers are interested in
are the skills graduates can demonstrate.
‘Management’ of a digital badge means that students can
aggregate their competencies to increase their chances of landing
specific jobs or starting certain career paths. For their parents,
institutions that offer badges present a significant ‘return on
investment’.
Everyone wins with a badge, says Pearson. “Industry and
employer groups can define pathways to develop skill sets over
the long term. This influences learners, who will set and achieve
goals based on the market demand for skills more effectively.
Employers complete the circuit by communicating skill gaps to
institutions, who will, in turn, adapt their curricula.” Creating consensus in Canoas
Treat Twitter with great caution
In New South Wales, Australia, Christine Mickle, head of the
music and arts department at Orange High School, has won
AUS$105 000 in a protracted court case.
Mickle took over the post from a Mr Farley, who left the
school last year due to ill health. His son took the matter
personally and made a series of defamatory tweets about Mickle.
The judge considered the ‘grapevine effect’ of the social
platform and ruled that Mickle’s reputation as a competent and
popular teacher had been damaged.
Meanwhile, in West Sussex in the UK, Lauren Rose lost her
teaching job at Ifield Community College in Crawley when she
called one student “cowface” and others “feral”.
When the messages spread through the school community,
the management team deemed Rose had brought the college
into disrepute.
School head Richard Cowper said: “We take unprofessional
use of social media sites very seriously.” Delegates at the recent Fórum Mundial de Educaçao (World
Education Forum) held in Canoas, Brazil, issued a public
statement that a more critical pedagogy infused with technology
is the only conceivable way forward for all education systems.
More than 4 000 participants from 13 countries debated the
forum’s central theme of ‘Pedagogy, Metropolitan Regions and
Peripheries’, and warned that currently, in many countries,
technology “[is] only chang[ing] the tools without altering
educational content”. Many delegates represented developing
nations, where unequal access to the digital world contributes to
conflict and violence. Said Aidil de Carvalho Borges, project
manager for educational reform in Cape Verde:
“Underdevelopment accentuates every kind of inequality,
especially in relation to technology, which is only available in
the cities.” 86
The new teacher: tough and
tech-savvy
A new US survey may provide additional perspectives to the
‘teachers and technology’ debate. ‘Technology Use in the
Classroom: A Study’ reveals that 50% of the more than 600
teachers interviewed by digiedu, a Chicago, Illinois company
that partners with schools to integrate technology into
classrooms, feel unsupported and uncertain about using
technology in their lessons.
Resistant respondents are often put off by terms like
‘convergence’ and ‘blended learning’. But, said superintendent of
schools in Middletown, New Jersey, Kenneth Eastwood, at the
recent South by Southwest interactive conference held in
Austin, Texas: “Teachers who use technology will replace those
who don’t.”
US schools may be saved by the approximately 200 000
teachers who entered the profession in 2007. The Graduate
School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania (UP) has
released data showing that in the 2011-12 school year, the
‘common experience level’ for teachers was five years, up from
just one year in the 2007-08 school year. This younger
generation of educators is clearly a resilient bunch, as they’ve
survived layoffs, budget cuts, school closures, downscaled
pensions, diminished union bargaining rights, radical changes
to teaching standards, stringent educator evaluations and
controversial student testing techniques.
Log off, please, if you’re
in Iran, Cuba or Sudan
Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)
provider Coursera, located in Mountain
View, California, in the US, recently
blocked access to its courses in Iran, Cuba
and Sudan, due to US government
sanctions on those countries.
Coursera has over six million online students, choosing from
596 free courses. Coursera’s founding principle was to “provide
access to education for everyone”.
Says the website the New America Foundation,
“comprehensive US sanctions that ban the export of goods and
Today, teachers need to be tough and tech-savvy
Perhaps most importantly, this is a generation of teachers
who aren’t afraid of technology. Celine Coggins, who heads
Teach Plus, a non-profit American organisation focused on
training teachers, says they can help veterans “learn an array of
web-based skills and gain a level of comfort with data”.
Nevertheless, warn organisations like the National
Education Association, the largest teacher union in the US,
teachers under the age of 30 will only be on board if they are
directly involved in creating and implementing the many
proposed changes to the education system. services to some countries remain largely outdated in
recognising how communications technology can
benefit both the civilian population and serve broader
American foreign policy goals.”
Because it makes money from its courses and apps,
Coursera was guilty of flouting US export law. Other
US-based MOOCs may find themselves making
similar decisions to stay alive. EdX, for example, has
had to stall some operations while it waits for a special
licence to operate in Iran, Cuba and the Sudan.
A special petition is on the ‘We the People’ section of the
White House website, appealing to the Obama administration
to reverse the policy prohibiting MOOCs from including
students from sanctioned countries. Online in Africa
The World Bank has said that economic growth in Africa is
tied to adequate reliable online connectivity. Now data
compiled by The Economist reveals the 10 most connected
African countries. In Morocco, 55% of the population is
online, followed by the Seychelles, where there are 109.2
mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 people.
Unsurprisingly, given that the recent ‘Arab Spring’
revolution started online, there are 83.8 million mobile
subscribers in Egypt. Tunisia is in fourth place, hot on its heels
is Mauritius, and South Africa slid in in sixth place, because
only 41% of its population is digitally connected. At number
seven is the group of islands, Cape Verde; Nigeria is number
eight and Kenya, number nine. In Sudan, where political
conflict has interrupted mobile accessibility, only 21% of people
can go online. In many parts of Africa, traditional classroom methods dominate
87
e-views
Sites reviewed: www.epals.com
www.connectedprincipals.com
REVIEWED BY: FIONA DE VILLIERS
Searching for a free quality teaching and
learning site that’s safe for your students?
E
Pals will allow them to practise their online skills to
experience responsible digital citizenship, and you won’t
need any complex new digital skills to join them on
their journey.
Powered by well-known Cricket Media, ePals is a crosscurricular teacher’s dream that to date connects nearly a million
classrooms across the globe. The home page is cleanly designed
and bears the intriguing image of an empty room – an exciting
place to explore when you sign up, using a protective software
that keeps unwanted visitors away.
Up front, pupils and educators can learn more about what
the site has to offer. There’s plenty to see and it’s all easy to find.
The Junior Folklorist Challenge, for example, is open to anyone
on planet Earth. The idea is to find a ‘tradition bearer’ in your
community and digitally document a song, a story or other ageold ritual via video, audio or photograph. Learners can then edit
and upload their discoveries and share them via podcast, video
or slideshow.
Learners
can also enter
the ePals
Sparklab
Invent It
Challenge,
sponsored in
part by the
Smithsonian
Museum.
This
challenge
asks five- to 18-year-olds to think of a real-world problem,
follow the guiding steps on the website and come up with a
real-world solution. While this year’s deadline has passed,
visitors to the site can watch videos posted by previous winners
to get inspired for 2015.
EPals also offers its global community of teachers and
students a wealth of lesson plans and projects to try out.
Teacher Jyoti Aggarwal, in India, for instance, joined with four
other teachers and classes from different countries to create an
exciting detective story on a shared wiki.
Some school principals may be more tech-savvy than their
students, but no one has the time to trawl the net for
inspiration or advice.
88
Connectedprincipals.com was a useful
discovery for me. It’s always a
pleasure when a site doesn’t
dazzle you with
overwhelmingly ‘bling-ish’
graphics, pointers, advertisements
or other distractions. This one states
quite simply: “[This] blog is the shared thoughts of school
administrators that want to share best practices in education.
All of the authors have different experiences in education but all
have the same goal; what is best for students.”
Likewise, the principals who have signed up via e-mail to
join this thriving community all adhere to a sound set of
principles. Consider this one, which may well correspond to
what you’re trying to achieve in your own school:
“All educators need to be lifelong learners. Only through
continuous reflection, respectful conversation, and
collaboration will we ensure that we are continuously
serving the needs of our students. As a whole, we must
be attentive to and thoughtful about the myriad of ways
in which the world is fast changing, and ensure that we
are in continued alignment with the needs and demands
of the changing world without ever abandoning core
principles.”
All the contributors to the blog (are you already one of
them?) are listed in alphabetical order, and there are a couple of
really useful resources for principals to adapt to their own
schools’ specific needs. Interestingly, the connected principals
community is trying out its own kind of Massive Open Online
Course (MOOC) and you can find out more about that, too,
on the #Leadership20 page.
This site proves that no matter how techno-smart a school
leader becomes, it’s the power of words that will always move
mountains. In a post on 19 April 2014, titled ‘Teacher to
learner: the power of words’, Johnny Bevacqua suggests a simple
exercise, transposing the words ‘teacher’ and ‘learner’ in a variety
of contexts. You may find the results refreshing and revealing.
Even more interesting, perhaps, are the comments posted by
readers. One explained that she had ‘persuaded’ teachers to
integrate technology into classrooms by retelling the story of
the Wright brothers, reframing the teacher’s modern role as a
jet pilot who needs to be to be trained in a whole new way. The
moral of the story? A pedagogy of possibility is out there
waiting for you: just get connected! If you would like to review an appropriate internet site for
our readers, please contact the editor, Fiona de Villiers, at:
f [email protected].
e-education
Five ways I’m
using Google Glass
in my schools to
enhance education
BY JAY EITNER
In January, I got one of the best
e-mails I ever received.
I
t was from Google Glass,1 asking if I was interested to pilot
their new project. I was beyond excited to try out this
seemingly futuristic device during a normal work day.
After successfully setting up my frames and Google
Glass, I was up and running, although it took me a few hours
just to turn the device on! Then comes practising your toggling,
eye movement, using your fingers and training your eyes to look
in new ways.
Naturally I read some articles on Google Glass etiquette.
CNN had a great article on ‘How not to be a “Glasshole”’.2
From my use thus far, here’s what I’ve been able to
successfully achieve with my ‘Glass’ in schools as a better chief
lead learner:
1. Record teacher observations. When I told my staff I had
Google Glass, there were grumbles and moans. At first, I
just wore them and let everyone try them on. Then, during
observations, I recorded samples of students working,
teachers teaching, and even some disciplinary issues. The
results? Awesome. I have played the video clips back to
some staff members as part of ongoing professional
development.
2.
3.
Send live updates of school happenings to social media to
show all of the positives that are happening at the school.
We all know the power of social media and how getting
quick, simplistic information is beneficial to all. With
Glass, I can take pictures and share them on our school
Twitter feed (@LACSchool), our Facebook page, and even
attach images or videos to e-mails. I have spent lots of
time promoting and guiding our stakeholders to our
website/social media platforms.
Observe special education students at their best and
worst, and provide footage to both parents and the child
study teams. Sometimes certain students have certain
needs that we can’t immediately identify or even explain
properly. Having the ability to record a student with
autism spectrum disorder when they have a ‘meltdown’,
and immediately send that to the child study team, is
paramount for our success. It allows us to immediately
assess, document and begin to figure out to combat the
situation. It also has allowed me to engage with parents
who are in denial. It has opened eyes, and in turn, allowed
parents to make better decisions.
4.
Get e-mail ‘on the fly’. As a superintendent, my e-mail
inbox is insane. Instead of reading e-mail on my phone, I
can now see when e-mail comes in and have Google Glass
read it orally to me. I can then dictate a message back, save
it or delete it. It’s not used all of the time, but if I have
spare time, I can weed out quite a bit.
5.
Report concerns immediately to maintenance. I often
walk the halls, and I’ll see something that needs cleaning,
is in disrepair or looks fantastic. I can take a picture and
e-mail it to the grounds supervisor right on the spot. No
more trying to recall what hall, where and when.
As Google Glass rolls out more apps, and as I (and the staff )
get more comfortable with their use, I can see this being a
permanent fixture in a school.
Glass is helping us grow, learn and move onward. Jay Eitner is an ardent blogger and superintendent for the
Lower Alloways Creek School District in Salem, New Jersey
in the United States. In education in the US, a superintendent
of schools, also known in many states as a chief school
administrator, is a person who has executive oversight and
administrative powers. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org
/wiki/Superintendent_(education).) This piece appears here
with Eitner’s kind permission.
References:
1. Google Glass is a wearable computer with an optical head-mounted
display (OHMD) that was developed by Google. (Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Glass).
2. See: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/19/tech/mobile/google-glasshole/.
“I can now see
when e-mail
comes in and
have Google
Glass read it
orally to me.”
89
How
technology
trends have
influenced
the classroom
BY CARL HOOKER
Between societal changes and
technological breakthroughs, it’s become
abundantly clear that the human brain is
transforming the way it processes and
learns information.
W
hile there are many discussions1 about whether or
not this is good or bad for us as a society, it’s
definitely a change.
As educators, it’s our job to make sure that
students (and adults) are learning. Part of that process isn’t only
about making an engaging activity or lesson, but also realising
how the modern brain learns. Teachers all over America are
faced with this challenge of keeping students engaged in the
classroom when their world outside of school is one of constant
engagement and stimulation. Knowing the world outside of our
institutional walls is only one step in addressing modern
learning styles. How to act and adjust schools today is the next
step in making the classroom of today ready for tomorrow.
To do that, let’s examine which features of society (and
media) have changed and then consider what we can do in
education to use it as an advantage for learning.
The increase of interactivity
One only need to look at the gaming market to see the
evolution of how our brains crave interaction. We went from
backgammon to Atari2 and realised that with some simple
interaction, like a yellow circle eating dots, our brains could stay
occupied for hours. The recent shift to touchscreen and even
motion-based interaction means that we now involve our whole
body when interacting with games.
Classroom outcome: We might notice that our students seem
more ‘antsy’, but in reality, sitting still in a seat for several hours
has never been ideal for learning. Research is now
becoming more abundant3 to back that statement.
Incorporating regular brain breaks or mini-activities that require
kids to move every 15-30 minutes reinvigorate the brain and
get them refocused on the tasks at hand.
90
On-demand living
Most of us grew up in an era of either three basic television
channels or the privilege of many via paid cable. With the
digital era, television and movies have seen an exponential
change in how they are distributed and accessed. You no longer
have to wait for that favourite rerun of Moonlighting;4 today,
you can just pull it up on your phone. Better yet, you can pause
it on one device and then watch it on another when you
choose. If you really get hooked on a show, why wait a week
when you can just binge view5 it?
Classroom outcome: Flipped teaching6 comes to mind when
thinking of the ‘on-demand’ model of learning. Not everyone
has the time or energy for a fully-fledged flipped teaching
model (not to mention at-home access for all students), but
recording some lessons or concepts for later viewing, even in
class, would be one way to let students have access to
information when they want it. Wouldn’t it be nice if kids
wanted to binge learn?
Self-publishing the world as we see it
The ways we viewed and read the news was previously
distributed to us through a filter. Publisher, editor, advertisers
and corporations decided what we should watch and read when
it came to content. In some ways, the classroom has followed a
similar path. Look at the world now when it comes to news.
We are all publishing to the world around us in blogs, tweets,
posts and… yes… even Instagram selfies.7 Our brains are no
longer designed to sit back and take what is given to us. We
want to create and share what we see and learn too.
Classroom outcome: This is one area where I feel that education
has excelled, but there is still room for improvement. We’ve
always encouraged students to write and report on what they
think or believe. As students, we learned to play the game of
‘know your audience’ when it came to writing a paper for a
certain teacher. Our purpose was writing for writing’s sake.
Now we no longer have to limit ourselves to one recipient. Our
students have access to a global audience and don’t have to write
just to please one teacher. They can write based on what they
see and believe to be true.
Everything is mobile (and instant)
As fast as the internet took the world by storm, the mobile
revolution dropped a bomb of societal change and practice.
People can now have all of their media in the palm of their
hand. They can connect with anyone, anywhere. While there
isn’t always value to why we use our devices, having that instant
access means our brains can now outsource menial facts and
focus on application and creation rather than retention.
Classroom outcome: One of the greatest challenges to the
classrooms of today is mobile technology. Do we fund a 1:1
programme?8 allow a bring your own device9 policy? Won’t this
just add the distraction of the outside world into a classroom?
Rather than avoid or ban the use of mobile devices, some are
embracing it10 as a way to not only engage learners, but also dig
deeper into learning. This isn’t without its pitfalls, and can be
quite messy, but setting expectations of use can be a powerful
way to model how our kids use these in the non-school
setting. Maybe instead of whipping out their phones when at a
restaurant, kids will actually sit and have a conversation with the
grown-ups around them. Of course, this is assuming the grownups have put down their devices too.
Embracing the digital brain
As we can see from these few examples, the world around us is
changing. This change affects the way we think, learn and
connect. In education, we have three options when dealing with
these changes: avoid it, struggle with it or embrace it.
Technology would seem to be the panacea for solving all of
these issues when it comes to engaging the digital brain.
However, while it does have an impact in the classroom, the
greatest impact still lies within the teacher and the content that
they are trying to get their students to learn. Until the pedagogy
and purpose align with this new world, we are all left fighting a
battle rather than embracing it. Carl Hooker is the director of instructional technology for the
Eanes independent school district in Texas in the US, an Apple
Distinguished Educator, an EdTechTeacher
consultant/trainer, and founder of iPadpalooza. This piece
f irst appeared on the MindShift website on 5 March 2014
(see http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/about/) and appears
here with the author’s kind permission.
References:
1.
Weeks, L. (2014) “We are not just here anymore.” Available at:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/theprotojournalist/2014/02/11/268876281/weare-just-not-here-anymore.
2. See, for example: http://www.techopedia.com/definition/6055/atari.
3. Hunter, T. (2008) “Some thoughts about sitting still”. Available at:
http://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200807/BTJTomHunter.pdf.
4. Moonlighting is an American television series that aired on the American
Broadcasting Network (ABC) 3 March 1985 to 14 May 1989. (Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlighting_(TV_series).)
5. Smith, C. (2014) “The Netflix effect: how binge watching is changing
television: Is instant gratification really gratification at all?” Available at:
http://www.techradar.com/us/news/internet/the-netflix-effect-how-bingewatching-is-changing-television-1215808.
6. Flip teaching or a flipped classroom is a form of blended learning in
which students learn new content online by watching video lectures,
usually at home, and what used to be homework (assigned problems) is
now done in class with teachers offering more personalised guidance and
interaction with students, instead of lecturing. (Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_teaching.)
7. A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a
smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website. (Source:
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/ american_english/selfie.)
8. 1:1 or 1-to-1 programmes are also known as ‘anywhere, anytime’ or
‘laptops for students’ programmes. (Source: http://education.qld.gov.au/
smartclassrooms/working-digitally/1-to-1-learning.html.)
9. Schwartz, K. (2014) “Think big: How to jumpstart tech use in lowincome schools.” Available at: http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/tag/byod/.
10. Barseghian, T. (2012) “How teachers make cell phones work in the
classroom.” Available at: http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2012/05/howteachers-make-cell-phones-work-in-the-classroom/.
91
advertorial
Transforming
the face of
education
Samsung Electronics South Africa has
supported various education institutions
for a number of years to ensure learners
are empowered through a more
interactive augmented educational
experience.
According to Paulo Ferreira, Head of Enterprise Mobility at
Samsung Electronics SA, the company is committed to upskilling students by developing innovative technology solutions
that enable basic education in a far more collaborative and
accessible manner.
Samsung recently partnered with Hoërskool Waterkloof, a public
school in Pretoria, Gauteng, to support the institution’s vision to
improve its academic performance by providing easy access to
Samsung GALAXY Tablets for learners. This project was
undertaken under the auspices of the Samsung Smart Schools
banner.
Testing tablets
The introduction of digital tablets at the school meant
teachers were able to incorporate videos and interactive
multimedia content in order to better engage learners. With
this solution, the school is able to bridge the digital divide to
improve educational outputs, thus making a change in the
lives of the students. The school understands just how
important it was to deploy integrated technology to develop
21st century skills in a traditional classroom and this led to the
partnership between Samsung and Hoërskool Waterkloof.
Innovation and uniqueness
The school used the Samsung Smart Education approach to
improve technology and create the classroom of the future,
combining Samsung GALAXY Tablets with digital solutions,
content management software and an extensive Wi-Fi
infrastructure upgrade. The Wi-Fi upgrade means that more
than 1 500 tablets can now connect to the school’s intranet
to make the learning environment more exciting.
Relevance
Hoërskool Waterkloof is currently setting the trend for other
schools to follow suit, as they now have first-hand experience
with successfully rolling out and managing an e-learning
92
advertorial
system. Futhermore, the school contradicts the perception that
only private schools can afford to phase tablets into the classroom.
Impact
Hoërskool Waterkloof is the very first South African government
school to successfully transition to e-learning, thus enhancing the
teacher / learner experience of the classroom. As a result, the
school has seen an increase in a general interest to learn and
improved teaching. This has of course been supported by the
presence of professional attributes, including skills, knowledge,
qualifications and professional learning.
Current events
Many primary and secondary schools are introducing tablets for
both teaching and learning purposes. Some have taken a reactive
approach and simply bought the devices without any provision for
content, training and connectivity.
Hoërskool Waterkloof understands that in order to create an
effective digital learning environment, one has to embrace the
convergence of a number of essential services that complement
the tablet. This shift enables teachers and learners to benefit from
a broad range of educational-related information on their mobile
devices, including up-to-date school data, access to crucial learning
resources and rich content uploaded onto the devices, all of which
serve to increase the student’s engagement and performance in
the classroom.
Third party participation
In its pursuit to improve its teaching and learning
environment, Hoërskool Waterkloof further partnered with
Via Africa, providers of digital curriculum solutions, and
content management company, IT School innovation, to
enable learners to access critical educational lessons, anytime
and anywhere. IT School Innovation is an educational
company with a clear focus on combining the best
educational practices with the latest technology to enable a
teaching and learning environment in keeping with the 21st
century.
Rapid growth
By the end of 2014, Hoërskool Waterkloof will have close to
1 900 tablet users on the school premises, with a growth
potential of 2 600. The school will ensure that 80% of these
users will use Samsung Tablets which will be promoted to the
learners.
“We are living in a demanding fast-paced world and it is no
different for today’s students. They need convenient, constant
access to their educational material, in order for them to be
able to study anywhere, at any time. Through this partnership
we are enabling thousands of students to do just that and we
look forward to seeing the contribution that these students
will make to South Africa in the future,” concludes Ferreira.
advertorial
E-learning: taking
the first steps
BY KOBUS VAN WYK (MUSTEK) AND
MALCOLM SEEGERS (MACMILLAN)
In the previous edition of this magazine, we stated
that “e-learning has the potential to transform the
way teachers teach and learners learn”.
What steps must you take to benefit from this transformation?
The first step is to define what you hope to achieve from pursuing
e-learning. You may want to get learners more excited about
learning by using technology as a teaching tool, or putting it in the
hands of the learners to enhance the learning experience.
Why do you want e-learning?
Once you have the e-learning objectives clear in mind, the next
step is to select the most appropriate technology. If you want to
assist the teachers, you may decide on providing them with
interactive technology in their classrooms. If you plan to use
technology to improve learning, you will need devices that will
allow hands-on activities for learners, such as laptops or tablets.
This requires that you have some knowledge of technology that is
available for use in education. You can gain this knowledge by
inviting providers to do presentations, doing research online or
speaking to other schools that are using technology.
Try tablets
Let’s say you decide on tablets. The next step would be to select
an appropriate make and model. The range of tablets is wide:
from low-cost, low-quality imports to higher-priced, good-quality
brand names. Some factors you must consider are screen quality,
battery life and speed. The best way to decide on the perfect
tablet is to get some models and simulate your working
environment on it. Open some books, highlight them, create
comments and access other features. Be sure to test battery life in
this scenario.
Another decision is whether you will purchase the devices, or
follow a BYOD (bring your own device) policy. BYOD has become
increasingly popular due to the lower risk it carries for schools.
94
With this model, students are responsible for the purchasing and
maintenance of the tablet and carry a lot of the risk and
responsibility.
Consider content
You also need to consider content. E-textbooks are available for all
grades, and the chances are good that your favourite textbook is
available in e-book format. But you also need to consider how to
get the e-book onto the device. Two basic mechanisms exist:
books can be loaded online (if you have sufficient internet
connectivity) or offline, where the books are loaded onto a server
at your school, and from there they are distributed to individual
devices. Your trusted publisher or bookseller will be able to provide
advice on the best option for you.
Teacher training
Regardless of the technology you bring into your school, a step
that you dare not skip is teacher training. Teachers must be familiar
and comfortable when using the devices that are placed in their
hands. But more than that is required: using technology as a
teaching tool is likely to be outside of their current skill set. Don’t
underestimate the importance of arranging training for teachers so
that they understand the use of these tools, as well as allowing
them time to develop confidence in using technology for teaching
and learning. Many e-learning projects have failed, simply because
teachers were not adequately trained.
Put a policy in place
A final step would be to develop an acceptable use policy for
technology in your school. This will provide everyone with a
framework in which technology can be used in a safe, secure and
productive way.
95
reviews
Big Data: A Revolution
That Will Transform
How We Live, Work,
and Think
Authors: Cukier, K. and Mayer-Schönberger, V.
Published by: Eamon Dolan/Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt Publishers
ISBN: 978-0544002692
Reviewed by: Niccolò Tempini
My issue with Big Data is that it does not
take big data seriously enough.
A
lthough the authors have pedigree (editor at The
Economist; professor at Oxford University in the UK)
this is not an academic text: it belongs to that category
of popular essays that attempt to stimulate debate.
Anyone who works with data (e.g. technologists, scientists,
politicians, consultants) or questions what will be borne from
our age of data affluence may have expectations for this book –
unfortunately it falls short on providing any real answer.
The revolution will
be data-driven
The book paints an
impending revolution
in mighty strokes. The
authors claim the
impact of data-driven
innovations will
advance the march of
humankind. What they
end up presenting is a
thin collection of
happy-ending business
stories – flight fare
prediction, book
recommendation, spellcheckers and improved
vehicle maintenance.
It’s too bad the book’s
scientific champion Google Flu Trends,1 a tool which predicts
influenza rates through search queries, has proven so fallible. In
February 2013 it forecast almost twice the number of cases
reported by the official count of the Centre for Disease
Control.2
Big data will certainly affect many processes in a range of
industries and environments, however, this book gestures at an
inevitable social revolution in knowledge-making (‘God is
dead’), for which I do not find coherent evidence.
The authors correctly point out that data is rapidly becoming
the ‘raw material of business’. Many organisations will tap into
the new data affluence, the outcome of a long historical process
that includes ‘datafication’ (I’ll define later) and the diffusion of
96
technologies that have
tremendously reduced the costs
involved in data production,
storage and processing.
So, where’s the revolution?
The book argues for three
rather simplistic shifts.
Keep the context
The first shift – the new world
is characterised by “far more
data”. The authors say that just
as a movie emerges from a
series of photographs,
increasing amounts of data are
as important because quantitative changes bring about
qualitative changes. The technical equivalent in big data is the
ability to survey a whole population instead of just sampling
random portions of it.
The second shift is that “looking at vastly more data also
permits us to loosen up our desire for exactitude”. Apparently, in
big data, “with less error from sampling we can accept more
measurement error.” According to the authors, science is
obsessed with sampling and measurement error as a
consequence of coping in a ‘small data’ world.
It would be amazing if the problems of sampling and
measurement error really disappeared when you’re ‘stuffed silly
with data’. But context
matters, as Microsoft
researcher Kate Crawford3
cogently argues in her blog.
It is easy to treat samples as
n=all as data get closer to
full coverage, yet researchers
still need to account for the
representativeness of their
sample. Consider how the
digital divide – some people
are on the internet, others
are not – affects the data
available to researchers.
While a missed
prediction does not cause
much damage if it is about
book recommendations on
Amazon, a similar error
when doing policy making
through big data is potentially more serious. Crawford reminds
us that Google Flu Trends failed because of measurement error.
In big data, data are proxies of events, not the events
themselves. Google Flu Trends cannot distinguish with
“Big data in the online learning space
will give institutions the predictive
tools they need to improve learning
outcomes for individual students.”
certainty people who have the flu from people who are just
searching about it. Google may tune “its predictions on
hundreds of millions of mathematical modelling exercises using
billion of data points”,4 but volume is not enough. What
matters is the nature of the data points and Google has apples
mixed with oranges.
Conflating principle with practice
The third and most
radical shift implies “we
won’t have to be fixated
on causality [...] the idea
of understanding the
reasons behind all that
happens.” This is a straw
man argument. The
traditional image of
science the authors
discuss (fixated with
causality, paranoid about
exactitude) conflates
principles with practices.
Correlational thinking
has been driving a lot of
processes and institutional
behaviours in the real
world. Nevertheless, ‘Felix, qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas’
(‘Fortunate is he who can discover the causes of things’) –
which happens to be the motto of the London School of
Economics (LSE) – is still bedrock in Western political life and
philosophy. The authors cannot dismiss causation so cavalierly.
However, it appears that they do. Big data, they say, means
that the social sciences “have lost their monopoly on making
sense of empirical data, as big-data analysis replaces the highly
skilled survey specialists of the past. The new algorithmists will
be experts in the areas of computer science, mathematics, and
statistics; and they would act as reviewers of big data analyses
and predictions.” This is an odd claim given that the social
sciences are thriving precisely because expert narratives are a
necessary component of how data becomes operational. This
book is a shining example that big data speaks the narrative
experts give it. What close observers know is that even at the
most granular level of practice, analytic understanding is
necessary when managers attempt to implement these systems
in the world.
Quantity and/or quality?
The book is blinded by its strongest assumption: that
quantitative analysis is devoid of qualitative assessment. For the
authors, “to datafy” is merely to put a phenomenon “in a
quantified format so it can be tabulated and analysed”. Their
argument, that “mathematics gave new meaning to data – it
could now be analysed, not just recorded and retrieved”, implies
that analysis begins only after phenomena get reduced to
quantifiable formats. Human judgement is just an
inconvenience of a ‘small data’ world that has no role in the
process of making data. This is why they warn that in the
impending world of big data, “there will be a special need to
carve out a place for the human.”
It is hard to see how imagination and practical context will
suddenly cease to play a fundamental role in innovation. But
98
innovation could definitely be jeopardised if big data systems
are not recognised for what they are – tools for optimising
resource management. Big data may not be an instrument of
discovery; while certainly it is a way of managing entities that
are already known. Big data promises to be financially valuable –
because it is primarily a managerial resource (e.g. pricing fares,
finding books, moving spare parts, etc.).
“Big data will
allow companies
to personalise
every consumer
experience
possible, says
Levinson.”
An even badder, bigger, ‘big brother’
In the world according to Cukier and Mayer-Schönberger, all
the challenges of knowledge-making are about to evaporate.
With big data affluence – sampling, exactitude, and the pursuit
of causality will no longer be issues. The most pressing question
is the problem of data valuation. Now there is a problem the
authors are willing to discuss seriously: how can data be
transformed into a stable financial asset when most of its utility
as a predictive resource is not predictable?
So eager are the authors to mark the potential value of big
data for organisations (data can only be an asset to a
corporation) that they overlook the impact of these systems on
other social actors. So what if big data environments reconfigure
social inequalities? While the citizen will earn new
responsibilities (like privacy management), only corporate
entities will be able to systematically generate, own and exploit
big data sets.
Big data is serious. There will be winners and there will be
losers. What the public need is a book that explains the stakes
so that they can be active participants in this revolution, rather
than be passive recipients of corporate competition. Niccolò Tempini is a PhD candidate in information systems at
the London School of Economics and Political Science in
London in the UK. This piece was f irst posted on the LSE
Review of Books website (see http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/
lsereviewofbooks/2013/05/02/book-review-big-data-arevolution-that-will-transform-how-we-live-work-andthink/) and we thank Tempini for using a Creative
Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
References:
1.
2.
3.
4.
See: http://www.google.org/flutrends/.
See: http://www.cdc.gov/.
See: http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/04/the-hidden-biases-in-big-data/.
See: http://www.google.org/flutrends/.
Big data: the new buzzword
What is ‘big data’?
Says veteran reviewer for The New York Times,
Michiko Kakutani:1
“Google does it. Amazon does it.
Walmart does it. And, [the] United
States government does it. Does
what? Uses ‘big data’ analysis of the
swelling flood of data that is being
generated and stored about virtually
every aspect of our lives to identify
patterns of behaviour and make
correlations and predictive
assessments.”
Big data is changing the world as we speak. It
is “a catch-phrase used to describe a massive
volume of both structured and unstructured
data that is so large that it’s difficult to
process using traditional database and
software techniques. In most enterprise
scenarios the data is too big or it moves too
fast or it exceeds current processing
capacity.”2
No more secrets
Matt Levinson, blogger for www.edutopia.org, says that big data
mining will have profound implications for schooling in the 21st
century and beyond.3 Announcing the ‘age of personalisation’, he
cites Google, which recently announced the imminent arrival of its
new voice feature that will allow you – and others – to schedule
your life.4 The search engine will utilise detailed algorithms to
aggregate everything there is to know about you.
Big data will allow companies to personalise every consumer
experience possible, says Levinson, reporting that for movie site
Netflix5 “every waking moment is devoted to giving the viewer
what he or she wants and expects”. Some doctors are already using
big data diagnostic tools in general family practice in the US as well.
Big data in education is a response to pressure, says Levinson, from
corporations, administrators, government and parents on schools to
use more adapt to using technology and to make meaning from
testing data.
Big data: education’s answer?
U.S. News and World Report commentator Doug Guthrie opines:
“Big data in the online learning space will give institutions the
predictive tools they need to improve learning outcomes for
individual students. By designing a curriculum that collects data at
every step of the student learning process, universities can address
student needs with customised modules, assignments, feedback and
learning trees in the curriculum that will promote better and richer
learning.”6
Levinson’s in good company when he suggests that the term ‘best
practice’ will take on new meaning thanks to big data. “Imagine if a
teacher could input ‘symptoms’ about students to then receive
immediate feedback on the best approach to take for a particular
student, drawing on all of the data available about that student, from
learning inventories and standardised test scores to the community
in which he or she resides… one of the challenges of working with
students is that schools only get part of the picture, as students live
a large after-school life in a variety of settings including team sports,
music and jobs.”
Technology to deal with big data is already being used in some US
classrooms. On www.fastcompany.com, technology journalist Anya
100
Kamenetz7 reports: “Open Curriculum8 is a place where teachers
can upload their stuff from anywhere and create, edit and share
open material in the browser.” Activate Instruction9 describes itself
as “a free online tool that gives… students an enriched,
personalised learning experience through playlists created and
shared by teachers nationwide” and Gooru,10 says Jordan Shapiro,
“captures usage data, social signals and learning outcomes, which
are used to develop user profiles, inform recommendation
algorithms, and provide teachers with tools to deliver personalised
learning to their students.”11
References:
1.
See: Kakutani, M. (2013) “Watched by the web: surveillance is
reborn. ‘Big Data,’ by Viktor Mayer-Schönberger and Kenneth
Cukier.” Available at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/books/big-data-by-viktormayer-schonberger-and-kenneth-cukier.html?_r=0.
2. See, for example:
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/B/big_data.html.
3. Levinson, M. (2013) “Personalized learning, big data and
schools.” Available at: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/personalizedlearning-big-data-schools-matt-levinson.
4. See, for example: Kelly, H. (2013) “Now you can ask Google
more about ... you.” Available at: http://edition.cnn.com/
2013/08/14/tech/web/google-personal-search/index.html.
5. See: Vanderbilt, T. (2013) “The science behind the Netflix
algorithms that decide what you’ll watch next.” Available at:
http://www.wired.com/underwire/2013/08/qq_netflix-algorithm/.
6. See: Guthrie, D. (2013) “The coming big data education
revolution.” Available at: http://www.usnews.com/opinion/
articles/2013/08/15/why-big-data-not-moocs-will-revolutionizeeducation.
7. See: Kamenetz, A. (2013) “New school: two apps that let
teachers remix lessons like DJs.” Available at:
http://www.fastcompany.com/3015099/new-school-two-apps-thatlet-teachers-remix-lessons-like-djs.
8. See: http://opencurriculum.org/.
9. See: http://www.activateinstruction.org/.
10. See: http://www.goorulearning.org/#discover.
11. See: Shapiro, J. (2013) “This guy left Google to put the power of
big data into small classrooms.” Available at:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2013/08/13/this-guyleft-google-to-put-the-power-of-big-data-into-small-classrooms/.
advertorial
Presenting possibilities:
Microsoft opens up a
world of wonder
Microsoft believes in access and
inclusivity when it comes to education.
Each child in South Africa has the potential to grow, learn and
eventually deliver the kind of change we need to make our
country a true example to Africa and the world.
But, as Education for All’s Global Monitoring Report 2011 found,
securing access is not enough: “Getting children into school is a
necessary but insufficient condition for achieving the Education for
All Goals. The experience of school, what children learn in the
classroom and the skills that they emerge with are what ultimately
count.”
A worldwide shift
The latest set of South African Annual National Assessment (ANA)
results show that literacy levels in our schools are poor and kids in
school are not attaining required competencies. Where are we
failing our children?
Clearly we need urgent measures to tackle the generally poor
standard of education, insufficient infrastructure and lack of access
to resources, funding and opportunities.
Worldwide, there has been a fundamental shift in the way the
knowledge economy works. As Tony Wagner of Harvard has
often noted: “The fundamental skill that matters most in
education is the capacity to be innovative and a creative problem
solver. The competitive advantage for the learner of the future is
not in merely knowing more content than the person next to
them, the advantage lies in the ability to interpret and engage
with that content in meaningful ways.”
Mastery is a deep level engagement with content where the
learner goes beyond the borders of the classroom to discover,
develop and explore their own thinking. Geography can now be
explored through interactive maps and live chats with people
across the globe. Mathematical concepts can be demystified in
animations or streaming video. Every subject has the potential to
be radically transformed.
Brescia House School: a Microsoft Global
Innovative School
Brescia House School, a Microsoft Global Innovative School in
Johannesburg, is one of South Africa’s leading independent
girls’ schools. In 2010, it embarked on a project to equip each
Grade 10 learner with a netbook, and the pupils were assigned
work that required using the technology. But this approach had
minimal impact on the daily functioning of the classroom.
Three years on, using the AlwaysOn-Learning Solution and
Microsoft Office 365, Brescia teachers and learners collaborate,
explore and share information through microsites, teacher
blogs and a host of other learning innovations.
The school found that by getting teachers familiar with the
technology first, and by having hardware and software that is
easy to learn, the investment in technology paid off.
102
Microsoft at the forefront of 21st century skills
When people talk of 21st century skills, it isn’t a nebulous concept.
They are talking about managing information in online
documents, e-mails and on spreadsheets. These basic abilities are
the starting point for critical engagement with any subject matter
at school and beyond. In the modern world they are a
fundamental requirement, as a 2013 Microsoft Partners in
Learning and Pearson Foundation study entitled ‘21st Century
Skills and the Workplace‘ revealed:
“Research shows that many young people are developing
most of the skills they use in their current jobs outside of
school. And whilst those having high levels of 21st century
skill development in school are twice as likely to have
better work quality, typical classrooms in South Africa have
not changed to develop the skills required – instead an
educator still stands at the front of the classroom,
delivering content, and then tests what was delivered.”
Teachers are at the centre of Microsoft’s strategy as much as
learners. It’s when we integrate the technology into the teaching
that it becomes meaningful. Our best approach to solving our
educational woes is teachers armed with technology and the right
professional support.
The TV White Spaces pilot project
Five schools in Limpopo are involved in the TV White Spaces
pilot project that provides cost-effective broadband access to
underserved communities. TV white spaces are unused
channels in the broadcast spectrum, which can be used for
wireless internet access in places where it was not possible
before.
This is an exciting opportunity to demonstrate how
information communication technology (ICT) can transform
education. The project operates from a holistic matrix of
content, pedagogy and technology. It includes a range of
professional development offerings and support that will
grow the teacher, not only in knowledge of the curriculum
and the ability to deliver content effectively, but also in
technology integration.
Microsoft opens up a world of wonder
Microsoft has the devices and services that will allow learners to
become anything they choose. We believe the teacher is the single
greatest influence on a child’s future development and we invest
in that role not only with tools, but also through new ways of
thinking and the guidance needed to expand the world.
Our future innovators are out there waiting to be inspired. Young
scientists already walk in cold school corridors ready to be
discovered. This is Microsoft’s vision and commitment to the
future: to enable every educator and fledgling scientist, to
empower the nascent philosophers and inspire the developing
innovators. Together we will build the future and discover what
lies beyond tomorrow.
Learning with Microsoft opens up a world of wonder.
reviews
Reign of Error:
The Hoax
of the
Privatization
Movement and
the Danger to
America’s Public
Schools
Author: Diane Ravitch
Publisher: Knopf
ISBN: 978-0385350884
Radical: Fighting
to Put Students
First
Author: Michelle Rhee
Publisher: Harper
ISBN: 978-0062203984
Reviewed by: Andrew Delbanco
In 1898, the Boston writer
and editor Thomas Wentworth
Higginson published a memoir entitled
C heerful Yesterdays.1
O
ne of the memories that cheered him was of lying
before the hearth while his mother read aloud. As for
“the children of to-day who have no such privilege,”
he wrote, one must regard them with “pity”. Here we
have the keynote of much that has been written about
education before and since: praise for a bygone age when
children were well served by their elders, and pity for the illserved children of today.
When Higginson was a child, public or ‘common’ schools
were just emerging, so education remained largely the province
of families and churches. Today, when the state of teaching and
learning is bemoaned, it is usually the public schools that get
the blame. Politicians and pundits hold them accountable for
how students perform on standardised tests. Principals are fired
and schools closed for poor results. Teachers feel besieged.
The American Federation of Teachers has become a popular
target for anti-union sentiment. The tide of anger has been
rising ever since a national commission released a report in
104
1983 called ‘A Nation at Risk’, which opened
with these often-quoted lines:
“If an unfriendly foreign power had
attempted to impose on America the
mediocre educational performance that
exists today, we might well have viewed it
as an act of war. As it stands, we have
allowed this to happen to ourselves.”2
Ravitch reviews state of public
schools
In the 30 years since, the public mood
about schools has only darkened, so it is
striking that Diane Ravitch, arguably
our leading historian of primary and
secondary education, strongly dissents.
“The public schools,” she says in her
new book about education policy, Reign
of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization
Movement and the Danger to America’s
Public Schools, “are working very well for
most students.” She points out that over
the last few decades high school dropout
rates have declined. Average test scores
have risen, if modestly. Nor is it clear, as
often assumed, that American children lag
significantly behind their foreign
counterparts in science proficiency.
But if Ravitch disputes prevailing
assumptions, she does not gloss over the fact
that school performance by the large
minority of American children who grow up
poor or in segregated neighbourhoods is
disproportionately weak. On the contrary, she
thinks that their plight is a national scandal,
that today’s school reformers are misguided in
their efforts to redress it, and that, along with
the persistence of poverty and residential segregation, we should
be alarmed by the current reform movement itself.
Rhee the public face of school reform
The public face of that movement is Michelle Rhee. Among
young educators who have come lately to prominence, Rhee is
the best known. Her closest rivals for celebrity are Wendy
Kopp, who, as a Princeton University senior in 1990, founded
Teach for America (TFA),3 an organisation that deploys
graduates from elite colleges to teach in public schools; and
Geoffrey Canada, founder of the Harlem Children’s Zone,
which oversees several charter schools as well as health and
social services for poor children and their families. Canada was
the star of the widely praised (and criticised for its sensational
claims) 2010 film Waiting for ‘Superman’.4
The title of Rhee’s new book, Radical: Fighting to Put
Students First, suggests, accurately, that her main subject is
herself. The child of Korean immigrants, she briefly attended
public school in Toledo, Ohio, before her parents moved her to
a private school. When she was nine, they dispatched her to live
with relatives for a year in their native country, where she
admired – at least retrospectively – a culture in which teachers
rank their students and families prod their children to raise their
ranking. “Rather than damaging the souls of the less
accomplished,” she writes with an intimated sneer at those who
would coddle rather than challenge children, “the rankings
focused every family on moving their children up the ladder.”
After returning to private school in the United States, Rhee
spent a year at Wellesley before transferring to Cornell. Upon
completing college, she joined TFA and was assigned to an
inner-city charter school in Baltimore where her second-graders
were, at first, uncontrollable, and called her “Chinese bitch”. As
she tells it, after a frustrating start, her classroom went from
restless and noisy to calm and orderly – a change she attributes
in part to advice from an experienced teacher, and to a reward
system of her own devising whereby points for good behaviour
were converted to prizes such as toys and candy. She also
rearranged the seating from separate tables into a single
semicircle, visited the parents of disruptive children, and
grouped her students according to how they were doing, with
the promise of advancement to a higher group if their work
improved. According to Rhee, her stint in Baltimore was a big
success.5
She tells the rest of her story as an alternating series of
victories on behalf of children grateful for her gifts and setbacks
at the hands of adults threatened by her smarts. At a
presentation about her accomplishments in Baltimore, for
example, she was jeered by veteran teachers whose invective, she
says, exceeded that of the students who had called her a bitch.
Now she was called a whore.
Rhee went on to the Kennedy School at Harvard University
with the idea in mind that “public policy had to change: how
we run schools and select our teachers, how we train them, how
they relate to the students”. There she launched an organisation
called the New Teacher Project, which began as a consulting
service for school districts seeking new teachers, and evolved
into an advocacy group for the reform of hiring, promotion and
severance practices throughout the public school system.
Chosen as chancellor
In 2005, Rhee came to the attention of Joel Klein, chancellor of
New York City’s schools, who later commended her to the
mayor of Washington, D.C., Adrian Fenty. In the summer of
2007, after she had “knocked his socks off ” at her job interview,
Fenty appointed her, at age 37, chancellor of the Washington
schools. Upon taking the job, she knew immediately that she
would have to get over “trying to be warm and friendly”. She
got over it in a flash. Perhaps in emulation of Donald Trump on
The Apprentice,6 she invited the camera crew of a Public
Broadcasting Service (PBS) documentary to film her in the act
of firing a principal. Time magazine put her on its cover looking
fierce and holding a broom.
By the spring of 2008, she had dismissed 36 principals, 22
assistant principals, and, before she was done, nearly 300
teachers. In the fall of 2010, after Fenty was defeated for reelection in the Democratic primary (which was at least partly a
referendum on Rhee), she resigned, blaming her perennial
enemy, the teachers’ union. She now heads a lobbying
organisation called StudentsFirst,7 which opposes tenure for
teachers and has raised over US$1 billion for political
candidates whom it finds congenial.
Whether Rhee’s time in Washington had positive or
negative effects on schoolchildren depends on who tells the tale.
Her own book is remarkably self-praising and untroubled by
doubt. Its cast of characters is divided between those who
adulate her and those who despise her – in both cases,
apparently, for her determination to do good. As soon as she
became chancellor, she discovered deplorable conditions in the
schools: broken air conditioners, warehouses stacked high with
piles of undelivered textbooks. Even her detractors agree that
105
she improved building maintenance and delivery of supplies –
not trivial achievements, since the physical condition of schools
makes a real difference to children as well as to teachers. She
boasts of soaring test scores in her first year and continued
success in the second, “Though the increases were not as
dramatic.”
When budget cuts became imperative after the financial
crash of 2008, she attempted to make rational decisions about
which schools to close or consolidate, and how to make the
necessary layoffs on a better basis than the “last in, first out”
triage favoured by the union. But critics found her rash and
abrasive, and distrusted her decisions about which teachers
should stay and which should go.
Ravitch reviles ‘testing mania’
Diane Ravitch not only sides with Rhee’s critics; she
surpasses them in her condemnation, which borders on
contempt. Here is her summary of Rhee’s legacy to the
Washington schools: “cheating, teaching to bad tests,
institutionalized fraud, dumbing down of tests,
and a narrowed curriculum.”8 The reference
to cheating is to an improbable rise in
passing rates on reading tests during
Rhee’s first two years (in the case of
one school, the rates almost
doubled). Although an
investigation by the D.C.
inspector general did not
determine exactly what
happened, it found that teachers
in at least one school, under
intense pressure to show good test
results, erased wrong answers and
substituted correct ones.
This should not have been surprising.
During Rhee’s regime, teachers’ pay, their jobs,
even the survival of their schools, could depend on a
couple of years of test scores. In this respect, her intervention
was representative of an approach to education that has been
gathering force under both Republican and Democratic
administrations. Beginning with the ‘No Child Left Behind’9
initiative of President George W. Bush and continuing with
President Obama’s ‘Race to the Top’,10 it is likely to accelerate
with the adoption of the ‘Common Core State Standards’
(endorsed so far by 45 states) as testable benchmarks on which
federal funding depends.11
Ravitch describes that approach, aptly, as “testing mania”.
Tests, she thinks, can be useful diagnostic instruments, but as a
high-stakes method for evaluating teachers and schools, they
create more problems than they solve. She quotes Stanford
University professor Linda Darling-Hammond (who was Arne
Duncan’s chief rival to become President Obama’s secretary of
education) that teacher ratings based on tests “largely reflect
whom a teacher teaches, not how well they teach”. Conflating
test scores with teacher quality has the effect, Ravitch writes, of
punishing “teachers for choosing to teach the students with the
greatest needs”, while encouraging them to “spend more time
with the students who will respond to their coaching and to
spend less time with those who will not”. The emphasis on test
scores exacerbates rivalry, discourages teamwork and
undermines morale. It also tends to drive out of the curriculum
subjects that are not amenable to testing, such as art and music.
Most important to Ravitch, “the tests do not measure the many
dimensions of intelligence, judgment, creativity, and character
that may be even more consequential for the student’s future
than his or her test score.”
As for Rhee’s view of such concerns, she is dismissive.
“There will always be doubters,” she writes, and comments on
the cheating scandal with a conditional sentence: “If audits and
investigations expose cheating on tests, we are cheating our
kids.”
Rhee advocate of competition
What links Michelle Rhee’s personal story to her professional
practice is her almost fanatical faith in the power of
competition. Recalling her revelatory experience in Korea, she
remarks, with wistful admiration, that “children in other nations
are fiercely competitive”. Her fervour for competition
exemplifies what is fast becoming the national education
dogma, which boils down to a few variations on a
single theme: (1) Students should compete for
test scores and their teachers’ approval. (2)
Teachers should compete for ‘merit’
rewards from their principal. (3)
Schools should compete for
funding within their district. (4)
School districts should compete
for budgetary allocations
within their state. (5) States
should compete for federal
funds.
For one who grew up, as I
did, in the 1960s and 1970s, it is
strange to hear such faith in the
salutary power of competition from
someone who calls herself “radical”. That
word once implied deep discontent with the
basic structure of society and a revolutionary zeal to
overturn it, beginning with the distribution of wealth. Now it
apparently means the determination to remake public
institutions on the model of private corporations.
In this respect, too, Rhee’s book is a representative document
“Ravitch
wants a return to
broad-scale attack on social
and economic inequities – to
incremental, long-range strategies
that do not promise quick results.
Rhee, essentially, wants shock
therapy for the
schools.”
106
of our time. She wants to bring financial incentives, rewards and
penalties into a bureaucratic system that she regards as
dysfunctional and complacent. She wants to save it from itself
by the infusion of entrepreneurial energy. In this sense, too, her
approach to school reform is part of a trend that has been
building since the 1980s to introduce private competition (in
police, military and postal services, for example) where
government was once the only provider.
Charters and vouchers
For true believers, the promise of privatisation is the
enlargement of consumer choice and, through the pressure of
competition, improvements in quality and efficiency. When it
comes to education, this has meant mainly two departures from
past practice. The first is the growth of charter schools –
publicly funded schools (often with supplementary private
support) that are granted, through renewable charters, greater
freedom than conventional public schools to hire and fire
teachers, accept or reject student applicants, and dismiss
students who fail to thrive. The second is the provision of
school vouchers (which Rhee initially opposed but now
supports), in the form of tax credits that parents may apply to
the cost of private or parochial school, thereby broadening the
choice of schools for their own children while decreasing funds
for public schools attended by children from families without
the will or means to utilise vouchers.
Vouchers were first proposed in their modern form in 1955
by the free-market economist Milton Friedman.12 For groups
seeking to escape what they regarded as the coercive culture of
public schools, it was an attractive idea. It appealed to Catholics
resentful of paying taxes to support schools to which they did
not wish to send their own children, and to southern whites
who wished to withdraw their children from public schools
during the first phase of forced integration.
As for charters, Ravitch notes the irony that the idea was
first brought to public notice in the late 1980s by Albert
Shanker, the long-time president of the teachers’ union. What
Shanker had in mind was small collaborations of teachers
interested in helping troubled students by moving them into a
sort of school-within-a-school that would be a laboratory for
teaching experiments and that might be expanded if proven
successful.13
Charters: A solution?
Today, according to Ravitch, nearly two million students are
enrolled in charter schools, including a startling 200 000 in
what she calls “cyber-charters”– schools with no physical
location that operate over the internet, relying heavily on
parents as “learning coaches”. An increasing number of charter
schools – both virtual and actual – are run for profit by those
whom Ravitch calls “speculators, entrepreneurs, ideologues,
snake-oil salesmen… and Wall Street hedge fund managers,”
among others.
Some non-profit charters, such as Geoffrey Canada’s
Promise Academy of the Harlem Children’s Zone and the
KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Programme) schools, have
attracted lavish support from wealthy philanthropies including
the Gates and Walton foundations. Among lobbyists who
favour maximum freedom of action for charters is the American
Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) – the same organisation
that drafted the legislative proposal on which Florida’s ‘Stand
Your Ground’ law was based.14
Most charters, non-profit or for-profit, employ a much lower
percentage of unionised teachers than conventional public
schools. Because some charter schools – or networks of schools
under centralised management – enjoy generous funding from
private donors, they have the potential to support students and
families in ways that go far beyond the scope of what schools
dependent solely on public funding can possibly do. The leaders
among them, such as the Promise Academy and the KIPP
schools, provide what Ravitch calls, approvingly, “wraparound
services” – prenatal counselling for expectant mothers,
programmes for preschoolers, longer school days, after-school
and summer activities, and other support services urgently
needed in low-income neighbourhoods. Children whose
families do little to encourage them to learn can greatly benefit
from such services.
Many people are looking to charter schools for the salvation
of public education. As measured by test scores, retention,
graduation and college-attendance rates, some charters have
shown impressive results. Overall, however, they have a
decidedly mixed record, and Ravitch cautions that “for every
‘miracle’ school… there are scores of ‘Dumpster schools’, where
the low-performing students are unceremoniously hidden
away”. Her central concern is that pressure to show quick
improvement in test results will create a “publicly funded dual
school system” – one, consisting of some charter schools, will
mainly appeal to the “motivated and willing”; the other,
including public schools, will serve the “rejects”. It is by no
means clear that large investments in charter schools will turn
out to be money well spent.
Both authors angry
Two views of the past and the future
To read Rhee and Ravitch in sequence is like hearing a toogood-to-be-true sales pitch followed by the report of an auditor
who discloses mistakes and outright falsehoods in the accounts
of the firm that’s trying to make the sale. Both books are driven
by hot indignation. Rhee is indignant at the forces that have
resisted her efforts to rescue children from incompetent and
indifferent teachers. She has little to say about the setting in
which many teachers work – the desperate circumstances into
which roughly a quarter of American children (a higher
percentage in the school district she led) are born – except to
say, in passing, that poverty ought not to be invoked as an
excuse for poor academic performance.
She repeatedly invokes her mentor, Joel Klein, who asserts
that “you cannot solve the problem of poverty until you fix the
public education system”. Rhee, too, seems to believe that good
teaching can overcome what she calls “environment” – yet she
attributes her own drive and ambition to a
childhood environment that was closely
controlled by her “very, very strict”
parents. She recounts her own first
teaching experience, as a teenager, in a
summer programme for Native
American children on whom she
was sure she “was having an
impact” until, upon returning from
a week’s break, she discovered that
they had sunk back into the sad
apathy in which she had found them.
Yet in her professional life she never
faces up to the implication of this early
experience. Even the most committed teacher
has limited power to counter the effects of systemic
deprivation.15
Ravitch, too, is indignant – at the callow arrogance of those
who describe poverty as an “excuse” for not performing better in
school. She is outraged by the persistence of poverty and its
terrible effects: low birth weight with the associated risks of
cognitive deficit, asthma and the neurological effects of lead
poisoning, among other debilitating conditions. She reminds us
that poverty damages, often irretrievably, children who start
school already hurt by having lived amid angry, often poorly
educated adults prone to violence, having been parked in front
of TV and tended by exhausted caretakers who rarely speak in
complex sentences or about anything beyond the fraught
incidents of day-to-day life. This fall, on the south side of
Chicago, thousands of children are walking to and from school
on streets lined with armoured police trying to protect them
from crossfire between warring gangs. Of course a good school
can be a haven in such a setting, and good teachers can try to
show children an alternative world, but it is foolish to
overestimate their power to transform the lives of frightened
and, inevitably, hardened children.
Through Ravitch’s eyes we see what Rhee refuses to see: the
limits of what even the most skilled teacher can do in the face
of such realities. “Poverty,” she says bluntly, “is the most
important factor contributing to low academic achievement.”
And so “we must work both to improve schools and to reduce
poverty, not to prioritise one over the other or say that schools
come first, poverty later.” This is an incontestably true statement –
but not the kind of call to arms that gets you on the cover of
Time magazine.
If the present looks different through the eyes of Rhee and
Ravitch, so does the past. When Rhee looks back at the
America in which she was born in 1970, she sees a time of
collapsing standards. But when she adduces as evidence the fact
that SAT scores16 were falling, she fails to note that the test was
changing from an option for high-achievers to an almost
compulsory sorting mechanism for the growing number of
students aiming for college. When she describes the suburb of
Toledo in which she grew up, with its rolling lawns and houses
like “mini castles”, she mentions that white flight from the city
had left the schools in Toledo heavily segregated and dependent
for funding on a declining tax base; but she goes straight from
this observation into making her case for internal school
reform. The economic and social settings in which schools and
students exist pretty much disappear.
Ravitch, born in the late 1930s, looks back at the 1960s and
1970s and sees something different. She sees the
achievement gap narrowing between black and
white students at a time of increased
government support for early-childhood
education, improving economic
opportunities for black families with
the help of anti-discrimination laws
and jobs programmes, and federal
funds allocated to schools that
enrolled poor children, rather than
according to comparative
performance on tests. In short, she sees
President Johnson’s Great Society policies
as a force for progress.
These conflicting versions of the past lead to
different prescriptions for the future. Ravitch wants a
return to broad-scale attack on social and economic inequities –
to incremental, long-range strategies that do not promise quick
results. Rhee, essentially, wants shock therapy for the schools.
Despite our much-lamented political ‘gridlock’, some liberals
and conservatives have found common ground on issues
ranging from civil liberties to military intervention in foreign
affairs. You would think there might be room for some
agreement on how to improve public education. To find it
would require all sides to moderate their tone. Rhee is
incredulous at what she considers the stupidity and
irresponsibility of just about everyone who disagrees with her.
Ravitch imputes bad motives and a grand design where there
may be good intentions and overblown confidence. She
denounces “the deceptive rhetoric of the privatisation
movement”, whose “underlying goal” is:
“To replace public education with a system in which
public funds are withdrawn from public oversight to
subsidize privately managed charter schools, voucher
schools, online academies, for-profit schools, and other
private vendors.”
“Through
Ravitch’s eyes we see
what Rhee refuses to see:
the limits of what even the
most skilled teacher can do
in the face of such
realities.”
108
What about the unions?
At the heart of the dispute between Ravitch and Rhee are their
conflicting views of the teachers’ union. For Rhee, it is simply a
thuggish interest group that stands in the way of reform and
holds the Democratic Party in thrall. She sees its overriding
purpose as protecting weak or burned-out teachers who block
opportunities for younger teachers who have better prospects of
instructing and inspiring children. Ravitch, in defence of the
union, is equally tenacious but makes her case with more
nuance and depth. She sees it as “the strongest voice in each
state to advocate for public education and to fight crippling
budget cuts”. Tenure, she points out, was established long before
the advent of the union, and means the right to “due process”
rather than a guarantee of continued employment.
She acknowledges that initiatives such as TFA have helped
elevate the prestige of public-school teaching by attracting
talented young college graduates. But she stresses the value of
long experience, and thinks that teaching as a professional
career is undermined when eager young recruits drop in for a
few years before dropping out in order to move on to
something more lucrative or prestigious.17 In short, Rhee wants
to bust the union while Ravitch wants to strengthen it as an
“advocate for better working conditions and better
compensation for its members”, since “better working
conditions translate into better learning conditions for
students”.
Both writers have shown themselves capable of changing
their minds. Rhee calls herself a Democrat, but has moved
toward positions that reflect a stalwart Republican’s faith in
private investment and deregulation as the best approach to all
problems. Ravitch, who once served in the Department of
Education under a Republican president, George H.W. Bush,
now laments the “full-throated Democratic endorsement” of the
Republican agenda of privatisation in the guise of reform.
Go for the middle ground
You would think it possible to take ideas from both sides and
put them to work together. In order to agree that America’s
schools ought to be better (Ravitch), we don’t have to believe
that they are worse than ever (Rhee). We don’t have to think, as
Rhee does, that “great” teaching is a magic bullet in order to
agree with Ravitch that the training of teachers ought to be
more rigorous and that our nation needs “a stable workforce of
experienced professional educators” who receive good
compensation and respect. Rhee is right that our schools could
use some shaking up. Ravitch is right that “the wounds caused
by centuries of slavery, segregation, and discrimination cannot
be healed by testing, standards, accountability, merit pay, and
choice”.
Perhaps a starting point would be to acknowledge, as
Ravitch does, that the golden age of master teachers and model
children never existed, and, as Rhee insists, that the bureaucracy
of our schools is wary of change. One thing that certainly won’t
help our children is any ideology convinced of its exclusive
possession of the truth. Andrew Delbanco is Levi professor in the humanities at
Columbia University in New York City and author of
College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be (Princeton
University Press, 2012). This review was f irst featured in
the New York Review of Books on 10 October 2013 and
appears here with the author’s and the magazine’s kind
permission.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
References:
1.
2.
Higginson, T.W. (1898) Cheerful Yesterdays. Ithaca: Cornell
University Library.
A Nation at Risk: The Imperative For Educational Reform is the title of
the 1983 report of American president Ronald Reagan’s National
Commission on Excellence in Education. Its publication is
considered a landmark event in modern American educational
history. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Nation_at_Risk.)
16.
17.
See, http://www.teachforamerica.org/.
See, for example: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1566648/.
Ravitch, however, cites a University of Maryland report that
questions Rhee’s claims of greatly improved test scores by her
students. See: Ravitch, D. (2013) Reign of Error: The Hoax of the
Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools.
New York: Knopf. (pp. 152–153).
The Apprentice is an American reality game show hosted by real
estate magnate, businessman and television personality Donald
Trump. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Apprentice_
(U.S._TV_series).)
See: http://www.studentsfirst.org/
Ravitch, D. (2011) “Shame on Michelle Rhee.” Available at:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/03/29/michelle-rheescheating-scandal-diane-ravitch-blasts-education-reform-star.html.
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) is a United States
Act of Congress. NCLB supports standards-based education reform.
The Act requires states to develop assessments in basic skills. To
receive federal school funding, states must give these assessments to
all students at select grade levels. (Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Child_Left_Behind_Act.)
Race to the Top is a US$4.35 billion United States Department of
Education contest created to spur innovation and reforms in state
and local district school education. It is part of the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. (Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_to_the_Top.)
See Hacker, A. and Dreifus, C. (2013) “Who’s minding the schools?”
Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/opinion/sunday/thecommon-core-whos-minding-the-schools.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
See Friedman, M. (1955) “The role of government in education.”
Available at: http://www.edchoice.org/The-Friedmans/The-Friedmanson-School-Choice/The-Role-of-Government-in-Education.aspx.
See Shanker, A. (1988) Speech at the National Press Club. Available
at: https://www.reuther.wayne.edu/files/64.43.pdf.
A stand-your-ground law is a type of self-defence law that gives
individuals the right to use deadly force to defend themselves
without any requirement to evade or retreat from a dangerous
situation. It is law in certain jurisdictions within the United States.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand-your-ground_law.)
Without citation, Rhee mentions a Harvard study showing the
durable effects on “kids who had just one effective teacher in their
lifetime”. See, Rhee, M. (2013) Radical: Fighting to Put Students
First. New York: Harper (p. 142). Ravitch’s view of “great” teachers is
that “there is no evidence that they exist in great numbers or that
they can produce the same feats year after year for every student”.
See Ravitch, D. (2013) op cit (p. 101). She cites multiple studies in
her endnotes. For an extended discussion of excessive faith in
education as the remedy for economic and social problems, see
Grubb, W.N. and Lazerson, M. (2004) The Education Gospel: The
Economic Power of Schooling. Harvard: Harvard University Press.
The SAT is a standardised test for most college admissions in the
United States. (Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAT_Reasoning_Test.)
See Rich, M. (2013) “At charter schools, short careers by choice.”
Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/education/atcharter-schools-short-careers-by-choice.html?pagewanted=all.
109
Another brick in the wall
conversations
last words
110
We need to dispel a myth about
oft-maligned teachers.
T
hey are not jealous of those ex-teachers who
have left the sacred halls of education to seek
vulgar, material wealth in the Gotham City
world of commerce. So what if these traitors
are paid monthly stipends that exceed what a teacher
earns in a year? We class-bound martyrs say, what is
money? Our rewards are much, much greater. We are
not so shallow. We barely even drool – much – when
we hear of profit bonus rewards, and that car, and that
skiing trip, and that holiday home, and that … Oh,
would it be such a crime against the universe if
teachers were actually paid enough to be able to replace
the 12-year-old family car without touching the
in-laws?
Many of those ex-teachers go into selling
educational aids. And the avalanche of ‘try-me’ samples
arriving at schools, like waste disposal at landfill sites, is
approaching critical mass. Salespeople ready to
demonstrate the next generation of apps, the
barbarians at the gates, are queuing up worse than
traffic at the N3 tolls at Easter. (Wow! Have I
cornered the market on mixed metaphors or what?)
These are aids to help learners. What about
teacher aids?
As a young teacher, what I needed a whole lot more
than the latest overhead projector marker pens was
what I call (not wishing to be too technical) a BladderFull-Or-Not Screening Machine. Oh yes. A device –
stay with me here – to detect and separate the kids
who really, really need the toilet from the chancers.
This device would be a bit like those handheld airport
metal detectors. You would get the pupil to remove any
water bottles or liquid containers from his person, then
run the fluid-detecting device over the abdomen and if
the bleeper screams loudly enough (corroborating the
pupil’s crossed legs and crossed eyes), he is permitted to
leave the room before a puddle appears under his desk.
Of course (like these modern ‘smartboard-y’, iPad-y
type ‘goedertjies’– with all their ‘snappy appies’), not
every teacher would want – or indeed, need – the
device. My colleague, Ma’am Prymm, would have
scorned it. She went straight to the source of the
problem. One look from her and pupils tightened their
sphincters so tight even a plumber’s shifting spanner
could not have loosened them as she informed them
that no bathroom breaks would be allowed.
If truth be told, a detector would have saved a
teacher (any teacher – I’m not saying it was me) from
the awkward situation of the puddle under the desk. It
was beneath a boy (a reprobate with previous out-ofclass nefarious activity convictions) who had been
refused leave-the-room permission. But, was it a real
accident (mortifying to the pupil and therefore making
the teacher guilty of insensitive cruelty)? Or was it fluid
surreptitiously poured from a water bottle to make the
teacher look bad? Confronting the pupil led to stout
denial. The boy (with support from the class)
challenged the teacher to prove his contention that the
puddle was not a bodily fluid. Foolishly, the nowincensed teacher (I did not say it was me!)
unthinkingly threatened to test the fluid. His threat
was defiantly challenged. Cornered, he felt he had to
go ahead.
In the resulting chaos, the delighted class gathered
around to gleefully watch their teacher on hands and
knees using a pipette to suck up a sample of the
(alleged) wee from the floor for testing.
Let it be said that when this story was recounted in
an after-dinner conversation, the reaction was an
hilarious: “You don’t need aids – you need help!”
Oh, and the result of the test? Water. But as one
learns the hard way, in class, proving oneself right is
not the same as winning.
Bruce Pinnock teaches at St Alban’s College in
Pretoria, Gauteng.
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TIM SMITH
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DALEEN JANSE VAN RENSBURG
ETHEL HERMAN
ROBERT BASSON
BRENDA WILD
SALLY THORP
CAREN MAREE
DONALD ALLEN JONES
CHRISTIAAN COETZEE
MAGEL VAN DE VENTER
ADRI HARRIS
ANTHEA VARIEND
ADRIE SCHOEMAN
JEANETTE VAN DEN BREGEN
CHARLOTTE TAYLOR
ANINEL LUYKEN
SULONA REDDY
ANGELA ALLEN
NOBULALI
PAUL LONDAL
BUHLE MENOE
KRISTY STONE
BRENDA EDDINGTON
DANIELLE KANSLEY
DAVID LABUSCHAGNE
MATT VAN HEERDEN
GARY AMSTUTZ
HILTON THEUNISSEN
ALLISON NEZAR
PETER MOODIE
MARC HARDWICK
MARC COLTMAN
ARNOLD LAMONT
RITSEP MATABOGE
RHAE SHAWN KABANTU
ANDREW STEAD
SANNE TIMMER
MARY STUART
MICHELLE LISSOOS
ROYCE VAN DER ZWAN
MARK KHOURY
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031 564 9290
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086 111 4194
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033 263 2441
078 669 4660
021 762 4378
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+44 15 0926 5078
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011 441 5347
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Independent Education

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