The 2009 Grade 12 results are out and they don’t look good. There has been a 2% decline in the national pass rate when compared to the previous year. The Western Cape has declined by 2.7%. If we believe what the Minister of Education is saying then we are not doing well in an important indicator of the quality of our education system. Our education system is therefore forty percent from being excellent.
The Minister has already identified what she thinks are contributing factors to the parlous state of our education. Backed by a report on the Implementation of the National Curriculum Statement she sees an urgent need to improve the quality of teaching in schools in order to achieve. Her initiative in this regard is the establishment of a Teacher Development Branch that will focus on “increasing the support to teachers in terms of strengthening teaching skills and content knowledge.” Reading through the Minister’s speech one get the sense that she views teachers as the weakest link in the system. She does talk of the need to do other things but keeps on coming back to the issue of teachers and teaching. The other issues she raises relates to government improving support to schools, dealing with weak management and lack of leadership and discipline. She nonetheless comes back to the “poor teaching in many of our schools”. Individual teachers and teacher Unions and Associations have got to do serious introspection and deal with the perception of a lazy teacher who is content as long as the salary gets paid into his/her bank account.
A strong word will also have to go to the learners as they are very important to the existence of a culture of teaching and learning. It does concern me that i-pitshi become what occupies learners minds on weekends. You sometimes get the feeling that some live to have fun and there is no sense of responsibility. Learners need to know that their future is truly in their hands. They can not lay the blame solely on the teachers’ door. I read somewhere that if you blame someone for your lack of success you are actually giving them power to determine your future. No one should have that power over you, except God and He is fair... We have seen stories of students who have succeeded against all odds. This is because an individual takes a decision that they will push very hard even if teachers don’t teach or schools have got no laboratories or parents have no money. It takes an individual to commit regardless of what everyone else is doing. When I was preparing to write Grade 12 there was an international boxing match that was advertised with the punch line “No guts no glory”. I personally changed that to “no hard work no glory” for myself. It became my motto as I was preparing for those exams and I dare say, it worked out well me. Far from wanting to boast I highlight the strength of an individual resolution regardless of where you are and amongst which crowd.
Parents should play their role by not only buying the paper to see Grade 12 results at the end of the year. Those results are an outcome of work throughout the year. How may parents ever ask whether their children do assignments and study during the year. Let us tell these kids that waiting for two weeks before exams to be serious is not on.
Government should also play its role by doing the best they can to ensure teachers teach and learners learn. Minister Motshekga says that provincial education department officials “must support our schools by ensuring that textbooks and other teaching and learning materials are provided on time and that real teaching and learning are taking place in all our schools from the beginning of the school year.” This is important and the buck stops with the Minister in making sure that this happen.
The Government, teacher unions and many of us pride ourselves for being progressive people and yet I can’t think of many things more reactionary than contributing to the failure of those who are our country’s future. Education for Development!!!
The Minister has already identified what she thinks are contributing factors to the parlous state of our education. Backed by a report on the Implementation of the National Curriculum Statement she sees an urgent need to improve the quality of teaching in schools in order to achieve. Her initiative in this regard is the establishment of a Teacher Development Branch that will focus on “increasing the support to teachers in terms of strengthening teaching skills and content knowledge.” Reading through the Minister’s speech one get the sense that she views teachers as the weakest link in the system. She does talk of the need to do other things but keeps on coming back to the issue of teachers and teaching. The other issues she raises relates to government improving support to schools, dealing with weak management and lack of leadership and discipline. She nonetheless comes back to the “poor teaching in many of our schools”. Individual teachers and teacher Unions and Associations have got to do serious introspection and deal with the perception of a lazy teacher who is content as long as the salary gets paid into his/her bank account.
A strong word will also have to go to the learners as they are very important to the existence of a culture of teaching and learning. It does concern me that i-pitshi become what occupies learners minds on weekends. You sometimes get the feeling that some live to have fun and there is no sense of responsibility. Learners need to know that their future is truly in their hands. They can not lay the blame solely on the teachers’ door. I read somewhere that if you blame someone for your lack of success you are actually giving them power to determine your future. No one should have that power over you, except God and He is fair... We have seen stories of students who have succeeded against all odds. This is because an individual takes a decision that they will push very hard even if teachers don’t teach or schools have got no laboratories or parents have no money. It takes an individual to commit regardless of what everyone else is doing. When I was preparing to write Grade 12 there was an international boxing match that was advertised with the punch line “No guts no glory”. I personally changed that to “no hard work no glory” for myself. It became my motto as I was preparing for those exams and I dare say, it worked out well me. Far from wanting to boast I highlight the strength of an individual resolution regardless of where you are and amongst which crowd.
Parents should play their role by not only buying the paper to see Grade 12 results at the end of the year. Those results are an outcome of work throughout the year. How may parents ever ask whether their children do assignments and study during the year. Let us tell these kids that waiting for two weeks before exams to be serious is not on.
Government should also play its role by doing the best they can to ensure teachers teach and learners learn. Minister Motshekga says that provincial education department officials “must support our schools by ensuring that textbooks and other teaching and learning materials are provided on time and that real teaching and learning are taking place in all our schools from the beginning of the school year.” This is important and the buck stops with the Minister in making sure that this happen.
The Government, teacher unions and many of us pride ourselves for being progressive people and yet I can’t think of many things more reactionary than contributing to the failure of those who are our country’s future. Education for Development!!!
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