I suppose I’m generalising here, because even in the work place (i.e. business) there are people who absolutely despise their jobs to the point of rather wanting to work on a kibbutz or log pine trees somewhere in remote Siberia while drinking vodka and singing the “Volga Boatmen’s Song”.

My point, however, is that teaching should first and foremost never be seen as just a job. If there are teachers who teach merely for the pay slip every month, then I sure as anything want to keep my own child far, far away from them.

I was recently invited to speak at the parent teacher evening of *Habibia Primary School in Cape Town. The event itself was hosted at Alexander Sinton High School as Habibia do not yet have their own hall. During the various talks given by many of the teachers, I was surprised, no, shocked, to hear of the challenges that their teachers face daily in terms of the learners (for the benefit of our international visitors, the students).

From general laziness and incorrect uniforms to offensive language and adult material on cellphones, I simply sat there thinking “Wow, times have changed since I was last in school”.

But, have times really changed all that much? Are learners far worse now than they were 20 years ago?

I’d like to say that things were much better when I was in school, but reflecting back on those days, I was reminded that there is certainly no new sin under the sun.

There was general laziness, there was always uniform and hair-style issues, there was certainly offensive language and very often alcohol and drug problems too. Not that I was involved in any of those, barring general laziness and the occasional detention for styling my hair with gel (wax was not the ‘in thing’ during my high school years). At the end of the day though, discipline has always been a problem since Adam and Eve first bit into that apple.

So the question begs, have times changed? Are learners worse? Do they give teachers more reason to go on stress-related leave and be out of the classroom so frequently?

My father, ex Head of Science at Fairmont High School, once told me that never in 20 years of teaching did he send a child out of the class during a lesson, nor refer the child to anyone else for discipline. He always handled everything ‘in-house’ so to speak. Granted, those were the days when corporal punishment was still allowed, but I doubt very much that he metered out many beatings.

He told me: “Adrian, the trick to getting those kids to respect you is by using subtle techniques that show them you’re very much in control of the situation. Never, ever lose your composure in your classroom. Own your classroom, and let them know that when they walk through that door, they’re walking onto your property and into your domain.”

This is not achieved by screaming and shouting, nor by dishing out wholesale punishment in my opinion. The trick is to set the tone from the very first lesson onwards.

When I was in grade 8, I had a teacher, Mr Titus, who set the tone very well during our first history class. He told us upfront that he was not there to be our friend. He was there to be our teacher. He laid out the rules for his classroom, and also detailed the consequences of not adhering to his rules. He applied the “do not smile for the first 4 months” philosophy and needless to say, we experienced quality teaching in his class with few discipline-related disruptions.

Did he possess some magical power? No. Did he have unwavering support from the Department of Education? Probably not. Did he have advanced training and high qualifications from some top university? No. Was his salary much higher than YOURS? No. Was his salary higher than YOURS at all? Probably not.

So, my advice to teachers is this:

1. Stop complaining about the money. If it’s REALLY about the money, then find a different job.
2. Stop complaining about the children. They need love the most, when they deserve it the least. You can make your mark in history by making your mark on them.

You might ‘only’ be a teacher, but by being a teacher you can shape the future. If you cannot see the truth behind this, then in the words of Danny in Hot Fuzz: “Jog on!”.

* Habibia Primary School is an institution that is working hard at making it’s mark in history despite facing daily challenges. The school has many experienced teachers, some who have been teaching for over 40 years. This is a school were teachers do not complain about the state of education, but simply get on with the job of educating the nation.

I want to talk about kids and computers and how every kid should have one. Unless they do, they’ll remain peasants in some 19th century backwater.

It is clear to me that the racial, economic and cultural divide that threatens our beloved land and communities is reflected in the access to, and use of, information.

Jake, you and your mates are always going on about being a simple herd boy among simple cows in more simple times, and look at you now, freshly showered and all. Every country needs a rags to riches story, but not everyone needs to go suffer their own. There’s no moral virtue in suffering. Most kids won’t be as lucky as you. In an electronic age, they can’t even read or write.

Once, if you couldn’t use a pencil and paper, you were doomed. You’d go on chatting to the simple cows and goats till your dying day and killing people for being witches. No, this is not racial abuse. My ancestors in Scotland did it too.

Now you’re going to be doomed to making small talk with cows and killing witches if you’re not electronically sussed and connected. It’s the new literacy.

The plan is this. We set up a new tax system to fund computers in every classroom. They’ll have internet connection because the internet has lessons on it and – forgive my mentioning this – our educational system isn’t much cop under you guys. You began by culling teachers’ posts and now you’re closing schools for some world hockey game.

Cost? I didn’t expect you lot to use the word. As Pravin will tell us, six percent of the population pays tax – oh, you recon 10? Gee! We can’t lay more on them.

The haves can pay. That’s you. A special 10 percent tax on the new, undiscounted price of every car over R50 000.

If folks like Vodacom and MTN get caught screwing the customers, their companies and suppliers will have to provide broadband to rural schools. They may not recover the costs from customers.

I reckon, Trevor, that your car translates into some 2 600 pupil-hours a day on a computer. Our former public protector’s R7 million soft landing translates into 2 500 computers providing 10 000 pupil-hours a day. Yes, I’m also suggesting a special 30 percent tax on severance and performance bounties.

The money mustn’t go into the general tax kitty. It’s surrounded by too many fatcats. It will be looked after by people whose fingers will be carefully inspected for stickiness.

This is an investment in your future. Your institutions need computer-literate citizens. Our children will need the jobs and the connection to their, not our, world.

By Robert Grieg, Techno Times, November 3, 2009

What do you think? Add your comments below.

Reacting to media reports – following a presentation to a parliamentary portfolio committee on Wednesday, at which he tabled a document stating “too many teachers cannot pass tests that their own learners are expected to pass” – Soobrayan said he wanted to clarify what he had told MPs.

At no point in the briefing had he blamed all teachers for the challenges facing basic education.

“[I] did acknowledge that there were some teachers in the system who may not be displaying the requisite competence and do not show commitment to quality teaching, but [wish] to emphasise that the majority of South Africa’s teachers are dedicated professionals who give of their best at all times and who serve the needs of learners, their schools and indeed the country, with pride and commitment.”

Soobrayan criticised “some of the media reports” on his presentation, saying “reckless and distorted reporting” served only to demoralise teachers.

“Reporting of this nature is not in the best interests of improving the education system as a whole,” he said.

At Wednesday’s committee meeting, Soobrayan tabled a briefing document listing, among other things, “key interventions and activities” designed to achieve outputs and targets identified by his department.

These included ensuring “all teachers have required capability, commitment and practice”.

The document states that in this regard there are “serious problems related to commitment and practice”, despite “significant investment” in teacher development.

During the presentation, Soobrayan warned of a crisis in basic education, which covers the period from Grade R to matric.

Sapa

What do you think? Add your comments below.

There are also serious problems with teachers’ commitment to their tasks, according to a document tabled by the department’s acting director general, Bobby Soobrayan, at a briefing for members of Parliament’s basic education portfolio committee.

“Too many teachers cannot pass tests that their own learners are expected to pass,” the document states.

Soobrayan told MPs that among key interventions needed to tackle this problem was ensuring “all teachers have the required capability, commitment and practice”.

In this regard, the department planned to adopt a two-prong strategy.

“One is accountability, and the other is support through the establishment of a teacher development institute that will look at practical application.”

While huge progress had been made in certifying teachers, the problem related to teaching in practice.

“So this is about practical application,” he said.

Earlier, Soobrayan warned of a crisis in basic education, which covers the period from Grade R to matric.

“We are at a point now in the country, politically and otherwise, where there is a huge consensus that we face a crisis in basic education that requires urgent remediation.

“We recognise that, in terms of the primary objectives, too many schools do not have the conditions required for achieving learning outcomes.

“The problem is worse when you look at poverty levels, you look at race, diversity, and you look at geographic location.”

Soobrayan said efforts since 1994 to tackle these problems had not been as effective as the department had wanted.

“Therefore we need a fundamental shift in how we intervene in the system,” he said.

Among the performance areas that would be closely monitored over the next five years were the numbers of matriculants qualifying for university entry; the maths and physical science pass rates in that examination; and literacy and numeracy levels in Grades three, six and nine.

According to the document, only 38 percent of rade six pupils are currently (2009 figures) functioning at the required level of literacy, while only 35 percent of them are functioning at the required level in maths.

“Over five years [by 2014] it should be achievable to raise the proportion of students operating at the required level to 60 percent,” it states.

Soobrayan said numeracy and literacy were the key to improving educational performance.

“If we don’t get that right, you don’t have what educational psychologists call the… platform on which to build.”

Teachers were the key to solving the problem.

“The improvement of the quality of teachers is a critical thing.”

Sapa

The problem lies not in the actual tool or resource being purchased. The problem lies in the phrase “aggressive marketing tactics” combined with the phrase “lack of aftersales support and training”.

The reality is that many companies have popped up over the years offering educational software and hardware tools that in many cases are actually very good at doing what they were designed to do.

Interactive whiteboards (IWB’s) as an example, are an excellent means to engage learners in a stimulating manner. A Science teacher for example, is able to use the software tools loaded on an IWB to create exciting, interactive presentations of molecules and atoms moving around. Instead of showing learners drawings of an atomic model, the teacher is able to literally show the learners exactly how the atoms move on the IWB, which is infinitely more interesting than looking at a black chalk board.

I don’t think there is anyone who could argue against the benefits that a tool such as an IWB has to offer. It’s obvious that in this day an age, anything that can capture a child’s attention is something that should be expanded upon.

However, the sad reality is that when I visit schools who have previously purchased IWB’s, I am given account after account of how the IWB is hardly used by any of the teachers. Many schools are sitting with IWB’s that cost anything from R10,000 – R25,000 per board. If not used, then certainly a BIG white elephant. The number one reason given: the teachers don’t know what to do with the board.

The example of the ‘redundant interactive white board’ can be applied to many other products that ruthless educational vendors irresponsibly market to schools. From curriculum-based software to skills development tools, anything that a school buys and then doesn’t use is a waste of precious school funds.

Blame the school! The teachers are lazy.

This is one of the first excuses an educational vendor will give you when asked why some schools buy their products and then hardly use them. Another one of my favourite excuses are: the teachers are not willing to learn anything new.

If you’re selling something, the probabilty is that you think it is the best thing since sliced bread. What you must remember, is that educational vendors have convinced themselves that their product is going to benefit anyone who purchases it. They love their product. They’re passionate about it. They see the value and they know EXACTLY how they would implement it if they were you (the customer).

At the end of the day, the bottom line for the vendor is their profit. This is understandble – they’re running a business, not a charity. And that’s OKAY. You shouldn’t point fingers at them.

However, it is grossly irresponsible to sell a product to a school when you know that the product requires ongoing training and support , and you cannot afford to offer that ongoing training and support. To sell a product to a school, and expect them to implement it on their own without assistance, is just not cricket.

There is probably nothing a principal hates more than being romanced into a sale through a well delivered sales pitch, only to discover that the product they purchased actually requires ongoing support that the vendor is just not willing to give.

Beware of: The Box Droppers

Many good educational software and hardware products on the market require ongoing support from the supplier. Beware of vendors who sell you their products and then disappear, only to resurface some time later with another “amazing” product that is going to cost more money and “solve all your problems”.

If you are the one signing that quotation, make sure that the vendor is willing to put in writing that (a) the product is so easy to use that it requires absolutely no training or support, OR (2) the product does in fact require training and support and that the vendor is, firstly, capable and willing to train you to use the product and, secondly, will help you implement it at your school.

Beware of: The Trainers

Most good educational software and hardware vendors do offer training on the use of their products. “Great!” you may say. Yes sure, I agree with you, but put it this way:

You’re learning to drive for the first time. You hire a driving instructor to teach you how to drive. He shows you which pedals to push, how to use the indicators, where to put the fuel and how to start the engine. And then he leaves and sends you an invoice for a few hundred rands.

What he has failed to do is help you get into the car and make it move forward. And he could only have done this by giving you the keys and putting you in the drivers seat, guiding you and instructing you as you go.

Many vendors train teachers where to click. Few train then how to implement.

Do you think that a teacher knows exactly how to implement an interactive white board after a 60-minute point and click training session? I don’t think so.

Try and find: The Customer Service-orientated Gems

As a school making a decision about what educational software or hardware to purchase, you should ask yourself: “Does this vendor care about my school?”

Vendors who offer service and implementation plans – in writing – are the vendors you can normally count on to deliver on their promises and the expectations set during their sales pitch.

Service and implementation plans are relatively unheard of in South Africa. However it’s a simple concept where a company promises to deliver ‘product implementation’ as opposed to simple ‘product training’. And the implementation plan should obviously always be shown in writing.

Where does the buck end?

There is an ongoing debate as to who is ultimately responsible to ensure that a product is properly used by a school.

Some will say that it is entirely up to the teacher to use a product to it’s maximum benefit. So what they’ll do is train the teacher where to click, and then expect the teacher to come up with a plan of implementation, i.e. you’ve had your training, now it’s up to you.

Others say that it is the responsibility of the Department of Education to ensure that teachers are well versed in the use of products made available to them. The problem is that there are thousands of educational software and hardware products available to teachers, so how is the department expected to keep up with it all while trying to deal with other issues of their own?

I say that it is entirely the responsibility of the educational vendor to ensure that schools use their products effectively. As the vendor, you should know your product inside out, and more importantly, you should know exactly how to implement it and make ongoing use of it. Vendors should be legally required to share this knowledge and provide product implementation plans to school customers.

Vendors should use their initiative and setup workshops, user groups, online resources and in every way possible make sure that their school customers are shown the respect that they deserve.

Vendors should stop selling to schools, and rather start investing in them. Schools – hold vendors accountable. You are, after all, the customer.

What do you think? Add your comments below.