Teacher Unions, effective or not?

Teacher unions have influenced education policy and social change throughout history. On the other hand, the development and history of teacher unions are closely related to their political relationship with government.

In this day in age it is quite clear that because of their role in policy implementation, teacher unions are not only able to sabotage or promote policies but also to influence society's perception about government performance.

With all this in play are unions really effective? Can they continue to only have teacher's best interest at heart and nobody else? How can they allow srikes to continue for months on end knowing full well the impact it will have on the learners? There is a role for unions to play in a democratic society but it is a questionable role when the outcome of their actions is always to the detriment of the most vulnerable members in society- our children.

The question is: do we really need that?

Ideas from: mg.co.za/article/2011-03-04-manuel-criticses-teacher-unions

Teaching in South Africa, where are we going

One could argue that South Africa is one of the more affluent countries in Africa but does this mean anything if we are failing to produce good teachers who in turn are failing to produce well educated learners who will be our future leaders?

Rural schools are faced with a myriad of problems of which under-qualified teachers are but one. How can we then expect good results from the vast majority of our learners when in actual fact poor teaching is at the root of our under performing education system. Could we be heading towards a future with no institutionalized teaching where parents will be left to educate their children at home and teachers become a distant memory...

The good teachers are mostly to be found in the ex model C schools where their skills, dedication and hard work are recognized and well compensated for. Now what does this mean for all previously disadvantaged schools? Will they be forever stuck with under qualified teachers who have lost their drive for teaching because of financial and behavioral issues? Will our learners rich and poor never receive the same level of instruction? Will the teaching profession continue to be overlooked leaving us with an even bigger shortage of skilled and passionate teachers?

What's your take?

Ideas from: www.ten-edu.co.za

Are school systems preparing our children for the real world

Are school leavers ready for life after school? Are they academically proficient and work skilled on the same level? Home life and high school provide both security and predictability, but in the time immediately after, our young people are left to their own devices. Unfortunately they don't always have the right information, especially when they make critical decisions, sometimes in the heat of the moment. I'm not convinced that our approach to the transition between school and life thereafter is working, or that it ever has. This then leads to the question of who should be taking responsibility, is it the parents? The learners themselves? Teachers? Or our educational system as a whole.

The world is constantly changing, and grows in complexity with each new day. So it is vitally important that our children understand how it works from a very early stage. They should have access to all the information we can give them. Even though the sheer volume of information has made it difficult for anyone to offer clear perspective on life choices and the right places to source information. Are educators also restricted by the demands and confines of the curriculum? Education has numerous academic checks and balances, yet there is no measurement of how well we've prepared our learners for the real world.

Do you think the local school systems are preparing our children for the future?

Education and teachers, what's your take?

We need a national debate on education. At the moment we are driving down a unknown road without a map, we don't know where we are going exactly, what point we're at, how far we have to go or where our destination is. What kind of education system do we want? What is the purpose of our education system?

We talk equality but we implement differentiation, so in reality we have a two-tiered school system. What do business and industry want out of education? What do parents want? We are also confusing schooling with education and that is having a negative impact on basic education. There should be rigorous systems of accountability. We need to determine clearly defined standards of behaviour and performance and then place measures of accountability, and make sure that teachers and principals live up to them. Such monitoring and evaluation cannot be conducted by the teachers themselves, but must be undertaken by external, independent bodies and the community that uses the school. If our education system is to be competitive and productive, then we have to have standards that must be maintained.

This means improving district structures as well. One of our problems is that policy is set at national level and supposedly implemented at provincial level, but with provinces excluded from policy making, there is little interest in delivery. This in turn defeats and degrades the concept of policy. A more genuinely de-centralised system would promote much greater community involvement and school level accountability.

A further problem lies not only in the massive backlog of teachers, but also the low erosion rate of teachers and principals. When these professionals stay in one place for long periods, it becomes extremely difficult to implement any kind of change. This also leads to the culture shock awaiting new teachers trained with modern methods who are confronted with stubborn resistance to change by established teachers who often use out-dated methods and poor work practices, they don't know how to overcome this so they frequently either resign or give up and adopt. A starting point would need to be a detailed and realistic national plan on education. This will allow us to start getting the basic blocks in place.

What the new year has in store

The holiday season has come and gone. The new year is here!

Teachers need to be prepared for the new term, the new year and the influx of eager learners excited to learn and start the year in a new grade. It is imperative that teachers adopt a pro-active, positive approach to managing the challenges of the new year in an effort to ensure that learners become the best that they can be.

Enthusiasm for your role as a teacher and preparation are the key to making 2012 a success. Learners are looking up to you for guidence and help to reach their academic goals. As an educator you need to realize how important your role is in creating the leaders of tomorrow.

Work together with learners, colleagues, parents and the broader community to make this another year of teaching excellence as every contribution counts.

Publishing Matric results....YAY or NAY

There has always been a mixed reaction to the tradition of publishing matric results. Those in favour of the tradition see it as a public pat on the back for work well done. Those against it see it as just more pressure on already over pressured youth that might have catastrophic consequences if your name does not appear in the paper.

The original aim of the publishing of matric results in the newspaper was to assist pupils who were on vacation and were unable to get to their respective schools to collect the results. This is no longer the case as matrics gather at their schools to open the newspaper to see the results.

In a time when we are so conscious of being politically correct, of respecting others' privacy and of erring on the safe side, should we not give some thought to the less than average student who might have tried very hard but just did not succees on the day? They have the right to keep their dignity and to try again without fear of being ridiculed.

On the other hand we should try to find a mechanism to praise those students who have worked hard and who have triumphed in the end. Perhaps a celebratory publication once all students have been notified of their results? Or is that just going back to the beginning again.....

In the end a compromise could be to use only ID or student numbers and keep it all as anonymous as possible. Numbers instead of names.

Award to recognise good governance

An annual national award that recognises schools that promote principles of good govrnance and discipline has been launched in Johannesburg and is believed to be a first in South africa.
Known as the CGF-Proudly South African School Governace Award, the initiative is the brainchild of CGF's chief executive officer, Terry Booysen, who has been a governance specialist for eight years and a prtner of Proudly South African.

Several of south Africa's municipalities as well as provincial education departments (notably the Eastern Cape) are facing serious financial and management problems, partly because of lack of management expertise and good governance.
The judges will focus on aspects such as:

• Individual accountability
• Collective responsibility
• Group Perfomance
• Principal's leadership capability
• The quality of school policy
• Supporting and promoting local products and services

 The call for entries sto the awards will be announce by the Proudly South African Campaign in due course. For morr information contact Dalene du Preez at: dalene@proudlysa.co.za.Tel 011 327 7778