After Independence, the new Government of the Republic of
Namibia had a bold dream. Stuck with an education system rooted in Apartheid,
the government devised a single, unified structure for education, based on the
principles of democracy, equity, access, quality and efficiency. The government
has remained committed to these goals, and still today, the Ministry of
Education, Arts and Culture commands a lion’s share of the budget (almost 25%),
making Namibia one of three countries worldwide with the highest percentage of
GDP allocated to education.
On the one hand, it could be said that this drive has been a
success. After all, almost 95% of children now attend school, with teachers
increasing by 30% and over 3000 new classrooms built. And yet, in 2011, the
late Dr Abraham Iyambo, the “Father of Free Primary Education in Namibia”
lamented the dropout rates, sub-standard vocational training, lack of
facilities, financial difficulties and more that he saw constraining
educational development in Namibia.
But, to paraphrase Shakespeare, the fault is perhaps not in
our aims, but in ourselves. Formal and compulsory education has not been around
for that long. About 150 years ago, child labour was still commonplace. The
Industrial Revolution had kicked into gear, and factories sprung up everywhere.
Social unrest followed – adults were incensed that low-cost child labour were
taking away their jobs. Factory owners resisted fiercely – saying they could
not afford to hire adults.
Industrialists were eventually sold on the idea – because
they were told education would result in more obedient, productive workers.
Teaching kids to do what they’re told, after all, will result in adults doing
what they’re told, thereby increasing productivity. We thus ended up with a
system children are taught to sit and stand in rows, obey their teachers, and
become good, compliant citizens.
For many decades, this turned out quite well for the
economy. Homogenized, compliant workers fitted well in an industrialized, mass
producing economy. But our world has changed. Today, if you do a job where
someone tells you exactly what to do, you will be replaced by someone cheaper.
Or something. Here in Namibia, we are already witnessing the importation of
cheaper labour from China. But the perfect ‘do-as-you’re-told’ workers are
already being built. And, after all, robots do not require lunch hours, and can
work non-stop.
Tied to this notion was the idea that memorizing large
amounts of information was essential. After all, in that time, data was
limited. The ability to remember facts, without fresh access to the data, was a
key to success. Via the internet, we now have access to more data,
individually, than the entire collective knowledge of mankind just a few
centuries ago.
Today, what is needed more than anything else, is the
ability to think critically and process all the knowledge we receive on a daily
basis. People often misunderstand the term ‘critical thinking’ and focus on the
base term ‘criticise’ and the negative connotations associated with it. Too
many teachers assume this means criticising a bad idea, and having everybody
conform to an agreed version of ‘truth’ when this is far from the case. Indeed,
as a principle of the great critic Socrates himself, it is to realise and examine
the uncertainties of even those truths we believe to be self-evident.
Critical thought imbues the ability to analyse the way you
think and present evidence. It, in short, is how you learn to learn! These are
the people that have the passion to see a problem, and drive themselves to
solve it, learning all they can along the way.
Unfortunately, the way schools are structured do not allow
for this. By instilling fear and conformity, it crushes the spirits of those
with passion. There is no room for something that interests you, that inspires
your passion, beyond what the curriculum dictates. Is it any wonder that
entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, Ralph Lauren and
Mark Zuckerberg are all drop-outs?
Indeed, school seems to teach an outright aversion to
learning and thinking. Statistics show that one third of high school graduates
never read another book for the rest of their lives, and 42 percent of college
graduates never read another book after college. Sadly, I’ve heard that
sentiment echoed by several colleagues as well.
And, after all, if you had to choose an employee or a
co-worker, would you rather have one that was committed, passionate,
improvising, incisive, informed, innovating, insightful, and a leader, or would
you prefer one that was simply obedient?
No comments:
Post a Comment