THOUSANDS of South African teachers are poised to heed Cosatu’s call to go on a 24-hour general strike tomorrow. South African Democratic Teacher’s Union (SADTU) media spokesperson Hassan Lorgat says his organisation is ”standing with the poor” by calling on its 220 000 members to join the strike. He said that SADTU members would be […]
PARTICIPATION in today’s general strike by members of the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU), has been ”uneven”, according to Education Minister Kader Asmal’s spokesperson, Bheki Khumalo. According to preliminary figures supplied by Khumalo, 70% of all teachers in Gauteng were at school, whereas 80% of educators in Mpumalanga had responded to the call to […]
SEAN O’CONNOR reviews Learners with Special Needs by Jennifer Gous and Lungelwa Mfazwe (Heinemann, R 36,50) SOUTH Africans continue to feel the effects of an inefficient, discriminatory system that ”catered” to learners with special educational needs (LSEN — a horrible acronym) under the former government. Many of us don’t have an adequate grasp of what […]
Curriculum adviser EMILIA POTENZA answers questions from teachers about outcomes-based education (OBE) and Curriculum 2005. Q: I am a Grade 3 educator. I managed to attend a number of OBE workshops. My main problem is lesson planning for the three learning programmes: Literacy, Life Skills and Numeracy. I am puzzled as to whether I have […]
SOME hard thinking about where our children are at is long overdue. There are just too many disturbing signs that all is not well with the nation’s youth. It will be interesting to see what the government’s new diversity directorate says when it releases a report on values in schools next month. Hopefully we’ll be […]
”TEACHING kids business savvy goes beyond playing shop. Real job growth is essential for South Africa’s continued economic progress. One important enabler of job growth is the unleashing of entrepreneurial talent.” So says Judy Wade of McKinsey South Africa, a global management consultancy organising an international competition for budding local entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship as a school […]
New programmes encourage learners to think like entrepreneurs WITH 500 000 learners leaving school every year, more of them than ever will now have to choose to start a business. In every sector there has been large-scale restructuring, resulting in a loss of previously secure jobs. An already-high unemployment figure only compounds a school-leaver’s plight […]
Theatre helps teach valuable life skills THEATRE has always been a powerful educational medium. Realising this power, Arepp Educational Trust — a non-governmental organisation — has been using theatre for social education for years. Arepp is currently taking Look before You Leap, which is targeted at 15- to 18-year-olds and Don’t Think So!, aimed at […]
Engaging plays, like No Monkey Business, ask important questions and teach learners valuable life skills TEACHING children to make informed decisions and to be aware of the dangers of drugs before they are exposed to them is what No Monkey Business is all about. This simple but effective puppet show, pitched at six- to 10-year-olds […]
A SCHOOL for the deaf on the outskirts of KwaMashu township north of Durban is making its mark as a place of excellence. VN Naik, where the medium of instruction is sign language, has achieved a matric pass rate of 100% for the past four years in a row. School principal Thinacarunagran Govender hails his […]