“Many, many people have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them have kept records of their troubles. You’ll learn from them — if you want to. Just as some day, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It’s a beautiful reciprocal […]
Just outside Mokopane (Potgietersrus) lies a history lesson that combines Blood River and the Cradle of Humankind into an exhilarating heritage experience. The history of Makapan’s Valley, now a national heritage site, stretches back far further than 150 years.
G e t t i n g F E T Your guide to further education and training for teachers -The Johannesburg College of Education joins the University of the Witwatersrand -Onderwyskollege Pretoria teams up with the University of Pretoria and Sebokeng -College of Education are incorporated into the University of Potchefstroom. -The South African College […]
Advice on how parents can create an open, healthy environment for children to talk about their bodies, feelings and sex when they are young Many parents find talking about sex one of the most difficult and embarrassing aspects of parenting and often avoid it completely. The danger in not educating children about sex is that […]
Basketball is the fastest growing sport on the African continent and reaches athletes across racial, cultural, age and gender barriers. Engen, in conjunction with Basketball South Africa (BSA), has developed a television programme, In the Zone, that will reach a wide spectrum of potential and current basketball players and fans in the next four years. […]
The SWEP project has helped teachers in Soweto to gain confidence. Lorraine van der Merwe reports on its success so far The fruits of in-service training and the dedication of teachers was rewarded at Lejoeleputsoa Primary School in Meadowlands, Soweto when the Principal and staff received the Rector’s Gold medal award from the Johannesburg College […]
Cause for concern I ‘ve admired some of your ‘The year of the reader” pages, but the one in the May issue, The Talking Lizard, has me concerned. I wondered what kind of lessons about life the young reader is meant to absorb from this. We are meant to sympathise with Lesedi, who is being […]
Education Minister Kader Asmal, who studied at Springfield Teacher’s Training College in Durban, reflects on his days as a teacher What are your impressions of teaching in your days at school? In my days the “spit factor” was the only teaching aid of note (putting spit on the finger to turn the textbook pages). What […]
Tebogo Kgabo Mpya insists that sex education is the only way to equip children adequately for their futures A 20-year-old mother will knock at a grade one class for the registration of her kid. Looking at her stress-reflecting face, tears will just roll down my cheeks. As a grade 1 teacher at a farm school, […]
Name: Nompumelelo Thokozile Jele Occupation: Secretary/Receptionist Typical job description for this position. Handling incoming and outgoing correspondence, reception of clients, screening of telephone and personal calls, control appointments, arrange bookings for business trips, manage office administration, well organised, good interpersonal skills, trusted with confidential information, well-groomed personal appearance. Describe a typical workday? This job is […]
In every province throughout South Africa, SABC Education (Radio) has an army of education activists ensuring the public in the communities they broadcast are given the opportunity to explore education in greater detail. Often, the radio programmes in rural South Africa is the only way through which educators, parents and learners can communicate about education. […]
A grant of nearly R15-million received from the Netherlands government has reached the most needy children of South Africa. Under the guidance of the Department of Education, this funding was applied to supply learning material to 48 300 teachers in the three most needy provinces of South Africa, namely KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and Northern […]
‘We are not learning to use computers – we are using computers to learn”. This is becoming one of the frequently-used phrases of the educator development projects that are currently being rolled out nationally by SchoolNet SA. Three projects are currently being run by SchoolNet SA. The Telkom Foundation is the sponsor of the Telkom […]
National women’s soccer star Desiree Ellis has scored many firsts in her career. She’s the first woman in the country to commentate on a soccer match, and she’s one of the few women to be nominated for the African Footballer of the Year Award. Ellis, well known for her dribbling skills on the field, commentated […]
5fm’s Mark Gillman is the face – and voice – of the SAPS national teddy bear collection campaign. And he’s got pupils throughout South Africa to become Gilly the Kid’s deputies. Gilly the Kid’s deputies encourage people under 16 to commit themselves to making South Africa a better place for young people. Teenagers are asked […]
Kieno Kaamies is one of the hot new voices on Cape Talk 567, the sister station of 702. Kieno recently replaced Shado Twala in the station’s prime-time 1pm to 4pm slot. Where did you go to school? I attended St Columba’s High School on the Cape Flats. Were you a model pupil? I worked hard […]
A Mpumalanga Department of Education commission of inquiry has called for tough action against Simon Mkhatshwa, owner of Cefups Academy in Nelspruit. He is charged with the continued practice of corporal punishment, gross violations of human rights and beating pupils, teachers and the principal with a sjambok. The commission made its preliminary report to Tim […]
Luntu Msongel of Umtata cites some causes of confusion in the way we use the English language ‘Basefiticate!” “Besesitifate!” “Bethsetiticate!” Confused? Actually, these are just a few variations of the word “birth certificate”. And a direct result of some still believing that “pronunciation is a matter of opinion, what matters is the meaning”. Most people […]
The Minister of Education, Professor Kader Asmal, has expressed concern over the comments made by a group of four teachers to an evaluation panel in Gauteng about Nadime Gordimer’s book, July’s People, as well as books by a number of other authors. Asmal said the comments were ill informed, pedagogically unsound and smacked of anti-intellectualism. […]
Name: Shonisani Makhari Age: 27 Occupation: Journalist for Business Report Describe your typical day at work My day starts early at 6 o’clock because there are always breakfast meetings to attend. Conference is at 10 o’clock, where you discuss what is on your diary for the rest of the day. After a day of interviews […]
Teacher training colleges are to be incorporated into the tertiary system The incorporation of teacher training colleges into the tertiary system is aimed at addressing the poor quality of education in South Africa. The teaching system has been affected by rationalisation, plagued by uncertainty over redeployments and demoralised at the flight of educator’s abroad. Minister […]
Barbara Johanneson reviews The World that Made Mandela by Luli Callinicos (STE, R250) ‘This book pays tribute to the people of South Africa, to the liberation movement, and to the places which impacted so powerfully on Nelson Mandela’s life.” So says Walter Sisulu, ANC stalwart, in the foreword to The World that Made Mandela. The […]
MTN is confident that its efforts to stimulate interest in maths and science among school pupils in South Africa would help turn the tide We believe the ScienCentre (in Cape Town) will inspire more young people to go into the technological field in the future,” said MTN Group Executive Sales and Marketing, Rob Reynolds. He […]
Hundreds of toads have met a bizarre and sinister end in Germany in recent days, it was reported on Saturday: they exploded. According to reports, as many as a thousand of the amphibians have perished after their bodies swelled to bursting point and their entrails were propelled for up to a metre.
British campaigners are to mark a global anti-television week in novel fashion, they announced on Monday — sending out a stream of activists armed with gadgets that switch off any sets within a 7m radius. The campaign is to remove television "pollution" from public areas such as pubs and bars.
Pam Golding Properties, the residential company within the Pam Golding Property group, South Africa’s largest independent real estate group, has reported record turnover of R12,9-billion for the financial year to end-February 2005, up an impressive 36% compared with R9,5-billion the previous year.
South African banking group Absa on Monday renewed its cautionary notice, saying it and United Kingdom banking group Barclays have been engaged in extensive discussions regarding the terms of a possible transaction. Barclays and Absa are considering feedback from Absa shareholders.
Absa, South Africa’s largest retail bank with more than seven million customers, has announced that it will invest R302-million over the next financial year (ending March next year) in customer access points that will enable the bank to position itself for growth while enhancing the customer experience.
My last few columns for this year are aimed at heads of departments (HODs) and particularly school principals who are often left out of the curriculum training loop. What should you be telling your teachers about the planned changes to the curriculum? The revised National Curriculum Statement (NCS) for General Education and Training (GET – […]
The revised National Curriculum Statement (NCS) will be implemented in the whole of the Intermediate Phase in 2005. The national Department of Education is in the process of sending copies of the NCS to schools. So far, schools should have received the Overview to the NCS in all 11 official languages, the Learning Area Statements […]
In his magnificent (and largely uncelebrated) jazz suite, <i>A Drum is a Woman</i>, Duke Ellington lets go with both barrels by telling us that "rhythm came to America from Africa". It is a bold and uncompromising statement…
The new school year is underway and teachers and learners in Grade 10 are struggling to accommodate one other. Many Grade 10 teachers are being exposed to OBE for the first time while their learners have three years’ of experience of OBE under their belts. In addition, Grade 10 learners have knowledge gaps in subjects […]