(“Someone has lost ICT plot” by Dr. Ken Alston, Mail & Guardian, 28 August to 03 Sept 2009)
I think Dr. Ken Alston is indirectly mobilizing support to sabotage departmental initiatives in order to realize the implementation of e-education in South Africa.
Being haunted and hallucinating about the undisciplined, uncommitted, lazy and unprepared teachers, some sectors of the society are losing the plot. They are arguing that an uncommitted, lazy and unprepared teacher will be what he or she is with or without a laptop and why prioritize laptops for teachers, when South African education system is failing so many children.
These arguments are the center of the mobilization of the South African public by education consultants, against the departmental scheme for teachers to get laptops. It seems there is confusion on the implementation of e-education and laptop scheme for educators by those I think, are against the introduction of ICT’s in our schools. They are saying the department is wasting money because they think the laptops are for free. (GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 8 MAY 2009, TEACHER LAPTOP INITIATIVE POLICY).
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It is educated/learned folks like him (Dr. Ken Alston)who seem and are determined to deter any initiative aimed at enhancing the life of an educator. Lest, he and those like him forget that they are products of educators; who made him articulate and express himself as eloquent as he does. How was he able to sneak through such an anomal situation of undiscipline, uncommitted and unprepared educators is mind boggling to say the least.
ReplyDeleteWho is going to benefit from resourceful capacitation and emancipation of educators? Isn't it the learner! With education moving towards digital learning and with no adequate training, how does he expect a digital immigrant (educator) to effectively facilitate and advance the aspirations of e-education White Paper to a digital native (learner).
Almost all public sector employees have or are embarking on strikes for financial emancipation, but educators. Even after fruitless and countless promises made to educators, if they embark on such action, they will be lambasted by all sectors of the community, including taxi drivers (no pun intended). People cry for and want quality but they don't want to pay for it.
Maybe people just want to continuously find solace in the fact that educators are and suppose to be beneath them...
TK have you read animal farm, "all animals are equal but some are more equal than others." I think that people like Dr Alston are the doom sayers who don't see anything good in a lot of the initiatives coming out of SA. They always look at the negatives and it makes them feel fulfilled for criticizing. How many learners are at varsity because of us, i won't count those that are working, whom the so called lazy teachers have taught. The notion that one tomato/potato spoil the whole bag is overly abused.
ReplyDeleteMaybe if it was said that the laptops would be given to multuracial scoohls in Town as an insentive he would probably support the idea 100%. Remember that the policy includes everyone all races no discrimination but in other people's vocab that has not yet been reased. black educators are seen as always been lazy remember Dr Sedibe!
ReplyDeleteDinah
I'm very dissapointed that there are still people who view change as a waste.Remember our education is still in caotic state and as you heard from the latest news as it was said that our curriculum is going to be reviewed .I think it should be compulsory that ICT resources be used in every school and proper plan be available for schools so that we move from the have and rthe have not schools.Which means ICT be part of the curriculum.
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