Date: 19/08/2003
Source: Ministry of Education
Title: Mangena: Mathematics Centre for Professional Teachers
MOTIVATIONAL ADDRESS BY THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF EDUCATION, MR MOSIBUDI MANGENA, TO THE PROVINCIAL REPRESENTATIVES AT THE MATHEMATICS CENTRE FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS, Johannesburg, 19 August 2003
Programme Director,
Executive Director of Mathematics Centre, Dr Sharanjeet Shan,
Officials from Provincial Departments of Education,
Educators,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen
A distinguished educationist, Hannah Arendt, hits the nail on the head when she claims that education is a point at which we decide whether we love the world enough to assume responsibility for it, and by the same token save it from inevitable ruin. She goes on to say that through the education we provide, we can decide whether we love our children enough to prepare them in advance for the task of renewing a common world, or to expel them from our world and leave them to their own devices by striking from their hand their chance of making something new, something unforeseen by us.
Education is an investment for the future. It is a delivery system that transfers wisdom, culture, norms, values, expectations and the vision of one generation to the next. It is through education that the development of our human resource capital can be enhanced, making it possible for our country to fight poverty and redress past inequities and discrimination.
It is against this background that the department embarked on the transformation of our education system by implementing Outcomes Based Education (OBE) in the General Education and Training band in 1998. The aim of this new curriculum is to develop innovative and critical thinkers with the capacity to shape the future of our country and that of Africa.
A body of local and international research that was conducted in the late 1990s revealed that the number of learners studying science at schools and universities was decreasing. It also indicated that in 1996 only 23% of the full time Grade 12 candidates wrote Physical Science compared to almost 80% that wrote Biology in the same year. During the same year, the third International Mathematics and Science (TIMS) Report indicated that South African learners, especially the females, were regarded as being mathematically and scientifically illiterate.
These reports raised our concerns about the status of mathematics, science and technology education, because these subjects have a direct bearing on our competitiveness in world affairs. It also became abundantly clear that the success of our country depended on the innovativeness of our people rather than on the abundance of labour or its natural resources.
We need to develop a critical mass of the human resources possessing skills that are required to compete favourably in the information and technology dependent global economy. That is the surest way of building a strong and growing economy that is capable of creating the jobs we need to drastically alter the poor socio-economic conditions under which many of our learners live. Many more resources, human and material, need to be invested in under-resourced communities, not only in schools, but also in all spheres of the life of our people.
Our starting point to establish sustainable economic development in order to stem the tide of unemployment and poverty is to increase the participation and success of our learners in mathematics, science and technology education. That is why the ministry launched the National Strategy for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education.
This strategy, which is underpinned by the three thrusts, namely:
* To raise the participation and performance of historically disadvantaged learners in Senior Certificate mathematics and physical science;
* To provide high-quality mathematics, science, and technology education for all learners taking the first General Education and Training Certificate and Further Education and Training Certificate; and
* To increase and enhance the human resource capacity to deliver quality mathematics, science and technology education throughout the entire schooling system.
The centrality of mathematics and science in developing our human resources can never be sufficiently emphasised. To ensure that every classroom has a competent and qualified teacher, the department has embarked on in-service teacher development programmes to sharpen and deepen the subject knowledge and methodological competency of our teachers in order to enable them to deliver quality mathematics and science education to our learners.
In this regard, we wish to commend the staff of the Mathematics Centre for Professional Teachers for the sterling contribution you are making to empower our mathematics and science teachers. The programmes you have already put in place will ensure that many of them are assisted to make a smooth transition from the old teacher-centred methods of teaching to OBE. As we forge ahead in our quest to implement outcomes based education through to the FET band in 2006, we would like to see you expand the scope of your services to this sector as well.
It is clear that learners cannot succeed in mathematics and science without good and well-qualified teachers. The three qualities that we expect an ideal mathematics and physical science teacher to have, include the following attributes:
(a) A sense of enthusiasm: Successful teachers exhibit a sense of mission that convinces their learners that what they are teaching is vitally important for them. Out of this is born their sense of excitement about learning and the acquisition of knowledge. In order to remain on the cutting edge of local and global developments, you should collaborate with colleagues that are professionally alive and excited about their teaching because they will keep you alive and excited about your subject.
(b) Having high expectations from your learners: Research reveals that learners tend to resonate the expectations of their teachers. If we expect learners to be stupid, bored or rowdy, they will seldom let us down. But if we expect them to be competent, responsible and success-oriented, they usually reciprocate our reasonable expectations if they are based on respect and trust.
(c) Being a dedicated professional: Dedicated teachers keep abreast of developments in their chosen disciplines and profession not only because of extrinsic motivators such as salary increments or promotion, but also because of their understanding that knowledge will make them better teachers. Subscribing to professional journals, attending profession related conferences, serving on various committees, accepting leadership roles, giving talks at workshops, sharing teaching ideas and mentoring learners, to name but a few, will not only improve your teaching skills, but will also sharpen your people and negotiation skills.
I hope you will take some of your time to explore these ideas further, and to develop intervention strategies that will help you to transform your classrooms into learning environments that engender feelings of success and the desire to win for your learners and yourselves.
A poem written from a young boy's perspective that explores the teacher's potential to make a difference in a poor boy's life through teaching and learning, will serve to illustrate my meaning more lucidly:
Reality is the long walk home and tired feet that hurt
It's back to the grime and the dust and the dirt
It's back to home where nobody cares
It's back to where hardship is common and knowledge is rare
612 pupils eager to learn
8 blocked toilets - wait your turn
10 broken windows that have always been there
12 teachers eager to share
Thank you for always making me strive to be my best
I know I often put your patience to the test
I am not the easiest child to teach at times
It was you that made the knowledge mine
I am now educated to think critically
I am equal to my peers and can walk with dignity
I have learnt to be a responsible and active citizen
For once I see and understand, and that has changed me
I hope that this poem will serve to remind those of us who are involved in education, especially in mathematics and science, that we have an inalienable responsibility to shape a bright future for our youth. In our daily interaction with these learners, we should always strive to convince them that these subjects are for them as well by helping them to see the applications of mathematics and science in their own lives.
We are all confronted with a grave task of ensuring that education in science, technology and mathematics begins early and is developed in a consistent, coherent and purposeful manner. In this regard, the stimuli provided by a community of committed professionals that are in touch with the central issues in their world of knowledge, is invaluable.
I thank you.
Issued by Ministry of Education
19 August 2003
Source: Ministry of Education
Title: Mangena: Mathematics Centre for Professional Teachers
MOTIVATIONAL ADDRESS BY THE DEPUTY MINISTER OF EDUCATION, MR MOSIBUDI MANGENA, TO THE PROVINCIAL REPRESENTATIVES AT THE MATHEMATICS CENTRE FOR PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS, Johannesburg, 19 August 2003
Programme Director,
Executive Director of Mathematics Centre, Dr Sharanjeet Shan,
Officials from Provincial Departments of Education,
Educators,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen
A distinguished educationist, Hannah Arendt, hits the nail on the head when she claims that education is a point at which we decide whether we love the world enough to assume responsibility for it, and by the same token save it from inevitable ruin. She goes on to say that through the education we provide, we can decide whether we love our children enough to prepare them in advance for the task of renewing a common world, or to expel them from our world and leave them to their own devices by striking from their hand their chance of making something new, something unforeseen by us.
Education is an investment for the future. It is a delivery system that transfers wisdom, culture, norms, values, expectations and the vision of one generation to the next. It is through education that the development of our human resource capital can be enhanced, making it possible for our country to fight poverty and redress past inequities and discrimination.
It is against this background that the department embarked on the transformation of our education system by implementing Outcomes Based Education (OBE) in the General Education and Training band in 1998. The aim of this new curriculum is to develop innovative and critical thinkers with the capacity to shape the future of our country and that of Africa.
A body of local and international research that was conducted in the late 1990s revealed that the number of learners studying science at schools and universities was decreasing. It also indicated that in 1996 only 23% of the full time Grade 12 candidates wrote Physical Science compared to almost 80% that wrote Biology in the same year. During the same year, the third International Mathematics and Science (TIMS) Report indicated that South African learners, especially the females, were regarded as being mathematically and scientifically illiterate.
These reports raised our concerns about the status of mathematics, science and technology education, because these subjects have a direct bearing on our competitiveness in world affairs. It also became abundantly clear that the success of our country depended on the innovativeness of our people rather than on the abundance of labour or its natural resources.
We need to develop a critical mass of the human resources possessing skills that are required to compete favourably in the information and technology dependent global economy. That is the surest way of building a strong and growing economy that is capable of creating the jobs we need to drastically alter the poor socio-economic conditions under which many of our learners live. Many more resources, human and material, need to be invested in under-resourced communities, not only in schools, but also in all spheres of the life of our people.
Our starting point to establish sustainable economic development in order to stem the tide of unemployment and poverty is to increase the participation and success of our learners in mathematics, science and technology education. That is why the ministry launched the National Strategy for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education.
This strategy, which is underpinned by the three thrusts, namely:
* To raise the participation and performance of historically disadvantaged learners in Senior Certificate mathematics and physical science;
* To provide high-quality mathematics, science, and technology education for all learners taking the first General Education and Training Certificate and Further Education and Training Certificate; and
* To increase and enhance the human resource capacity to deliver quality mathematics, science and technology education throughout the entire schooling system.
The centrality of mathematics and science in developing our human resources can never be sufficiently emphasised. To ensure that every classroom has a competent and qualified teacher, the department has embarked on in-service teacher development programmes to sharpen and deepen the subject knowledge and methodological competency of our teachers in order to enable them to deliver quality mathematics and science education to our learners.
In this regard, we wish to commend the staff of the Mathematics Centre for Professional Teachers for the sterling contribution you are making to empower our mathematics and science teachers. The programmes you have already put in place will ensure that many of them are assisted to make a smooth transition from the old teacher-centred methods of teaching to OBE. As we forge ahead in our quest to implement outcomes based education through to the FET band in 2006, we would like to see you expand the scope of your services to this sector as well.
It is clear that learners cannot succeed in mathematics and science without good and well-qualified teachers. The three qualities that we expect an ideal mathematics and physical science teacher to have, include the following attributes:
(a) A sense of enthusiasm: Successful teachers exhibit a sense of mission that convinces their learners that what they are teaching is vitally important for them. Out of this is born their sense of excitement about learning and the acquisition of knowledge. In order to remain on the cutting edge of local and global developments, you should collaborate with colleagues that are professionally alive and excited about their teaching because they will keep you alive and excited about your subject.
(b) Having high expectations from your learners: Research reveals that learners tend to resonate the expectations of their teachers. If we expect learners to be stupid, bored or rowdy, they will seldom let us down. But if we expect them to be competent, responsible and success-oriented, they usually reciprocate our reasonable expectations if they are based on respect and trust.
(c) Being a dedicated professional: Dedicated teachers keep abreast of developments in their chosen disciplines and profession not only because of extrinsic motivators such as salary increments or promotion, but also because of their understanding that knowledge will make them better teachers. Subscribing to professional journals, attending profession related conferences, serving on various committees, accepting leadership roles, giving talks at workshops, sharing teaching ideas and mentoring learners, to name but a few, will not only improve your teaching skills, but will also sharpen your people and negotiation skills.
I hope you will take some of your time to explore these ideas further, and to develop intervention strategies that will help you to transform your classrooms into learning environments that engender feelings of success and the desire to win for your learners and yourselves.
A poem written from a young boy's perspective that explores the teacher's potential to make a difference in a poor boy's life through teaching and learning, will serve to illustrate my meaning more lucidly:
Reality is the long walk home and tired feet that hurt
It's back to the grime and the dust and the dirt
It's back to home where nobody cares
It's back to where hardship is common and knowledge is rare
612 pupils eager to learn
8 blocked toilets - wait your turn
10 broken windows that have always been there
12 teachers eager to share
Thank you for always making me strive to be my best
I know I often put your patience to the test
I am not the easiest child to teach at times
It was you that made the knowledge mine
I am now educated to think critically
I am equal to my peers and can walk with dignity
I have learnt to be a responsible and active citizen
For once I see and understand, and that has changed me
I hope that this poem will serve to remind those of us who are involved in education, especially in mathematics and science, that we have an inalienable responsibility to shape a bright future for our youth. In our daily interaction with these learners, we should always strive to convince them that these subjects are for them as well by helping them to see the applications of mathematics and science in their own lives.
We are all confronted with a grave task of ensuring that education in science, technology and mathematics begins early and is developed in a consistent, coherent and purposeful manner. In this regard, the stimuli provided by a community of committed professionals that are in touch with the central issues in their world of knowledge, is invaluable.
I thank you.
Issued by Ministry of Education
19 August 2003
Advertisement
EMAIL THIS ARTICLE SAVE THIS ARTICLE FEEDBACK
To subscribe email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or click here
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
