Schooling Without Learning

There are several principles on which human life flourishes and most of them are contradicted by the culture of education we have in place. The first is human beings are naturally different and diverse. Our education system is not based on diversity but conformity. 

Under 8-4-4 we were (and students are still enduring the same system) forced to prosper along very narrow selected spectrum of subjects with strong emphasis on Math and Sciences. The effect is that we are producing graduates who are not creative at all. Student who cannot think beyond the notes they have crammed for their various National exams which have already lost their credibility. Poor souls from campus thanks to mwakenya and other dubious methods who are technically geniuses according to their certificates but cannot fit in the competitive job market.

 I can’t argue against science and mathematics they are necessary but not sufficient. A real education has to give equal weight to the arts, the humanities and physical education. Arts and humanities are not important because they improve science and mathematics scores but because they speak to parts of our hearts which are otherwise untouched.

Having been in the job market to a close to one year I have learned that art based careers are equally paying on average like science and mathematics careers. In terms of job availability both fields are the same it depends on how you market yourself and your willingness to create jobs rather than seeking a job.

We are living in a good times, and we should take advantages of information technology to make arts desirable again to our young generation. If you ask me designing/building a website, creating computer based designs, 3D- Printing, music production, animation, marketing on social media all of these fields are art based and the list is endless. People have already build successful careers on these fields.

 Another principle on which human life flourishes is curiosity. If we can light a spark of curiosity in minds of our children (pupils and students), they will enjoy learning and little effort will be used and frequently they will initiate the learning on their own. It’s a real achievement to put that particular ability out or to stifle it. 

This will lead me to emphasize the value of teachers. There is no education system in the world or any school in Kenya that is better than its teachers/lecturers. Teachers/Lectures are the lifeblood of the success of schools and colleges. But teaching is a creative profession, teaching properly conceived is not a delivery system. Teachers/Lectures are not there to pass on received information, good teachers do that but what great teachers also do is mentor, stimulate, provoke and engage. 

Education is about learning and if there is no learning going on there is no education. People spend a lot of time discussing education without ever discussing learning. The whole point of education is to get people to learn. Learning cannot take place if we don't empower our teachers and government should take note of that.

Part of the problem of 8-4-4 is that it focuses not on teaching and learning but testing. Testing is important. Standardized tests have a place but they should not be the dominant culture of education. They should be diagnostic. They should help.  We have witnessed during the recent past the rampant cheating on our national exams and this is because we have solely allowed national exams to decide who is smart or not which is wrong. National exams/ Standardized tests should support learning not obstruct it like they frequently do. 

 

Instead of curiosity what we have now is a culture of compliance. You are supposed to get certain marks or grades to be considered a good student/pupil. Rather than exciting the power of imagination and curiosity in our students we are forcing them to comply to fixed standards which doesn't work well.

Other principle is that human life is inherently creative, we create our lives and we can recreate them as we go through them. It’s the common currency of being human being. It’s why human culture is so interesting, diverse and dynamic. We all create our own lives through this restless processes of imagining alternatives and possibilities. One role of education is to awaken and develop these powers of creativity. Instead, our current system focuses on standardization. We should recognize its students/pupil who learning and education system has to engage them, their curiosity , their individuality , and their creativity . That’s how we can  get them to learn.