Politics being the art of the possible, once again Democrats and President Barack Obama are out to put a new ad to the works. This time round would it still be Change We Can Believe in, or will it be something much more nouvelle? Whatever it will be, both the Republicans and far-left Democrats have come out with sharp knives to hack away at the little gains made by the Democrats, and to point out at what they call ''the failures of an inexperienced and incompetent government''.
Because he began his first term following the worst economic down-turn since the Great Depression, achieving any positive gains was always going to be a herculean task for President Barack Obama. Are there any gains worth mentioning to the American electorate as they prepare to vote ?
We'll see in a moment. The inflation and unemployment rates are down at 3% and 4.2% respectively, compared to 5.37% and 6.5% in October 2008. This is no big deal, considering the $700 billion bail-out by the government. However, one must commend the Obama economic recovery team considering that FDR's New Deal took nearly ten years to yield any meaningful benefits. Moreover, Obamanomics is credited with putting firm controls on prices and interest rates, and with the middle class enjoying $2000 tax cuts, many people claim some breathing space.
Although there are grumbles at the slow pace of growth in the financial sector, many Americans report that they have been able to remit payments to their mortgages. Again, because people have some little money to spend, the manufacturing sector is visibly picking up. The Republicans vigorously argue that President Obama have the hard working Hank Paulson to thank for this, who surprisingly, he allowed to serve for another year in the new government. But Democrats counter that having created the mess, Paulson had to clean-up.
Not letting up, the Republicans point to one of the biggest build-up of American troops in history in Afghanistan. Is this Iraq II, they ask? Even though American combat troops eventually pulled out of Iraq in October 2010, a build-up of combat troops in Afghanistan makes President Obama more war-like than GWB. More embarrassing, perhaps, is the mysterious death of Osama bin Laden in what was referred to as a palace coup. If the main reason of troop surge was to quell the Taleban insurgency in Afghanistan and capture Osama, then this should be the gravest military misadventure of our time.
In Osama's place has risen Bilal bin Zayed, a younger, tougher, and wilier disciple, and who has put a price on President Obama's head to show that he means business. The Taleban and other tribal militants are more disciplined,and better armed- thanks to Russia and their neo-cold war sabre-rattling. May be Obama should be prepared to stay in Afghanistan for more than a hundred years.
Back in Washington, many are asking what happened to the changes they believed would come when they overwhelmingly voted for Obama. The faces they see, are far too familiar: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Chief-of-Staff Rahm Emanuel and Defence Secretary Colin Powel. Is it any surprising that Bill Clinton is more often in the news headlines than the President? What happened to VP Joe Biden?
It is going to be tough convincing Americans to put their money on change they can believe in. Maybe this time round, they will buy continuity for progress and growth. For, the devil they know is much better than the angel they don't.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Can UN Peace-keepers bring Peace To Darfur?
The question should not be whether UN peacekeepers can bring peace to Darfur , but why they can't or shouldn't. The world has had enough of armchair rhetorics where resolutions are reached but nothing concrete is achieved on the ground while hundreds of thousands of lives are wasted.
The United Nations Security Council is a branch of the United Nations charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United nations charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions, and the authorization for military action. Its powers are exercised through the United Nations Security Council mandated by resolutions of the General Assembly, to which most independent African states including Sudan belong.
That in itself is the legal mandate of the UN as a force that should move ahead and tackle the Darfur question. Many arguments have been raised against using the UN peacekeepers as a combat force, because the argument advanced is that it is only peacekeeping they are there for,not war. The moral question one needs to ask is whether violation of human rights by Warlords through the support by Sudanese authorities is not a justifiable reason to use force.
How many more innocent blood must be shed before UN moves in to bring peace? A lot of debate has been raised regarding the legality or not of deploying UN forces for combat purposes, and to their real or actual mandate. But as debate goes back and forth, millions of lives have been lost in Rwanda, Congo, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast.
Only when lives have been lost do we see a belated action by UN. Sudan as a member of the AU, and the UN is legally and morally obligated to adhere to the UN charter. Failure to adhere to any of its resolutions, tacitly or otherwise means a violation, which now gives the UN authority to carry out its mandate to safeguard human rights and dignity. If the US government could invade Iraq and Afghanistan in the name of war on terror, then it is hard to envision why a combined UN Security Council and General Assembly cannot say that enough is enough to the Darfur farce, and move in to bring sanity and peace in the horn of Africa.
A peaceful Africa, means a prosperous continent. A prosperous African continent translates into fewer refugees running to Europe or elsewhere to seek economic and social security. Huge financial and human resources come into play to maintain refugees. It is time therefore that the UN lived up to its mandate to create a lasting solution to these artificial wars. If possible their mandate should include deposing latter-day despots who are keeping Africa forever stagnated.
The United Nations Security Council is a branch of the United Nations charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United nations charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions, and the authorization for military action. Its powers are exercised through the United Nations Security Council mandated by resolutions of the General Assembly, to which most independent African states including Sudan belong.
That in itself is the legal mandate of the UN as a force that should move ahead and tackle the Darfur question. Many arguments have been raised against using the UN peacekeepers as a combat force, because the argument advanced is that it is only peacekeeping they are there for,not war. The moral question one needs to ask is whether violation of human rights by Warlords through the support by Sudanese authorities is not a justifiable reason to use force.
How many more innocent blood must be shed before UN moves in to bring peace? A lot of debate has been raised regarding the legality or not of deploying UN forces for combat purposes, and to their real or actual mandate. But as debate goes back and forth, millions of lives have been lost in Rwanda, Congo, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast.
Only when lives have been lost do we see a belated action by UN. Sudan as a member of the AU, and the UN is legally and morally obligated to adhere to the UN charter. Failure to adhere to any of its resolutions, tacitly or otherwise means a violation, which now gives the UN authority to carry out its mandate to safeguard human rights and dignity. If the US government could invade Iraq and Afghanistan in the name of war on terror, then it is hard to envision why a combined UN Security Council and General Assembly cannot say that enough is enough to the Darfur farce, and move in to bring sanity and peace in the horn of Africa.
A peaceful Africa, means a prosperous continent. A prosperous African continent translates into fewer refugees running to Europe or elsewhere to seek economic and social security. Huge financial and human resources come into play to maintain refugees. It is time therefore that the UN lived up to its mandate to create a lasting solution to these artificial wars. If possible their mandate should include deposing latter-day despots who are keeping Africa forever stagnated.
Poverty in East Africa
East Africa consists of three countries: Tanzania to the south, Kenya to the east and Uganda to the west. Like an umbilicus, Lake Victoria is the fresh-water lifeline that joins the three at the centre. Although endowed with great natural and human resources, this region is characterised by poverty, which may be defined as the state of being poor or lack of the means of providing material needs or comforts.
Poverty in East Africa is largely due to human error rather than an act of God. East African countries whose economies are mainly agricultural are either poorly managed or mainly subsistence. The agricultural export market and agro-based processing industries are at the mercy of volatile world markets and aggressive competitors with modern technology and huge capital outlay.
Though large tracts of land in eastern and northern parts of Kenya are arid due to scarce rainfall, only 8% of arable land is in use and a mere 0.98% under crops. A similar fate befalls parts of Tanzania which receive inadequate rainfall and others whose terrain is difficult to cultivate due to poor topography. However, a large chunk of Tanzania's arable land is under-utilized with only 4.2% in use.
It is only Uganda with a smaller area, which has put 21.5% of its arable land in use. However, with high population density and environmental issues like deforestation, wetland drainage and uncontrolled overgrazing, it is only a matter of time before the land loses its productivity.
It is unthinkable that East African countries cannot adequately feed its population, yet they export tea, coffee, pyrethrum, vegetables and fruits. There is need to formulate a food policy that takes into account the needs of the citizens of these countries first before the export market is looked into.
Another cause of poverty in this region due to human mismanagement is in the health sector. Though some aspects of health issues may be blamed on ignorance and lack of education, food and waterborne diseases (which causes 60-70% of most bacterial infections) can be preventable if the government supplied clean water and improved sanitary conditions in urban dwellings. Bacterial diarrhoea, hepatitis A and B, typhoid and malaria are major killers in East Africa. East Africa is endowed with the largest fresh-water lake in Africa- Lake Victoria- yet large cities like Kisumu constantly lack clean water, exposing its inhabitants to deadly diseases.
The importance of a healthy nation cannot be over-emphasized. Disease and poverty has ensured that life-expectancy remains 48, 52.3 and 51.4 in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania respectively. This is due to high mortality rates at birth and also due to high HIV/AIDS prevalence among adults. As a result, no meaningful productivity can be expected from an ailing population, particularly when the authorities are either caught up in corruption or wrong priorities.
There is need for re-definition of an economic plan if poverty is to be eradicated in East Africa. This requires political will and selflessness on the part of the leaders. For nearly a decade, Tanzania lagged behind in underdevelopment when its first president experimented with Ujamaa (a form of socialism). In Kenya it was corruption in high places and political mismanagement which killed a potentially vibrant economy, while in Uganda it was ethnic turmoil that nipped in the bud the emergence of what was referred to as the pearl of Africa.
East Africa like many countries in Africa is naturally endowed, but lack useful ideas on how resources can be put into great benefit for its citizens. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda with their exquisite fauna and flaura, attract hundreds of thousands of tourists each year to its parks. These visitors bring foreign exchange in billions of dollars, yet the inhabitants living next to the parks (and who occasionally suffer the wrath of wild animals) hardly enjoy any trickle of the bounty. If some of the benefits can be ploughed back on clean water, schools and health, perhaps it would go some way in addressing the immediate pressing needs of the suffering populace. This way, a medium term solution to poverty would be put in place.
East African countries are somehow stuck in this agro-based economy which is at the mercy of a competitive and continuously changing world market. This economy is also at odds with needs and skills of their populace. For instance Tanzania's Agricultural sector which is 40% of its GDP employs 80% of its labour force, yet industry and the service sector which comprises 18% and 38% respectively is hardly growing and could be the cause of economic stagnation.
Though Kenya's service sector is highly developed (60% of GDP) there is great potential in agriculture and industry which could help in diversification of the economy and creation of jobs away from the so-called white collar job sector.
Only in Uganda do you find a semblance of balance in GDP by composition in the areas of industry, agriculture and service sector: 24.7%, 30.1% and 45.1 %( 2007 estimates) respectively. However, there is more that could be done. Thus, with commitment and good ideas poverty may be a thing of the past in East Africa.
Finally, an important factor to poverty eradication is the development of infrastructure. East Africa is endowed not only with minerals such as copper, cobalt, limestone, gold and iron-ore, but also with hydro-electric water resources. Currently each country produces its own electricity with Uganda exporting a huge percentage of this source of energy to neighbouring countries.
A large capital outlay in roads, electricity, telephone lines and waterways forms not only a significant element of economic development but also helps to create jobs. All these with an education system aimed at the various sectors of the economy can help consign poverty to oblivion.
Poverty in East Africa is largely due to human error rather than an act of God. East African countries whose economies are mainly agricultural are either poorly managed or mainly subsistence. The agricultural export market and agro-based processing industries are at the mercy of volatile world markets and aggressive competitors with modern technology and huge capital outlay.
Though large tracts of land in eastern and northern parts of Kenya are arid due to scarce rainfall, only 8% of arable land is in use and a mere 0.98% under crops. A similar fate befalls parts of Tanzania which receive inadequate rainfall and others whose terrain is difficult to cultivate due to poor topography. However, a large chunk of Tanzania's arable land is under-utilized with only 4.2% in use.
It is only Uganda with a smaller area, which has put 21.5% of its arable land in use. However, with high population density and environmental issues like deforestation, wetland drainage and uncontrolled overgrazing, it is only a matter of time before the land loses its productivity.
It is unthinkable that East African countries cannot adequately feed its population, yet they export tea, coffee, pyrethrum, vegetables and fruits. There is need to formulate a food policy that takes into account the needs of the citizens of these countries first before the export market is looked into.
Another cause of poverty in this region due to human mismanagement is in the health sector. Though some aspects of health issues may be blamed on ignorance and lack of education, food and waterborne diseases (which causes 60-70% of most bacterial infections) can be preventable if the government supplied clean water and improved sanitary conditions in urban dwellings. Bacterial diarrhoea, hepatitis A and B, typhoid and malaria are major killers in East Africa. East Africa is endowed with the largest fresh-water lake in Africa- Lake Victoria- yet large cities like Kisumu constantly lack clean water, exposing its inhabitants to deadly diseases.
The importance of a healthy nation cannot be over-emphasized. Disease and poverty has ensured that life-expectancy remains 48, 52.3 and 51.4 in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania respectively. This is due to high mortality rates at birth and also due to high HIV/AIDS prevalence among adults. As a result, no meaningful productivity can be expected from an ailing population, particularly when the authorities are either caught up in corruption or wrong priorities.
There is need for re-definition of an economic plan if poverty is to be eradicated in East Africa. This requires political will and selflessness on the part of the leaders. For nearly a decade, Tanzania lagged behind in underdevelopment when its first president experimented with Ujamaa (a form of socialism). In Kenya it was corruption in high places and political mismanagement which killed a potentially vibrant economy, while in Uganda it was ethnic turmoil that nipped in the bud the emergence of what was referred to as the pearl of Africa.
East Africa like many countries in Africa is naturally endowed, but lack useful ideas on how resources can be put into great benefit for its citizens. Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda with their exquisite fauna and flaura, attract hundreds of thousands of tourists each year to its parks. These visitors bring foreign exchange in billions of dollars, yet the inhabitants living next to the parks (and who occasionally suffer the wrath of wild animals) hardly enjoy any trickle of the bounty. If some of the benefits can be ploughed back on clean water, schools and health, perhaps it would go some way in addressing the immediate pressing needs of the suffering populace. This way, a medium term solution to poverty would be put in place.
East African countries are somehow stuck in this agro-based economy which is at the mercy of a competitive and continuously changing world market. This economy is also at odds with needs and skills of their populace. For instance Tanzania's Agricultural sector which is 40% of its GDP employs 80% of its labour force, yet industry and the service sector which comprises 18% and 38% respectively is hardly growing and could be the cause of economic stagnation.
Though Kenya's service sector is highly developed (60% of GDP) there is great potential in agriculture and industry which could help in diversification of the economy and creation of jobs away from the so-called white collar job sector.
Only in Uganda do you find a semblance of balance in GDP by composition in the areas of industry, agriculture and service sector: 24.7%, 30.1% and 45.1 %( 2007 estimates) respectively. However, there is more that could be done. Thus, with commitment and good ideas poverty may be a thing of the past in East Africa.
Finally, an important factor to poverty eradication is the development of infrastructure. East Africa is endowed not only with minerals such as copper, cobalt, limestone, gold and iron-ore, but also with hydro-electric water resources. Currently each country produces its own electricity with Uganda exporting a huge percentage of this source of energy to neighbouring countries.
A large capital outlay in roads, electricity, telephone lines and waterways forms not only a significant element of economic development but also helps to create jobs. All these with an education system aimed at the various sectors of the economy can help consign poverty to oblivion.
Why Africa's Technology Lags Behind
In this essay, I offer a moderately researched and fair assessment of Africa's apparent stagnation in its technology. Technology has various definitions, but one that fits this essay is that which describes technology as the sum of ways in which social groups provide themselves with material objects of their civilization (dictionary.com).
People often erroneously think of technology only in terms of modern computer gadgets and star wars, but forget that technology must first and foremost address the immediate pressing needs of a society. Most importantly also, is the fact that technology, once it comes into play, acquires modification or becomes obsolete with time.
Africa has since the 3000 BC, been providing itself with material objects for its civilization. Before being annexed as part of a province of the Roman Empire in 31 BC, and its technological advancement rudely interrupted, ancient Egypt was a highly developed civilization with advanced technology that suited it. Some of Egypt's technological facilities included irrigation canals, scientific and mathematical formulae that enabled them to construct architectural designs like Pyramids that have for ages stood as testimonials of its technological capabilities.
These developments in ancient Egypt, were only possible due to a period of relative stability (3 millennia), but thanks to conquests by the Romans and then the Arabs, its prosperity began to decline, and eventually fell into stagnation. A similar scenario occurred in other African beacons of social and technological development.
The Great Zimbabwe stone ruins are evidence that the Monomotapa kingdom, founded by the Shona in 500AD, was a thriving civilization with a productive agricultural, mining and livestock economy. They mined gold and traded it at the coast for goods they lacked. The Great Zimbabwe stone monument had three parts: The Hill complex, which was a sort of temple for worship. The second part was The Great Enclosure where their king lived and the last part, The Valley Ruins had huts for its citizens.
These ruins built around 1100AD had stood the test of time, and were mistakenly thought to have been built by some European conquerors. Research by David Randal MacIvern and Gertrude Caton-Thomson (1905-1929) confirmed that these were the work of the Shonas. But thanks to the violent conquest of the Zulus in the 1800s this civilization came to a halt.
Without seeming to be apologetic to the current political, technological and economic chaos that Africa seems to offer, one has to stop and imagine where some of these civilizations would have been today, had they not been interrupted. Consider the Aztec and ancient Mexican civilization before the misguided Spanish destruction, and how that act of greed brought to a halt, once and for all, a thriving social and economic development.
Yet, these societies have had to bear the brunt of failed alien social, technological and economic blue prints which they had to learn afresh from scratch. This brings us to an important aspect of any form of technology, and that is, its suitability to the needs of its users. Bicycles are unsuitable for the hilly and rough terrains of Afghanistan just as gondolias are to the streets of Nairobi. A wise man once said that necessity is the mother of invention. Some of the technologies Africa has imported and adopted were, by and large, unsuitable for its immediate needs.
However, Africa and its leaders cannot escape a huge share of blame for a seemingly clueless lead in technology, but the big question that needs to be asked is which way they need to follow. The successive conquest of Africa by different civilizations in the last six to seven millennia brought with it a plethora of economic and technological systems hard to follow, and also stagnated any gains Africa had made.
Thus with focused leadership and time, Africa can still catch up with the rest of the world or bring its own contribution to technology in areas that matches its needs and serves the demands of the global economy.
Sources:
Encyclopaedia Britannica online (2000), Great Zimbabwe : 23 Oct 2000
Cutter, C.H (2000), Africa 2000; Harpers Ferry, West Virginia: Stryker-Post Publications.
Jacksons, J.G (1997), African Civilizations; Secaucus, NJ: Carol Publishing Group
People often erroneously think of technology only in terms of modern computer gadgets and star wars, but forget that technology must first and foremost address the immediate pressing needs of a society. Most importantly also, is the fact that technology, once it comes into play, acquires modification or becomes obsolete with time.
Africa has since the 3000 BC, been providing itself with material objects for its civilization. Before being annexed as part of a province of the Roman Empire in 31 BC, and its technological advancement rudely interrupted, ancient Egypt was a highly developed civilization with advanced technology that suited it. Some of Egypt's technological facilities included irrigation canals, scientific and mathematical formulae that enabled them to construct architectural designs like Pyramids that have for ages stood as testimonials of its technological capabilities.
These developments in ancient Egypt, were only possible due to a period of relative stability (3 millennia), but thanks to conquests by the Romans and then the Arabs, its prosperity began to decline, and eventually fell into stagnation. A similar scenario occurred in other African beacons of social and technological development.
The Great Zimbabwe stone ruins are evidence that the Monomotapa kingdom, founded by the Shona in 500AD, was a thriving civilization with a productive agricultural, mining and livestock economy. They mined gold and traded it at the coast for goods they lacked. The Great Zimbabwe stone monument had three parts: The Hill complex, which was a sort of temple for worship. The second part was The Great Enclosure where their king lived and the last part, The Valley Ruins had huts for its citizens.
These ruins built around 1100AD had stood the test of time, and were mistakenly thought to have been built by some European conquerors. Research by David Randal MacIvern and Gertrude Caton-Thomson (1905-1929) confirmed that these were the work of the Shonas. But thanks to the violent conquest of the Zulus in the 1800s this civilization came to a halt.
Without seeming to be apologetic to the current political, technological and economic chaos that Africa seems to offer, one has to stop and imagine where some of these civilizations would have been today, had they not been interrupted. Consider the Aztec and ancient Mexican civilization before the misguided Spanish destruction, and how that act of greed brought to a halt, once and for all, a thriving social and economic development.
Yet, these societies have had to bear the brunt of failed alien social, technological and economic blue prints which they had to learn afresh from scratch. This brings us to an important aspect of any form of technology, and that is, its suitability to the needs of its users. Bicycles are unsuitable for the hilly and rough terrains of Afghanistan just as gondolias are to the streets of Nairobi. A wise man once said that necessity is the mother of invention. Some of the technologies Africa has imported and adopted were, by and large, unsuitable for its immediate needs.
However, Africa and its leaders cannot escape a huge share of blame for a seemingly clueless lead in technology, but the big question that needs to be asked is which way they need to follow. The successive conquest of Africa by different civilizations in the last six to seven millennia brought with it a plethora of economic and technological systems hard to follow, and also stagnated any gains Africa had made.
Thus with focused leadership and time, Africa can still catch up with the rest of the world or bring its own contribution to technology in areas that matches its needs and serves the demands of the global economy.
Sources:
Encyclopaedia Britannica online (2000), Great Zimbabwe : 23 Oct 2000
Cutter, C.H (2000), Africa 2000; Harpers Ferry, West Virginia: Stryker-Post Publications.
Jacksons, J.G (1997), African Civilizations; Secaucus, NJ: Carol Publishing Group
Monday, April 6, 2009
Do Final Exams Help or Hinder The Education Process?
Examinations are evaluative means for gauging students' achievements over a medium to long-term period. Examples of final exams are Ordinary, and Advanced level General Certificate of School Examinations (GCSE), degree or professional exams given at the end of a course. Although there are other methods of measuring achievement or attainment in learning, exams or tests are the easiest and quickest to administer.
Final exams are generally known as achievement or attainment tests. They are graded, and the higher scores attained are supposed to indicate higher degrees of achievement, while lower scores are generally indicative of low or poor attainment. But questions have recently been raised over the actual link between high exam scores and the actual competence of the persons tested. Both employers and educators at institutions of higher learning have raised concerns with regards to poor language proficiency among the new crop of young people joining professional courses or joining new careers after high school.
Complains abound of incompetence, or utter ineptitude among recent school leavers or college graduates when asked to demonstrate the skills which their paper qualifications show. A counter argument from the recently qualified is that their worth should not be measured only by their paper qualifications but by the actual skills they can demonstrate. The fundamental question now being asked is whether exams really serve a useful purpose or a mere waste of time.
Given that all stakeholders in education have for years attached importance to final exams as a valid measure of achievement in the relevant areas of training, both human and material resources have been heavily invested in them. Governments, parents, educators and the society know no other way of a publicly accepted mode of measuring achievement and success than exams. However, employers, trainers and insiders acknowledge that there are more practical ways of measuring competence than what most paper qualifications show.
Emphasis on paper qualifications has been criticised by none other than the educators themselves. They cite the fact that education has now been reduced to preparations for exams, with standardised tests given to younger children than ever before. Testing alone has become an important industry within education with hundreds of materials being churned out, ostensibly to prepare pupils to tackle exam questions.
As a result of this mad rush to churn out high scores, exams have seemingly become easier but with the heavy price of half-baked learning. Teachers and pupils have little time for what used to be called education for its own sake. Even school debates and dramatics have become choreographed farces with pupils memorising their lines and arguments. We are not training spontaneous thinkers but robots that would rather have readymade answers than be prepared for problem solving.
Thus, the desire for high scores in final exams have ensured that the education process has gone to the dogs and the sooner this is addressed the better for posterity.
Final exams are generally known as achievement or attainment tests. They are graded, and the higher scores attained are supposed to indicate higher degrees of achievement, while lower scores are generally indicative of low or poor attainment. But questions have recently been raised over the actual link between high exam scores and the actual competence of the persons tested. Both employers and educators at institutions of higher learning have raised concerns with regards to poor language proficiency among the new crop of young people joining professional courses or joining new careers after high school.
Complains abound of incompetence, or utter ineptitude among recent school leavers or college graduates when asked to demonstrate the skills which their paper qualifications show. A counter argument from the recently qualified is that their worth should not be measured only by their paper qualifications but by the actual skills they can demonstrate. The fundamental question now being asked is whether exams really serve a useful purpose or a mere waste of time.
Given that all stakeholders in education have for years attached importance to final exams as a valid measure of achievement in the relevant areas of training, both human and material resources have been heavily invested in them. Governments, parents, educators and the society know no other way of a publicly accepted mode of measuring achievement and success than exams. However, employers, trainers and insiders acknowledge that there are more practical ways of measuring competence than what most paper qualifications show.
Emphasis on paper qualifications has been criticised by none other than the educators themselves. They cite the fact that education has now been reduced to preparations for exams, with standardised tests given to younger children than ever before. Testing alone has become an important industry within education with hundreds of materials being churned out, ostensibly to prepare pupils to tackle exam questions.
As a result of this mad rush to churn out high scores, exams have seemingly become easier but with the heavy price of half-baked learning. Teachers and pupils have little time for what used to be called education for its own sake. Even school debates and dramatics have become choreographed farces with pupils memorising their lines and arguments. We are not training spontaneous thinkers but robots that would rather have readymade answers than be prepared for problem solving.
Thus, the desire for high scores in final exams have ensured that the education process has gone to the dogs and the sooner this is addressed the better for posterity.
What You Need To Know About Teen Depression
In general, depression can be described as a mental state characterized by feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and loss of interest . As these states will vary from one individual to another, it is imperative to keenly be on the look out for signs as most teenagers will go out of their way to hide their true feelings from their parents.
Fortunately for most parents, they have observed their children growing up to know when they are not in their element. What parents ought to know is that children, just like adults, are the end products of heredity, home and other environments like school. Expectations from parents, teachers, and their peers add weight to the already emotional roller-coaster that an average teen is going through.
An urgent need to detect tale-tale blips before things get out of hand is of paramount importance, because interpersonal and psychosocial difficulties that teenagers face later in life, more often than not, result from some form of depression. Instances of substance abuse, studies indicate, are the end result of depression.
Heredity factors are crucial because they determine how much teenagers will cope with changes that are going on in their bodies, as well as around them. For a start, mild forms of depression can be dealt with by short term psychotherapy, interventions at school or in the home environments.
In general, the following indicators point to some form of depression, but as already mentioned, individual difference occur: Mood swings, persistent sadness or irritability, loss of interest in activities once enjoyed, are clear signs of the mental states of your teenager. In some cases, significant change in appetite or body weight could be a sign that your child is physically inactive, over-eating (in some cases avoiding food), or there is either substance abuse or some psychological disturbance.
You may notice that lights are switched on late into the night (a sign of difficulty in finding sleep) in their rooms or they frequently oversleep. In some cases, schools will report that your teenage girl or son has either dropped in performance, or lost interest in activities where they have been excelling.
Ordinarily one or two of the above symptoms occurring in the life of a teenager should not be a worry to you, but if five or more of these symptoms persist for two or more weeks, it is now time for you to try and talk to your teenage child, or seek professional help if you cannot make any headway with them.
References
www.about-tee-depression.com
National Institute of Mental Health- www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/lets talk.cfm
Fortunately for most parents, they have observed their children growing up to know when they are not in their element. What parents ought to know is that children, just like adults, are the end products of heredity, home and other environments like school. Expectations from parents, teachers, and their peers add weight to the already emotional roller-coaster that an average teen is going through.
An urgent need to detect tale-tale blips before things get out of hand is of paramount importance, because interpersonal and psychosocial difficulties that teenagers face later in life, more often than not, result from some form of depression. Instances of substance abuse, studies indicate, are the end result of depression.
Heredity factors are crucial because they determine how much teenagers will cope with changes that are going on in their bodies, as well as around them. For a start, mild forms of depression can be dealt with by short term psychotherapy, interventions at school or in the home environments.
In general, the following indicators point to some form of depression, but as already mentioned, individual difference occur: Mood swings, persistent sadness or irritability, loss of interest in activities once enjoyed, are clear signs of the mental states of your teenager. In some cases, significant change in appetite or body weight could be a sign that your child is physically inactive, over-eating (in some cases avoiding food), or there is either substance abuse or some psychological disturbance.
You may notice that lights are switched on late into the night (a sign of difficulty in finding sleep) in their rooms or they frequently oversleep. In some cases, schools will report that your teenage girl or son has either dropped in performance, or lost interest in activities where they have been excelling.
Ordinarily one or two of the above symptoms occurring in the life of a teenager should not be a worry to you, but if five or more of these symptoms persist for two or more weeks, it is now time for you to try and talk to your teenage child, or seek professional help if you cannot make any headway with them.
References
www.about-tee-depression.com
National Institute of Mental Health- www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/lets talk.cfm
Balancing Sports and Learning
There is no be no doubt that sports, physical exercise or games as it is referred to in school parlance, is a higly recognized co-curricular activity in schools.
Educators and health experts agree that physical exercise aids learning, confirming the saying, that all work but no play makes Jack a dull boy. On the other hand, Sports as a respectable profession and an important industry in the world, is a career option that cannot be ignored.
Indeed to underscore its importance, there are a growing number of schools known specifically to offer athletics, or certain sports as part of their curriculum. The choice, therefore, will lie with the pupils or their parents whether their goal in life is to become professional sports-people.
However, there are those who feel that too much sport has an adverse effect on academic performance. Too much physical exertion often leads to drowsiness, or tiredness which is not a good state to be in when faced with assignments in Mathematics or Essays.
So, the argument goes, you can only be good in one but not in both.
But this is not evidently true from the available data. St. Patrick's High School, Iten (a top academic school) in Kenya, is the alma mater of top world marathon and long-distance runners. Brother Colm O’Connell (a former St. Patrick's Head-teacher and Coach) says that there is nothing like discipline and balance to bring out the best in each person. Further to this is the growing evidence that pupil's use of self-regulatory processes to systematize their learning, and performance, may play a greater role in developing their expertise than innate talent or ability.
High quality practice efforts over time have been used by top chess players, for instance, to achieve success. That is to say that sport can be used to help academic work, and mental discipline also aids success in sporting activity. Thus, the best approach is train our young people to lead a balanced and disciplined school life that incorporates academic, and sporting (or co-curricular) activities. If they give it their best efforts, it is likely that they would be able to identify their talents early.
This way, talent in athletics, for example, would be nurtured early on than wasting their time on short-term but unsuccessful academic pursuits.
Bibliography:
Michel, F. (2002), The Pursuit of Excellence Through Education; London; New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Association.
Educators and health experts agree that physical exercise aids learning, confirming the saying, that all work but no play makes Jack a dull boy. On the other hand, Sports as a respectable profession and an important industry in the world, is a career option that cannot be ignored.
Indeed to underscore its importance, there are a growing number of schools known specifically to offer athletics, or certain sports as part of their curriculum. The choice, therefore, will lie with the pupils or their parents whether their goal in life is to become professional sports-people.
However, there are those who feel that too much sport has an adverse effect on academic performance. Too much physical exertion often leads to drowsiness, or tiredness which is not a good state to be in when faced with assignments in Mathematics or Essays.
So, the argument goes, you can only be good in one but not in both.
But this is not evidently true from the available data. St. Patrick's High School, Iten (a top academic school) in Kenya, is the alma mater of top world marathon and long-distance runners. Brother Colm O’Connell (a former St. Patrick's Head-teacher and Coach) says that there is nothing like discipline and balance to bring out the best in each person. Further to this is the growing evidence that pupil's use of self-regulatory processes to systematize their learning, and performance, may play a greater role in developing their expertise than innate talent or ability.
High quality practice efforts over time have been used by top chess players, for instance, to achieve success. That is to say that sport can be used to help academic work, and mental discipline also aids success in sporting activity. Thus, the best approach is train our young people to lead a balanced and disciplined school life that incorporates academic, and sporting (or co-curricular) activities. If they give it their best efforts, it is likely that they would be able to identify their talents early.
This way, talent in athletics, for example, would be nurtured early on than wasting their time on short-term but unsuccessful academic pursuits.
Bibliography:
Michel, F. (2002), The Pursuit of Excellence Through Education; London; New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Association.
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