[kictanet] Vizualisations on Student Teacher Ratio

[Francis Hook]

Not quite ICT related (unless we talk about spell checks) but to share
experiences just like Phares, though relating to me as a parent that keeps
some undeserving publishers in business, thanks to not so competent teachers
that recommend text books.   I have always complained to my kids' headmaster
about the "High Flyer Series" which is published for Std 2 up to Std 8. From
Std 4 I started noticing the really poor quality of the content - too many
typos, APPALLING GRAMMAR/SPELLING (that really slays me), missing diagrams,
etc etc.  And each of these books costs kshs 400 and the teachers are always
insistent that parent's buy the latest edition (I do not want to infer that
the publishers hold a teachers' junket...but just saying....)

I also take issue with other less established publishers.   Last week I was
looking at my daughter's Std 1 Social Studies book. It has abt 70 or so
pages....on EACH page from 1 to 28 (which is the point I gave up in
exasperation) there was an error (typos, grammatical, spelling (e.g. saddles
instead of sandals), etc).   And I was not counting punctuation errors....

*Anyway I agree, teaching standards have plummeted...*
*
*
On 29 September 2011 18:10, Phares Kariuki <pkariuki at gmail.com> wrote:

> The US education system is hardly any better (when contrasted with peers
> with an equal HDI ranking). Over protection of teachers by unions, skewed
> incentive structures. I would recommend, for those who have the time,
> watching the documentary 'Waiting for Superman'. Though there are some
> controversies, a lot of the info is largely accurate
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waiting_for_superman
>
> At the end of the day, the problem with KNUT is that they defend
> incompetent teachers. TSC also is too inefficient to handle many of the
> complaints that come in.
>
> One personal issue I have had with the education system over the last few
> years. When in high school, I had a teacher. The role of the teacher is not
> to dictate notes, it's to teach. With a little innovation, any school can
> offer handouts with all the notes and text references for students, and
> spend the classes going through the material, engaging the students and
> ensuring proper learning of the content. However, our teachers have no
> qualms recycling notes for years on end. In Kenyatta University, one of the
> lecturers in the business school has not bothered changing his notes from
> 1990 (when a friend was in KU) to 2006 thereabouts (when I was in KU). The
> notes were a replica of the 1990 notes. An example of disruptive technology
> that is given in said notes was a 'radio'. 1925. Meanwhile, the PC, iPod,
> iPhone, Facebook, Google, iPad etc etc have been disruptive. No wonder we
> complain that our business people can't catch up. Or journalists. The
> training (even for IT graduates) is flawed. The education system needs to be
> revamped. Reworked. And perhaps, people should have a look at the fine work
> being done by the Aga Khan University (in their new Arusha Campus) to
> understand exactly how a curriculum should be built around technology and
> innovation...
>
> --
> With Regards,
>
> Phares Kariuki
>
> | T: +254 720 406 093 | E: pkariuki at gmail.com | Twitter: kaboro | Skype:
> kariukiphares | B: http://www.kaboro.com/ |
>
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-- 
Francis Hook
+254 733 504561
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