News24 User

OBE 'makes sense'

2009-01-12 08:01

Mike Fraser, News24 User

Our matric results of 2008 has once again put our education system under the spotlight.

I must admit that I can't shed any light on the merits or demerits of OBE. Academics and intellectuals are adding to the confusion with their debates for and against OBE being split right down the middle.

What I will dare add to the debate though is that for me the concept of OBE makes sense. We are training our kids for a different world, where the focus is on outcomes.

I would also venture to suggest that it is the application of OBE that needs to be improved upon.

Training of teachers in OBE is part of the solution to the success of OBE. But teachers should also keep themselves informed about the system, because ignorance breeds fear and resistance to change.

We must also stop tolerating dysfunctional teachers. Teacher unions should stop protecting dysfunctional teachers.

My suggestion for a functional, successful education system is as follows: Recognition for the teaching profession as a noble and highly specialised profession. This recognition should include respect for the teaching profession by the government and society at large, parents, learners, all stake holders

But most important is that teachers and teacher unions respect the profession. Let us show a mature, sober understanding for the value of the teaching profession for nation building.

Teaching is the mother of all careers, and should be acknowledged as such by all stake holders. Without teachers we wouldn't have competent accountants, doctors, engineers, IT specialists, artisans, etc.

But we should also acknowledge that not everybody is suited to be a teacher. Many people choose teaching as a career only to discover that they are not really up to it. Then they hang in there for the salary and job security.

In the process they mess up many children who could otherwise have enjoyed a better learning experience. And this reflects badly on the education system.

New teacher intakes should be assessed via some scientific aptitude test for compatibility, like happens in some careers, like engineering etc.

And teacher remuneration should reflect our acknowledgement and respect for the teaching profession.

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OBE is the only way go to,only those that carry the hatred and oppression in their heart in order to keep the black child under educated blame OBE,I have made a study about the subjects in the new curriculum, they are far better than Bantu education, useless facts like Jan van riebeck sail first to India were removed for the curriculum, Livonstone discovered the vitoria falls whereas the people of Zambia and Zimbabwe have been living there for many years before the arrival of the colonialists.

The teachers of today were all part of the old system, where thinking too much was not required. Children were mostly spoonfed to ensure results in the end. Unfortunately these teachers must now educate children in a system that they themselves are not familiar with. I think the new generation teachers may find it a lot easier to cope with actually teaching OBE principles. Note that I generalize and DO NOT say ALL old generation teachers are failing in OBE.

It is my honest opinion that OBE is neccessary in SA as there is no other way to get the Kolobes and malemas of the world to matriculate before they reach 21. Its unfortunate but true that we are dealing with an entire population of people that have been deprived of any semblance of intellect under apartheid and as such standards must be dropped to at least pretend that some form of education has been achieved.

While OBE is a great idea, the fact is that the rural areas do not have the resources for it to work. Please explain to me, for example, how a student in Vuvu can do a self study project on a nuclear power plant? The poor students will literally have to trek over the berg to get into Rhodes some 50km away to find somebody who know what a nuclear power plant is. The students do not have the use of the internet, a good library (that is updated annually).

You clearly have no understanding of what is happening in our education system. Ask yourself this, why is it that our government is shoving OBE down our children's throats when better resourced 1st world countries have tried it AND THROWN IT OUT! Do you have any idea of the amount of work involved in OBE? Speak to teachers with 50 pupils in their class and ask them about OBE and its so called brilliance. The only thing keeping any of our children down and uneducated is our inefficient government.

University pass rates, especially amongst first years have plummeted since the introduction of the new system. The dean of Witts has stated that the new system was grossly inadequate in preparing children for university level education. We are educating our children to become manual labourers, while our country needs engineers, doctors, accountants, etc. It seems you study of the subject needs some further attention Kolobe

How do you propose to assess these teachers and only pick the good ones when no one wants to be a teacher anymore? SA is scrambling for teachers, then offering very little in return. I've been working in IT for just over a year and am already earning more than my mom who's been teaching for over 30 years. She tells me that although she once loved teaching she'd now rather have any other job.

Then don?t blame the curriculum blame the infrastructural development around the curriculum, it is not the curriculum that is bad, Bantu education and OBE are incomparable, in fact I believe Just as Mariam Mathabane puts it if Verwoerd had not taken over black education as he did and if black children had the same educational opportunities as white childre, then there would there be less crime, fewer murderers, carjackers and rapists in the New South Africa, and contrary there would be more teachers, lawyers, writers and nurses!!

I agree with you.Many teachers because of lack of motivation or respect for this calling have destroyed our children.I envy those attending schools in town cause the teachers there understand what is expected of them.They come prepared to class.If a pupil fails,it is because he didn't do his part.But unfortunately,many pupils in townships fail because teachers would rather sit in the staff room.Many of these teacher don't respect & value their pupils.Their children,however,attend schools in town.

Nothing is perfect, except for Jesus Christ. That said, why did the USA throw out OBE? Might it be because that didn't work? And how can Livingstone's journeys be seen as useless? It's important. "White" history is equally important to "black" history, because we're all South Africans, first and foremost and we should see it as history, not "your" history or "my" history. Stop seeing race so much and start seeing character.

You seem to be doing studies into absolutely everything that is discussed here on these forums. It is amazing that between all the studies you do and reading the constitution 10 times you actually manage to get any work done. Ove the last 6 or 7 months I have picked up quite a few times where you had contradicted yourself.

FYI, 2008 was the first year where students wrote exams under OBE, so please don't blame OBE for students' first year failure at universities. It's mostly because some of them cannot cope in the new environment because they are not spoon fed...

When Livingston discovered the Victoria Falls it doesn't mean no one else has ever seen it before. It means it was discovered for the world to see, not a few locals but the world, think outside Africa Kolobe you'll be suprised to see that there is a whole planet of people and places out there....

I could go study teaching but until it is recognised as a noble and highly specialised profession,I'll remain doubtful to quit my present job.I bet there are many who'd do the same,but will we be valued & paid well?Its a good thing they got it right by introducing OBE,but its a pity they cant implement it correctly.The situation in townships is really bad.The future of our kids there is BLEAK!!!

I fully agree with what Mike is mentioning. There is absolutely no much change to the matric results, in that schools that always get good results did the same, there were no surprises. It is a fact that there are people who are in the teaching profession just for the sake of earning a living and job security, what do you expect from those people? Unions must put first the interest of a learner than that of their members. Let us not blame the government for our failure as citizen.

My wife is a teacher. She works very hard. OBE unfortunately makes it easy for a teacher to shirk his/her duty. The focus of OBE is not enough data, only a vague hope os "skills acquired". The outcome hovever is that the kids in the "black" schools get left further behind, because good teachers like my wife still teach the "white" kids to know the facts. (my wife teach at a school that has 35% black kids). So ask you: Is it better when the kids leave school but cannot spell and do math?

The problem is not the content but the method. 4 kids work on a projec 2 work their buts of and 2 sit and do nothing. This OBE was deemed in America(where it comes from) useless in the 60's already as kids gets to grade 10 and could not read or write. Whites educated under the old system are still sought after all over the world, get that system for all.

I had 4 kids in school. With OBE I was forced to spend 5 to 6 hours every evening with my kids to assist them. OBE is all about self study and everything is done according to tasks and projects to be done. The teachers just dish out the tasks with no explanations and the parents are left with the explaining and education. Seeing that the kids and parent are doing all the work, I have decided to home school since last year. My kids are now progressing 100% faster and my work is 50% less.

..countries evaluated and tried OBE education and it showed that the better resourced and more intelligent learner benefitted. Unfortunately the majority of students were further disadvantaged. We are saddled with a very poor education system, for whatever reason, and again the disadvantaged suffer more. Kolobe, OBE just does not work in our country. What can be done in the short term is the curtailing of 'democratic' unions that protect the members and damn the learners.This is not a race issue!

The article written makes alot of sense,but when I see a responce such as that from Kolobe it makes me wonder if there would be any kind of education system that could reform these people.I ask this as there are many within the system that think like this,they will always blame apartheid.The truth is this country cannot progress because of peoples past impressions and attitudes.

Being a product of Bantu Education where route-learning was the order of the day, I find my 8 year old's intellect quite awesome compared to myself when I was his age in 2nd year. Apartheid ensured that teachers who obtained the worst results were admitted to training colleges in order to reproduce equally dumb manual labourers. Assuming OBE is not perfect, let's work on improving the system, including solid and ongoing training to teachers who taught that Verwoerdian type of inferior education

This is a very topical subject and I for one agree with the author. As the parent of two children I think that OBE is very good. It was clearly explained to us parents what the merit of the system is. Now my issue with News24, why do you allow an obvious mischevious person such as Kolobe hijack this topic with his irrational and intelectually challenged view? News24 you are perpetuating the racial devide by giving him and his like a platform to spread hate.

OBE will get most kids through matric at a useless level. Unfortunately it wont do much for them in the real world. I don't understand why the ANC wants to destroy the future of our kids. Its like assisted suicide.

There was nothing wrong with the old system! I agree that the content needed revising, but all in all the old system was good. It produced the doctors and engineers you see today! Would you want to be operated on by an OBE learner? Fact is that the government has lowered the standards so that more black kids could pass easier! How can you consider a 30% mark a pass?

The sad thing is that OBE does not help the people who need it most, namely the disadvantaged and poor people. When my children get one of their numerous school tasks we can go to our town's very good local library to get reference material, they can search the Internet using their own computer, go into my garage and use the materials and tools that is available there to build stuff if needed, etc. How on earth can a pupil living in a schack in a township do any of this?

The ANC has applied Verwoerd's education policy, which was to ensure that the blacks do not get proper education! The only difference being that they are trying their level best to apply Verwoerd's policy accross all race groups.

the ones committing most of the crimes are in their 20;s - they were not around in the Bantu education regime. However in the 80's the ANC were advocating boycotting schools - so there is a whole generation of idiots out there. Any education is better than no education. If you can't even write your own name - there will always be somebody out there who will screw you over.

I?m an ex teacher, not from the old regime! I started in 98, young enthusiastic & passionate, now long gone & OBE is the reason. It has been tried in UK, Ireland, AUS & NZ, all threw it out. It doesn?t close the gap between advantaged & disadvantaged, it widens it. We CAN blame OBE for the dismal varsity pass rate, altho ?08 was the 1st matric class to have completed their whole school career with OBE, many past matrics have been in the system. The sooner it is dropped the better for our youth.

I think peeps do not understand something.OBE is good if implemented well.Should OBE be scraped in SA??Dnt think so but teachers need to be trained for this OBE thing.Teachers were given 2day courses to preparethem for a new curriculum,how do you expect them to know what they are doing??If ever this could be implemented well,it could bring changes to SA education.Government needs to force Teachers to go back to school and study further,that is the only way...

I believe OBE can work, and I've done some study for the education department to prove it. It is NOT perfect however, and will only work if its implemented correctly. Once basic numeracy and literacy is common for all South African children, OBE is the way to go.

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