Article: SA Mathematics teachers struggle with simple math problems

[JungleBoy]

Odd, because a larger emphasis was placed on understanding for us back in 1996-2000.

I meant us - the Apartheid children that matriculated way before '94. I am assuming the majority of the teachers are still from that era (mid thirties and older).

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

I meant us - the Apartheid children that matriculated way before '94. I am assuming the majority of the teachers are still from that era (mid thirties and older).

So how does that translate into you not being surprised at teachers' abilities at present? Surely we would also have had teachers between 1996-2000 who were also educated during the Apartheid era? I'm not white btw, so it's not like I received some sort of privileged education.

To me it seems like it is not a general problem that affects all teachers. It seems to be an attitude problem that affects individual teachers - they probably just see it as a job, and may simply not care enough about providing a good education to the children, and therefore don't bother to keep their skills sharp. Even during my schooling days, we had some woeful teachers but we also had some truly wonderful ones.

So it could simply be a case of a growing trend in not giving a crap about educating the kids, and only looking out for themselves, if the strikes last year were anything to go by.

 

[JungleBoy]

So how does that translate into you not being surprised at teachers' abilities at present? Surely we would also have had teachers between 1996-2000 who were also educated during the Apartheid era? I'm not white btw, so it's not like I received some sort of privileged education.

To me it seems like it is not a general problem that affects all teachers. It seems to be an attitude problem that affects individual teachers - they probably just see it as a job, and may simply not care enough about providing a good education to the children, and therefore don't bother to keep their skills sharp. Even during my schooling days, we had some woeful teachers but we also had some truly wonderful ones.

Perhaps the curriculum change that took place in the mid '90s had a lot to do with it.
Wasn't it outcomes based education supposed to encourage self discovery instead of the "teacher tell" method that was used before?

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

Perhaps the curriculum change that took place in the mid '90s had a lot to do with it.
Wasn't it outcomes based education supposed to encourage self discovery instead of the "teacher tell" method that was used before?

It's possible, but I'm still convinced that some teachers just see it as a job, and are no longer passionate about it.

My mom is a teacher, and many within my extended family are also teachers, and they all say something along similar lines - that they were (and still are) passionate about their jobs because they would like to see the children make something of themselves. Nothing gives them more joy than students who return to visit 10-15 years later to provide an update on how they've succeeded.

They have also said that this passion stemmed from the fact that they didn't really have much choice in a profession during the Apartheid era, and imparting wisdom in the kids in the hope that they would succeed when Apartheid eventually fell is what drove them. Teachers now seem to lack that drive.