Grade 'R' - Who will Teach our Children to alis volat propiis*?

Michael Waldeck, RPA

*(Latin: ‘to fly with their own wings … !’)

Michael Waldeck has a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and Master’s Degree in Linguistics (Second Language Acquisition) from Stellenbosch University, South Africa. He has taught Science and Biology at High School in South Africa and English at all three levels of School, as well as Business-English to Adult-Learners in the Far-East for several years. He is currently busy with an English language Curriculum manuscript, called: ‘CAREER ENGLISH’ ©™ which covers all aspects of the English language (Literacy and Numeracy) from Grade R to 12, including daily lessons for the Language Trainers on how the brain learns a Second or Foreign language. E-mail: waldeckmike@hotmail.com

‘I have come to the frightening conclusion, that I (as the Teacher / Tutor) am the decisive element (in the Education scenario) because it is my personal approach, which creates the ambience and academic-climate. It is my daily mood, that establishes the academic-weather in the Class-environment.

In this respect, I possess tremendous power, to either make life miserable or a joyous occasion because I can become a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration … I am able to humiliate or humour, hurt or heal emotionally ! In all circumstances, it remains my response, that is decisive whether a crisis is either escalated or de-escalated and a child is treated humanely or inhumanely …’ (GOETHE – German Poet)

Language Education therefore requires a curriculum, that will NOT only captivate the minds and hearts of the children, but which is also of a trans-disciplinary nature and which focuses on agitating every child’s sense of curiosity, thereby empowering the immature mind, to want to dig deeper, in order to discover their own highly flexible, mental resourcefulness. This fact, then is not simply a matter of ‘cause-and-effect’, but rather the child’s growing desire and resolve to want to convert learning opportunities into profitable- and pragmatic outcomes.

This set of accumulated acts, leads the child to become ‘the captain of his/her own destiny’ – a situation, where the Language Trainer essentially becomes merely an instrument, who tallies percentages in the margins of their work-books. This inevitably leads to the children, to accept a communal-sense of responsibility for their own Education and thereby, they effectively become jointly accountable with the Language Trainer for their future academic success and career-choice.

Consequently, only Language Trainers, who have this unique training ability, to convey a new language holistically - where the child sees the whole subject-field picture (holistic) - will be able to educate all children, profoundly and effectively.

Accomplished Language Training is therefore, the single most important method of producing children, who are able to reason logically, act responsibly and are further able to apply learned theory, to any practical problems with which, they are confronted. Therefore, effective language-training matters because it allows the children, to engage- and grapple with both concrete- and abstract ideas, thereby enabling them to make the subject, their own cognitive property.

Language Trainers should never attempt to fool the children into thinking, that there is an easy path, to success in life. They should preferably describe the most difficult road to the child - as an enjoyable experience - by communicating complex ideas lucidly, yet succinctly, so that the child will want to apply their full mind and creative imagination, to the matter at hand and to experience firsthand, what it is like being the ‘captain of their own ship’. Ironically, these are precisely the skills, that any blue-chip Company executive wants to see in an employee of value !

CHILDCARE is a NECESSITY – not a luxury … !

Childcare is not meant to replace the family, merely to support it. This whole issue should concern the wider Public because it impacts on so many aspects of so many precious young lives, on inter alia:

• Productivity
• Poverty
• Education
• Choice of CAREER – Technical, Vocational or Professional
• Health

Early Childhood Language Education can reverse the fortunes of both those in the middle and of those at the bottom of the fiscal pyramid !

Life at best is a dichotomy for the Middle Class citizens of any country, especially when one analyzes, the functioning within the political-environment and then carefully dissect, the Government’s administrative-organs, which (ought to) keep the Economy afloat. It subsequently becomes abundantly clear, that all Governments’ extract their maximum tax, from their Middle Class citizen’s earnings.

The Middle Class carries the tax burden of both the Bourgeois (the affluent) and the Proletariat (the Middle Class and poor) in virtually every global society. Educational standards and the marketing of products and services, all revolve around the Middle classes, who effectively serve as their respective country’s economy’s cash-cows … !

The wealthy have adapted and learned to stow their assets and funds in, inter alia: Trusts, tax-free Offshore Entities and other tax resilient commodities, while the poor have nothing to hide or spend, except ill-gotten gains … There is off course nothing legally wrong with the Affluent’s modus operandi, other, than being supremely tax-effective, which efficiently serves as their posterity’s future inheritance !

The large majority of these Middle Class Parents, educate their children to study for a Career, which can offer them ‘job-security’, i.e. a fixed income, certain perks (perquisites), Medical Aid and a Pension at the end of their careers ! It is then rather obvious, which career paths these children will be inclined to follow … adding to the unbridled delight of their respective Governments ! It is normally only the materially-privileged few at the top of the fiscal pyramid, that can dictate to the roulette wheel of fortune, while all others can only marvel and covet and dream … !

The Middle Class in actual fact, comprises the following sub-divisions, viz.

• The Upper-Middle class, inter alia: Professionals careers – Medical, Veterinary, Dentists, Judges, Attorneys, Architects, Engineers, Accountants; University Professors; Agriculture; Scientists; Biologists; Information Technology personnel; Public- and Corporate Company Directors and –owners; Marketing and Financial Investment Brokers, etc.
• The central-Middle class, inter alia: University lecturers; Teachers; Government (Senior) management employees - Army, Navy and Airforce, Nurses, Policemen, Prison Services, Court officials, Traffic Police, Technicians, Technical personnel, Transport officials, Municipal workers; Clergy; SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) and Private company Senior management, etc.
• The lower-Middle class, inter alia: Company administration employees; Government administration employees; Hand-labourers; General Cleaners; Vehicle drivers; Gardeners; Security Guards, etc.

Are these the ut supra (above-mentioned) career-paths, that the majority of Teachers encourage and train scholars to follow or do they set high, academic standards and train the children to reach for the sky, i.e. the optimal self-development of each respective child ? By applying the Pygmalion concept of psychological self-motivation, the Language Trainer can further direct the child to their true (untapped) potential.

There are currently, basically two types of Childcare facilities, viz. family homes, where children are cared for by a woman in her own home and what is termed, ‘Day-care’ Centres, which provide food and different levels of so-called education for these infants. ‘Day-care’ in homes is usually less expensive, than in Centres and they also have more flexible regimes. These ‘Care-givers’ are, what can be described as substitute parents and consequently popular with Parents, who have infants and or toddlers.

‘Day-care’ centres come in all sizes, shapes and styles – they’re found in Church halls, converted sub-urban Homes, Civic Halls and professionally planned Schools. They may be managed by Individuals, Schools, Churches, State Departments, NGO’s (Non-Governmental Organizations), Community groups, Private bodies and even Welfare organizations. Their programmes follow a similar family-home regime, inter alia: games, toilet-training, story-telling, playtime, meals and naps, etc. A small minority of these Centres, place an emphasis on educational activities, which resemble Nursery schools.

The most serious problems encountered in Childcare, are notably: over-regulation, understaffing and unqualified Staff (and support-Personnel) because of inadequate salaries. There is also an acute lack of appropriate training facilities, while the vast majority of all Nursery-school Staff are untrained or whose training is unrelated to Pre-school Education. Unrealistic Municipal regulations, regarding space and health and the costs in meeting these prerequisite conditions, make it almost financially impossible for the vast majority of these Centres, to comply. Regulations should be more sensitive and realistic to the economic resources available in each unique community.

Large Corporate firms should be compelled to provide ‘day-care’ assistance to their employees, thereby enabling the parents to focus on their careers and directly benefitting the Company because of a higher productivity-ratio. Government equally, should also be made to come to the party in this regard, by providing the training facilities for Staff and by subsiding salaries and -resources required at these ‘Day-care’ Centres, but unfortunately Africa after all these years, still remains a dark intellectual Continent.

‘Good dogs, do not bite sheep … !’ i.e. A good Teacher will not seek to harm or be offensive, toward any CHILD … !

Please check the Methodology and Language for Primary course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Methodology and Language for Secondary course at Pilgrims website.