3D REFLECTIONS OF LIFE

This post, the fourth in the series, Ni hao (Hello) China Travelogue , covers our Day 2 in China as the South African education delegation.  We were given an overview of China's educational reforms and we visited a primary school. Dr XU Shuqin giving us an overview of China's Educational Reform On a rainy, humid day we travelled from our hotel to SYSU for our second lecture entitled "The Policies and Experience of the New Curriculum Reform in China." Here is a snapshot of that informative, interesting lecture. Background of China We learned that China established a socialist market economy in 1992 and joined the WTO in 2001. China's population is 1,4 billion and spread over an area of over 9,6 million square kilometers. 91,5% of the population is Han while about 8,5% of Chinese belong to one of the 55 minority groups. Chinese thus has a total of 56 different groups.  About 56% of the population are urbanized. There are disparities between ...

Do you feel you can't shake off that exhaustion even though you are on holiday? If this is the case, the reality is that you are suffering from burnout. Many of the symptoms of burnout were there throughout the year, but you probably dismissed those early warning signs.   There are two reasons why you don't see yourself as a sufferer of burnout. Firstly , you may not know how to recognize the symptoms of burnout. You may have accepted being tired constantly because of work overload. Family demands frustrate you, you ignore spending time with friends and your conversations are mainly about work. This preoccupation with work after hours and the absence of fun and quality time with family and friends are all telltale signs of burnout.   Secondly , you may be in denial. You tell yourself that it is normal to feel wasted at the end of the year. You may also play the blame game and identify everybody else as causing you undue stress and not take responsibility for your own ...

Celebrate whenever you can. Why don't we make time to celebrate our small victories? Why do we feel that those small steps are not worth being showcased? We only want to highlight the big goals we have achieved. Somehow we believe that those breakthroughs are the only ones worth celebrating. I suppose others can see the fruits of our labour because the final product is there visually. But,what about those smaller, significant steps of success along the way that made the big dream come true?   Organisations that integrate celebrations at all levels of achievement as a cultural practice, maximize the spin-offs. Staff morale increases because they can see their efforts are being acknowledged. There is also renewed energy to accomplish the bigger goal. They can see the progress. They also get a better understanding of how goal-setting activities scaffold one another. If other stakeholders are invited to these occasions, they too feel valued, energized and driven to work harder....

Ernst Esau (far right) standing with the welder and the school caretaker Impromptu visit to Harmony Primary School at the request of the Principal I visited Harmony Primary School today at the request of the principal, Ernst Esau. We had spoken on the telephone earlier and our conversation centred on Ernst's frustrations with their "plankie" school building and the high maintenance bill the school had to foot. Ernst has also been watching the renovations at other schools and our apparent disregard for their plight dominated our discussion. I listened patiently and offered advice as best I could. Then Ernst said, if I had time, could I please pop in at the school because he had a few documents he needed to process. I know our principals fairly well by now and I know the narratives behind such requests. It is the end of term one and the pace at schools is demanding. Throw in budgetary constraints, social issues, teacher fatigue and systems demands, and you know tha...

How is it possible that after 20 years of being a democracy, half of our people still go to bed hungry every night? Can we seriously claim that people enjoy basic human rights if more than 50% of our nation is starving?   According to a UCT study on access to food security, one of the key basic human rights, more than 50% of South Africans lack food security. Even more startling is the fact that more than 70% of the people in the poorer parts of the Western Cape, don't have access to food - zilch, nada, nothing.   Listen to this information. According to UNICEF, we have regressed over the past 20 years in terms of providing access to food security in our country. UNICEF reports that over 70% of our children are stunted physically and cognitively as a result of food insecurity. In other words, these children cannot grow properly or learn optimally because they are in starvation mode all the time. Sadly, these children are our nation's most precious assets. They are our future...

Bottom frames from Left: Brandon and Bevil in action at the Principals' meeting Today was one of those wonderfully uplifting days. Our education is undergoing so many changes that you get tired just thinking about the developments taking place. And while I was driving to our Principals' meeting   that was being held at the Centre for conservation in Wynberg, I listened to SAFM, one of my favourite radio stations when I am on the road. The National Research Foundation spokesperson was talking about the series of lectures taking place on poverty. I liked what she said about researchers trying to bridge the divide between themselves and the communities they write about.  "Community-knowledge building'" seems to be the buzz word out there. Now, this concept is not new to the community of school principals we serve. In fact, today, our meeting was dominated by two presentations facilitated by two of our principals, Bevil and Brandon. Here we are, enjoying the ...

You are seldom disappointed when storyteller, Professor Jonathan Jansen takes the floor. Rapport comes naturally even on this typical winter's afternoon. Off we go with Jonathan to Namibia, meeting a few young people and community members whom he had engaged on his recent travels to our neighbour. We hear our neighbours are calmer, happier and more aligned although they too have a difficult past. Selwyn Page, Devine Fisher, Jonathan Jansen and Jackie Loos Before we know it, we are travelling south again, crossing the Orange River and land straight in Spear Land. We hear lessons drawn from the Spear incident interspersed with just an adequate dose of contextual information to aid understanding. The Spear outcry demonstrated that we are still a deeply wounded nation - so angry and volatile that we forego reason and debate. It highlighted the failings of our education system and the incident also made us more aware of the thinness of our democracy.   Jonathan and Simo...

Jazz with style and charm Marlene Le Roux with the Seven Jazz Musicians The 2012 Youth Jazz Festival was an electrifying sound mix of melody, rhythm and harmony. We were taken on a Jazz journey for more than two hours, willingly being transported by the four-piece ensemble and seven young musicians. Ian Smith and the musicians There wasn't a single 'yawn' moment. The guitarists and saxophonist teased and coaxed our bodies in rapturous moves, the pianist dazzled and the vocalists seduced all our senses. And then there was Ian Smith - master trumpeter and the epitome of showmanship with quips that flowed just as effortlessly. Whitney Olivier singing Feeling Good. Vocalist Whitney Olivier got my biggest vote; she was brilliant with her rendition of "Feeling Good".  The Mondale High Student from Mitchell's Plain, is destined for greatness. The show was one glorious experience of soulful, smooth jazz. We salute Artscape, especially Marlene ...