playmode:

Lol! I thought so,your inability to answer the two questions i posed to you shows that replying to you was a waste of comment space.I see you have no respect for others since it is so easy for you to mention my family even though you do not know me personally.

I did not want to answer to IRRELEVANT, PATHETIC questions especially when you lacked the depth to answer mine first.

playmode:

You should endeavor to engage your brain before you speak and evaluate the consequences of your comments as it affects others.

This is Mirroring again, now you are copying me and trying to sound intelligent, stick to being a dummy.

playmode:

In future do not mention my family

what are going to do "big boy" lol   you are a first class prat - get lost!

nolongTing:

I did not want to answer to IRRELEVANT, PATHETIC questions especially when you lacked the depth to answer mine first.

This is Mirroring again, now you are copying me and trying to sound intelligent, stick to being a dummy.

what are going to do "big boy" lol   you are a first class prat - get lost!

I am not going to do anything.I was just telling you in a polite manner that your upbringing was faulty as you do not have respect for others.I am not suprised anyways as your username has already indicated the kind of person you are and the kind of mindset you have.No matter how much i disagree or verbally fight with someone i will never mention that person's family.It is simple human decency really,something you should have been taught a long time ago.

Now can you zip it so that we don't derail the thread.I am trying to avoid you but you are sh8tting all over the thread like a kitchen rat. 

nolongTing:

In addition to that, the education needs to be based on culture. For example an African child has to learn a European language or Arabic before he/she can study and be considered intelligent enough to contribute to society. Imagine how much faster Africa would develop if Degrees were done in the peoples native language? If the African leaders had started developing the framework from the 60s imagine the results today in science and technology.

Spot on.

All modern education places a huge emphasis on the language of communication.
There are many untapped intelligent young people in Nigeria but we have failed to differentiate learning according to their needs.
There was this guy I was teaching the concept of operating system during my days back in university and despite using very simple language in English, he didn't have a clue what I was on about. But when I explained the same thing in Igbo, he grasped it very easily. That really opened my eyes to how powerful the language of communication could be to effectve learning

playmode:


[size=15pt][s]Now can you zip it so that we don't derail the thread.I am trying to avoid you but you are sh8tting all over the thread like a kitchen rat. 
[/s][/size]

very classy indeed from the peaceful, decent, intellectual (KEEP DREAMING) lol!  my past commets are for all to see

Nija4Life:

Spot on.

All modern education places a huge emphasis on the language of communication.
There are many untapped intelligent young people in Nigeria but we have failed to differentiate learning according to their needs.

My point precisely, the metrics are all European! But for example [size=15pt]what metrics did our forefathers use to build their empires?[/size] Why cant we reawaken such ideas and develop them?

Nija4Life:

There was this guy I was teaching the concept of operating system during my days back in university and despite using very simple language in English, he didn't have a clue what I was on about. But when I explained the same thing in Igbo, he grasped it very easily. That really opened my eyes to how powerful the language of communication could be to effectve learning

Its funny i was working on a computer science framework a while back but realised that it would be a monumental task to do alone.  Most scientific concepts mimic nature, for example the operating system is modelled on how our brain works, of course its inferior to our brain in its ability to make decisions "on the fly", but its superior in its ability to do billions of things per second.  What i am getting at is many Africans are close to nature and if they could translate that into technology it would be incredible! The truth is we have only achieved about 3% of what is possible with computers there is so much more to do. So many species that have not been discovered, so many diseases that have no name, so many natural resources lying in the ground untapped etc.  So the leaders need to learn how to lead first then like you said they need to tap into our precious human resources.

Nija4Life:

We need to learn to walk before we can run. If we achieve anything near the Prussian education you alluded to then we would have made a quantum leap in progress.

The success of any educational system is measured in terms of outcome. Japan and USA, two countries mentioned in the link you posted are highly successful nations. Nothing can be more modern than modern itself I’m afraid. We are million miles behind the so called Prussian system. Our best bet is to strive to develop a modern educational system and then we will worry about the next steps.

To set the records straight, in modern education, there is something called Assessment for Learning, where the students are at the very heart of the teaching and learning process. At least, I can equivocally state that I teach in a modern educational system where students are not forced to sit and listen to some adult talk at them from a board neither does it fail to take into account students with different learning styles.

While I agree Africa/Nigeria's education systems are way behind, I do not think we should set about continuing the current educational model. Both Japan(Cramming,lack of creativity,indiscipline,bullying) and the USA(high dropouts,declining standards,bullying) are experiencing problem in there system. Modern education is a top down affair. It is not the children who decide curriculum, it is somebody in the Government.

However, we know that people learn best/fastest when they are following their interest. But if someone is more interested in say science than history, most systems say tough luck you have to learn this anyway.How can an education system where kids get little say in curriculum, be considered having children at its heart? It may all be well meaning, but still.  

Not only that, but if the Government issues bad policy, it affects everyone.  We should not be so hasty to repeat the mistakes of other nations.

Idehn:

While I agree Africa/Nigeria's education systems are way behind, I do not think we should set about continuing the current educational model. Both Japan(Cramming,lack of creativity,indiscipline,bullying) and the USA(high dropouts,declining standards,bullying) are experiencing problem in there system. Modern education is a top down affair. It is not the children who decide curriculum, it is somebody in the Government.

However, we know that people learn best/fastest when they are following their interest. But if someone is more interested in say science than history, most systems say tough luck you have to learn this anyway.How can an education system where kids get little say in curriculum, be considered having children at its heart? It may all be well meaning, but still. 

Not only that, but if the Government issues bad policy, it affects everyone.  We should not be so hasty to repeat the mistakes of other nations.

The problems that you highlighted countries like Japan and US are facing in their educational system is less to do with curriculum but more to do with cultural changes in social behaviour of children. Perhaps that is a topic for another day.

The reality is that no country operates a curriculum that is set by students, at least none that I know of. Do I believe it should be left for student to decide? Not really, because from my experience they will end up with what they want rather than what they need to know. Even Finland with arguably the best educational system in the world, does have a national curriculum set by the government. Whilst I accept government should have less say in the curriculum, I am of the view it is best left to teachers to set out. Afterall they are the ones that work with the students everyday so should be best placed to know what is best for them.

During Hitler's siege of Leningrad in WW2, one million Russians starved to death. Cannibalistic gangs stalked the streets and ration cards were more valuable than gold. People burnt their furniture to stay alive in the brutal winter.

Wartime Leningrad. A Young girl asked: "Mama, what is meat?" After her mother explained, her daughter replied, "has anyone ever tasted it?!

"People collected water from holes drilled in the frozen Neva river, carrying it in buckets, people too exhausted to take another step, collapsed in the street. They froze to death where they sat. Bodies left in the streets where they fell were discovered with parts of the thighs or arms cut off. Several Cannibalistic gangs were summarily executed by the military"- "Putin's Progress" by Peter Trusscott

In the Netherlands, I was told first hand by pensioners how hard life was then; the Dutch were reduced to eating their cats and dogs[i]-their own pets[/i]- and had to resort to gathering firewood in the woods to use as heating fuel. Eating grass, wood bark and  boiling leather goods like purses and wallets for food was commonplace. It was the same throughout Europe.
In Japan, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were flattened by the world's only nuclear bomb attack. Millions of citizens died.

Yet, by the 1950's the European and Japanese"economic miracle" was well under way-a mere ten years after such horrible suffering.

Has any African country gone through such hardships? In the well narrated doldrums of African existence, we have created a

myth in which we have been singled out for the greatest suffering and the most unendurable oppression in the history of the world. Yet, blessed with a clement climate, fertile soil and abundant natural resources, almost all our woes are self-inflicted.

So then, why is there such lack of will to improve ourselves? Why are we still living life as the Europeans lived in Medieval times, in the dark ages? If education is supposed to to be the panaeca of misery, why are our educated, Westernized elite so incredibly stupid?

If you watch the movie, "Idiocracy", you might understand why. It's a dystopianic tale of the USA in the future, where the rules of evolution were neglected and everyone's' IQ become very low. In that movie, America looks like any typical African country- a uniformly stupid human society devoid of intellectual curiosity, social responsibility and coherent notions of justice and human rights. The bridges and roads are collapsing because of corruption, the education systems have failed, healthcare has collapsed.

Are we living in an Idiocracy in the present day?

My-Key:

Yet, by the 1950's the European and Japanese"economic miracle" was well under way-a mere ten years after such horrible suffering.

Has any African country gone through such hardships? In the well narrated doldrums of African existence, we have created a

myth in which we have been singled out for the greatest suffering and the most unendurable oppression in the history of the world. Yet, blessed with a clement climate, fertile soil and abundant natural resources, almost all our woes are self-inflicted.

You forgot to mention how all those crumbled societies were provided funds to rebuild (or were the funds for rebuilding conjured out of non-existent trade?); the equivalent of which would be to pay all the African countries back for the centuries of looting.

Idehn:

While I agree Africa/Nigeria's education systems are way behind, I do not think we should set about continuing the current educational model.

I agree it needs to be overhauled, the current state of the country shows that it has failed.

Idehn:

Both Japan(Cramming,lack of creativity,indiscipline,bullying) and the USA(high dropouts,declining standards,bullying) are experiencing problem in there system. Modern education is a top down affair. It is not the children who decide curriculum, it is somebody in the Government.

Well, the Japanese have a culture of duplicating or revese engineering, infact south east asia is rich but not creative – they are the ultimate copycats! Did they invent the car? No but they are the best at producing cars, did they invent microchips? No but they are the best at manufacturing them and the list goes on. So their education reflects that. And in the USA who are the dropouts? I am sure most are African Americans and hispanics and there is a high probability this is related to cultural differences.

Idehn:

However, we know that people learn best/fastest when they are following their interest. But if someone is more interested in say science than history, most systems say tough luck you have to learn this anyway. How can an education system where kids get little say in curriculum, be considered having children at its heart? It may all be well meaning, but still.  

well, I currently teach maths voluntarily in my spare time and you cannot allow children to dictate the  curriculum, they lack the capacity to do so.  Children need to be directed and made aware of their ability in many cases.  But what dose work is observing them and tailoing their learning based on their interests and ability.  However, this approach require a huge amount of resources – its expensive to implement!

My-Key:

During Hitler's siege of Leningrad in WW2, one million Russians starved to death. Cannibalistic gangs stalked the streets and ration cards were more valuable than gold. People burnt their furniture to stay alive in the brutal winter.
,
In Japan, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were flattened by the world's only nuclear bomb attack. Millions of citizens died.

Yet, by the 1950's the European and Japanese"economic miracle" was well under way-a mere ten years after such horrible suffering.

lets this be a starting point http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bretton_Woods_system

My-Key:

Has any African country gone through such hardships?

I think you need to apply some logic to your thinking it seems like a cry for help.  I hope you know that Africa has endured the biggeest crime against umanity - 480 years of slavery plus colonialism, with no compensation.

My-Key:

Why are we still living life as the Europeans lived in Medieval times, in the dark ages?

The map of Africa was drawn without their consent, its incorrect and the only way to correct it is WAR, why because the colonialists are EVIL geniuses, they have given certain groups right and priviledges they will not give up without a fight, for example the North of nigeria and oil, south sudan and north sudan, eastern libya and western libya etc - Africa was treated as a big natural resources cake. 

Most Africans want peace and try to tolerate and live with one another and the result is development at a snails pace.

My-Key:


If education is supposed to to be the panaeca of misery, why are our educated, Westernized elite so incredibly silly?

Its silly to say they are silly, [size=15pt]western education cannot be easily applied to African problems, why? Because it based on European culture![/size]

Most Africans educated in the west with good jobs would have to take a 2000% + pay cut, to work in an environment struggling to mimic the one they have become acustomed to.

@nolongTing

I agree with you that "western education cannot be easily applied to African problems . ,   because it is based on European culture". My fear though is that education itself is based on European culture. So is religion, morality the list goes on. I think we just just have to accept it because the world is more eurocentric that we realise.

yeswecan:

@nolongTing

I agree with you that "western education cannot be easily applied to African problems . ,   because it is based on European culture". My fear though is that education itself is based on European culture. So is religion, morality the list goes on. I think we just just have to accept it because the world is more eurocentric that we realise.

It may well be based on European culture but many nations have applied it in their on way and become succesful. Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, USA, India etc are all hardly European countries. We don't have an alternative and we don't look to come up with any either. We might as well make do with what we've got and run with it, the world has left us behind.

yeswecan:

@nolongTing

I agree with you that "western education cannot be easily applied to African problems . ,   because it is based on European culture". My fear though is that education itself is based on European culture. So is religion, morality the list goes on. I think we just just have to accept it because the world is more eurocentric that we realise.

All originated by Africans . . .

While education is important,you guys need to realize that that is not the real problem of Africa.Mugabe has six degrees and speaks english better than most britons but look at what he has turned Zimbabwe into.Look at our own history.Nigerians have always excelled in academics but in our new democratic dispensation ,all the professors and engineers and "big titled" Nigerians that were employed by OBJ,Yara Dua and now GEJ are unable to solve our problems.A good example is Aganga who was a critical failure though he is educated and has worked for a big firm like Goldman saachs.Even our president is alleged to have a Ph.D but the dude is as dumb as a door nob.What do you atrribute this to?

As i mentioned earlier we need to look deep into our society and in to our culture(conduct studies) to find out why we have not made progress in our respective countries.The idea of teaching our children in our local language is not necessary as we have always come out tops even when we were taught in English language.Beside it won't solve anything because language does not dictate the character of an individual.Before the fall of apartheid the black kids were being taught in local languages through their bantu education system .Today Black south Africans happen to be dumbest blacks i have ever encountered in my life.They are way behind their peers all over the world and quite a number of them can bearly speak a sentence in English.

We need to go back to our moral roots,i mean we need to start from parentinng to teach our kids from a young age to be progressive individuals.If every parent in the Africa can do this ,we will have better results.When i say progressive,i mean that we should teach our kids to be kind to other children ,to be responsible citizens,to be discplined,to be honest,to be willing to serve their nation e.t.c We need to bring up our kids with some sort of military discpline.If we as Africans can do this collectively coupled with giving them a decent education and exposing them to the global community through affordable access to internet ,books,social networking e.t.c You will see that Africa will produce a new generation of discplined individuals who will not participate in ,tolerate corruption or bad governance.

The home usually molds the character of an individual not education.Education only enlightens him but does make him/her a good or bad person.Remember that before western education was introduced to Africa ,we had kingdoms that were ruled by kings and most of them ruled well. Even though they were not educated, they raised armies ,fought wars ,conquered other kingdoms.They had courts which were headed by the king even though they were not educated.They had a relatively organised though primitive society then.

In those days ,kings cared about their people,todays leaders care about their bank accounts.Quite a number of Africa's leaders today are educated but they still manage to screw up their countries.Why is that? Mind you Africa is not the only continent with corrupt leaders.I assure you that leaders in the western world ,your sarchozy,your obamas,your david cameron e.t.c are equally corrupt albeit in a sophisticated and covert way but they do make a positive impact on their societies .Look at the bush family for example ,they are one of the most corrupt people in the world but during the tenures of both bush president they lead like every other American president before them.They provided leadership to their people and obeyed the rule of law.

I think the mistake we make in Africa especially nigeria is to think that only a super educated individual can save us.Take a look at the former president of brazil (Lula da Silva),the dude was more or less an illiterate but he turned the fortunes of brazil around in his second term to the extent that Obama now has to come and kiss the azz of the new president inorder to get brazilians to buy american made goods.Now that is a leader,uneducated but selfless.

What we need in Africa are selfless leaders like Jerry Rawlings of Ghana who was just a navy pilot but wiped out the corrupt leaders of Ghana.Today ,Ghanaians are enjoy the fruits of his selfless and courageous act.Only a selfless person who is willing to listen to the voice of the people can lead a nation successfuly and achieve great results.

Nija4Life:

It may well be based on European culture but many nations have applied it in their on way and become succesful. Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, USA, India etc are all hardly European countries. We don't have an alternative and we don't look to come up with any either. We might as well make do with what we've got and run with it, the world has left us behind.

This is not an issue with geographical location, its more complicated than that. It is a tendency to see the world from a European point of view and USA is at the core of that . . (USA is the leader of this Eurocentric view) so is every single country you mentioned . . The word 'education' is based on European culture . .  wheather its education in the States or China , SO is human right corpus and universal convention . .

experience:

All originated by Africans . . .

Nothing was originated in Europe they just mastered the art of owning it.

logica:

You forgot to mention how all those crumbled societies were provided funds to rebuild (or were the funds for rebuilding conjured out of non-existent trade?); the equivalent of which would be to pay all the African countries back for the centuries of looting.

Yet more indolence,

A bit of research would inform that Africa has received more inflows of money than the Marshall plan of 1945. The analogy between Europe in 1945 and Africa today is false.  The US provided $13 billion over three-and-a-half years (about $76bn at today's prices) to buy American food and goods to rebuild Europe. If distributed equally, every European would have received $49, or $293 at today's prices.

Africa has had about a trillion dollars in aid in the past 50 years, roughly $5,000 for every African living if distributed at today's prices. If aid were the solution to Africa's problems, it would be a rich continent by now.

What did we do with this money? We bought Mercedes Benz, Toyota, Sony, I-pad, Dolce & Gabbana,  Swiss banking, London and Dubai properties. How utterly insane!! By the way,  "We" here refer to the various Idiocracys in power since Independence, not the long suffering, clueless "common man".

But then, even when we get the chance, why don't we elect more Fasholas and Sir Seretse Khamas? Why an abundance of Mobutus, Idi Amins, Bokassas, Somali Warlords and so on? Why is Haiti so bone crushingly poor 500 years after her liberation from slavery? Why is Jamaica poor? Why is the Bronx in New York and Peckham in London poor? Are we pre-destined for misery?

Speaking of slavery, racism, colonialism and other expressions of self pity that we indulge in, it would be interesting to note that Finland endured 700 years of Brutal Russian Colonialism. Wales Northern Ireland and Scotland are to this day colonies of England, with the Republic of  Ireland only getting independence in 1945. Read about the Irish Republican Army for more. Read about the atrocities of Japan in WW2 including the infamous "violation of Nanking" -the Chinese and Koreans still harbour deep resentment of Japan for this. Why is Singapore rich? This is a countrywith ZERO resources. I mean, they even import most of  their water!! There are more Mercedes Benz and Armani suits sold in Congo and Nigeria than in Singapore. WHY?

So, please, enough of the complaints and self pity.

playmode:

While education is important,you guys need to realize that that is not the real problem of Africa.Mugabe has six degrees and speaks english better than most britons but look at what he has turned Zimbabwe into.Look at our own history.Nigerians have always excelled in academics but in our new democratic dispensation ,all the professors and engineers and "big titled" Nigerians that were employed by OBJ,Yara Dua and now GEJ are unable to solve our problems.A good example is Aganga who was a critical failure though he is educated and has worked for a big firm like Goldman saachs.Even our president is alleged to have a Ph.D but the dude is as dumb as a door nob.What do you atrribute this to?

As i mentioned earlier we need to look deep into our society and in to our culture(conduct studies) to find out why we have not made progress in our respective countries.The idea of teaching our children in our local language is not necessary as we have always come out tops even when we were taught in English language.Beside it won't solve anything because language does not dictate the character of an individual.Before the fall of apartheid the black kids were being taught in local languages through their bantu education system .Today Black south Africans happen to be dumbest blacks i have ever encountered in my life.They are way behind their peers all over the world and quite a number of them can bearly speak a sentence in English.

We need to go back to our moral roots,i mean we need to start from parentinng to teach our kids from a young age to be progressive individuals.If every parent in the Africa can do this ,we will have better results.When i say progressive,i mean that we should teach our kids to be kind to other children ,to be responsible citizens,to be discplined,to be honest,to be willing to serve their nation e.t.c We need to bring up our kids with some sort of military discpline.If we as Africans can do this collectively coupled with giving them a decent education and exposing them to the global community through affordable access to internet ,books,social networking e.t.c You will see that Africa will produce a new generation of discplined individuals who will not participate in ,tolerate corruption or bad governance.

The home usually molds the character of an individual not education.Education only enlightens him but does make him/her a good or bad person.Remember that before western education was introduced to Africa ,we had kingdoms that were ruled by kings and most of them ruled well. Even though they were not educated, they raised armies ,fought wars ,conquered other kingdoms.They had courts which were headed by the king even though they were not educated.They had a relatively organised though primitive society then.

In those days ,kings cared about their people,todays leaders care about their bank accounts.Quite a number of Africa's leaders today are educated but they still manage to screw up their countries.Why is that? Mind you Africa is not the only continent with corrupt leaders.I assure you that leaders in the western world ,your sarchozy,your obamas,your david cameron e.t.c are equally corrupt albeit in a sophisticated and covert way but they do make a positive impact on their societies .Look at the bush family for example ,they are one of the most corrupt people in the world but during the tenures of both bush president they lead like every other American president before them.They provided leadership to their people and obeyed the rule of law.

I think the mistake we make in Africa especially nigeria is to think that only a super educated individual can save us.Take a look at the former president of brazil (Lula da Silva),the dude was more or less an illiterate but he turned the fortunes of brazil around in his second term to the extent that Obama now has to come and kiss the azz of the new president inorder to get brazilians to buy american made goods.Now that is a leader,uneducated but selfless.

What we need in Africa are selfless leaders like Jerry Rawlings of Ghana who was just a navy pilot but wiped out the corrupt leaders of Ghana.Today ,Ghanaians are enjoy the fruits of his selfless and courageous act.Only a selfless person who is willing to listen to the voice of the people can lead a nation successfuly and achieve great results.

Well you then have to question if that education is really serving its purpose, sadly it isn’t. By education, I don’t mean education of PHDs and meaningless degrees which sometimes are not worth the paper they are written on. One of the main essences of education is the ability to solve problems around you.

I’m talking about education that opens up the human mind. An education that uplifts the capacity of the human mind to be dynamic, creative and resourceful.  An education that enables people to develop the dynamism and ideas for new businesses, entrepreneurial skills and new technology that will create wealth in an ever changing world. I’m also talking about an education that prepares young people for leadership by learning to lead (my primary school motto).

I take your point on moral values but morality alone doesn’t build nations. The family is just one means of social change; schools are another and a very powerful one for that matter. Whatever values that you instil in your children at home needs to be reinforced at school otherwise if they see the opposite, it would only lead to a distortion in the very values you are trying to protect. In summary, education is a means not an end in itself,

yeswecan:

This is not an issue with geographical location, its more complicated than that. It is a tendency to see the world from a European point of view and USA is at the core of that . . (USA is the leader of this Eurocentric view) so is every single country you mentioned . . The word 'education' is based on European culture . .  wheather its education in the States or China , SO is human right corpus and universal convention . .

I think it's fair to say we both agree on that but my point is we can adapt it to suit our own peculiar needs like many other non-European countries have done and become successful. We have wasted so much time making excuses for what has made us to stagnate for far too long

playmode:

While education is important,you guys need to realize that that is not the real problem of Africa.Mugabe has six degrees and speaks english better than most britons but look at what he has turned Zimbabwe into.

Its not a crime to be highly educated – stop hating, but as I mentioned earlier – the context at present is eurocentric.

Secondly, mugabe has been persecuted by the west he is the original mandela, thats like saying “look at what Gadaffi has turned Libya into”.

playmode:

Look at our own history.Nigerians have always excelled in academics but in our new democratic dispensation ,all the professors and engineers and "big titled" Nigerians that were employed by OBJ,Yara Dua and now GEJ are unable to solve our problems.A good example is Aganga who was a critical failure though he is educated and has worked for a big firm like Goldman saachs.Even our president is alleged to have a Ph.D but the dude is as dumb as a door nob.What do you atrribute this to?

The context! Aganga is highly educated and operated in an advanced economy but trying to do so in a developing country will not work, thats why Kofi Anan did not want to become president of ghana it ould have ruined his legacy. The solution will take between 10 to 20 years, The education, science, politics and economics will have to be African-centered.

playmode:

The idea of teaching our children in our local language is not necessary as we have always come out tops even when we were taught in English language.Beside it won't solve anything because language does not dictate the character of an individual.Before the fall of apartheid the black kids were being taught in local languages through their bantu education system .Today Black south Africans happen to be dumbest blacks i have ever encountered in my life.They are way behind their peers all over the world and quite a number of them can bearly speak a sentence in English.

You have exemplified a high level of ignorance, speaking English has not made you intelligent lol! Language is used to maintain and convey culture and cultural ties. http://edition.tefl.net/articles/teacher-technique/language-culture/

playmode:

We need to go back to our moral roots,i mean we need to start from parentinng to teach our kids from a young age to be progressive individuals.If every parent in the Africa can do this ,we will have better results.When i say progressive,i mean that we should teach our kids to be kind to other children ,to be responsible citizens,to be discplined,to be honest,to be willing to serve their nation e.t.c We need to bring up our kids with some sort of military discpline.If we as Africans can do this collectively coupled with giving them a decent education and exposing them to the global community through affordable access to internet ,books,social networking e.t.c You will see that Africa will produce a new generation of discplined individuals who will not participate in ,tolerate corruption or bad governance.

Its common knowledge that Africans raise their children way better than Europeans; if anything African kids are too polite and well mannered.  Tell me why an average kid living in the west is not religious and has less respect for older people and their country still develops?

playmode:

The home usually molds the character of an individual not education.Education only enlightens him but does make him/her a good or bad person.Remember that before western education was introduced to Africa ,we had kingdoms that were ruled by kings and most of them ruled well. Even though they were not educated, they raised armies ,fought wars ,conquered other kingdoms.They had courts which were headed by the king even though they were not educated.They had a relatively organised though primitive society then.

If they were not educated how did they run the empire? How did they make bronze masks and ornaments? How did they grow their food? How did they treat their diseases?

playmode:

I think the mistake we make in Africa especially nigeria is to think that only a super educated individual can save us.Take a look at the former president of brazil (Lula da Silva),the dude was more or less an illiterate but he turned the fortunes of brazil around in his second term to the extent that Obama now has to come and kiss the azz of the new president inorder to get brazilians to buy american made goods.Now that is a leader,uneducated but selfless.

Rubbish! Most of Nigeria's presidents have not been educated, most of Africas presidents have not been educated.  Lula was educated by being an important figure in the Brazilian unions, he had real life experience just like john major of England and Regan for the states.

playmode:

What we need in Africa are selfless leaders like Jerry Rawlings of Ghana who was just a navy pilot but wiped out the corrupt leaders of Ghana.Today ,Ghanaians are enjoy the fruits of his selfless and courageous act.Only a selfless person who is willing to listen to the voice of the people can lead a nation successfuly and achieve great results.

Thats a myth, the economy of ghana is weak and corruption is very high again, Rwalings was very silent on Abacha and Babangida – I wonder why?

My-Key:

Yet more indolence,

A bit of research would inform that Africa has received more inflows of money than the Marshall plan of 1945. The analogy between Europe in 1945 and Africa today is false.  The US provided $13 billion over three-and-a-half years (about $76bn at today's prices) to buy American food and goods to rebuild Europe. If distributed equally, every European would have received $49, or $293 at today's prices.

What about the outflows?

My-Key:

Africa has had about a trillion dollars in aid in the past 50 years, roughly $5,000 for every African living if distributed at today's prices. If aid were the solution to Africa's problems, it would be a rich continent by now.

What dose Aid mean? I hope your research revealed that Aid INVARIABLY has economic strings attached; which is why the west want it to stay that way.

My-Key:


But then, even when we get the chance, why don't we elect more Fasholas and Sir Seretse Khamas? Why an abundance of Mobutus, Idi Amins, Bokassas, Somali Warlords and so on?

Fashola came into power through Yoruba Cultural politics.  As a result it will be difficult for him to become the president of Nigeria.

My-Key:


Why is Haiti so bone crushingly poor 500 years after her liberation from slavery? Why is Jamaica poor? Why is the Bronx in New York and Peckham in London poor? Are we pre-destined for misery?

Haiti – was established by slaves who revolted against the french around 200 years ago not 500 years! The French wopuld only halt attacks if theywere compensated for their loss in earnings from SLAVERY! The loan was paid off about 2 yearts ago to your wonderful, developed French people – is that right? Haiti’s legacy of debt began shortly after gaining independence from France in 1804. In 1825, France, with warships at the ready, demanded Haiti compensate France for its loss of men and slave colony.
Http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/External_debt_of_Haiti  you really need to read

Speaking of slavery, racism, colonialism and other expressions of self pity that we indulge in, it would be interesting to note that Finland endured 700 years of Brutal Russian Colonialism. Wales Northern Ireland and Scotland are to this day colonies of England, with the Republic of  Ireland only getting independence in 1945. Read about the Irish Republican Army for more. Read about the atrocities of Japan in WW2 including the infamous "violation of Nanking" -the Chinese and Koreans still harbour deep resentment of Japan for this.

You are comparing finland to Africa? You compare Irish and Scotish colonialism to Slavery? Did you know that the scottish took part in the opression of Africans? Do you think the Scots and Welsh want or need independence? Did the whole of Ireland become independent? And you have the nerve to tell people to read, what a joke!

nolongTing:

Well, the Japanese have a culture of duplicating or revese engineering, infact south east asia is rich but not creative – they are the ultimate copycats! Did they invent the car? No but they are the best at producing cars, did they invent microchips? No but they are the best at manufacturing them and the list goes on. So their education reflects that.

Still, in a world where competition in manufacturing is increasing, they cannot afford to continue educating people this way. Nor can Africans afford to emulate a system that does so as well.

nolongTing:

And in the USA who are the dropouts? I am sure most are African Americans and hispanics and there is a high probability this is related to cultural differences.

It is pretty bad all around.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10053859/ns/us_news-education/t/us-college-drop-out-rate-sparks-concern/

Racial gaps are another concern. Overall, the federal figures report 57 percent of white students finish their degree, compared with 44 percent of Hispanics and 39 percent of blacks. A 2004 Education Trust report found a quarter of schools have gaps between whites and blacks of 20 points or more.

Nija4Life:

The reality is that no country operates a curriculum that is set by students, at least none that I know of. Do I believe it should be left for student to decide? Not really, because from my experience they will end up with what they want rather than what they need to know. Even Finland with arguably the best educational system in the world, does have a national curriculum set by the government. Whilst I accept government should have less say in the curriculum, I am of the view it is best left to teachers to set out. Afterall they are the ones that work with the students everyday so should be best placed to know what is best for them.

nolongTing:

well, I currently teach maths voluntarily in my spare time and you cannot allow children to dictate the  curriculum, they lack the capacity to do so.  Children need to be directed and made aware of their ability in many cases.  But what dose work is observing them and tailoing their learning based on their interests and ability.  However, this approach require a huge amount of resources – its expensive to implement!

Child driven education does not have to be aimless. This guy (Sugata Mitra), showed that children are there own best teachers.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/sugata_mitra_the_child_driven_education.html

Idehn:

Still, in a world where competition in manufacturing is increasing, they cannot afford to continue educating people this way. Nor can Africans afford to emulate a system that does so as well.

It is pretty bad all around.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10053859/ns/us_news-education/t/us-college-drop-out-rate-sparks-concern/


Child driven education does not have to be aimless. This guy (Sugata Mitra), showed that children are there own best teachers.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/sugata_mitra_the_child_driven_education.html

What he is trying to explain is the concept in education called ‘independent learning’.  Some children can be trained to learn on their own whilst some can do so on their own. This in itself is nothing new but doing a controlled experiment which is basically what he has succeeded in doing is very much different from adopting a child-led curriculum on a large scale.

Have you considered the practicality of adopting this curriculum model you are advocating? If say in a school of 1000 students with all doing taking an average of 10 subjects. That means the teachers will need to use 10*1000 curriculum documents. What it even means is that we should even do away with teachers because if the students know what they’re doing why do you need teachers?. I think we are going into unknown territory here and its best left to the confines of wishful thinking.

First and foremost, Nigeria is ruled by Oligarchs, and it in the atmosphere of confusion and bad governance that they make their money.  If everything is running the way it should, there will be no money for them. 
Follow up to that is that power in Nigeria is disseminated to the masses, so there is no way for them to have their voices heard.  Again, power is held by Oligarch (ruling class), and they buy the votes, or decide on whom they want to be in power. 
Finally, international special interest groups from countries to cartels can and do influence the oligarchs through bribery, blackmail to do their bidding.  Why dont we have power?  Well, if we had constant electricity supply, what would happen to the people in the generator business?

My fix to address this problem is to empower the working people, focus on education, and do a better job of inculcating the ruling class.

Two instances that I will point out are the Murtala regime, and Buhari/Idiagbon. These were two leaders who were non compliant, and hell bent on achieving their political/nationalistic goals, hence they were overthrown by outside forces allied with the Oligarchs. Unfortunately, at the present and for the last umpteen years, Nigerian leaders tend to do a lot of mago mago, wuruwuru to get into power, therefore, they are very blackmailable, and have to cut their lackeys and political godfathers a piece of the action. It prevents them from being incorruptable.

My-Key:

Yet more indolence,

You have been the eternally indolent one who started off with the silly "all Somalia is one 'tribe' talk. And you strike again.

What dodgy aid are you referring to? Will any sensible person give out aid if he knew it was all like throwing water in a basket, or maybe it's nothing compared to what they gain by continuing to ensure Africa never stands up especially when you know it all ends up in the wrong hands and is never used for development? Was that how they disbursed aid to Europe? Their "aid" is nothing but payouts to their cronies for their cooperation. No more.

Again reaching out to the Lumumba example,  which would have benefited Congo more for instance - their poisoned chalice aka aid or the nationalization of the mines as he intended, which got them scared shitless? They very well know the aid they throw in the direction of Africa is of no use and they are perfectly satisfied it is as it is. So if for instance you were my guardian, and I have come of age, and I tell you I want to work and earn a living; it makes sense for you to rather give out some money to a dubious uncle to dash me as stipends than allow me to find a job and be useful so that I can sustain myself, and fully knowing the nature of that uncle of mine since you (the guardian) had used the dubious uncle on occasion for your dirty work (who also happens to be a thief and supplies you with a steady stream of stolen goods)? Will I not starve to death?

And of course they org.asm on how well it works out when self-loathers like you say "Oh they gave us aid and we can't do anything with it. we are useless."

This is a question that I have pondered for many years. How come most nations on the African continent have not progressed compared to the nations that are found in the Far East, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and South Korea. As African nations were gaining their independence, there was a sense of optimism that could be felt throughout the continent. What happened to this optimism? One answer that I could think is that the realities on the ground, became clear to our independence leaders. Some leaders wanted to consolidate power for themselves, in which they wanted to be seen as the father of their nations. Examples of these leaders can be seen in Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana. While other leaders wanted their own groups to reign supreme over the newly independent nations. This could be seen in Nigeria, Sudan and a host of other nations. A strong nationalism was needed in most African nations, where groups seen themselves as part of a nation instead of part of their people. Unfortunately this did not happen.

Nija4Life:

What he is trying to explain is the concept in education called ‘independent learning’.  Some children can be trained to learn on their own whilst some can do so on their own. This in itself is nothing new but doing a controlled experiment which is basically what he has succeeded in doing is very much different from adopting a child-led curriculum on a large scale.

Child driven learning is nothing more than an extension of independent learning. Of course extended application will be different, but as he has shown it is a far more efficient/effective model than the current one. I do not think it needs to be implemented whole sale like the current model is. It should start small working out issues/kinks. If it is a better model, and I believe that it is, it parents will choose to send their kids to acquire this kind of education. The problem with the current model is that these kind of alternatives are not allowed to exist.

Nija4Life:

Have you considered the practicality of adopting this curriculum model you are advocating? If say in a school of 1000 students with all doing taking an average of 10 subjects. That means the teachers will need to use 10*1000 curriculum documents. What it even means is that we should even do away with teachers because if the students know what they’re doing why do you need teachers?. I think we are going into unknown territory here and its best left to the confines of wishful thinking.

It does not mean that we have to do away with educators. However, the role of the educator is far more dynamic. Educators will have to actually work at attracting students to there courses instead of getting a steady batch by government fiat. Making courses interesting, productive, and valuable to all concerned parties(School,parents, and children).

Schools do not have to sacrifice standards to implement child driven education. Some schools for example can be dedicated to fields such as Science and Technology. They may have attractive courses like robotics/engineering managed by a teacher. These courses may have prerequisites to like calculus, algebra, and physics. It is just that the best physics educators(who may possibly be a former student), will attract the most students and bad teachers very few.

In fact, if income was tied to the number of students a teacher attracts the reputation of the teacher will be even more important. Teachers bad at educating, may find that there students cannot get into the robotics course they wanted. They will either have to improve(emulating methods of better teachers) or risk having few students take their course again(if any). Good teachers may even be inclined to start classes on just teaching a certain subject for extra income.

Fear of the unknown is no reason to continue the stagnation of the current system. We need innovation not more of the same.

ekt_bear:

I've been reading the book From Third World to First : The Singapore Story: 1965-2000 by Lee Kuan Yew over the past few days.

Just as a bit of background, Singapore is a tiny island nation in Southeast Asia that was formerly a British colony. It gained independence in 1963, joined a federation with Malaysia, and was kicked out of it by Malaysia (in part due to ethnic/political differences.)

So you have this very poor island nation with no natural resources whatsoever. Not even enough drinking water; they sourced their water from Malaysia. Surrounded by hostile countries like Malaysia and Indonesia who tried hard to enslave it through military and economic means. Yet despite this adversity, through excellent leadership Singapore is today one of the richest countries on earth.

Reading through his book, I got a very bad impression of Malaysia. Basically they come across as bigoted, backwards xenophobes. Yet despite all of this, even Malaysia has done a lot better than Nigeria: http://i55.tinypic.com/2iuqki1.png
(from the World Bank)

So where exactly did we go wrong as a country and continent? What excuse do we have for failure over the past 40 years? Singapore did it, and is not blessed with the natural resources that Nigeria is. People expected Singapore to fail, yet it succeeded.

This book has given me a lot of hope about how good leadership can set a country on the right path, but also made me a bit sad about how bad Africa has been run.

nuff quoted

@ OP

Nigeria and the rest of Africa had a bright future at 1960 which wa sthe Independence era for most of colonial West AFrica. Nigeria, was then the Giant and bright star of Africa. Nigeria had wealth in many avenues. It was Africa's most populated country with over 50 million people and withs its newfound welath of oil it symbolized the bright potential and future for Africa.
[b]
The early years of the 60's were bright years for Nigeria. Its eager and ambitious leader set out with the task of nation-building, ran out and set up many proposed programs and projects designed for the benefit of the people. In the olden days, trains ran steady from Lagos to Enugu, Enugu to Kaduna, Kaduna to Kano. The governemnt gave out free milk to parents urging them to feed their children lots of milk because as the governemnt put it, "they wanted to have health, and strong youths".[/b]The first half of the 60's were good times. Nigeria was teeming with foreign interest, and its economy wa sthe fastest growing in Africa. The oil wealth had given the government alot of spending power, and soon, the lure of welath had intoxicated some members of the government. The military, seeking not to lose this era of prosperity, and the numerous priviledges which they had held, decided that it was timee for someone to take action and they performed Nigeria's first military coupe. In this era, coupes were becoming rampant in W. Africa in nations like Benin, and Togo. I'll skip the civil war era, its too controversial.

So here we are 1970, the East was defeated and Nigeria was one again. In this period, there spread a large amount of dissatisfaction since the East was not fully "Nigerian". It was in this era that Nigeria began to truly spoil.. This was when the political alliance between the West and the North, excluding the East, officlaly started. In this era, Nigeria experienced an increase in oil production since the Biafran oil fields ha been returned to the republic. The rulers were intoxicated by this new stream of wealth and began mismanaging it. Roads were no longer built, bridges no longer repaired, trains no longer maintained, and many public services died off. Nigeria and much of Africa, despite the oil boom, was in an economic depression which dragged into the 80s.

In the 80's the people grew restless, their basic services  whic they came to cherish, were long gone, and they stood no chance of voicing out their grievances in a military-dominated governmental structure. The leaders, noticing theis launched one economic revival program after another but to no avail. Things became worst in the 90s. In the 90s, the people were inspired by many pro-democratic movements across the world like in Berlin and in Russia. The governemnt promised the return of demorcacy to the people, and the people waited. After ABiola won Nigeria's first true election, the people were given hope. They were given hope that their roads, which had never been repaired since the 1960s might be fixed. That their electricity whiched they were promised by 1980 would finally arrive, and theat lastly, they would have rights. But Abacha killed that, and the people were on the brink of rebellion, and yet again, the governemtn promised democracy, this time by 1999.

When Deomcracy finally returned, Nigeria's first president of the new mellenium was a Southerner. He was chosen for the worng reasons. He was chosen because the people were tired of Northern rule, not because of his abilities, and this ultimately led us to where we are today.

So op, in short, mismanagement of wealth killed Nigeria. Look at Ghana, they are much poorer than Nigeria, but their economy is priogressing. Why? Becuas ethey have good managers. They do not spend $300 million on planesw when they know that they have 20 million mouths to feed. They do not start half-finished projects when they know that they have three hundred miles of roads to build.

The fear of death is the beginning of suffering!!

A thread is still fresh in our heads about Diasporans saying they owe Nigeria nothing and therefore have no responsibility to build Nigeria. What kind of responsible person says that?

We have people like Soyinka who are constantly voicing out their opinions, Soyinka's role when they didn't want to handover administrative power to Jonathan was very vital,  The man left all he was doing and came to Nigeria,

If you go to Lagos, you will know humanity is now printed in naira notes. Everything isn't just right. A friend's dad was gonna give out stoopid house renting for $35k/year and I asked the guy if he knows that is too much for a house in VGC and his reply was, "Lagos is not for poor people" (I didn't give him the fone I brought for him from here ). People are losing their souls. Money is becoming more and more powerful!!

So, when are we going to get up and be ready to get shot for a good life?  Elitism is eating deep into our souls and it's a shame, 

Many Nigerians will fight against Nigeria for a US green card instead of fighting against our thieving, clueless politicians who turned us desperados!!!

So it all boils down to us THE PEOPLE!!,  People deserve the government they get,

Is a bright future worth dying for? no? put a gun to your head because there is no bright future for you!!!

9jaganja:

The fear of death is the beginning of suffering!!

A thread is still fresh in our heads about Diasporans saying they owe Nigeria nothing and therefore have no responsibility to build Nigeria. What kind of responsible person says that?

We have people like Soyinka who are constantly voicing out their opinions, Soyinka's role when they didn't want to handover administrative power to Jonathan was very vital, The man left all he was doing and came to Nigeria,

If you go to Lagos, you will know humanity is now printed in naira notes. Everything isn't just right. A friend's dad was gonna give out stoopid house renting for $35k/year and I asked the guy if he knows that is too much for a house in VGC and his reply was, "Lagos is not for poor people" (I didn't give him the fone I brought for him from here ). People are losing their souls. Money is becoming more and more powerful!!

So, when are we going to get up and be ready to get shot for a good life? Elitism is eating deep into our souls and it's a shame,

Many Nigerians will fight against Nigeria for a US green card instead of fighting against our thieving, clueless politicians who turned us desperados!!!

So it all boils down to us THE PEOPLE!!, People deserve the government they get,

Is a bright future worth dying for? no? put a gun to your head because there is no bright future for you!!!

My brother, you just hit the nail on the head. That is just the problem of Nigeria and Africa. Paricularly money.