Education can take place anywhere. That’s the lesson we
learn from the fascinating story of the Makoko Floating School in Lagos,
Nigeria.
Makoko is a residential district that exists on the water.
Recently, architect Kunle Adeyemi and his team began construction of the
3-story triangular-shaped school for students in Makoko.
The bottom floor of the school is used as an open space for
community events and a play area; the middle floor has 2 classrooms, while the
top floor will be used as a workshop.
The reason for building a school was simple: it was what
Makoko residents said they were in need of. The community’s focus on education
as they develop is very admirable.
It teaches us that no matter one’s current
state of affairs, in thinking about their future progress, education must be an
important focus.
There have been a number of short videos and photos about
the Makoko Floating School. We encourage you to check them out by following the
links below. Follow back with us soon for a feature piece on the Makoko
community and their views on education.
Summer Camp Nigeria, a 2-week educational and fun summer camp for children (ages 8-16), is just around the corner (August 11-25, 2013). Watch this promo video to find out more! Go to www.summercampnigeria.com for more information and to REGISTER! [Register before July 5th for a discount!]
In this talk by Charles Leadbeater, we are reminded of the
idea that education must reach beyond the traditional classroom settings that
we’re used to if we truly want it to be applicable to students in this day and
age.
The speaker makes the point that, oftentimes, the curriculum
that our students are taught under are adaptations of 19th century
ways of teaching. However, the reality of the situation is that our world has
changed: children have a range of responsibilities and issues outside the
classroom that require their attention (family issues, poor communities,
diseases, etc.); if we want to engage these students in learning, we must find
a new way of making education fit within the context of their lives as opposed
to something that is just thrown on to their lives and not adapted properly.
In Leadbeater’s words, “EDUCATION NEEDS TO WORK BY PULL, NOT
PUSH.” Students must be pulled into learning by appealing to their interests
and lifestyles, as opposed to completely dismissing the context in which they
live.
This talk offers a number of great examples of projects that
are working really well. The speaker also includes examples of where education
is not working. We encourage you to watch the whole lecture (or read the
transcript of the lecture) so that you’ll get deeper insight into these
fascinating ideas.
Below, you’ll find some key points made by the lecturer that
should help guide you in thinking through these ideas:
·The key to education is motivation. There are 2
types of motivation:
oExtrinsic motivation: Being motivated by knowing
that education has a pay off later on in life.
oIntrinsic motivation: Being motivated because
education is currently engaging and interesting for you.
·There are 2 basic types of innovation:
oSustainable innovation: Will sustain an existing
institution or organization
oDisruptive innovation: Will break apart an
existing institution or organization and create some different ways of doing it.
·What we need are 3 more kinds of innovation:
oReinvention: Schools that reinvent themselves
with learning that starts from questions and projects instead of knowledge and
curriculum.
oRadicalism: Programs to supplement school since
most of the issues in education originate from family and community.
oTransformation: Getting learning to people in
completely new and different ways.
Please share your thoughts on these. Let us know what you think!
Watch the first video in Brainy Educare's Motivational Minute Series! Please share and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to stay updated with our weekly videos.
Sir Ken Robinson, "How to Escape Education's Death Valley"
The video above gives a nice analysis on the current state
of education. Although the focus is on the American education system, a lot of
the points made can be extended to describe what’s happening around the world,
and particularly in Nigeria.
The speaker, Sir Ken Robinson, talks of how education is
usually approached in a mechanical way: that standard curriculums are designed,
and standardized tests are given; yet students, by their very nature of being
human, are far from standard. There is no prototype for “the student” and yet
our education systems have not advanced to recognize this nuance.
Robinson notes that there are 3 principles under which life
flourishes:
Human beings are naturally different and diverse
Curiosity
Human life is inherently creative
Robinson goes on to make the claim that education should be
re-designed in such a way that the 3 guiding principles, mentioned above,
remain at the root of our approach. It is in this way that we can turn schools
from places of simply recycled information to places where genuine learning
takes place.
Please share your thoughts on these ideas. Are our schools
already taking some of these principles into consideration? If not, how far
behind are we in doing so? What steps need to happen to get us on track/keep us
on track? We at Brainy Educare take pride in the belief that our programs
address these issues at their core. However, our work cannot be done alone;
instead we need to open up the conversation so that other education
stakeholders (students, parents, teachers, principals) can join us in our
mission.
Imagine a world where everyone has the
opportunity to learn in the varying desirable ways peculiar to each of them; a
world that truly acknowledges that every child has the potentials to exceed
expectations. A world where every child is made to see the process of lifelong
learning as a path to a future blessed with discovery, creativity and self-fulfillment.
Such a world is our dream at Brainy Educare.
Before now, education focused on the
acquisition of literacy skills: simple reading, writing, and calculating. Generally
speaking, educational systems did not see the need to train people to think and
read critically, to express themselves clearly and persuasively, nor to solve
complex problems in real life situations.
But now, these aspects of high
competencies are required of almost everyone in order to successfully negotiate
the complexities of today’s contemporary life. The demands for work have
increased dramatically, as has the need for organizations and workers to change
in response to competitive pressures in their world of work. Thoughtful
participation in various spheres of life has also become increasingly complicated
as the locus of attention has shifted from local to global concerns. Above all,
information and knowledge are growing at a far more rapid rate than ever before
in the history of mankind.
As if all of these were not challenging
enough, the family— which is the smallest and most reliable unit of support and
reassurance for the individual— is smothered beneath all of these emerging
demands. The priceless treasures that come with belonging to a family, where
life skills are gently passed on from generation to generation, is gradually
ceasing to be.
Support services have never been more
required than they are now. Both the home and the school communities are in
dire need of complementary strategies to improve the quality of education.
Brainy Educare Services addresses all
these challenges through a portfolio of services that we offer. We leverage on
our wealth of experience, passionate inspiration and undeviating urge for
positive change. Our team of educational and child psychologists, medical
professionals, motivational speakers, behavioral therapists, counselors and sport
coaches are always available to ensure guaranteed customer satisfaction and
indeed a worthwhile experience. We have a mission to propel all education stakeholders
into action to help every being get motivated for a lifelong learning
experience and, as such, become the very best that they can be!
Please join and support us in this
mission.
Tuesday 7 May 2013
"The world is full of information. Education is how information becomes knowledge; and knowledge changes things for the better."
Fallacies: 'I can never be good in maths' 'I do not need maths for my future career' 'Oh, my Maths is good enough' 'Maths is complex and confusing' 'Maths is irrelevant to our daily lives outside the four walls of school'
Facts: 'Anyone and everyone can become good in maths if exposed to appropriate brain training'
'Maths skills will give you an edge in any career that you choose to do
e.g. A pro footballer with good critical thinking or processing speed
skills will outperform others'
'Maths has been proven to be the most objective and straightforward subject across all school curricula'
'Maths is extremely relevant to our daily life, from arranging the
furnitures in your living room to scheduling your activities for a day,
even to estimating quantity of rice that will cook in your biggest pot;
maths is it!
Wonders with Numbers III is the third in the
series of Brainy's math mastery and logic clinic and includes a FREE
Parents impact seminar in Lagos and Abuja! Details @ www.brainyeducare.com
Early bird registration closes coming Wednesday 20th March 2013, for Lagos centres.
Come......let's demystify maths!
Sunday 17 February 2013
All over the world, from time immemorial, mathematics has remained the most 'talked-about' subject..... the most controversial. While some believe that it is indeed the simplest and most objective learning field, most believe that it is really complex. What do you believe? What do your friends believe? Join our maths poll; start voting now and encourage your friends to vote as well. Its just a click away: Vote now
It'll take only a few seconds of your time but will make a huge
difference in the journey towards re-defining the learning process! Thank you Vote now
