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.
