Article 2: How I pressed a professor
How I pressed a University of Pretoria professor about the blatant unfairness happening in education
It saddens me how the school educational system fails to amplify our human potential. It only rewards one type of intelligence, and this is academic intelligence. According to the work of Dr Holland, probably 20% of people really have this type of intelligence, and in all likelihood an even smaller number really go on and use it.
Every body is born with a gift. This is an innate natural ability or a natural talent that cannot be taught – IT CAN ONLY BE REFINED. Luk Dewolf, a Master in Educational Sciences, says that your gift is not in an activity that you do, but rather it is what the activity does to you. So, if an activity gives rise to the following then that area is definitely an area that reveals your natural talents:
· The ability to excel when under pressure to perform
· The ability to secure favour with ease and with little effort
· The ability to enjoy what you are doing.
· The ability to work endlessly without noticing the time
· The ability to be hungry and passionate
We are all born with a natural capability and expertise in our area of gifting. The world has a stern view of gifts as being dancing, singing, and sports because of the celebrated people (celebrities) that are in the limelight. But our gifts are more than that; they include the ability to network, to bake, to cook, to teach, draw, design, detailing, craft, etc. So, what talks to your soul when you do it? What loads your batteries? What satisfies you?
How to unearth this at school?
Right now, what we have available to many school learners is career planning which is merely giving the learner career options and telling them what marks they need to acquire to get to that particular career. You will probably remember having career days at school where higher institutions would come to your school and hand out pamphlets on what careers they offer. This is appallingly wrong because nothing is mentioned of your abilities, strengths, weaknesses and personality traits. What this does is add to an already muddled and perplexed individual. This, I believe, is the reason we have 85% of the world population that say they don’t enjoy their jobs (they are just sustaining themselves).
The key lies in what psychologists have known since 1960: use sophisticated media such as psychometric tests, work sheets and computer programs that form an objective image of the individual. This image is then matched with the character traits suited to a specific career. If the values, interests and abilities of the individual are congruent with the requirements of a specific career, the assumption is made that the individual would find that career stable, productive and satisfying. This image is generally accepted as real and true.
This type of career counselling should be freely available to South African population that urgently requires counselling (which is everyone in the country) but it is not. Instead, these tools are available primarily to people who are able to afford this expensive service and has become a product that educational psychologists use for their ‘clients’ (school learners who’s parents can afford). An approach to make career education in South Africa more accessible is critical, given the work of researchers who have identified that despite the documented importance of career counselling it is typically young people whose parents can afford it, that access the service.
In fact, career theory, practice and assessment globally have also been accused of failing to meet the needs of non-white, non-Western, non-’standard’ populations. If educational bodies know this, why aren’t they doing these services for free for everyone? I actually challenged a researcher from the University of Pretoria about this. Have a look at our exchange below.
This was his reply. Notice his stance as a researcher or professor on what they do.
After writing this email he again sent another reply. I think this time the mask came off.
After this response I thanked him and 25 days later he wrote again to me requesting for us to take things further. We didn’t take things further as he was busy with exams.
Wherever there has been a history of oppression, people will always suffer from miseducation. For South Africa I believe that coupling our areas of gifting with education has been an area where there has been great misperceptions which has resulted in the manifestation big buckets of ignorance. For most middle-class people this dilemma has the power to influence everyday life and the well-being of a person.