LISTEN

“The late Dr Ralph G Nichols, regarded as the father of listening, once said that good listening was a skill we could use in our daily lives — as parents, in our workplaces, in our education, with our friends and relatives and in many other areas.”

(http://mg.co.za/article/2012-04-18-listen-to-your-child)

Listening is something vital in our everyday lives. It is something we do whether conscious of it or not.

According to Sheila Steinberg in her book Introduction to communications “during the course of each day we are constantly called upon to listen in a variety of situations. We use the telephone, attend lectures and meetings, participate in arguments, give and receive instructions, listen to the news on the radio or television and make decisions based on oral information” (2007: pg75).

As a student in UJ (University of Johannesburg) I often find it extremely helpful and beneficial to listen during a lecture instead of obtaining second hand information from a classmate who could have possibly been multitasking at the time he or she was meant to give undivided attention to the lecturer.

When one listens, they are able to abstract the main points being said and to make meaning of them. Listing helps.

www.takingcoachingmainstream.com

A ROOF OVER MY HEAD

Research has proved that there are a number of communes running illegal accommodation specifically for students in University in the city of Johannesburg.

Sayyed Bagsangani (one of those running illegal communes) commented in an article in today’s mail and guardian "If the city relaxed the policy, sped up the application process and reduced the cost, more owners would apply for consent. We don't want to be illegal." (http://mg.co.za/article/2012-04-20-students-at-the-mercy--of-landlords/)

1. Who’s to blame?

· Can we blame the University's for enrolling a large number of students?

· Can we blame point fingers at those running illegal communes regardless of their reasons behind why they are running those communes?

· Does the blame fall on the city of Johannesburg for failure to provide enough houses for student accommodation?

2. Where to from here?

Shutting down certain communes, illegal or not, will not help the students who are in need of accommodation; if anything, this could result in them having to find accommodation somewhere further away from the University hence being late for lectures and assessments due to matters such as traffic.



business.nmsu.edu



This is questioning in terms of ethics: Should we allow illegal communes to run so that these students may have a roof over their heads, or should we close them down and give these students another task to tackle?

 DROP OUT?

The “Schargel consulting group’s blog” suggests that there are four major causes of students dropping out of school, namely:

1.) The child him/herself

2.) The family situation

3.) The community they live in

4.) The school environment

Could the above mentioned points be the real reason or are there other reasons beside these? My guess is: Probably.

From a public relations point of view, the dropout rate has a negative effect on the image of any school that has learners dropping out; whether it be the school's fault or not, hence it is important for any public relations practitioner of any school to develop and maintain an attitude of being proactive and not reactive; constantly scanning the school's environment and constantly conducting thorough research in order to stay on top of the game.

SOCIAL MEDIA IN EDUCATION

A number of people argue that Social media prevents many from doing what they are meant to do, whether it be studying, working and/or the likes. Others argue that Social media contributes to greater effort and deeper knowledge of a lot of different things.

Greg Toppo, an education reporter, writes in an article published in USA TODAY (25 July 2011) “Principle Eric Sheninger is one of a growing number of educators who don't just tolerate social networking in school — he encourages it, often for educational purposes. He says sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube — long banned and roundly derided by many peers — actually push kids to do better work and pay attention to important issues such as audience, quality research and copyright laws.”

In Conan O’Brien’s Mashable, it is published: “Students who use Facebook and hit the books simultaneously found their multitasking led to 20% lower grades than those of their more focused peers. Facebook-using students also made less money during school from part-time work, putting in around five hours per week as opposed to 16 hours per week for a typical, unplugged counterpart. Not only do grades and finances suffer, but students might actually end up feeling more depressed or lonely. Almost half of students believe they are sadder than their friends on Facebook, and 25% of college students have shown signs of severe depression in their status updates at one time or another.”

When Social media is combined with education, is this detrimental?

I would love to hear your views on the matter.

(http://thepassionchronicles.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/woman-in-tears1.jpg)

 FROM TEARS TO PEACE OF MIND

There are a number of reports on abuse taking place within the learning environment; some of which are believed not to have been reported.

One may wonder:

“What exactly goes on inside a person’s head that leads them into physical violence? What emotions do they go through before and after the actual act?”

Some might argue that this is something that only the “abuser” can convey. Whatever it may be, it has left scars in the hearts of those who have fallen victim to such acts and yet to others, wounds that seem to be taking forever to heal. Unfortunately, we cannot go back in time and change that.

There are, however, a number of organizations, projects and campaigns that are taking a stand against abuse within the learning environment namely:

• SAVE – Students Against Violence Everywhere

• RAINN – Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network

 Just to name a few. Such organizations are acknowledged for their efforts.

EARS IN THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

In my own opinion, having a body that represents learners – in any learning environment - is a good initiative.Learners get to voice their concerns with the hope of being heared.

Take the University of Johannesburg for example; it has a body known as the SRC (School

representative council) which exists in order to:

• represent and act in the interest of the student community at all times;

• promote and uphold the principles of the University of Johannesburg’s SRC;

• be committed to the process of fundamental transformation of the University of Johannesburg;

• ensure that the right to access to education is restored, protected and preserved;

• ensure that no student is discriminated against on the basis of colour, race, gender, religion, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, age, culture, language, birth, pregnancy, marital status, disability, conscience belief or political inclination.

• support students and student organizations by creating forums to achieve common goals;

• encourage and support the development of efficient student governance through maximum participation and co-operation between the different levels of student governance;

• uphold and support the vision, mission and strategic goals of the University;

• promote academic diligence and excellence among students.

http://www.uj.ac.za/EN/AboutUJ/Governance/StudentRepresentativeCouncil/Pages/StudentRepresentativeCouncil.aspx

The Kingsway campus SRC members during the VCT Week

http://www.uj.ac.za/EN/News/Pages/IOHAdeterminedonHIVtesting@UJ.aspx

TOOLS FOR SOUTH AFRICAN PROGRESS

There is still hope for a more literate South Africa. A number of undertakings have been established in order to improve South Africa’s literacy level.

One of these undertakings is the Kha ri Gude project which was launched in 2008, aimed at improving the literate and numeracy rate of adults above the age of 15. (http://www.kharigude.co.za/)

However, according to the United Nations Development program report published in 2009, South Africa ranked 107 with an 88.0 literacy rate. In 2011, the United Nations Development program again released another list which depicted South Africa as ranked 113 still with an 88.0 literacy rate. (http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_litearcy_rate)

Looking at these statistics, one will immediately notice that South Africa has dropped from a rank position of 107 to 113.

This is questioning as to whether or not campaigns aimed at improving South Africa’s literacy rate are actually achieving their goal.

Are these projects really helping? What do you think?