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.