Increasingly, South Africa is being faced with a crisis in the quality of teaching in the country and in the provision of teachers. We at Bishops are not immune to the effects of these, but we must engage in and address three main areas. How do we ensure that we recruit and then retain staff of the highest calibre? Secondly, how are we developing the skills and attitudes of current teachers to practise the art and craft of teaching in ways appropriate to the world we live in now as well as the world our boys (part of the so-called Millennium generation) will be living in? Thirdly, how should we use our strength of resources to be a part of the process of teacher training and resource development which the country needs?

Teachers and Teaching Presentation.ppt (911.00 kb)
Teachers and teaching 2nd Presentation.ppt (3.14 mb)

Outcome of mini summit - Vision and Strategies.ppt (854.00 kb)

Some Thoughts from presenter, Mike Russell

We see a widening gap between technological development and human development.

The world has changed, but have classrooms? Is education really being a priority, in the sense that the need for it to develop with (rather than behind) the times is recognised and addressed?

Educators have the potential to be among the most powerful agents of change.

Every day we see an emphasis on maths, science and technology – is this going to help us react to and solve problems, or does it really just reinforce and reward compliance? Are we working towards answers when we do not even really know what the questions are?

But if we don’t know what the answers are, how much more difficult must it be to be a good teacher?

What about the creative arts? These are the first casualty whenever there is an economic crunch, whether nationally or more locally, but perhaps that is where problem-solving is really learned, and where adaptability is developed.

In South Africa there are currently about 380 000 teachers, of whom perhaps half are not fully qualified. Between 15 000 and 20 000 teachers leave the profession each year, but only about 5 000 new ones qualify. Teacher shortage is already acute, and going to become more so.

68% of current teachers are female, which means there are twice as many women as men. Of course women teach just as well as men – but adolescent boys need good male role models. And yet a teacher’s salary is not a bread-winner’s salary, so how can we expect the proportion of men in the profession to increase?

Given the demands the curriculum makes, the increasing administrative burdens and the low salary, as well as all the other problems that teachers face, how can we expect the numbers of teachers to grow? And could we begin to hope for creativity as well?

And what about values and ethics? How can we build that into teaching?