A book can simply be defined as a set of written, printed, or blank pages, fastened along one side and encased between protective covers. Books are essential for learning processes and other purposes. The idea of people ceasing to own books in the future is in essence not possible due to people’s high preference to
Tag: Blogging Prize Shortlisted
If everyone were able to speak English, what would happen to all the other languages?
The great Nelson Mandela once said, “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. Undeniably education has allowed the world to become a better place and it also opens the door for one to overcome the poverty barrier. I live in Durban South Africa. My ancestors settled here from
If Everyone Were Able to Speak English, What Would Happen to the Other Languages?
Imagine 20 years from now. English is the universal language. Travelling to Europe, Asia, Africa, South America is a piece of cake. English is spoken everywhere. By everyone. No more talking with your hands or having to point at objects to make yourself understood. No need to carry a pocket dictionary. No more fumbling around
Ike and Me
I have a wall full of books. I love them. I love the masterpieces, I love the pulpy and forgettable crap. I love the smell of aged ink, I love the texture of thin paperback sheets and the thick creamy stock of hardback first editions. But, these loves are secondary to what I love most:
In the future, people will cease to own books
In the future people will cease to own books. Or they’ll own fewer books than they do now. Or they’ll own just as many as they do now. I don’t know, and I don’t think it matters. That might seem surprising – I am, after all, an English teacher and an aspiring writer – but
The Character of Freedom
THIS JOURNAL BELONGS TO: Stella De moun … Ségou, Mali – 24 July 2009 This morning, I was jogging through the dry millet fields of the Niger River region of Ségou in Mali when a young man riding a slightly rusty blue bicycle loaded with a freezer caught up with me and started a chat. He
Confusing Ignorance With Illiteracy
I think one of the most common assumptions that should no longer be accepted is that ignorance and illiteracy are actually the same thing, or that ignorance is just a result of the inability to read or write, for the concept of “not knowing” oneself is mystical and does not really mean anything. For example,
Education: the Bulwark of Freedom
Education makes a people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern but impossible to enslave. – Lord
Merging Awareness and Education
“The illiterate are those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn,” Alvin Toffler What is Education? It is the process of learning information that helps us grow, develop, live safely and successfully in the world. And learning to learn because learning is an ever lasting life process. Education requires qualified teachers who are RARE in the
The State should encourage access to private education
Purpose: The purpose of this exposition is to provide analytical discussion and commentary on the rationale for why the State should encourage access to private education. In an age of descending church attendance rates, the demise of the stable, nuclear family structure and the presence of mass media saturating our nation with questionable, superficial ideals, the
The illiterate
Introduction Illiteracy refers to a situation whereby someone is ignorant of fundamentals of a given art or branch of knowledge or lacking knowledge of a specific field. Thus, illiterate refers to a person who is ignorant of fundamentals (basics) of a given art or branch of knowledge or someone who lacks knowledge of a specific field. These are
Education
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” Alvin Toffler Illiteracy-in the sense of un- or under-education-requires a context against which the absence of the capacity to convey or understand meaning is measured. An individual can be illiterate in one
‘The state should encourage access to private education.’
Before discussing the role that private education can play in the context of developing countries, I find it useful to start with the definition of the term ‘developing countries’ from different perspectives. For instance, Dove (1986, p.2) presumes that ‘developing countries’ are those countries with high averages of population and illiteracy, and who need a