False Prophets

The world is full of false prophets.  Not those religious types that predict the world’s end, but those that have lots to say about all manner of other things. People have access now to so much information – information that was once locked in books or only a few had access to. To find out about something, you only have to “google it”.

 One of the tell-tale signs of a false prophet is the inability to tell facts from theory.  Of course as a reader, you may not know the difference yourself so you may succumb to the persuasiveness of the writer.  Take H1N1 Influenza A for instance (Swine flu).  I have never heard so many all-knowing everyday people with opinions about something that the real experts are only just getting to grips with.  Yet where would they get their information from? 

Committ(e)ed to Education

In terms of being professional and making decisions – it does strike me as quite odd that teaching is one of the few professions where people deter the most important decisions to committees.  While there is no doubt that teaching is definitely a social-cultural activity and as such, knowledge is validated by the collective, education seems to defer most decisions to the collective.

Why is this? Are educationists afraid of making decisions? Education at its most fundamental should take into account people’s various worldviews, and should have purpose that is meaningful to the stakeholders.  Often, this is articulated especially in the tertiary environment by policy and procedure, which has in term been stipulated by standards or statutes by external quality bodies.  So why do we need more committees – committees that review and re-do, and then more committees such as Academic Boards or Boards of Studies that approve.  If the policies and procedures are based on evidence based research, then what do all the extra bodies achieve?

Cultural Perspectives

When you belong to a particular culture there tends to be certain attributes that you value and want to preserve. These usually include language, ways-of-knowing, particular ways of communicating and common values. You are usually more at ease with people who are within your culture and with whom you share these common values.

I want to tell you what it is like to belong to a culture that appears to be foreign to many. My language is carelessly mispronounced; meanings are distorted sometimes to the point of complete inaccuracy or misrepresentation. Often, you find these inaccuracies perpetuated in textbooks, or worse, taught in schools. There are a lot of preconceptions of what people like me are supposed to value, of what I can do, or how I think, of my capabilities …. of my culture. People sometimes blame the ailments of society on people like me, and those within my culture. I often see stereotypical representations of my community in the movies, and in stories. We are often placed as either the aggressors, with mad, psychopathic tendencies, or weak and ineffectual.