Co-written with Kizito Zangewa
In Malawi, it is common place for teachers of other subjects to undermine and underrate other subjects offered at a school…. For instance, a mathematics teacher would say to a student, “Why would you take Chichewa? Where do you think it will take you?” It is also very common for academics to demean subject content in the curriculum, for example, some would say, “Why should our kids learn about parts of a grasshopper?”
Well, over time that got me thinking. I came to the realization that the truth of the matter is that teachers of diverse subjects and academics in Malawi and beyond live in their own bubbles, which lead to little or no collaboration among themselves despite sharing the same staffroom or any other venues of interaction. To give an example of what I am trying to infer, I remember a few years ago I was reprimanded by a few of my colleagues for attending a mathematics survey report meeting when in fact I was a mere languages teacher. They said I had no business attending that meeting. I remember some went on to say that I went there just for a bottle of FANTA…… Now this kind of thinking is really pitiful and deplorable. There are word problems in Algebra that would be impossible to solve without proper knowledge of sentence construction and language interpretation.
I feel like we have been missing it in education. It would be very necessary if teachers embraced the aspect of thematic learning. Take for example a Geography teacher cooperating with an Agriculture teacher. Say in the same week, the Geography teacher teaches about map reading or weather patterns, while the Agriculture teacher teaches about soil fertility or something to do with knowing which crops to plant in which area and under which conditions. This may sounds simple, but I feel kids are confused because in one single day of school they learn different subjects focusing on different topics. If only they moved from one Mathematics class to an English class to a Biology class all under a similar or one theme, probably, we would have seen the true purpose of education. The haphazard manner in which different subjects are taught makes it impossible for learners to make interconnections between the different subjects. Here is an example; a Physics teacher tried to skip a topic on travel graphs because it had already been taught in Mathematics. The learners protested arguing that mathematics was mathematics and physics was another unrelated subject…….. Though these two subjects fall under the Sciences department, still the learners did not see their interconnectedness. This is the mentality that has been and is being propagated in the minds of the learners, primarily due to lack of collaboration between teachers teaching different subjects.
Expanding the link between Geography and Agriculture, the Chinese developed their first high-resolution satellite in 2012 called ZY-3. This satellite and others are used for a number of things one of which is remote sensing. These satellites help in the field of Agriculture technology where they are able to calibrate the quantity and quality of crops grown all over China just by processing images taken. This, in turn, acts as a wake-up call as to which crops need to be planted in which area and at what season. You can clearly see that this is the work of technicians from various fields working under one goal. Speaking of working under one goal, development can only be attained if the people involved work their way towards achieving this very common goal. Unfortunately, from my previous illustration, it appears divisions are in so many micro sectors that are crucial for such a drive.
Coming back to the issue of relevance of topics in the curriculum; it may seem rather absurd and impractical to be learning about parts of a grasshopper or any other arthropod for that matter. But come to think of it, is it really impractical to learn about the mechanics of insects and other seemingly irrelevant animals? I do not think so. In one of their articles The Guardian reports; Bio bots: robots that mimic animal physiology. In the article they write of various robots being developed by various researchers.
There are Marsbees developed by Nasa to gather information about areas of Mars that wouldn't be accessible to a Mars rover. The robotic bees could detect, for example, methane, a possible sign of life.
There is also a Manta Droid designed by Singaporean researchers. This robot swims like a manta ray. Its fins are flexible, giving it the ability to glide through turbulent seas. The team hopes that the robot could prove useful for underwater searches and gathering marine data.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s bio-robotics lab have designed a series of non-lethal reptilian robots known as Snakebots. Snakebots have been used to search sewers and earthquake sites and by surgeons to explore normally inaccessible sites.
Now in all these robotic developments the fundamental research dwells on initially studying the actual animal, how it functions and all the mechanics involved. This is where parts of a grasshopper become relevant so to speak.
How can we as Malawi stand out from the rest of the developing countries?
First, we need to know who we are as Malawians. Developing National consciousness is very essential; it is important for us to bank very much on our own indigenous knowledge if we are to attain innovative capabilities within our vicinity (Afro-relevance). We are products of our various environments, no? So why do we have to waste so much time learning about the Roman civilisation at the expense of our own indigenous culture and history?
Secondly, we need to popularize our own unique African language; say we popularize Swahili all across Africa (Just a thought since it spoken in over six African countries).
Thirdly, we need a strong monitor, we need strong unimpeded, transparent and accountable leadership. Leadership that would put our education system in order. I mean, why do we need all these opposition parties? For what? Instead of unnecessarily opposing and criticizing they ought to transform themselves into non-governmental organisations who will use their funding and resources to help alleviate poverty in Malawi. Who eats petty criticism?
I want to see a Malawi that will send its own remote sensing satellite to space and develop robots for the betterment of all Malawians.
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