Give a pregnant 16-year-old a computer, see her go
Monday January 21 2019
As we fiddle and fumble and torture our kids through these rigid public schools, why not take them and give them computers and teach them how to code? FILE PHOTO | NMG
There is a wonderful lecture by Sir Ken Robinson, available on the internet, about how education is designed to produce people who can work in factories effectively.
This is a bit disturbing to discover as a great fan of the practice of public education, but it is hard to dispute. The discipline, the cohorts, the standardised testing all suggest that Sir Ken is right – most public education systems are designed to, well, mechanise people and produce conformists.
But a decent education still remains a noble cause. The how of it can always be debated and adjusted accordingly.
Tanzania is legendary for having achieved a superb percentage of adult literacy back in the 1970s/1980s when the country hardly had two shillings to rub together. It has been with some concern that I see our public education system struggle now that we do have two shillings to rub together.
Beginning with the female student of course: Our attrition rate has increased now that school pregnancies are being used against them to thin out the numbers. And then the ever-confusing testing system at critical points, which suggests a systemic hostility towards children.
I don’t believe that people can actually fail at the one thing humans do naturally: Learn. One can always test badly – I have an almost magical inability to handle mathematics during tests – and one has innate preferences when it comes to subject matter. But learning in and of itself is natural to our hungry human brains.
Reading. Writing. Arithmetic and then the other stuff has been the traditional way of things but now there is a third layer of literacy. And that’s the worry in this column.
That we are so mired in that 19th century model Sir Ken describes that our struggling public education systems are missing out on a critical knowledge system that is going to shape the future.
I found out I was functionally illiterate in one of the most embarrassing ways possible: Through a children’s video game. Its entire function is to teach one how to do some simple coding. Baby-level stuff complete with annoying music and ticky-tacky instructions. Still, I couldn’t quite do it.
And that is it. The third form of functional illiteracy, which most of my generation suffers (we use technology we cannot hope to produce or even understand), and which the younger generation cannot afford. As I sat there being walked through how to make something move through a maze, I realised this is going to become the defining class line. This is a new frontier in the class war, and it isn’t even close to being understood by African policy makers.
Except in Rwanda, interestingly enough, and more organically in Kenya (Nairobi, really). I know we’re usually expected to learn from the West or China but in this instance the Eureka moment was provided by neighbours. I get it now.
As we fiddle and fumble and torture our kids through these rigid public schools, a part of me is thinking: Well, why not take the “losers” and give them computers and teach them how to code? The average 16-year-old pregnant woman could well be the next Bill Gates.
The mobile phone has already been disruptive. East African innovation on how to extend its usage in banking and other areas of life is cutting edge… Why not go that little bit farther?