Monday, March 14, 2011

Job Fairs in the City of Accra

God, I loved this weekend. I attended two job fairs – one for undergrads and the other for post-grads. It warmed the cockles of my heart to speak to young people who wanted to think and choose carefully on the job market. Their lecturers are learning that it is best to let the industry tell the student what skills they need to demonstrate to be employable. I did not mind being sun-beaten when our nation’s future shone as brightly.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Accra is not Ghana

So my friend, Yaa, asked me what to do in the City of Accra if one was not into churches, eateries or nightclubs. I couldn’t say the National Theatre because it has no year-round programme. I couldn’t say the Accra mall because I consider it one big inconvenience. I couldn’t say the beach because they get cleaner as you drive away from Accra. All I could tell her was “Accra is not Ghana”.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Radio School

Radio trumps competing media on following in Ghana and has not been assailed any by the internet revolution. So, could there be a radio station fixating on youth-education? Would they be able cover their overheads and bank some extra takings? Just thinking aloud and continuing to doubt formal education more every day.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Summer School Dreams

I’m dreaming of a summer school for 13 y.o.’s to 21 y.o.’s. It won’t teach Math & English & Geography & Econ. It will leave that for the failed system to do. It will offer the chance to unlock the problem-solving knack that’s latent in everyone. The syllabus is problems – real-life problems. The task is to make them go away by practice, practice, practice...best-known practices. Hopefully the attendees go away with nation-changing nous.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Wrong Education in Schools in Ghana

If we require the World Bank to tell us that we are administering purposeless education to our youth, then maybe I should stop my crying crusade for an educational revolution and mind my own business.

Osmosis, concatenation, algorithm, logarithm, subrogation, amortization, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, intra fauces terra! We know what they all mean. We don’t know how they work. We are mis-educated.

Friday, March 4, 2011

When A Man Bites A Dog

I’ve seen firsthand how we disrespect teachers as a nation. My parents are former teachers. But when striking teachers splash students with bags of water to disrupt a planned programme, I next expect to see a man bite a dog.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

The Shame on the Streets of Accra & Other Cities

Wondering how anybody who has hogged any vague vestige of political power in paralytic Ghana at any time over the past 20 yawning years can dandy-drive through the city streets and fail to feel like a spectacular success at nothing.