A case for Geography in South African Schools
Lynn Hurry[1]
It was South Africa statesman Jan Christian Smuts who is
credited with coining the concept of ‘holisim’ way back in the 30’s. A much
respected philosophical thinker, the statesman coined the term in recognition
of the importance of seeing things always in a variety of inter-connected
contexts. Inter-connectedness is the essence of all life on Planet Earth – and
the importance of recognising and encouraging connections is the raison d’etre behind global initiatives
behind Sustainable Development.
As an educator who has spent his life wearing his
“Geography” hat I have always believed (today more than ever) that Geography is
by far the best school subject for promoting holistic thinking. Not only that
but, as important, Geography is the only subject that helps learners develop a
sense of place – where exactly they are in the world in which they live and how
their ‘place’ relates to the mosaic of places both near and far.
Taken together as golden threads in the education tapestry
holistic thinking and a sense of place together provide essential ways of
thinking that better equip school leavers to face the rapidly changing world in
which they live.
And so it has been with some alarm that I have seen a
decline in numbers of learners taking Geography to matric and, linked to this,
an increasingly negative attitude to the subject by learners. “Too hard”; “Too
complicated”; “Boring” are just a few attitudes that I have picked up from
chatting to young people that I know.
And this phenomenon is not confined to state schools where the decline
of Geography may be linked to a shortage of good Geography teachers. A well
known independent school that I have contact with is also seeing a steady
decline in learners taking Geography to matric – despite the fact that (in my opinion)
they have a highly motivated and excellent teaching team.
In 1995, just after the dawn of our “New South Africa” I
became concerned with the fact that Geography was on the decline and that if
the decline was to continue, the “general” education of our citizens would
suffer. And so I wrote a paper titled The
contribution of school Geography to a stable new South Africa, the gist of
which was to illustrate the importance of Geography in producing at least a
core of our country’s future leaders with insights into what was needed to
ensure our economic and environmental sustainability
In 2011,
some 16 years later I came across a
Associated Press Release from the United Kingdom headed : Geography declining in schools – Ofsted. (Ofsted is the Office for Standards in
Education, Children’s Services and Skills). The Press Release was based on a
report by Ofsted titled Geography
- Learning to make a world of difference. With climate change and other geographical
issues such as population growth, sustainability and natural disasters
increasingly making headline news, the report describes the value of the
subject and what needs to be done to reverse its decline. Of significance was
the fact that the primary schools
visited presented a sharp contrast between inadequate and outstanding practice.
(A pattern that is very visible in both primary and high schools in South
Africa today).
Is anybody listening out there ?
I know that the Society of South African Geographers (SSAG) is at least looking
at the Geography curriculum in an attempt to make it as relevant to learners as
possible. In a recent letter to me the President of the Association wrote : “ At the (SSAG) Council we have been trying to
come to grips with some of the issues relating to school geography.
However, much work needs to be done.
My own view is that there needs to be greater interaction between Umalusi and
the SSAG, and that there is a great need for an increasing number of Geography
Education academic staff and practitioners to become increasingly involved in
the formative aspects of school geography, such as decisions on the inclusion
and exclusion of geographical aspects in the Curriculum.”
Perhaps curriculum change is the
way forward to improving the situation. Perhaps its more to do with the
training of Geography teachers (in-service as well as pre-service). Perhaps its
both. I would be very interested to find out from readers (fellow companions on
Planet Earth) what their thoughts are in
this regard.
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[1]
Dr Lynn Hurry is a recipient of the SA
Association of Geographers Gold Medal award given in recognition of his
contribution to the teaching of Geography in South Africa. He is
today a Pietermaritzburg based writer/ publisher in Sustainability
Education. Contact at lynn@ecology.co.za
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