Why don't the products of our high schools, colleges and universities have a greater ability to create, manufacture or process things? Our educational systems seem to spit out those who can only barely administer and officiate. A general lack of critical thinking abounds with few exceptions. How can we systemize a curiosity-driven, startup, maker mentality? The roots of these failures to a degree stem from deficient foundations left by former colonial overlords. It would do us a measure of good to learn from Germany, Europe's most successful economy and appropriate where we can.
Finanz101 writes:
We do not need to start from scratch either, the processes have begun to pulse albeit in fragmented fashion. Be it in Nollywood,the blossoming Music and Fashion nexus; The Hubs;Neo Educational Vocational Establishments; nascent Cottage Industries and or Maker Movement. The basic elements are falling into place and not as the result of diktats from above.
More hereFinanz101 writes:
The European Sovereign Debt Crisis has show how much the euro zone economies differ. At one end is Greece with its problems but at the other end is the German powerhouse.
Image courtesy of Old Engine
One overlooked fact is how much Germany's school system has made it the envy of the world. Germany has a mainly vocational school system which is the basis of its economic might.
Anglo-Saxon and French Elite Schools
On the other hand Anglo-Saxon countries (UK and USA) plus France have a school system based on elitism. Where you went to school not what you know determines your fate in life.Videos speaking to the issue of vocational education after the jump:
For example the UK has elite schools like Eton and universities like Oxford and Cambridge while the US has elite colleges like Harvard, Yale and Stanford - the so-called Ivy League that have produced the last four American presidents (Bush Sr, Clinton, Bush Jr and Obama plus Mitt Romney). Likewise even current British Prime David Cameron and some of his ministers plus the current London mayor (Boris Johnson) went to elite schools.
The focus is on academics rather than practical skills - studying classics versus machining...[continue reading]
Our continent despite the inflated talk of growth will not magically acquire developed , emerging or even BRIC status if it doesn't get the fundamentals right. We will not morph into an India, China, Indonesia or Vietnam if we persist with our addiction to exporting mineral ores,unprocessed cocoa, oil, cotton and everything else in-between. Policies that do not emphasize mineral and agricultural processing (micro and macro);Manufacturing (micro and macro) and their attendant service tech industries should be tossed out on a garbage heap. Furthermore a renewed emphasis on our neglected informal economies is overdue. The impetus for this must be bottom-up,emergent and self organized if it is to be sustainable and have a chance at success. Adaptive vocational education within all tiers of schooling will go a long way in incubating this needed productive class.
We do not need to start from scratch either, the processes have begun to pulse albeit in fragmented fashion. Be it in Nollywood,the blossoming Music and Fashion nexus; The Hubs;Neo Educational Vocational Establishments; nascent Cottage Industries and or Maker Movement. The basic elements are falling into place and not as the result of diktats from above.