Dear Organlearners,
Ray Evans Harrell <mcore@IDT.NET> writes in Competition LO16826
> I think the private schools help the public and vice-versa but the public
> schools have been downgraded over the last forty years for venal and
> political reasons and have gotten a totally bum rap as far as I'm
> concerned.
The above paragraph and my reply to it are strictly not about the thread
"Competition" any more, bur rather a new thread, say "Venalised learning".
Looking up the word "venal" in Funk and Wagnells, I was again
reminded of the strong meaning of this word. It means
1 Ready to sell honor or principle, or to accept a bribe.
2 Subject to sordid bargaining or corrupt influences.
Allow me to digress on our experiences in South Africa. Since the middle
eighties, with experiences gained through the Soweto riots of 1976, the
ANC (African National Congress) made the government (partheid regime) of
the NP (National Party) increasingly powerless through the call
"Liberation before education". Eventually the ANC took control.
Unfortunately for all of us, this call instigated a spirit of "demanding
anything by holding education ransom".
We are now three years into the New South Africa under ANC rule. The
education of all people (and not merely whites) is worse off than ten
years ago. Even the ANC now realises that freeing a bad genie from a lamp
is much easier than confining it back to the lamp again. This spirit of
"demanding anything by holding education ransom" is basic to our present
educational crisis. One of the main symptoms of this crisis is the
staggering amount of venal actions commited in public eduction. More and
more people are beginning to realise than the venalisation of learning
should be prevented at all costs.
Let us move from the learning of individuals to learning
organisations.What venal actions prevent the emergence of a LO? How many
venal actions can a LO withstand before it immerges?
Best wishes
--At de Lange Gold Fields Computer Centre for Education University of Pretoria Pretoria, South Africa email: amdelange@gold.up.ac.za
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