Our people have a say that solidarity fattens but hinders one from
learning. This can be proven by the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA)
educationalists enthusiastic to achieve its mission. Across the world the
church has 13 mission divisions across the world under the umbrella of
the General Conference (GC).
The North America Division (NAD), held its teachers convention in 2006,
which brought together more than 6000 teachers: “It gave the teachers
a sense of belonging in a deep and vibrant system of education,
instilling a unified mission and a common purpose,” says Dr. Larry
Blackmer, the Vice President for education in the NAD, “to ensure that
quality academics and safe environment is provided to the learners.”
Blackmer admits that it’s difficult to measure the impact of such a
convention in the teachers, but the issues remains embedded in the mind
in the teachers. Every teaching lesson is an opportunity for the
concepts to grow into achievable realities.
“Out side the NAD the growth of the SDA institutions of learning is
more rapid,” says Dr. Garland Dulan the General Conference Education
Director, “due to the recognition of our institution by various
governments.” Dr. Dulan bases is argument on the fact that it’s very
expensive to build a new university even by the government, yes, the
quality of education offered by these institutions matches with that of
public institutions, and the realization of the importance of education.
In Africa the institutions are experiencing a growth rate of 400
students per year.
He admits that this is a challenge to the church: “several
institutions are experiencing pressure to expand faster than they can at
the same time keeping the mission of the church burning. 40 to 50
percent of students in these institutions have no background knowledge
of the Adventist education. These students are not interested with the
mission of the institution but the quality education offered,” Dulan
says.
Like any other institution of learning, codes and rules have been a
bone of contention between the administration and the learners. Dr.
Blackmer says that in the NAD strict rules are set at elementary and
secondary levels, but when the students join the university they have
the freedom to make many choices. “Our students need to fathom that
dress code, worship program, General requirements (in religion) are the
foundations on which the Adventist education is build upon,” he
confirms.
Rules in these institutions are set out to guide students to have a
close relationship with God. “These rules make the students life safe,
but most students don’t fathom where the edge of the cliff is. Hence
they are integrated into their daily life as a foundation of self
governance. The most important thing about rules it to create in
students a basis of self-governance and to provide order and civility in
the school. It’s the rules that distinguish institutions. Yes, we
don’t apologize from the rules we have set,” Blackmer points
out.
But they are of the idea that students should be given an opportunity
to participate in the formulation of the rules. This enables them to
understand why guideline must be drawn in any given community. As,
Robert Frost writes: “fences makes good neighborhood,” in one of his
poems. True freedom must always have limits.
But, rules must be espoused with well nurtured relationship between the
students and the teachers. Dulan reminds teachers that healthy
relationship is an ingredient towards a holistic education. He
encourages that schools should be build on the model of the schools of
prophets, during the times of Samuel in Israel. Where students were
“not restricted to their religious interests, whatever that
affected their mental or physical well-being was also the subject of
divine providence,” thus they were “acquitted with all dealings,”
“to serve as a barrier against the wide spread corruption, to provide
for the moral and spiritual welfare of the youth, and to promote the
future prosperity of the nation by furnishing it with men acquitted to
act in the fear of the God as leaders and counselors.”
On students being thinkers as opposed to being mere reflectors of other
people ideas, Dr. Dulan, reminds the students that excellent students
are not those who are able to give answers to every problem rather those
who are able to raise intelligent questions. Yes, virtuoso teachers are
those who admit that they don’t have answers to every question raised
by the student. “There is always new information which we don’t
understand its existence,” he said, citing example is DNA which years
ago we never dreamt of.
His position is that students should be thought how to find answers, to
ever evolving problems in the world: HIV/Aids cure is still elusive.
“This is the concept we want to popularize to the enter world,”
optimistic Blackmer points out. “We should be concerned in mastering
the process of learning on how to arrive at the answers, because there
will arise questions in the future without answers. If we’re here to
pour answers to the students time will declare our approach wanting,”
complements Dulan.
Dulan calls upon all intellectuals to espouse the concept of absolute
truth – belonging to God who is all knowing and has complete
knowledge, while, human knowledge is relative truth – always dynamic.
Producing thinkers should be the goal of teachers for present knowledge
is based on the past; students should be raised to higher ground to
behold the future. Present innovations and discoveries are a testimony
that the future is a treasure of knowledge beyond our wildest dreams.
This calls us to think our present living, to think of things not yet;
hence when we are there we’ll embrace them.
The World is Flat, authored by Thomas Friedman is challenge for
educators to think globally to humble the enclaves of caste system and
racialism, tribalism and nepotism, bridge the chasm between the poor and
the rich, and meld the stratification between the educated and the
ignorant.
The World is Flat is very important in a time when the world is
yearning for great collaborators and great leverages, great synthesizers
and passionate personalizes, great localizers and the “green ones”,
and great explainers and great adaptors.
The book explores the opportunities offered by education and
technology. Blackmer cites India as one of those developing countries
that is calling sorts at the global arena from sizing technological
front.
In a time when unemployment is swirling to the apex: Dulan points out
that skills and attitude acquired while learning should be put to use.
Institutions in the USA have a concept of service learning, where
students are required to join the community and work to earn a grade
like in any other course work: 300 hours are required by every student
every year. “We must not confine ourselves to the narrow concept of
work,” Dulan concludes.
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