25 September 2010

MORALITY AND EDUCATION IN THE CULTURE OF TEACHING AND LEARNING!

The differences between western and Africa paradigms ,the superimposition of the western morality on Africans led to the creation of morally confused people.
The africans were colonised by the west and presented in the ideal culture ,the ideal humanity and ideal history.(Ezel ,1997:13)
This plunched the African in this model of dilemma resulting in the current mortal malaise ,thus the African doubt their roots and seems to face more demands in moral decision making.
The western notions of good or bad or right or wrong celebrate the triumph of the individual as moral agent versus the African view which is determined by collective aught.
The rights of the individual are protected even more than the person herself /himself. Maclntyre (1966:264) says,the individual is his/her own final authority in the most extreme sense.
The western education centres on individual excellence and high competition ,thus educational skills orientation versus African holistic moral education centred on characters of development in the moulding and incalcution of proper moral traits in learners.
People are educated as far as they have bookish knowledge and skills ,but lacks humanistic dimension (person among others).
African morality emanates from and embarded in African antology. God (the ultimate blameless supreme being) followed by spirits (common) next ancestors (living -dead and specific) down to sage or elderly (living or wise -age) and at the bottom social members ,thus (commoners governed by this strict ovaer.
There is an order unit of these forces in all human actions and behaviour that are determined by and should comply with this order of things. The quality of our actions (right/wrong ,good /bad ,dos /don'ts ,oughts /aught not).The quality of our actions is depended on whether actions contribute to the stability or instability of the order of the society.Moral uprightness is tried to one's ancestry ,that's 'like father like son.'
Africans are therefore communistic and highly collective in their approach to issues of morality.The base line is ''I am person because we are people''.
Africans are pre-occupied with social justice,equetable distribution of resources and individuals are part of the whole and can never stand apart.Gelfand (1973:101) says,''There is something stronger in the culture than any individual or any number of individual likes and dislikes have been subordinated,''
They are progressive in education for moral uprightness or goodness. In Zimbabwe the Shona and Ndebele people adopt terms ''Hunhu /ubuntu education'' They acknowledges that by ''hunhu/ubuntu'' is meant personhood that derives from one's history and rooted in an ongoing human community.(Makuvaza 1996:257) A person acquires personhood as he/she lives in accordance with the expectations of the community.
According to Nziramasanga commission's recommendations on the educational report regards 'hunhu /ubuntu as denoting a good human being as well behaved person showing such qualities as responsibility ,honest ,justice ,trustworthness ,hardwork ,integrity ,co-operative spirit ,solidarity ,hospitality,gerentocracy ,devotion to family and loyaltyto the community.
An idividual's educatedness is viewed in the context of the African communistic philosohpy because that is were one's roots are from.
Please bare in mind that community that gives or takes away one's personhood but because of colonial influences on educational institutions produced the educated and uneducated professionals characterised by lack of worth ethics,commitment and absentism,drunkness improper association with other people ,thus corruption,theft ,lies etc (Makuvaza 1996).
Educational goals must prepare individuals who can live effectively and efficiently in their
communities against the abundant evidence of products that are highly skilled but deficient in 'Hunhu /Ubunt' ,thus there is moral decadence in schools and equals which is the work force that is corrupt and destructive of everything a nation should cherish (causing pain and suffering to many through own pleasure and happiness).
Hunhu /Ubuntu is a notion that marries skills acquisition with sympathy for others and respect for property and duty as a means for national building and attainance of peace.

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