Despite significant government spend, the education system in South Africa is failing our learners. Results are significantly weaker than those of learners in our poorer sub-Saharan neighbour, Zimbabwe, which seems baffling on the surface. But let’s try to make some sense of it. Let’s examine the trending areas of challenge and the potential changes that […]

Destination Education (#1)
Inside | Emma van der Vliet and Justine Joseph
Dr Emma van der Vliet is a teacher, writer and former coordinator of the Center for Educational Innovations (CEI) hub in South Africa. She also has a Masters in creative writing, a PhD in Film and Media Studies, two published novels and some very lucky kids who get to call her Mom.
She’s a scientist by training, but editor of Inside|Out by profession. She has a Bachelor of Science (Medical) Honours from the University of Cape Town and 10 years experience as a health and science journalist. She was a Mondi Magazine Award finalist and the international winner of the 2006 Novo Nordisk Media Prize for Excellence in Diabetes Writing. In 2011 she co-authored The Story of the Fly and How it Could Save the World with enviro-entrepreneur Jason Drew. She’s contributed to various publications including Shape, Men’s Health, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, The Oprah Magazine, Discovery and Hip2B2.
Essays on Education: 1. The experience of school
Not only does the schooling environment directly affect the adults its students become, it also affects the organisations and social systems that those adults create. It’s time we thought about that. Critics of modern schooling like John Taylor Gatto and Ivan Illich have recognised that the fundamental curriculum that schools teach is school itself. I’ve […]
Inside | Tana Paddock
She’s co-founder of Organization Unbound, a global community of practice based out of Cape Town that explores how social purpose organisations can live out, in their daily functioning, the changes they are seeking to create in the world, and by doing so deepen their social impact. In her own words, Tana craves, “dialogue, community, and crossing societal divides”. She’s also, “an avid fan of bicycle-centric cities and excited to see the use of bicycles as a form of transportation gaining momentum in Cape Town”.
Essays on Education: 2. The gospel of dreaming
How using dreams in the educational space can lead to a life of individual and social consequence. In the public discourse, people like to talk about the structural issues contributing to the crisis in education in South Africa. They talk about the lack of textbooks, the shortage of qualified teachers, the poor quality of education […]
Inside | Nosakhere Griffin-EL
Dr Nosakhere Griffin-EL is a self-confessed dreamer and lecturer at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business. From a traditionally socially and economically oppressed background in America, he’s worked extensively with oppressed communities on realising their value and reaching their potential. All of this while caring for his eight-month old baby boy with his soulmate and fellow senior lecturer, Eliada W Griffin-EL.
Essays on Education: 3. Knowledge should be free
My journey from Nuclear Physics to producing free school textbooks with people all over the world. It happened during my Masters at the University of Cape Town. I suddenly began to pay more attention to the school education sector and its needs. Initially, I just enjoyed being a tutor in the Physics Department. This ultimately […]
Inside | Mark Horner
He started with a PhD in Nuclear Physics, then worked as the Shuttleworth Foundation Fellow for Open and Collaborative Resources. That’s when he transformed the Free High School Science Texts project, which he co-founded, into open source educational resource company Siyavula – an apt Nguni word that means “we are opening”. Mark is the CEO of Siyavula. That’s when he’s not working as a company physics expert, administrator, blogger, IT nerd or anything else.
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