Was having dinner & watching JT on MBC when something baffled me. Ministry of Education apparently is proud of the Sankoré Project. Wait… Did I just see a Std IV kid (9 yrs old most probably) talking about Facebook, Skype & Youtube? (/_^) I assumed the project should enable sharing of academic materials among teachers/schools as well as promoting interactive/creative learning methods. What’s Facebook & Youtube doing here, besides kids under 12 aren’t supposed to be using these services. Well, they should be under parents guidance when using Internet in general.

Moreover the teacher says a 5% (I think I heard 5) improvement was noted. How did they measure that? Do the kids retain things they learned through interactive materials? That wouldn’t exactly be projectors, applications… but rather the way the class was involved during the lesson. How can they directly associate the improvement (if there is really) with Sankoré project? It’s too early to even notice an improvement. Kids are usually enthusiastic at new things, then they get bored once they find that they’re still being forced to study (rather than being inspired to study).

Sankore Project MauritiusInteractive teaching is something that works for real. Somehow we do not need to spend money in high-tech devices. Teachers should only need to bring some creativity in their teaching methods… be it with or without projectors. It’s the method that makes the kid remember things, not the tools. Wait! I know the funding came as sponsorship from the British & French governments, but instead of spending the money in digitization I’d rather be happy seeing kids learning through traditional yet interactive methods. The real winners are those who got tenders for providing projectors and other materials, not the kids I’d say.

If investment was really needed, well better invest in studying the kids while they study. Be responsive to the little pertinent questions of the kids rather than just stick to the curriculum.

I once again feel the strong need for home schooling my kids, whenever I’ll be having.