Gadolinium is a metal that is rarely discussed in typical conversation; however, it is widely discussed in chemistry, science and mining circles. What you might not know is that gadolinium is one of Earth’s rare metals. However, there’s likely a whole lot that you do not know about this little talked about metal. Read on to find out more.

1. Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac was credited with gadolinium’s discovery because he was able to realize that gadolinia was actually a new element’s oxide. This occurred during his observation in 1880. It is named for John Gadolin, a Finnish chemist.

2. Gadolinium metal wasn’t separated from its oxide until 1886, when Paul Emile Lecoq de Boisbaudran, a French chemist, was able to do so.

3. Gadolinium is present in the Earth’s crust at nearly 6.2 mg/kg. The main areas that are mined for gadolinium are Australia, Brazil, China, India, Sri Lanka and the United States. Together, these countries produce nearly 400 tons of gadolinium each year.

4. Bastnasite and monazite are the oxides that are mined to produce gadolinium, as the metal doesn’t exist naturally due to it being far too reactive.

5. Gadolinium metal is silvery-white in color, ductile and quite malleable. Of all stable nuclides, gadolinium-157 actually possesses a cross section boasting the maximum thermal neutron capture.

6. In temperatures 20 degrees Celsius and below, this metal is ferromagnetic. At temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius, gadolinium is extremely paramagnetic. It also shows magnetocaloric effects, meaning that when entering magnetic fields, its temperature rises and its temperature will decrease when exiting magnetic fields.

7. Gadolinium will combine with several elements in order to form derivatives of Gd. Some of these elements are arsenic, boron, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, selenium, silicon and sulfur, which when combined with gadolinium will form a binary compound.

8. Gadolinium metal is fairly stable when exposed to dry air. Yet, when exposed to moist air, it quickly tarnishes and will subsequently form a gadolium(III) oxide that loosely adheres, spalls off and becomes exposed to additional oxidation.

9. Gadolinium is also considered to be a fairly powerful reducing agent and is used to reduce the oxides of various metals into the respective elements. Extremely electropositive, gadolinium reacts quickly to form gadolinium hydroxide with hot water, but reacts fairly slowly cooler water. It also reacts with halogens in temperatures of 200 degrees Celsius and higher and is readily attacked by sulfuric acid.

10. The surprising thing is that gadolinium is not really used in large-scale applications. It does, however, have several uses. For instance, derivatives of gadolinium are used in neutron therapy to help target tumors and in the shielding of numerous nuclear reactors. It is also used to improve the resistance and workability of chromium, iron and other alloys, and in nuclear propulsion. In addition, it has also been used as an intravenous contrast agent for MRIs because it improves the images greatly and it tends to gather in abnormal body and brain tissues.

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A large number of individuals ask why do they need to spend thousands of dollars and years of their life to go through college? Many college students these days are either dropping out of high school or are just not finishing college as they quite simply don’t have in mind the long term rewards. A college academic has long been studied to pay much much more than those that do not have a college diploma. A research was taken in 2003 and yes it demonstrated clearly that employees who has a bachelor’s degree were getting paid a median of $900 a week and people who graduated high school made a standard $554 a week. That implies that those with a bachelor’s degree are earning $346 more a week than others with just a high school diploma, or about a 60% increase in the regular earning. Some jobs may not require a college degree, but in the long term you’ll be earning much more with a formal college degree. The 2nd good thing about a college degree would be the increasing supply of tasks. Compared with preceding generations the tasks being offered to the people with no college degree or a high school diploma are decreasing. Functions like commercial roles, trades, and talented work was formerly plentiful prior to computer era. The assembly line was previously a critical part of why there were lots of these kinds of tasks at corporations, these days those individuals aren’t essential as much but instead there’s much more higher demand for persons in accountants, marketers, and supervision, and all of thosepositions usually demand a college education. The next good thing about a college degree is definitely the varieties of roles you’re able go for. For example, people that must be employed in science is now able to study very specific science certifications that work on neuro science and nuclear science. Not merely will you be ready to do nearly any job if you get a college degree but you may also get the chance to explore even higher-level or executive jobs. This is ideal for people that don’t know what they need to do for a career. These are some of the advantages of a college education and will be considered whenever you focus on going to college.

Giving High School graduation speeches is like pushing swimmers off a diving board. If they have benefitted from their education they will be ready for that leap. They will be prepared for their future life whether as a third level student or as a member of the working fraternity. What you say in those High School graduation speeches should be something they will remember whether they become Olympic swimmers or just splash around in the local pool of life.

High School graduation speeches have to include a welcome to guests and a reminder to the graduates to thanks parents and tutors. They should be personal to the school in question and reflect on its ethos and interests. The speaker should know and refer to achievements such as baseball wins or the fact that the school has won a nationwide drama festival. It should also allow for the fact that not all students have majority interests and that despite attending a musical school they might be more interested in science. Such speeches should be inclusive.

High School graduation speeches are obviously about the transition from young student to young adult. A good speaker will refer nostalgically to the fresh faced youngsters who arrived so many years ago and who are now leaving the High School for whatever it is they choose to do. Such speeches should certainly include a reference to the night on the town that the students will probably enjoy. Any such light hearted comment will endear itself to students who like to laugh. The speeches will certainly make a reference to the pride both parents and teachers feel for the graduates who have done so well.

Above all the High School graduation speeches should refer to the future. They should speak of individual talents and the opportunities that are available to the students. They should urge students to follow their dreams and to achieve their potential. Above all they should speak of friendships made at High School and how important it is to keep such friendships green. The speeches should end with a good luck wish for the future.

An Academy home school offers a few advantages over public school. Private special education has become quite popular in our time because of the way they train and bring up their students.

 

Private home schooling may start from the beginning such as the preparatory course for children. It can continue up to high school, and by the time they reach the University or College, they are equipped with more than what they should have in order to stay competent students.

 

With home school, parents are able to spend more quality time with their children. They are physically present to assist, influence, train and mold them to become outstanding students and citizens of society.

 

Because of this opportunity, the bond between parent and child will have a strong foundation. They will draw closer to each other and establish a close and harmonious relationship until they become old. Children will have greater chances at showing respect and care for their parents.

 

Children or each child has the chance to receive individualized attention and instruction with Academy home school. In public school, one classroom may have 30 to 50 or more students, for every teacher. The attention that each student gets from his teacher is very short. Hence, the student may have to exert more effort to understand the lesson.

 

Most educational institutions that offer home schooling are run by a religious organization, in which case, the students will have better chances of being influenced and trained in areas of philosophy and theology.

 

The home provides an environment conducive to learning, growth in morality and cultivation of values. Most students who go to public schools are exposed to harmful things such as immorality, disrespect to one another, bullying, moral deterioration, verbal, physical and sexual abuse.

 

Students are exposed to such risks and there are greater chances of them being influenced wrongly. If they are at home, however, they can concentrate on their lectures. You can choose the type of exposure and influence you want for your children.

 

Students are more likely to show excellence in academia. This is because they have personalized education. Their professors can provide them their due attention, and they can focus their attention to more useful things such as their lessons.

 

The public schools follow a standard schedule of holding classes as mandated by the government. However, in academy home school, the schedule of classes is flexible to accommodate family activities like vacation and trips.

 

Safety is something that can be provided optimally at home. Public schools, although, they have good security, cannot 100% ensure the safety of each student, professor and staff.

 

Over the past years, we have been bombarded with news about school campuses being attacked by someone who went amok. The criminal could be an outsider who gained access to the school premises, or could be any of the students who was deeply depressed and hurt with personal or academic reasons.

 

Academy home school protects children from such happenings as they stay house, the place where they can always feel secure. Finally, students save time in preparing for school. No need for them to dress up.

 

It is up to you what a university degree could mean to you. Likewise, it is also up to you to decide when you are ready to acquire this next educational step – and although the safer, easier, and certainly cheaper route may appear to be a community college, there are a number of variables you may want to take into consideration when deciding if a university degree is for you.

Money is the first and most visibnle of the advantages that you gain from a university’s education, especially in long term financial potential. Because community colleges only offer a two year degree, you are fundamentally limited in the potential monetary return, as four year degrees consistently result in higher pay than their lesser counterparts. Naturally, there are too many factors that involve employment to safely state that a four year degree will guarantee you that job you want, but if you are interested in getting the most for your work, it will definitely benefit you the most in the long term.

The culture and sense of community that comes in universities is simply not seen at community colleges. With so many people bound by such a history over a longer period of time than community colleges, universities allow you to experience their well established centers of art, theater, and music. Often times, these memories are simply irreplaceable, and can have a definite impact on the experience you bring to your future job.

Confidence is among the most important things that comes with a university degree – this is both on a personal and proffesional level. By graduating from a four year university, you are able to count yourself as a member of a group that have achieved well above those at the community college level, thereby guaranteeing you a certain degree of bragging rights in everything you do. Any normal examples of low self-confidence can generally be repaired by a simple flashing of your four year degree, cementing your place in society.

Universities also provide greater research opportunities. As several big names tend to turn to universities for their research anyway, you are able to cling on with professors for their projects, assuming you present yourself as worthy of such an honor. Because community colleges are generally centered around the two year learning cycle, you will find yourself with less opportunities to partake in ground breaking research – whereas these projects make themselves available to you at universities.

Diversity is a vital aspect of universities that usually aren’t present in the lower end, community colleges, particularly since they largely appeal to the local population that can handle the commute with ease. Universities, however, tend to represent a national, or sometimes even international draw that will give you a range of fellow alumni in greater scope than just your native town. Race, religion, culture, nationality, all of these are incredibly more diverse in scope than those found at the strictly local community colleges.

The above are simply a fraction of the potential benefits that arise from enrolling in a university instead of the smaller community colleges – which are important to factor into your long term educational plans.

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In this the latest extract from ‘The Secret Guide To Academic Writing & Study’ I seek to consider the importance that many schools, colleges and universities place upon detailed reading lists and establishing core texts (i.e. the teaching of the course you are studying will largely be based upon those books your teachers feel provide a suitable accompaniment to the subject you are studying) for your course for improving yours studies. Therefore, this article seeks to offer some general hints and tips on purchasing the textbooks that you need to enhance your chances of success.

With this in mind, whilst it is undeniably unfortunate, the reality is that when looking to obtain your textbooks you need to appreciate schools, colleges and university libraries only ever stock a certain number of textbooks by any given author for any particular subject. As a result, it is quite likely a textbook that your subject teachers look upon as being of particular importance for any assessment will be in great demand as deadline day approaches so as to only further emphasise the importance of starting your coursework assignments early.

On this basis, you may find it worth your while to invest in the most important of these textbooks either at the student bookshop on campus at your college, university or at a retailer like Waterstones. However, this does not mean your budget for the semester or even the entire year needs to be completely drained overnight. Therefore, a good starting place for purchasing your books, particularly the further you go in higher education, is the university bookshop that may offer prices marginally lower than the high street and specialise in your university’s subjects.

Your college or university Student Union may also offer students like you a tetbook exchange service where, once you have finished with a textbook, you can then sell these textbooks on via your college or university Student Union who will take a small cut. Moreover, purchasing textbooks on-line has also become a major growth industry as both Amazon and BOL (‘Books Online’) allow you to buy second-hand books which is great for students at college or university, whilst Abebooks also allows you to buy or sell a book directly at a fixed cost which is very good for your bank balance on both counts (found on Google or any other search engine)!

In addition, if you choose to purchase second hand books from any of the sources I have identified, please BE AWARE that your subject teachers at your college or university may want you to have the most up to date editions because the information in earlier editions may be out of date. Therefore, I would advise you to check with a teacher before you consider purchasing any second hand books for your college or university course.

However, if you do purchase books from a first-hand retailer, do not be afraid to ask for a discount if you are purchasing a number of educational titles for your college or university course – you will usually get up to 10% OFF with your NUS (national Union of Students) Card in the UK – and you may find that if the price is still high you could get a further discount if you pay with cash by saying something like –

“I want these books, but on the Internet I could save £X, I want to buy them now, can you do the same?”

REMEMBER – It is ALWAYS a good idea to ask because you could save money since academic books are NOT usually most book stores biggest sellers!

Therefore, if you would like a great deal more information and support in both this and other areas then you can find it in the form of the e-journal ‘The Secret Guide To Academic Writing & Study’ that I produced myself and am currently distributing to students like you all over the world at a remarkably inexpensive one-off price through my website at www.academicfx.co.uk.

Automotive Light Bulbs are needed by everyone. The automotive light bulbs are special type of bulbs that are generally used in automobiles. The light produced by these bulbs is a small light that can be seen at the time of turning the signal in your car on.

Automotive light bulbs are very useful to be placed in your automobile. They light up the dashboard in your automobile. This helps you to keep a track of the amount of gas you have, your speed as well as the RPM levels. The automotive lighting bulb was developed a long time back in the 1960′s. These bulbs immediately also became a part of the digital watches, calculators and many such types of equipment that are used for testing. The new inventions in technology added many new colors to these bulbs and thus its use extended to pedestrian signs, auto industries and traffic lighting.

Generally, the automotive light bulbs are avoided in use the headlights for the automobiles. Xenon bulbs are the standard light bulbs that are used worldwide in headlights of an automobile. The xenon bulb uses the xenon gas and an unfluctuating arc of electricity for the production of a bright light.

The automotive light bulbs are always superior to the halogen lights. This is because:

* The production of light by an automotive light bulb is always double than the regular halogen bulb.

* Better visibility is provided especially at night and when the weather conditions are not good.

* The level of concentration that has to be used by the driver for focusing on the road ahead is decreased by using these light bulbs. Thus, it also lays a major role to decrease the feelings of tiredness and stress that arises because of increased concentration.

* Only about 60% of the energy is burnt as halogens.

The automotive light bulbs are very easy to find out. The newly available automobile in the market consist of bulbs that can be replaced easily and can be purchased either in replacement kits or separately. These replacement bulbs have 2 filaments for preventing the escape of light in the wrong direction. For high beam lights, the cars light is directed straight ahead by the filament; whereas for the low beam lights the filament is placed in such a way that headlight of the automobile face downwards towards the road.

Now, onwards whenever you drive your vehicle at night, just have a look at the lighting system of your automobile. You will get a first hand experience of viewing how these automotive light bulbs function to help you.

Everyone wants an automotive light bulb for their vehicle headlights that will last for a long time. These bulbs are available in different size and style to fit in your motorcycles, cars, trucks and SUV’s. It is advisable to carry replacement bulbs always in your vehicles that may be useful during an emergency. Driving with a burned out automotive light bulbs is very risky and dangerous especially at night. It is always better to use high quality automotive light bulbs in your automobile. This is so because your safety to some extent depends on it.

Automotive Light Bulbs- did you check yours today?

MICHAEL KARIUKI – 0721 666 098, mickariuki@yahoo.com

 

Should we and can we develop an African philosophy of education?: Pedagogy of Sagacity

In 1986, Njoroge and Bennaars, published Philosophy and education in Africa; an introductory text for students of education. Since the publication of this textbook there has been an intellectual aridity in this area of educational philosophizing in Kenya. This is in spite of the said textbook being merely introductory or prolegomenon. More importantly is the model proposed and formulated in this textbook intended as a conceptual framework for developing an African philosophy of education (1986; 92). This model has remained un-attempted. 

My paper will argue in the affirmative while distinguishing should as a non-moral normative imperative and can as a question of ability. While indeed we should develop African philosophy of education this imperative remains unachievable until we have experts with requisite scholarly abilities.

 

Problem of shortage of educational philosophers

Experts in philosophy of education are called educational philosophers. They should be trained in technical philosophy and educational sciences. The two disciplines must meet in one. To ‘meet in one,’ means that an educational philosopher should integrate both technical philosophy and educational sciences as an integral area of academic specialization. Educational philosopher is the middle term between technical philosophy and educational sciences. In other words one should have academic qualification as a technical philosopher and as a trained professional teacher.

 

Lack of this ‘meeting in one’ of the two areas is to blame for lack of resources in this area. It means persons who are lesser than the ideal are teaching this discipline. There are two types of categories of teachers of philosophy of education in Africa who are lesser than the ideal.

The generalists and the specialists, the former are professional educators without philosophical footing. The latter are academic philosophers without educational training. Both as Plato would say must be debarred and be made to give way for educational philosopher.

 

Generalists make philosophy of education be about general principles, aims and goals of education. The technical philosopher makes philosophy of education too abstract and unrelated to everyday concerns of professional teacher in schooling. The latter stand accused of arm chair speculation, the latter stands accused of generality.

  

The model of African philosophy of education: Pedagogy of sagacity

  

Pedagogy of Sagacity stands on two feet – one foot is planted in Sage philosophy and the other in Pedagogy of Oppressed – both feet are rooted in the conceptual model for developing African philosophy of education as articulated by Njoroge and Bennaars (1986, 88-89).

  

  

  

Pedagogy of Sagacity or Sagacious Pedagogy is developed as an attempt to transcend the original impetus of the project of Sage philosophy of Nairobi School. As Gail Presbey states,

 

I suggest that the original impetus for starting the sage philosophy project – the defense against Euro-American skeptics who thought Africans incapable of philosophizing – has been outgrown. The present need for studies of African sages is to benefit from their wisdom, both in Africa and around the world. I also suggest that the title ‘sage’ has to be problematized. While there were good reasons to focus earlier on rural elders as overlooked wise philosophers, the emphasis now should be on admiring philosophical thought wherever it may be found-in women, youth, and urban Africans as well. In such a way, philosophy will be further relevant to people’s lives, and further light will be shed and shared regarding the lived experience in Africa.

Gail concludes by pointing out that

Whether, and in what way, sage philosophy continues and grows will be determined in part by the ideas of those who have the will to continue it; their works will help define the terms “sage” and “sage philosophy” in the future.

Pedagogy of Sagacity is contemplated here as a possible contribution to the development of Sage philosophy in terms of African philosophy of education. Njoroge and Bennaars (1986, 98) have formulated

 

…a basic framework within which philosophical thinking about African education must be located. Within this model we identified four distinct areas of concern each reflecting a specific function of Technical Philosophy, a specific approach in educational Philosophy and a specific trend in African Philosophy. These areas of concern are: the Ethnophilosophy of Education, the Phenomenology of African Education, the Critique of African Education and the Philosophical analysis of African Education.

 

The authors (1986, 88) intend this to be a normative ‘framework within which to locate educational philosophy in Africa.’ Thus they state that (1986, 89),

 

…we can now establish what ought to be the major features or concerns of an African Philosophy of Education; thus we may arrive at a MODEL that brings out the specific features of a truly African Philosophy of Education.

 

For this model to be realized two criteria or conditions must be fulfilled, namely technical and African. As regards the former criterion ‘an African Philosophy of Education, to be recognized as truly technical, (it) must display similar functions and approaches as the Technical Philosophy of Education’ (1986, 89). There are four functions of technical philosophy namely, critical, rational, phenomenological and speculative (1986, 23-24). Corresponding to these four functions respectively are four approaches to philosophy of education namely, implicational, existential, critical and analytical approaches (1986, 89).

 

With regard to the second criterion or condition African philosophy must be African that is ‘it must reflect the trends characteristic of philosophical thinking in Africa’ (1986, 89). Njoroge and Bennaars (1986, 83-89) have delineated four trends in African philosophy namely, ethno-philosophy, cultural philosophy, political philosophy and formal philosophy. Each of these trends is paired with a corresponding function from the four technical functions of philosophy. The resulting combinations are four distinct approaches to African philosophy of education these are; ethno-philosophy paired with speculative function results in implications approach in African philosophy of education; cultural philosophy paired with phenomenological function results in existential approach; political philosophy paired with critical function results in critical approach; and lastly formal philosophy paired with analytical function results in analytical approach (1986, 89).

We can therefore identify ‘four major areas of concern, which may be called the basis … of a truly African Philosophy of Education.’ These are ethno-philosophy of education; phenomenology of African education; critique of African education; and philosophical analysis of African education.[1] In Aristotelian causality technical functions of philosophy are the formal causes while trends in African philosophy are the material causes. Formal and material causes are co-constitutive principles of substantial being, the substance of African philosophy of education is possible within the framework of Njoroge and Bennaars. As Wittgenstein states (1981;2.14) ‘what constitutes a picture is that its elements are related to one another in a determinate way,’ this is ‘the pictorial form’ of reality (2.15). In a pictorial form of reality ‘a picture … attached … to reality … reaches right out to it’ so that the picture is the measure of what reality should be. (2.1521). The framework of Njoroge and Bennars is the measure of what is to be regarded as African philosophy of education.

 

Platonic middle term

The model proposed by Njoroge and Bennaars has not yet been worked out in practice. This could be due to lack of experts who are ‘extremely rare’ (1986;78) with the right combinations namely, training in technical philosophy and training as professional educators (B.Ed). Further still development of African educational philosophy requires experts with knowledge and skill in African philosophy. The requirement that African philosophers of educators be doubled edged experts in technical philosophy and professional educators (1986; 77-80) is akin to Plato’s (Republic Book, V. 473d) observation that

Cities will have no respite from evil … unless philosophers rule as kings in the cities, or those whom we now call kings and rulers genuinely and adequately study philosophy, until, that is, political power and philosophy coalesce, and the various natures of those who now pursue the one to the exclusion of the other are forcibly debarred from doing so. Otherwise the city we have been describing will never grow into a possibility or see the light of day.

  

To paraphrase Plato in the framework of Njoroge – Bennaars we can state that: Kenya will have no African philosophy of education unless philosophers teach and research in educational foundations, or those who teach philosophy of education genuinely and adequately study philosophy; until, that is, technical philosophy and educational sciences coalesce in African educational philosophers and the various scholars who now pursue one to the exclusion of the other are forcibly debarred from meddling in this area. Otherwise the proposed model of African philosophy of education will never develop into a possibility or see the light of day. Plato in the cited place provides a middle term which logically links technical philosophy and educational sciences in philosophy of education in Africa. The middle term is a technical African philosopher who is also a professional philosopher i.e. a scholar who integrates both technical philosophy and educational profession. It is from such a one that hope lies for possibility of developing an African philosophy of education. With such rare experts we can develop African philosophy of education.

 

Pedagogy of Sagacity: Thought Experiment on African Philosophy of education

Of the four trends in African philosophy identified by Njoroge and Bennars Sage Philosophy is not included, yet Odera Oruka (1990;16-17) includes it as a distinct trend in African philosophy. There are four trends in African philosophy identified by Oruka (1990, 13 – 20) namely, ethno-philosophy, philosophic sagacity, nationalist-ideological philosophy and professional philosophy. For Oruka (1991,43) ‘sage philosophy comes as a third alternative’ it lies between folk philosophy or (ethno-philosophy) and ‘the written critical discourse’ or  (professional trend); sage philosophy ‘demonstrates the fact that traditional Africa had both folk wisdom and critical personalized philosophical discourse.’ Sage philosophy is here subjected to phenomenological analysis within the model of Njoroge – Bennaars in attempt to develop African philosophy of education. As the model of Njoroge – Bennaars requires African philosophy of education should be worked out on two-fold points, firstly, technical method of philosophy and secondly a trend in African philosophy. To develop pedagogy of sagacity, phenomenology is the opted technical function of philosophy while philosophic sagacity or sage philosophy is the trend in African philosophy; from these two a new area in African educational philosophy arises namely, pedagogy of sagacity.

 

Banking versus problem-posing education

Pedagogy of sagacity is influenced by pedagogy of the oppressed. Paulo Freire, a Brazilian educationist developed a trend in philosophy of education called pedagogy of the oppressed (1972). Pedagogy of the oppressed ‘is an instrument for … critical discovery … of dehumanization’. ‘The central problem’ of pedagogy of the oppressed ‘is this: How can the oppressed, as divided, unauthentic beings, participate in developing the pedagogy of their liberation?’ ‘This pedagogy makes oppression and its causes objects of reflection by the oppressed, and from that reflection will come their necessary engagement in the struggle for their liberation. And in the struggle this pedagogy will be made and remade’ (1972, 25). Pedagogy of the oppressed is a critique of traditional pedagogy that is teacher-centered; the teacher assumes the dominant role while the learners are passive. In traditional pedagogy Freire identified two dialectically opposed poles, the oppressors – who happen to be teachers, and the oppressed – who happen to be learners. The teacher is in a dialectical opposition to the learner in which case the teacher has-knowledge but the learner has-not knowledge, he is assumed to be tabula rasa. Freire employs analogy of the banking industry to expose ten contradictory pedagogical ‘attitudes and practices, which mirror oppressive society as a whole’ (1972, 46-47). The teacher acts as the ‘bank-clerk’ by use of ‘banking methods of domination’. Freire institutes a pedagogical paradigm shift where he replaces ‘the educational goal of deposit-making …with the posing of problems of men in their relations with the world’ (1972,52). This is also called liberating education which ‘consists in acts of cognition, not transferrals of information’ (1972,53). The ‘practice of problem-posing education first of all demands a resolution of the teacher-student contradiction. Dialogical relations – indispensable to the capacity of cognitive actors to cooperate in perceiving the same cognizable object – are otherwise impossible’ (1972, 53). Iconoclasm of banking education allows freedom for ‘the critical reflection of both teacher and students’ this leads to ‘emergence of consciousness and critical intervention in reality.’ (1972, 53-54).To contrast ‘banking education … and … problem-posing education’ Freire (1972;56-57states

 

… the two educational concepts and practices under analysis come into conflict. Banking education attempts, by mythicizing reality, to conceal certain facts which explain the way men exist in the world; problem-posing education sets itself the task of de-mythologizing. Banking education resists dialogue; problem-posing education regards dialogue as indispensable to the acts of cognition which unveils reality. Banking education treats students as objects of assistance; problem-posing education makes them critical thinkers. Banking education inhibits creativity and domesticates the intentionality of consciousness by isolating consciousness from the world, thereby denying men their ontological and historical vocation of becoming more fully human.

 

Freire is in total rejection of banking education the means for emancipation from ‘authoritarianism and an alienating intellectualism’ is to begin with people ‘in the ‘here and now’, which constitutes the situation in which they are submerged, from which they emerge…. To do this authentically they must perceive their state not as fated and unalterable, but merely as limiting – and therefore challenging.’ (1972;57-58)

 

Pedagogy of sagacity is an attempt to develop African philosophy of education.  It is a critical reflection on possibility of African pedagogy, as Freire notes ‘critical reflection is also action’ in the sense that ‘action and reflection occur simultaneously’ (1972, 99).

Two Typologies of Sages

Odera Oruka (1991; 34) identifies two types of sages in Africa, namely, folk sage and philosophic sage.

Findings in Kenya show that there are two main divisions of sage philosophy. One is that of the sage whose thought, though well informed and educative, fails to go beyond the celebrated folk-wisdom. Such a sage may not have the ability or inclination to apply his own independent critical objection to folk beliefs. He is, therefore, a folk sage in contrast to the second type of the sage, the philosophic sage. The former is a master of popular wisdom while the latter is an expert in didactic wisdom.

 

The philosophic sage may know, as the folk sage does, what the cardinal beliefs and wisdoms of his community are, but he makes an independent, critical assessment to what the people take for granted. Thus, while the sagacity of the folk sage remains at the first order level of philosophy, that of the philosophic sage is a second-order philosophy, that is a reflection on and a rationalized evaluation of what is given in the first order. What is given in the first order is a mixture of conventional-cum-customary beliefs and practices.

 

Oruka (1991, 37) believes that ‘There are and there will be sages even among Africans with modern education’ for instance Nyerere. To be a sage one needs ‘to be wise and able to utilize that wisdom for the benefit of one’s community.’ ‘The concern in the sage research is not to claim that sagacity is, by definition, philosophy but to look for philosophy within sagacity, that is, to get to their overlap.  ’Within this overlap, both the philosopher and the wise man have the same function: they employ abstract reasoning for the understanding and solution of the basic questions of human life’ (1991, 41). Odera Oruka (1991, 34) carried out his research project in Kenya. ‘One major aim is to look for philosophy or traces of philosophy in traditional Africa….by talking to the living sages…. Exposing the value of such thoughts is again one other important aim of the sage research’ (1991, 41). However, most importantly the sage project was meant ‘to help substantiate or disapprove the well-known claim that ‘real philosophical thought’ had no place in traditional Africa.’ This claim implied that ‘existence of philosophy in modern Africa is due wholly to the introduction of western thought to Africa’ (1991, 34). The invalidation of this claim could only be established if traditional Africa was found to host philosophic sages. The project was successful for it identified philosophic sages (individuals with didactic wisdom) in Kenya while distinguishing them from folk sages (individuals with popular wisdom) (1991, 33-34).

This European prejudice is reflected in the work of Mullin J (1965) which was meant to be an attempt ‘to lay down guide-lines for the … Christian apostolate in modern Africa’ (1965, 3). Mullin (1965, 32-33) contrasts African mentality with European mentality he states:

The African’s reasoning methods are not discursive; he knows nothing of the syllogism, he thinks inductively rather than deductively; nor is his thinking analytic: it is intuitive and synthetic …. This is a mentality different from the European, and to be respected as such …. One consequence of it is a circular manner of thinking, a collecting of impressions, a feeling of the way before coming to the kernel of a problem …. A more important consequence is the primacy in his thought of the concrete over the abstract; and the human over the institutional …. European teachers, trained in deductive thought, pass on ideas in a way impossible for the African to assimilate. They do not square with his reasoning’.

While the philosophic sage engages in sagacious didactics, the folk sage engages in narration. Philosophic sagacity is often ‘a product and a reflective re-evaluation of the culture philosophy. The few sages who possess the philosophic inclination make a critical assessment of their culture and its underlying beliefs.’ They use power of reason to produce ‘a system within a system, and order within an order’ (1991, 49). Folk sagacity is first order culture philosophy. ‘It is absolute in its ideas and truth claims and has an ideological war with anything to the contrary.’ Folk sages ‘are specialists in explaining and maintaining this order…. Their explanations or thought do not go beyond the premises and conclusions given by the prevailing culture’ (1991, 49). Philosophic sage is critical reflection on the first order philosophy of culture. It is ‘a critical rebellion against the first order conformity and anachronism’. While the first order glorifies the communal conformity, philosophic sagacity is skeptical…it employs reason to assess it. The first order is purely absolutist and ideological, the second order is generally open-minded and rationalistic. Its truths are given as tentative and ratiocinative, not as God-sent message (1991, 49). Further contrast between the two sage includes (1991, 36)

The folk sage is versed in the common-place culture, customs and beliefs of his people. He can recite or describe them with much competence.  However, he is unable to raise any critical question about them, nor is he able to observe the inherent contradictions. The philosophic sage, like the folk sage, may equally be versed in the beliefs and values of his society. His main task is to make critical assessment of them and recommend, as far as the communal pressure allows, only those beliefs and values that pass his rational scrutiny. The folk-sage is identifiable by his consistent inability to isolate his own opinion from the beliefs of the community and his ready inclination to take refuge behind the popular unexamined wisdom wherever he is intellectually challenged. The philosophic sage, on the other hand, is clearly able to isolate the given beliefs of the community from his own evaluation, rationalization and even criticism of those beliefs. He is also able to enjoy a dialectical or intellectual game with the interviewer.

 

Mullin’s characterization of African mentality is a fallacious generalization which collapses African thought to folk sagacity. There are philosophic sages capable of syllogistic reasoning in Africa both in literate and pre-literate societies. ‘There is possibility for sagacity both in pre-literate and literate societies’ (Oruka 1991, 37). To be a sage is not necessarily to be philosophic

Pedagogy of sagacity

Pedagogy of sagacity uses phenomenological method of philosophy to anayze two typologies of teachers based on the paradigms of Oruka’s two sages, philosophic and folk sages. This is in attempt to fructify Njoroge – Bennaars (1986) model or conceptual framework for developing African Philosophy of education.

 

Folkish teacher versus philosophic teacher

By use of phenomenological analysis we can draw implications from the two sages. Philosophic-sage points to a teacher who is critical and empowers learners to think for themselves. He uses student-centered pedagogy. His classroom is community of researchers; his role is to midwife students in their search for solution to problems. Classroom is related to real life problems. Folkish-sage points to folkish-teachers who merely recycle old lecture notes. They do not update themselves they dictate notes to learners who are expected to be passive recipients. Such teachers fail to criticize educational theories and practices. They are authoritarian and aim at making learners memorize notes in order to pass examinations. Such a teacher fears questions and fails in self-criticism. The folkish-teacher uses banking pedagogy, while philosophic-teacher uses problem-solving pedagogy.

In the movie Sarafina Mrs. Masumbuka exemplifies philosophic-teacher who is gadfly that stings learners to dare to think, that is to critically question the received traditions. She midwifes regeneration of learners as enlightened and emancipated active learners who demystifies the stratified sanitized syllabus. The teacher who replaces her is an example of folkish teacher. He can at best impose and popularize authorized apartheid pedagogical narrative which  is oppressive to the African students. That teacher mechanically transmits fossilized pre-packaged ideas without critical reflection. This is a dogmatic teacher who fails to emancipate himself from dominant oppressive pedagogy of white supremacist in apartheid South Africa.

Conclusion

Model by Njoroge – Bennaars is useful in developing African philosophy of education. Pedagogical Sagacity is a product of that model and proves that it is pragmatic and relevant to African philosophy of education. There remains more areas in education in Africa where sage Philosophy needs to be explored and logical conclusions be drawn to improve teaching/learning in philosophy of education in Africa, Kenya in particular. Sage Philosophy furnishes a productive conceptual framework for educational philosophizing not only in Africa but also anywhere else where critical analysis of pedagogical theory and practice is to be carried out. This is a proposal of one possible direction among others where Sage Philosophy can be relevant beyond Oruka’s original concern. It points at possible contributions of Sage Philosophy (in department of Philosophy) to educational philosophy (in department of Educational Foundations).

  

  

Bibliography

Freire P, (1972) Pedagogy of the oppressed, translated by Myra Bergman Ramos, Middlesex: Penguin Books.

  

Mullin, J. (1965) The Catholic Church in Modern Africa, a pastoral Theology, London: Geoffrey Chapman.

 

Njoroge – Bennaars (1986) Philosophy and education in Africa: An introductory text for students of education. Nairobi: Transafrica.

Odera O, (1990) Trends in Contemporary African Philosophy. Nairobi: Shirikon

________  (1991) Sage Philosophy; indigenous thinkers and modern debate on African Philosophy. Nairobi: ACTS