The principal and 24 elementary school teachers at the Bloekombos Primary School, Kraaifontein, in Cape Town, South Africa, were happy to be introduced to the Universal Peace Federation’s character education program on June 19-20, 2008.
Rev. Jean Augustin Ghomsi, Secretary General of UPF Southern Africa, was invited by the school Principal, Rev. Thula Batyi, in order to “help the teachers be more effective in teaching and valuing their work in nation-building.” The program included a pre-seminar and post-seminar surveys, a video and two Powerpoint presentations. The video, “The Power of Universal Ideas”, was to help the participants understand the scope and the impact of the UPF’s character education beyond the borders of South Africa.
South Africa has one of the highest numbers of HIV/AIDS infection in the world and lately there is an increased trend in school teen pregnancy, violence, crime and drug abuse. Many teachers say they don’t feel safe anymore in school premises. Some have been victim of depression and many felt the new law allowing twelve years old to have an abortion without parental consent was very dangerous.
In the first presentation, an introduction to UPF’s character education, Rev. Ghomsi presented the three basic life goals that character education helps us to achieve: 1) To become a person of mature character; 2) To develop healthy and loving relationships in and out of the family; 3) To make a positive contribution to society.
“As teachers you need to know that your mission goes beyond imparting intellectual knowledge to our children,” Ghomsi said. “You are nurturing future leaders and citizens of the nation.You you may be raising another ‘Mandela’ and one day, the world may come to Bloekombos to know where he was educated and by whom!” Ghomsi said that teachers are responsible as second parents and co-contributors in building a healthier and safer society.
He presented the shortcomings of the present educational system in South Africa that put too much emphasis only on intellectual knowledge to help young people get a better job in the future and neglect character-building. He said UPF advocates a “balanced education” with character education as pillars and foundation to educate the whole person.
In the second presentation the four core values were introduced: Living for the sake of others, Ownership, Teamwork and Dream Big. Here, Ghomsi encouraged the teachers to emphasize to their students the need for community service and the spirit of volunteerism as a way to build their character. He thanked them for the cleanliness of the school premises and garden and said it should not be done just by those learners who are punished. As they reach high school, they should volunteer in their field of interest; those want to become doctors or nurses should volunteer in hospital in order to gain experience for example. He also put emphasis on dreaming big themselves and helping their students also to develop a positive mind and challenge their limitations both internally (character) and externally (intellect). “Only dreamers accomplish something in life,” he said.
The teachers responded well. “This is good and fruitful. It has equipped me a lot. I want to go back and start all over again,” said one. “This character education can be included in the school curriculum.” “It has changed a bit of my character towards others and the way I should treat others and myself,” said another. “It was very informative and an eye-opener for the things I overlooked before. I think character education should be included in teacher training courses.”
Each session ended with questions and answers. From the post-seminar survey, one could notice a big change in the teachers’ outlook. Many were parents themselves and fell the need to encourage a better synergy and cooperation with parents in order to help in terms of the character-building of children.
They would like to have a longer seminar not just for them but also for the students. In the closing ceremony each participants received a certificate and a bag (from Peace Cup) and a certificate of appreciation was also offered by the Principal, Rev. Thula Batyi, to Rev. Ghomsi.