A couple of years back, when we were really struggling, we bought a second hand bus to help those parents with transport problems. It was more trouble than it was worth! This year, thanks largely to the Department of Education grants, we’ve been able to buy a brand new Iveco…
We realise that the formal curriculum does not prepare our children for their lives in the future. In fact, with the dramatic development of new techology, such as drones, driverless cars, robots, artifical intelligence etc, nobody knows what that future will be like. The best we can do is guess.
I had to Google that to see whether it was, in fact, an original thought or whether I had just dragged it out of my subconcious memory. Seems it’s original. It came to me recently, when, midst all this panic about Covid, I was (again) reflecting on the ineptitude of…
I hated French at school, but all us dummies had to learn it. The more average kids learned French and German, and the clever ones Latin, French and German. So there I was on the bottom rung of the academic ladder, but still having to struggle with a subject that…
I was reminded of this law when lockdown moved to level 3 and we were able to buy wine again. As a special treat, I bought two bottles of Sauvignon Blanc for R185 each. We normally spend around half that price. The wine was divine, but then I commented to…
Your choice of school for your child is going to have a significant impact on his or her future. If your child is happy at school, then the chances are that you will see good grades. An unhappy child will not be a good learner. Here’s what you should be…
Interestingly, there are varying results from different studies conducted in the USA and apparently advocates of Class Size Reduction (CSR) are as guilty of cherry picking results to suite their argument as their opponents, who argue that the cost of CSR outwieghs its benefits. Having said that, although many states…
My wife and I were thrilled to watch a small flock of at least five Rosy Faced Lovebirds from our balcony in Morningside. They appeared to be nesting under the eves of a house, but despite many later sightings, they have not re-visited that particular house, so perhaps they were…
While learning the Japanese abacus, you can’t help becoming fascinated with numbers and arithmetical tricks. Here’s a simple Japanese method of multiplying using intersecting straight lines …
If you’ve ever been an investor in say, listed shares or property for rental, you will know that some investments will be better than others. The wise investor knows when to pull out of one and re-invest in a better one. He or she has to take into account the…
I guess that if funds are limited (and what family actually has money to spare at the end of every month?), the choice between public and private schooling can be largely influenced by the family income. However, there are other considerations. I guess you have to start by looking at…
During the March holidays, seven of our top learners joined four volunteer educators at the school for an intensive boot camp to prepare them for the upcoming Olympiads.
On Friday 1st March, the pupils of Gallagher Combined School were treated to a visit to the Cradle of Humankind exhibition followed by the Sterkfontein caves. The focus of the Cradle is on evolution, particularly of humans, although the exhibition also demonstrates the evolution of animals such as the…
Probably the thing that is most worried about is money, or lack of it, but what is this stuff we call money? Early man used barter to exchange anything that they had in excess for other goods that they required. The problem with barter is that you need to find…
Surprise, surprise! No difference at all!…
First off, you’ve got to have a dream and that can be the most difficult part. Why? Because few people can dream the impossible dream! Most of us think “I’d love to do ……” or “I’d love to be ……”, “but I can’t because ……”…
It seems that as we grow older, we go one of two ways. We either become increasingly cynical or increasingly pragmatic. Which will you choose?…
Ever wonder what a byte is? It’s eight bits. So what is a bit?…
One Friday evening my wife, Helen, and I were talking about our childhood. She asked me what my teddy bear was like. That simple question lead to a mindblowing experience.
I always think of the brain as front, middle and back and also left and right. Its a gross oversimplification, but very useful if you want to make friends with your brain and get it to work best for you.
Language. “The method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way. (Oxford Dictionary)”. Yes, but what is it really all about?…
