“ Education either functions as an
instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation
into the logic of the present system
and bring about conformity, or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by
which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover
how to participate in the transformation of their world.” (5) Paulo Freire
Introduction
The words science and
art are certainly very common. Each one has its own idea of what they mean.
Many people are even scientific and artistic in their everyday lives. Science
and art literacy is becoming very important in the digital age because they
determine how we will be living. We are in the ICT-Kultur, a specific context
which encompasses both our thought processes and ways of acting on nature just
with the use of how the mind treats information and communicates it. The
ICT-Kultur is a specific point in human evolution which unlike the agricultural
revolution and industrial revolutions is affecting humanity at all levels.
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| Science Slam enables students or individuals to talk about science in a funny , artistic and interesting way . Curbing the heavy jargon or using it less or explaining it artiscally. Photo Didier De Masso |
Science (1) should be understood bearing in mind that
it:
1) is a knowledge generating activity which is
based on systematically organized bodies of accumulated knowledge obtained through
objective observations.
2) Science is
to understand, explain, and predict by specifying the systematic relationships
among empirical variables. It must be consensually valid and general. It must
not be on authority, sloppy, or simply to “better” mankind.
3) uses unconfounded empirical tests to develop,
discover, and explain systematic frameworks within which relationships can be
explored.
4) is not
so much concerned with accumulating highly precise and specific data (although
it is necessary) but rather science
seeks to discover uniformities and to formulate statements of uniformities and
consistencies of relationship between natural phenomena
Simply said science is the systematic
study of nature that enables someone through systematic observation to
describe, understand, make links and predict phenomenon occurring in nature.
Science seeks to know and to find solutions to problems using research,
experimentation. Basically, the scientific attitude is inborn. The way children
get to know the world is a clear example. They are curious. They try things,
the ask questions, they challenge norms. On the other hand art could be thought
of as a product of the mind, an art work “characterized by their possession of,
respectively, representational, expressive, and formal properties” (2). Equally
very relevant, art is “whatever among artifacts is capable of arousing and
sustaining aesthetic experience in suitably prepared subjects we call a work of
art.” (3) In other words, art is a mental production made tangible or not
relating to our sense of beauty and form in relation to how we perceive nature
and ourselves in nature. It sure matters to say that art is very difficult to
define because of the history tied to the word. We can even say that the word
art in “english” came long after (4) the expressions of art, “work of arts”
existed. Technology and techniques precede science just as artefacts precede
art. This tells us a lot of things about the mind and our use of language all
still embodied within culture. It matters most now since we are living a
specific period of human evolution.
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| Slammer and Model Lydoldollystar. her style is unique. She fetches her words for her slams in her experiences Photo Art Didier De Masso |
What
is literacy?
There is no clearer explanation of literacy (5) than
UNESCO, Statement for the United Nations Literacy Decade, 2003–2012
“Literacy is about more than
reading or writing – it is about how we communicate in society. It is about
social practices and relationships, about knowledge, language and culture.
Those who use literacy take it for granted – but those who cannot use it are
excluded from much communication in today’s world. Indeed, it is the excluded
who can best appreciate the notion of “literacy as freedom”.
The digital revolution like
all the other revolutions (agricultural, industrial and sexual) is tied to the
production of information and knowledge about a variety of things linked to
humans modes of life. However, it is only within the digital era that
information and knowledge societies have truly emerged with a very precise and
unique combination of arts and science. What is a knowledge society? "A
knowledge society is a society that is nurtured by its diversity and its
capacities" (6). Thus in a way every society is a knowledge society depending on the
culture with which things are seen. Yet globalisation and the digital era (6)
imposes a new way of seeing things
- A
knowledge society must foster knowledge-sharing
- The
diffusion of information and communication technologies creates new
opportunities for development
-
Knowledge societies are not limited to the information society
Knowledge societies can enable relevant development
for the countries of the South (e.g. Cameroon) but under an important
condition: that technology transfer be truely effective. Technology transfer
that is “the flow of know-how, experience and equipment amongst different
stakeholders such as governments, private sector entities, financial
institutions, NGOs and research institutions” (7). Better, knowledge transfer
can be defined as « the transfer of new technologies from universities and
research institutions to parties capable of commercialisation » (7). The need to
systematically transfer knowledge produced in universities or even secondary
schools to lay persons is imperative for inclusive development and passes
through rethinking education, science and arts in the Cameroonian context. The
principal of knowledge societies is also rooted in the freedom each citizen has
to contribute to development.
Insofar as much as nothing
is new on earth, the exact prediction of the future is beyond science and arts.
Cameroon’s emergence by 2035 cannot wait since time is fast running. This
statement implies a redefinition of what science can do and what arts can
imagine essentially. Yet it becomes clear that the present state of our world
raises a lot of questions linked to determining how to see the future (Climate
change, poverty, (cyber) terrorism, cultural evolution and so on). For African educators
it ought to imply rethinking what learning and knowing even means for their
students. Students are at the same time products of their environment and
producer of it. They are now exposed to various types of information in an era they were not prepared
for. They have to learn things completely alien to their culture. The digital
era for the typical African learner is a psychological and culture shock. Could
this explain the several “deviances” observed on the Cameroonian cyberspace?
The role of educators to prepare learners to what they will experience in
cyberspace becomes more than ever a necessity.
Human development has passed
through successive revolutions (agricultural revolution, through the industrial
revolutions till the digital revolution). But there have been important
inequalities in the distribution of wealth. The digital age has changed the way
we acquire, use, organise information and knowledge. Within the Cameroonian
context it can change the way we become wealthy (6, 7). Moreover, it is
changing how we think and how we produce information and knowledge. If the aim
of old or new globalisation is linked to inter-connectedness (7) paradoxically,
our knowledge societies have become too categorized and polarised. The pedagogy of subjects
thought in schools and formal schooling promote specialisation whereas global awareness brought
about by globalisation not at all. This dichotomy is harmful for the
educational system and the future adults which will result from the system.
Again it is not a simple task to reflect on the origin of how we know, what we
can know, what should be known. It even seems to be an irrational endeavour.
Indeed, it should be for knowing in itself is not just a physiological act.
Moreover, knowing with rigour and methodologically requires a context.
In which context do
Cameroonian students learn? The situation is piteous. Most educational
communities are not conducive for learning. Albeit the use of traditional
learning methods which studies show are very effective (10, 11), Cameroonian
children and youths still are lagging in fundamental 21st century skills.
Promoting science and art literacies albeit the oddness it might imply means
that children, youths, students and learners in general should be given various
opportunities to learn, know and share knowledge.Educators should adapt to the new ay learning is occuring. Importantly it is more than a
necessity for the future generation of children, and youths born and to be born
within the digital age.
The problems that the
digital revolution possesses are tremendous and numerous. It re-questions the
cultural elements of humanity (12). More paradoxically not only does culture
shape the way ICTs (12) are used but ICTs are now shaping human culture and its
specificities. In other words, ICTs is shaping the way science and art are
thought, made and “sold”. It’s a serious problem when we know diversity is
inherent to nature and humans been part of it. More critical is the fact that
knowledge societies are societies of cultural diversity. Culture encompasses a
wide variety of practices, thought processes, attitudes and behaviours which
have considerably enabled since the foundation of humanity man to live and
enjoy life (1). Culture is intrinsic to the human and its social nature.
Humanity is developing, just like a foetus in the womb of a mother. This
maturity is indicative of the power of the mind. For the mind is the source of
all man’s production ceteris paribus and stricto largo. The present state of
human’s evolution is historical and very fundamental for humanity for it poses
fundamental questions whose solutions might prove salutary. The arts, technology and science of
information has been very diversified across the history of mankind. But the
digital age proves to be specific in this process of human evolution . It still matters to talk about what science
is science it is at the base of human’s activities from a developmental
perspective.
“Science is
both a body of knowledge and the process used to expand and revise it. The body
of knowledge includes discrete facts, patterns that order them, and explanations
of why those patterns exist. The process of expanding and revising that body of
knowledge has many elements, among them observation, experimentation,
mathematical analysis, and computer modeling. All can be used to test new
explanations and re-examine old ones. The results of the process are shaped,
but not determined, by the cultural context in which it takes place: influences
such as political tensions, economic pressures, religious beliefs, personal
ambitions, and institutional rivalries” (13)
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| the cultural diversity of cameroon enables students. and educators to construct meaning and knowlegde in funny and artistic ways. Here student presenting "Obom" Beti-fang traditional material used for clothing Photo Didier De Masso |
On the 10th of June at the
Goethe Institute Kamerun was organised the fifth edition of the Science
slam. Since Our last participation in
the very first science slam there has been a considerable improvement in the
diversity of thematic and approaches to tackle the thematic. In fact, we think
that the specific ways of tackling the different scientific questions and
problems is linked the cultural unique in Cameroon. There is gradually a need
for women, and youths to express their thoughts and their know-how (social
empowerment). The fifth edition of the science slam was a mosaic of
colours reflecting truly the diversity of culture and needs of the Cameroonians
society: A society which needs all sorts of people for an inclusive
development.
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| The intrinsic elelemnt of diversity in the knowlegde socities implies the participation of people with disabilities, women, and minorities. Photo Didier De masso |
Science slam puts into the
hands of the Cameroonian learner a new medium for intellectual expression
totally different from the traditional school system. Along with “Ma These en
180 seconde” organised by the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie and
Institut Français du Cameroun, science slam exposes Cameroonian educators and
learns to new ways of seeing learning and education. The adjustment to this way
of seeing the world brought about by the science slam has a number of
implications for educators, policy makers, youth, women and students
- A complete
redefinition of education
- Guidance
and counselling services should be fully equipped at all levels of the
Cameroonian society to meet up with the challenges brought about by the digital economy and era.
- Cameroonian Youths should consider their
living context as a powerful source of all sorts of mental creations which
result with hard work into scientific discoveries or fabulous master pieces.
- Women
participation in sciences most be encouraged at all levels for women’s ways of
representing reality proves in most cases to be beneficial for the many.
- For
sustainable development the Cameroonian and global society should be totally
inclusive. Disability should not be a hindrance.
- Empowerment and support of youths and women in scientific endeavours is
necessary
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| Participants of the Fith edition of science slam Photo Didier De Masso |
Conclusion
It is in a mosaic of sounds,
colours, and scientific thematics that the science slam June 2017 session at the Goethe
Institute Kamerun ended, attended by almost 100 participants. We think that
the pedagogic usefulness of science slam should be encouraged by all educators
of all levels of the educational system, and by parents. It is not an option,
for science and art make our universe. They are systematically in harmony and
enable us to live. We need to know, seek for knowledge and express our
creativity in the most conducive ways possible. This will enable Cameroon to be
more competitive and contribute effectively to the knowledge society as a
whole. Promoting science and art literacies are thus fundamental necessities within the Cameroonian context. On to them is based inclusive and suistainable development and emergence.
References
(1)
Definition of science. Retrieved from
www.jsu.edu/depart/psychology/sebac/fac-sch/rm/pdfs/Ch2v4.pdf on 16th June 2017
(2) Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2007). Definition of arts.
Retrieved from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/art-definition/7 16th June
2017.
(3) Den,T.,
J. (2003).The Nature of Concepts and the Definition of Art
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/15406245.00089/epdf?r3_referer=wol&tracking_action=preview_click&show_checkout=1&purchase_referrer=www.google.com&purchase_site_license=LICENSE_DENIED.
(4) The
Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology 2003).. Oxford University
Press
(5) Media and Information Literacy retrieved from
www.ifapcom.ru/files/News/Images/2012/mil/Wilson.pdf on 16th June 2017
(6) UNESCO
(2005). Towards Knowledge Societies. Unesco Publishing
(7) MEKONGO, E., P. (2017).The Invaluable Tool of Economic Growth retrieved
from http://cameroonbusinesstoday.cm/articles/378/fr/d%C3%A9tail-de-l-article
on 16th June 2017
(8)
Demassosso, B., D. (2014).How India and Africa Can collaborate to
co-create a bright future? INDIAFRICA Winning Essay Contest.
(9) Brown, S., J. (n.d). Learning in the Digital Age
retrieved from https://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ffpiu015.pdf on 16th
June 2017
(10) Omolewa,
M. (2007). Traditional African modes of education: their relevance in the
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10.1007/s11159-007-9060-1.
(11) Nsamenang,
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Theories And Practices : A generative teacher education curriculum . ISBN : 978-9956-444-64-2
(12) Frank
Thomas Leslie Haddon Rosemarie Gilligan Peter Heinzmann Chantal de Gournay
Cultural Factors Shaping the Experience of ICTs: An Exploratory Review In
Haddon, (Ed.) (2005) International Collaborative Research. Cross-cultural
Differences and Cultures of Research, COST, Brussels
(13) A.
Bowdoin Van Riper (2002) Science in popular culture: A Reference Guide. Westport.
Greenwood press
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