Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Psalm 67:3 Praise is cardinal to the believer, because it is his cheapest access to the Most High God. It is also one of his surest access to the realm of the miraculous. Praise is also a preservative of the blessings of God. Blessings may come without it, but it takes praise to preserve the blessings. It is to one's blessings what salt is to meat - it keeps it from decaying. In Malachi 2, the priests stood the risk of losing God’s blessings, because they had ignored the ways of God. And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it. Malachi 2:1-3 By not remembering to give God the glory due to Him, the priests stood to have dung spread on their faces, and you know that dung represents shame and reproach. This is precisely why I want to introduce you to a life style of praise, not a church agenda of praise, so that you will never experience shame or reproach. The greatest obstacle facing you in life will never require more than praise to become a miracle. No obstacle can escape the touch of Jesus, and you invoke that touch by intense, hearty praise; not just with the lips, but praise coming from the depth of your soul! Unfortunately, the power in praise has been ignored in the body of Christ. People think it is for those who don’t know how to pray, but that is far from the truth. I have proved in my life that praise is much more effectual than the longest fast any man can engage in. Also, although prayer (no matter how fervent) has it's place, it cannot compete with praise in potency. Praise makes things work cheaply! There is a highway of praise. It’s a freeway - you just keep going on from triumph to triumph, victory to victory! Everything keeps going straight for you. Concerning Jesus, the Bible says He was not ashamed to call us brethren. He’s the Lion of the tribe of Judah, so we belong to the tribe of Judah. Judah means praise (Genesis. 29:35). We belong therefore to the tribe of praise; so when we are out of praise, we are out of tune with our destiny. You belong to the tribe of Judah, so triumph is your heritage (Genesis.49:8-12). When praise becomes your life style, triumph becomes your heritage; therefore, the son of wickedness will no longer be able to exact upon you (Psalm. 89:22). Jacob pronounced these terrific blessings upon Judah in Genesis 49:8-9: Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? That is where a life style of praise takes you! There’s a degree of comfort and restful confidence that comes on those who live a praiseful life style. Do you want to go up? Praise is the ladder to use! Just trigger off that Judaic nature inside you! You will be so restful. You will couch like a lion, and when you wake up, anything you find will be food for you. Also, note that because you belong to the tribe of Judah, you're of the company of those that must be praised by others, by reason of your outstanding results and undeniable breakthroughs! That's your place in God, and it's time to take that place. Nothing greases life like praise! When any system or engine lacks grease, it begins to make a cracking noise. That is how many lives in the body of Christ are today, because they lack the grease of praise. It is time to train up in praise! Training leads to triumph. Every military formation draws strength and victory from training. If you're not trained, you're not ready for triumph. Training is what begets triumph. As we train up in praise, through the things I'll be sharing with you in this book, you will begin to triumph in every phase of your life! A man can praise his way out of penury into plenty, out of sickness into health, and out of smallness into greatness! Yet praise is one of the most neglected or ignored spiritual weapons in Christendom, and I think it’s purely as a result of ignorance. God is saying, "It's time to understand the new syllabus." It's not what we are used to. God is restoring the tabernacle of David to the Church. If you look at the prophecy of Amos, it says, "Then shall the tabernacle of David be restored..." (Amos 9:11). There must be a restoration of the tabernacle of praise before Jesus will come. And that's the realm we're entering into now, the realm where nothing answers until praise is offered! Praise is not focusing on happenings, it is focusing on God's faithfulness. It is focusing on the efficacy of Scriptures. It is focusing on the integrity of God and the insight that you have received. This is what makes praise endless! I believe there is an encounter for you in this book! You will be introduced to a new way of living - a life style of praise!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Ah, God, what's wrong with Valentine?By Reuben Abati
Ah, God, what's wrong with Valentine?By Reuben Abati
THE growing obsession with Valentine's Day, February 14, that is tomorrow, the day that is specially reserved for the celebration of love, friendships, the sharing of goodwill, international as it now is, wears a cloak of such beguiling paradox in Nigeria that highlights one: the imitativeness of social class behaviour in Nigeria, two: the hypocrisy of our people; and three: psychological yearning for love and affection that is more about the emptiness of our passions, rather than our true understanding of what love is. This phenomenon is fairly recent and it is Southern and Christian. It is as if the more unsuccessful Nigeria is, and the higher the level of anxiety in the land, the more desperate the people become to cry out for love. They seek love as catharsis, as refuge, as compensatory target.
Sadly, every February 14 in the past decade or so, Nigerians remember the need to love and share only on Valentine's Day, and even then, our expression of love is libidinal, selfish, and alimentary. The religions and all the spiritual catechisms preach love. "Love thy neighbour as thyself," says the Scriptures. Confucius, a patron-saint of Lodges and theosophical/ philosophical movements, had reasoned that every man should do unto his neighbours as he would have them do unto him.
Buddhists and other spiritual groups preach that to gain a mastery of self, the first step towards knowledge and illumination (Socrates: "Man know thyself"), the individual must be capable of love. Love comprises the high values of giving, of duty, of virtue. Christian eschatology is built on this irreducibility of love: the Birth, the Death, the Resurrection of Christ, and his entire career, are circumscribed with the context of love. The Holy Quran equally preaches friendship, and loving others, more especially the underprivileged in society. The etymological and historical connection of Valentine's Day, as we know it, with Christian love reiterates the higher normative values that it is supposed to represent.
Hence in Corinthians 13:4-7: "Love suffers long and is kind. Love does not envy. Love does not parade itself. It is not puffed up. It does not behave rudely. It does not seek its own. It is not provoked. Thinks no evil. Does not rejoice in iniquity. But rejoices in the truth. Bears all things. Hopes all things. Endures all things. Love never fails.... And now aside faith, hope, love, these three: but the greatest of thee is love".
Since love is the greatest value of all, it is normal to expect that men and women will celebrate it earnestly, and truthfully. Alas, in Nigeria, we merely pay lip service to love. Even to faith. Even to hope. But we love ceremony, pretense, and ritual. Tomorrow, February 14, all of these three would be on display. And ahead of that moment, there is so much to-ing and fro-ing in the land, so much talk about Valentine's Day - an obsession that has been pushed to new levels by communication technology - Face book, the internet, the cell-phone, e-messages. The power of modern technology makes it possible for love to be professed at the speed of light. The act of love and loving has also become fully commercial. Business opportunists organise travel tours, special evenings, they bake cakes, stock their shops with flowers, perfumes, chocolates, cards dripping with effluvia and sweet-nothings, and every lover boy or lover girl is encouraged to show love by spending money to buy cards and all of these. I used the word obsession earlier.
Last year, Valentine's Day was around mid-week. School proprietors told their pupils to set aside the school uniform for a day, and wear clothes with a touch of red. They were also instructed to show up in school with gifts for a chosen Valentine. Companies also announced to staff that the colour red, would be the chosen dress code for February 14. By 4 p.m, the streets had been taken over by bright splashes of red colours turning the entire city into a love garden. But there was nothing in all of this about love. Or honesty of feelings.
For Nigerians, Lovers' Day is about money and sex. It is a grand ritual of deception. It is all about men and women looking for romantic dalliances; reckless dalliance of a thousand degrees, sex and more sex. Biology gone berserk. Valentine's Day 2009, in many Western capitals is being seen in relation to how lovers and couples will respond to the global economic pinch. Projections in many Western countries indicate a sharp drop in Valentine spending. Relationships could be threatened as lovers try to save costs. In Nigeria, I wager the bet that in Lagos where the Valentine craze is most felt, there'd be a near-commotion on the streets. In matters of sex, Nigerians are less circumspect.
A friend had opined that STJs (short-Time Joints) around Lagos are already fully booked; and restaurants are making special arrangements to accommodate a likely rampaging crowd of lovers. Ordinary Nigerians are yet to start thinking about the economic crunch. Instructively, this year's Valentine's Day falls on a Saturday, a day when many husbands and their partners will be at home. But it is beginning to look like a day when married women may have to embark on an "Operation Hold on to your Husband". When Valentine's Day falls on a regular, working day within the week, unfaithful husbands take advantage of this to attend to their flock of sweethearts. Wives have been known to complain about their husbands returning home rather late on Valentine's Day, with excuses about meetings, and other business commitments. It is in most cases, a day of misery for many wives whose husbands have been taken over by young ladies with more tempting assets. Valentine's Day could well be renamed "Cheaters' Day". It is a test of romantic appeal. It is a day for dating. Parents should keep an eye on their daughters and sons. No other day turns Nigerian women into sex objects more than Valentine's Day. There is so much affirmation of the myth of masculinity on the Day. On Saturday, February 14, 2009, many wives may be in a better position to insist that their spouses must stay at home, receive no suspicious phone calls, and stay with family.
This may sound like an old wives' strategy but it speaks to the reductionism that attends the idea of love and loving in Nigeria. Why is love so restricted to one day in the entire calendar? Love is a habit. An attitude. A way of life. A belief. But when it is reduced to a biological episode, and a set of empty phrases that do not travel beyond the lips, it is the character of society itself that is projected. On Valentine's Day every year, Nigerians do not remember to love widows, or the underprivileged, or the aged. They don't spare a thought for the sick, or the needy. It is all about physical attention. Beauty. Emotional transactions. Love thus defined becomes a means to an end, and not a complete end in itself.
The dissociation is seen in national life. Nigeria is a country in desperate need of love. It is a society that has been taken over by a growing tribe of haters and cynics. Our day-to-day interactions, our language of social contact and negotiation, governance systems, and inter-personal relationships confirm this. Nigerians are so vicious towards one another, so lacking in civility, always you are compelled to wonder whether the churches and mosques are filled on Sundays and Fridays, by imported persons, and not by the same swearing, cursing and unkind Nigerians of our daily encounters.
There is no love on the streets of Nigeria, only unbridled hate. Take the motorists, the motorcyclists who drive recklessly, threatening to push you off the road and maliciously hating you simply because you drive what is in their reckoning, a better car. There is no love either in official circles: the public servants who loot the treasury do not love the rest of us. Those who have been elected to serve us, but who spend more time pursuing their own vanity cannot be men and women of love. All men and women who promote disaffection, religious hate, violence , and who seek willfully to inflict pain on the other lack faith, hope, and love.
Nonetheless, on February 14., they will all pretend to be agents of love - men and women who care. But it is lust that inspires them, not genuine, transparent love - the type that pushes nations to greater heights, and which can only save our nation from perdition.
THE growing obsession with Valentine's Day, February 14, that is tomorrow, the day that is specially reserved for the celebration of love, friendships, the sharing of goodwill, international as it now is, wears a cloak of such beguiling paradox in Nigeria that highlights one: the imitativeness of social class behaviour in Nigeria, two: the hypocrisy of our people; and three: psychological yearning for love and affection that is more about the emptiness of our passions, rather than our true understanding of what love is. This phenomenon is fairly recent and it is Southern and Christian. It is as if the more unsuccessful Nigeria is, and the higher the level of anxiety in the land, the more desperate the people become to cry out for love. They seek love as catharsis, as refuge, as compensatory target.
Sadly, every February 14 in the past decade or so, Nigerians remember the need to love and share only on Valentine's Day, and even then, our expression of love is libidinal, selfish, and alimentary. The religions and all the spiritual catechisms preach love. "Love thy neighbour as thyself," says the Scriptures. Confucius, a patron-saint of Lodges and theosophical/ philosophical movements, had reasoned that every man should do unto his neighbours as he would have them do unto him.
Buddhists and other spiritual groups preach that to gain a mastery of self, the first step towards knowledge and illumination (Socrates: "Man know thyself"), the individual must be capable of love. Love comprises the high values of giving, of duty, of virtue. Christian eschatology is built on this irreducibility of love: the Birth, the Death, the Resurrection of Christ, and his entire career, are circumscribed with the context of love. The Holy Quran equally preaches friendship, and loving others, more especially the underprivileged in society. The etymological and historical connection of Valentine's Day, as we know it, with Christian love reiterates the higher normative values that it is supposed to represent.
Hence in Corinthians 13:4-7: "Love suffers long and is kind. Love does not envy. Love does not parade itself. It is not puffed up. It does not behave rudely. It does not seek its own. It is not provoked. Thinks no evil. Does not rejoice in iniquity. But rejoices in the truth. Bears all things. Hopes all things. Endures all things. Love never fails.... And now aside faith, hope, love, these three: but the greatest of thee is love".
Since love is the greatest value of all, it is normal to expect that men and women will celebrate it earnestly, and truthfully. Alas, in Nigeria, we merely pay lip service to love. Even to faith. Even to hope. But we love ceremony, pretense, and ritual. Tomorrow, February 14, all of these three would be on display. And ahead of that moment, there is so much to-ing and fro-ing in the land, so much talk about Valentine's Day - an obsession that has been pushed to new levels by communication technology - Face book, the internet, the cell-phone, e-messages. The power of modern technology makes it possible for love to be professed at the speed of light. The act of love and loving has also become fully commercial. Business opportunists organise travel tours, special evenings, they bake cakes, stock their shops with flowers, perfumes, chocolates, cards dripping with effluvia and sweet-nothings, and every lover boy or lover girl is encouraged to show love by spending money to buy cards and all of these. I used the word obsession earlier.
Last year, Valentine's Day was around mid-week. School proprietors told their pupils to set aside the school uniform for a day, and wear clothes with a touch of red. They were also instructed to show up in school with gifts for a chosen Valentine. Companies also announced to staff that the colour red, would be the chosen dress code for February 14. By 4 p.m, the streets had been taken over by bright splashes of red colours turning the entire city into a love garden. But there was nothing in all of this about love. Or honesty of feelings.
For Nigerians, Lovers' Day is about money and sex. It is a grand ritual of deception. It is all about men and women looking for romantic dalliances; reckless dalliance of a thousand degrees, sex and more sex. Biology gone berserk. Valentine's Day 2009, in many Western capitals is being seen in relation to how lovers and couples will respond to the global economic pinch. Projections in many Western countries indicate a sharp drop in Valentine spending. Relationships could be threatened as lovers try to save costs. In Nigeria, I wager the bet that in Lagos where the Valentine craze is most felt, there'd be a near-commotion on the streets. In matters of sex, Nigerians are less circumspect.
A friend had opined that STJs (short-Time Joints) around Lagos are already fully booked; and restaurants are making special arrangements to accommodate a likely rampaging crowd of lovers. Ordinary Nigerians are yet to start thinking about the economic crunch. Instructively, this year's Valentine's Day falls on a Saturday, a day when many husbands and their partners will be at home. But it is beginning to look like a day when married women may have to embark on an "Operation Hold on to your Husband". When Valentine's Day falls on a regular, working day within the week, unfaithful husbands take advantage of this to attend to their flock of sweethearts. Wives have been known to complain about their husbands returning home rather late on Valentine's Day, with excuses about meetings, and other business commitments. It is in most cases, a day of misery for many wives whose husbands have been taken over by young ladies with more tempting assets. Valentine's Day could well be renamed "Cheaters' Day". It is a test of romantic appeal. It is a day for dating. Parents should keep an eye on their daughters and sons. No other day turns Nigerian women into sex objects more than Valentine's Day. There is so much affirmation of the myth of masculinity on the Day. On Saturday, February 14, 2009, many wives may be in a better position to insist that their spouses must stay at home, receive no suspicious phone calls, and stay with family.
This may sound like an old wives' strategy but it speaks to the reductionism that attends the idea of love and loving in Nigeria. Why is love so restricted to one day in the entire calendar? Love is a habit. An attitude. A way of life. A belief. But when it is reduced to a biological episode, and a set of empty phrases that do not travel beyond the lips, it is the character of society itself that is projected. On Valentine's Day every year, Nigerians do not remember to love widows, or the underprivileged, or the aged. They don't spare a thought for the sick, or the needy. It is all about physical attention. Beauty. Emotional transactions. Love thus defined becomes a means to an end, and not a complete end in itself.
The dissociation is seen in national life. Nigeria is a country in desperate need of love. It is a society that has been taken over by a growing tribe of haters and cynics. Our day-to-day interactions, our language of social contact and negotiation, governance systems, and inter-personal relationships confirm this. Nigerians are so vicious towards one another, so lacking in civility, always you are compelled to wonder whether the churches and mosques are filled on Sundays and Fridays, by imported persons, and not by the same swearing, cursing and unkind Nigerians of our daily encounters.
There is no love on the streets of Nigeria, only unbridled hate. Take the motorists, the motorcyclists who drive recklessly, threatening to push you off the road and maliciously hating you simply because you drive what is in their reckoning, a better car. There is no love either in official circles: the public servants who loot the treasury do not love the rest of us. Those who have been elected to serve us, but who spend more time pursuing their own vanity cannot be men and women of love. All men and women who promote disaffection, religious hate, violence , and who seek willfully to inflict pain on the other lack faith, hope, and love.
Nonetheless, on February 14., they will all pretend to be agents of love - men and women who care. But it is lust that inspires them, not genuine, transparent love - the type that pushes nations to greater heights, and which can only save our nation from perdition.
Jos Residents Desert Streets Over Fear Of ViolenceFrom Isa Abdulsalami, Jos
Jos Residents Desert Streets Over Fear Of ViolenceFrom Isa Abdulsalami, Jos
Quite unlike the accustomed way the streets of Jos, the capital of Plateau State, throb with life, they were deserted yesterday by the residents who were gripped by the fear of a fresh outbreak of violence.
Parents who refused to come out from their homes equally did not send their wards to school, thereby making schools in the Jos metropolis empty.
The fear was triggered by a letter purportedly written "on behalf of Al-Qaeda Network of Islamic Revolution of Nigeria in conjunction with Jasawa Association in Plateau State" to destabilize the fragile peace in Jos.
But the Moslem community in Plateau State and Moslem Ummah in Jos North have dissociated themselves from the document, saying it was not only deliberate and malicious falsehood, but an attempt by some state government aides to further cause unrest in the community for their selfish ends.
According to the letter, the Moslem community is set to launch another attack on the indigenes and the Christian community. It also explained "why we must continue Jihad in Plateau State", adding that the state had made several promises to the Moslem citizens which it failed to fulfill.
But yesterday in a statement signed by Alhaji Sani Mudi, on behalf of its chairman, the Moslem Ummah accused the state government of unnecessarily heating up Jos without a cause, adding that "it was only a wild imagination of some government officials who sat down and wrote such a letter to project the Moslem Community in a bad light. The Jos North Moslem Ummah has further clearly discovered that, that document could not have emanated from any Moslem or Islamic organisation in view of the glaring spelling errors in some basic Islamic terms, as well as incoherent presentation of issues."
While calling on the state security agents to investigate the source of the letter, the Moslems also urged Governor Jonah Jang to caution his aides as "their actions are retrogressive" and capable of disrupting the hard-earned peace.
Responding, the state government through its Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dan Manjang said the letter could not have come from the same government that was doing everything to protect its citizens and to ensure that absolute peace was restored in the state. He said when the government got the rumour, it was wise to alert the security agents, since such rumours eventually turned out to be true in the past. He said the state would no longer allow itself to be caught unawares. Manjang further appealed to citizens for calm and report any suspicious moves to the government, adding that the security agents were not sleeping on duty, and would deal decisively with any one suspected to foment trouble.
Quite unlike the accustomed way the streets of Jos, the capital of Plateau State, throb with life, they were deserted yesterday by the residents who were gripped by the fear of a fresh outbreak of violence.
Parents who refused to come out from their homes equally did not send their wards to school, thereby making schools in the Jos metropolis empty.
The fear was triggered by a letter purportedly written "on behalf of Al-Qaeda Network of Islamic Revolution of Nigeria in conjunction with Jasawa Association in Plateau State" to destabilize the fragile peace in Jos.
But the Moslem community in Plateau State and Moslem Ummah in Jos North have dissociated themselves from the document, saying it was not only deliberate and malicious falsehood, but an attempt by some state government aides to further cause unrest in the community for their selfish ends.
According to the letter, the Moslem community is set to launch another attack on the indigenes and the Christian community. It also explained "why we must continue Jihad in Plateau State", adding that the state had made several promises to the Moslem citizens which it failed to fulfill.
But yesterday in a statement signed by Alhaji Sani Mudi, on behalf of its chairman, the Moslem Ummah accused the state government of unnecessarily heating up Jos without a cause, adding that "it was only a wild imagination of some government officials who sat down and wrote such a letter to project the Moslem Community in a bad light. The Jos North Moslem Ummah has further clearly discovered that, that document could not have emanated from any Moslem or Islamic organisation in view of the glaring spelling errors in some basic Islamic terms, as well as incoherent presentation of issues."
While calling on the state security agents to investigate the source of the letter, the Moslems also urged Governor Jonah Jang to caution his aides as "their actions are retrogressive" and capable of disrupting the hard-earned peace.
Responding, the state government through its Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dan Manjang said the letter could not have come from the same government that was doing everything to protect its citizens and to ensure that absolute peace was restored in the state. He said when the government got the rumour, it was wise to alert the security agents, since such rumours eventually turned out to be true in the past. He said the state would no longer allow itself to be caught unawares. Manjang further appealed to citizens for calm and report any suspicious moves to the government, adding that the security agents were not sleeping on duty, and would deal decisively with any one suspected to foment trouble.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
BOOK REVIEW: HOW EUROPE UNDERDEVELOPED AFRICA
BOOK TITLE – HOW EUROPE UNDERDEVELOPED AFRICA
AUTHOR –WALTER RODNEY (1972)
Re: Published by Panaf Publishing Incorporated, Abuja – Nigeria.
(By arrangement with Howard University Press, Washington)
Book page: 361 (Three Hundred and sixty one)
REVIEWER: NSE VICTOR O.
Modern Africa historians have correctly stressed that Africa had a meaningful past long before the coming of the Europeans. Also Africa has been argued to be the cradle of the world civilization, but whether or not Africa went to sleep or signed a supposed amiable pact with Europe and the Western Bloc which paved way for the woeful turn of events contemporary is contentions. For a full appreciated of the situation that present reputable scholars have argued that “for Africa to move forward, it must be understood backwards”.
It is based on the outlined issues sketched above that this book was written. The piece of literature is arranged in chapters from one to six with thought provoking and are stimulating issue at each chapter. A post script as well as a biography of the author is attached at the latter part of the literature. A chapter by chapter method of review have been adopted to do justice to this work for an incisive appreciation.
The conceptualization of the notion of development and underdevelopment took the central stage in the first chapter, as the author attempted a penetrating analysis into the duo concepts in order to demystify their justification of capitalism which myopically conceives economic development with little or no consideration for human social development.
Chapter two focused mainly on the developed nature of African territories before the coming of the Europeans up to the 15th century. The unique status of African civilization which is characterised by certain peculiarities some of which include the possession of distinct institutions/ideas of government etc as examplified by certain African territories like Egypt, Ethiopia, Nubia, Zimbabwe, the Maghreb, Western Sudan, etc were altered by culture contact which saw the infiltration of European civilization into the African system, though with its attendant consequence.
Africa’s contribution to European capitalist development during the pre-colonial period forced the major emphasis of chapter three. The unequal trade relations which saw the transfer of wealth from Africa to Europe was a direct consequence of trade internationalization which elevated Europe’s status as the dominant section of world wide trade system. By extension, the author argued that Africa’s contribution to the development of beliefs of early capitalists Europe was a confirmation of the dependent status of the European national economies which is in interconnectivity wit the world at large.
The fourth chapter is entitled Europe and the Roots of African underdevelopment to 1885. It evaluates the European slave trace as a dominant factor in African underdevelopment, all in the interest of European capitalism. Further, a penetrating discuss on the advancement of Europe technology as against that of Africa which is stagnant ( this culminating into a distorted economy) was evaluated.
Again, the continuing political/military development in Africa from about 1500 to 1885 was attributed to the imperialist incursion /scramble were African territories were partitioned in accordance with the sphere of interest of the colonizers with colonialism as a major expression in the entire process.
An assessment of African contribution to the capitalist development of Europe during the colonial period was discussed in chapter five. The author argued that the unequal international division of labour automatically assigned Africa the status of a primary producer whose surplus is extracted and channeled to the development of the metropolis at the expense of the satellite. Furthermore, it was argued that colonialism brought forth additional non-monetary proceed to the colonizers asides the conventional monetary rewards.
The sixth chapter attempts a rationalization of the colonial incursion, that is drawing a balance sheet of the effects of the brutal, nasty and obnoxious experience. The author argued contrary to pervasive sentiments displayed by bourgeois scholars who argue in favour of the good side of colonialism outweighing the bad side. Rodney, Opined that this contention is completely false. Colonialism had only one hand- it was a one-armed bandit. (Rodney, 1972: 247). This further saw to the power seizure from Africa which had damaging consequences socially. Economically and politically.
The structure of the colonial education system was not left out in the entire manipulation in consonance with the perpetuation of the existence of colonial dominance.
The last segment of this chapter (Development by contradiction) illustrates ‘white man in black man skin’, that is the withdrawal of direct control by colonizers with an attendant installation of indigenous incorporated dependent bourgeois comparados (tried and tested puppets in the hands of metropolitan superpowers) whose services are comparable to a conduit perpetuancy Africa’s underdevelopment.
This piece of literature is not without criticisms despite its wide range coverage. The author was not ignorant of certain positive features of colonialism rather he opined that they were grossly inconsequential when placed side by side it negative effects. In a much as this is contentious, critics have argued that the author was propelled by a value considered as being extreme in its bias in favour of the periphery.
Critiques have further argued that contemporary African territories have come of age after years of independence, it is absurd to hinge underdevelopment issues on the mythology of imperialism and colonialism as underdevelopment and development are both states of mind”.
The prevalence of this piece of literature cannot be overemphasized especially in the continent of Africa where the wind of globalization has almost blown off senses of our authentic ancestral antecedents. Though modernization and westernization have eaten up almost the entire fabrics of Africa but these phenomena have witnessed an extensive investigation into its realities and have formulated strategies and tactics of African emancipation and development which is situated in this book.
I recommend this scholarly, well edited piece to all African students and lecturers to further remain conscientized on the social realities of their contemporary world.
AUTHOR –WALTER RODNEY (1972)
Re: Published by Panaf Publishing Incorporated, Abuja – Nigeria.
(By arrangement with Howard University Press, Washington)
Book page: 361 (Three Hundred and sixty one)
REVIEWER: NSE VICTOR O.
Modern Africa historians have correctly stressed that Africa had a meaningful past long before the coming of the Europeans. Also Africa has been argued to be the cradle of the world civilization, but whether or not Africa went to sleep or signed a supposed amiable pact with Europe and the Western Bloc which paved way for the woeful turn of events contemporary is contentions. For a full appreciated of the situation that present reputable scholars have argued that “for Africa to move forward, it must be understood backwards”.
It is based on the outlined issues sketched above that this book was written. The piece of literature is arranged in chapters from one to six with thought provoking and are stimulating issue at each chapter. A post script as well as a biography of the author is attached at the latter part of the literature. A chapter by chapter method of review have been adopted to do justice to this work for an incisive appreciation.
The conceptualization of the notion of development and underdevelopment took the central stage in the first chapter, as the author attempted a penetrating analysis into the duo concepts in order to demystify their justification of capitalism which myopically conceives economic development with little or no consideration for human social development.
Chapter two focused mainly on the developed nature of African territories before the coming of the Europeans up to the 15th century. The unique status of African civilization which is characterised by certain peculiarities some of which include the possession of distinct institutions/ideas of government etc as examplified by certain African territories like Egypt, Ethiopia, Nubia, Zimbabwe, the Maghreb, Western Sudan, etc were altered by culture contact which saw the infiltration of European civilization into the African system, though with its attendant consequence.
Africa’s contribution to European capitalist development during the pre-colonial period forced the major emphasis of chapter three. The unequal trade relations which saw the transfer of wealth from Africa to Europe was a direct consequence of trade internationalization which elevated Europe’s status as the dominant section of world wide trade system. By extension, the author argued that Africa’s contribution to the development of beliefs of early capitalists Europe was a confirmation of the dependent status of the European national economies which is in interconnectivity wit the world at large.
The fourth chapter is entitled Europe and the Roots of African underdevelopment to 1885. It evaluates the European slave trace as a dominant factor in African underdevelopment, all in the interest of European capitalism. Further, a penetrating discuss on the advancement of Europe technology as against that of Africa which is stagnant ( this culminating into a distorted economy) was evaluated.
Again, the continuing political/military development in Africa from about 1500 to 1885 was attributed to the imperialist incursion /scramble were African territories were partitioned in accordance with the sphere of interest of the colonizers with colonialism as a major expression in the entire process.
An assessment of African contribution to the capitalist development of Europe during the colonial period was discussed in chapter five. The author argued that the unequal international division of labour automatically assigned Africa the status of a primary producer whose surplus is extracted and channeled to the development of the metropolis at the expense of the satellite. Furthermore, it was argued that colonialism brought forth additional non-monetary proceed to the colonizers asides the conventional monetary rewards.
The sixth chapter attempts a rationalization of the colonial incursion, that is drawing a balance sheet of the effects of the brutal, nasty and obnoxious experience. The author argued contrary to pervasive sentiments displayed by bourgeois scholars who argue in favour of the good side of colonialism outweighing the bad side. Rodney, Opined that this contention is completely false. Colonialism had only one hand- it was a one-armed bandit. (Rodney, 1972: 247). This further saw to the power seizure from Africa which had damaging consequences socially. Economically and politically.
The structure of the colonial education system was not left out in the entire manipulation in consonance with the perpetuation of the existence of colonial dominance.
The last segment of this chapter (Development by contradiction) illustrates ‘white man in black man skin’, that is the withdrawal of direct control by colonizers with an attendant installation of indigenous incorporated dependent bourgeois comparados (tried and tested puppets in the hands of metropolitan superpowers) whose services are comparable to a conduit perpetuancy Africa’s underdevelopment.
This piece of literature is not without criticisms despite its wide range coverage. The author was not ignorant of certain positive features of colonialism rather he opined that they were grossly inconsequential when placed side by side it negative effects. In a much as this is contentious, critics have argued that the author was propelled by a value considered as being extreme in its bias in favour of the periphery.
Critiques have further argued that contemporary African territories have come of age after years of independence, it is absurd to hinge underdevelopment issues on the mythology of imperialism and colonialism as underdevelopment and development are both states of mind”.
The prevalence of this piece of literature cannot be overemphasized especially in the continent of Africa where the wind of globalization has almost blown off senses of our authentic ancestral antecedents. Though modernization and westernization have eaten up almost the entire fabrics of Africa but these phenomena have witnessed an extensive investigation into its realities and have formulated strategies and tactics of African emancipation and development which is situated in this book.
I recommend this scholarly, well edited piece to all African students and lecturers to further remain conscientized on the social realities of their contemporary world.
BOOK REVIEW:
BOOK TITLE – HOW EUROPE UNDERDEVELOPED AFRICA
AUTHOR –WALTER RODNEY (1972)
Re: Published by Panaf Publishing Incorporated, Abuja – Nigeria.
(By arrangement with Howard University Press, Washington)
Book page: 361 (Three Hundred and sixty one)
Name: NWOSU CHIGOZIE
Reg. No: 07294162
Modern Africa historians have correctly stressed that Africa had a meaningful past long before the coming of the Europeans. Also Africa has been argued to be the cradle of the world civilization, but whether or not Africa went to sleep or signed a supposed amiable pact with Europe and the Western Bloc which paved way for the woeful turn of events contemporary is contentions. For a full appreciated of the situation that present reputable scholars have argued that “for Africa to move forward, it must be understood backwards”.
It is based on the outlined issues sketched above that this book was written. The piece of literature is arranged in chapters from one to six with thought provoking and are stimulating issue at each chapter. A post script as well as a biography of the author is attached at the latter part of the literature. A chapter by chapter method of review have been adopted to do justice to this work for an incisive appreciation.
The conceptualization of the notion of development and underdevelopment took the central stage in the first chapter, as the author attempted a penetrating analysis into the duo concepts in order to demystify their justification of capitalism which myopically conceives economic development with little or no consideration for human social development.
Chapter two focused mainly on the developed nature of African territories before the coming of the Europeans up to the 15th century. The unique status of African civilization which is characterised by certain peculiarities some of which include the possession of distinct institutions/ideas of government etc as examplified by certain African territories like Egypt, Ethiopia, Nubia, Zimbabwe, the Maghreb, Western Sudan, etc were altered by culture contact which saw the infiltration of European civilization into the African system, though with its attendant consequence.
Africa’s contribution to European capitalist development during the pre-colonial period forced the major emphasis of chapter three. The unequal trade relations which saw the transfer of wealth from Africa to Europe was a direct consequence of trade internationalization which elevated Europe’s status as the dominant section of world wide trade system. By extension, the author argued that Africa’s contribution to the development of beliefs of early capitalists Europe was a confirmation of the dependent status of the European national economies which is in interconnectivity wit the world at large.
The fourth chapter is entitled Europe and the Roots of African underdevelopment to 1885. It evaluates the European slave trace as a dominant factor in African underdevelopment, all in the interest of European capitalism. Further, a penetrating discuss on the advancement of Europe technology as against that of Africa which is stagnant ( this culminating into a distorted economy) was evaluated.
Again, the continuing political/military development in Africa from about 1500 to 1885 was attributed to the imperialist incursion /scramble were African territories were partitioned in accordance with the sphere of interest of the colonizers with colonialism as a major expression in the entire process.
An assessment of African contribution to the capitalist development of Europe during the colonial period was discussed in chapter five. The author argued that the unequal international division of labour automatically assigned Africa the status of a primary producer whose surplus is extracted and channeled to the development of the metropolis at the expense of the satellite. Furthermore, it was argued that colonialism brought forth additional non-monetary proceed to the colonizers asides the conventional monetary rewards.
The sixth chapter attempts a rationalization of the colonial incursion, that is drawing a balance sheet of the effects of the brutal, nasty and obnoxious experience. The author argued contrary to pervasive sentiments displayed by bourgeois scholars who argue in favour of the good side of colonialism outweighing the bad side. Rodney, Opined that this contention is completely false. Colonialism had only one hand- it was a one-armed bandit. (Rodney, 1972: 247). This further saw to the power seizure from Africa which had damaging consequences socially. Economically and politically.
The structure of the colonial education system was not left out in the entire manipulation in consonance with the perpetuation of the existence of colonial dominance.
The last segment of this chapter (Development by contradiction) illustrates ‘white man in black man skin’, that is the withdrawal of direct control by colonizers with an attendant installation of indigenous incorporated dependent bourgeois comparados (tried and tested puppets in the hands of metropolitan superpowers) whose services are comparable to a conduit perpetuancy Africa’s underdevelopment.
This piece of literature is not without criticisms despite its wide range coverage. The author was not ignorant of certain positive features of colonialism rather he opined that they were grossly inconsequential when placed side by side it negative effects. In a much as this is contentious, critics have argued that the author was propelled by a value considered as being extreme in its bias in favour of the periphery.
Critiques have further argued that contemporary African territories have come of age after years of independence, it is absurd to hinge underdevelopment issues on the mythology of imperialism and colonialism as underdevelopment and development are both states of mind”.
The prevalence of this piece of literature cannot be overemphasized especially in the continent of Africa where the wind of globalization has almost blown off senses of our authentic ancestral antecedents. Though modernization and westernization have eaten up almost the entire fabrics of Africa but these phenomena have witnessed an extensive investigation into its realities and have formulated strategies and tactics of African emancipation and development which is situated in this book.
I recommend this scholarly, well edited piece to all African students and lecturers to further remain conscientized on the social realities of their contemporary world.
AUTHOR –WALTER RODNEY (1972)
Re: Published by Panaf Publishing Incorporated, Abuja – Nigeria.
(By arrangement with Howard University Press, Washington)
Book page: 361 (Three Hundred and sixty one)
Name: NWOSU CHIGOZIE
Reg. No: 07294162
Modern Africa historians have correctly stressed that Africa had a meaningful past long before the coming of the Europeans. Also Africa has been argued to be the cradle of the world civilization, but whether or not Africa went to sleep or signed a supposed amiable pact with Europe and the Western Bloc which paved way for the woeful turn of events contemporary is contentions. For a full appreciated of the situation that present reputable scholars have argued that “for Africa to move forward, it must be understood backwards”.
It is based on the outlined issues sketched above that this book was written. The piece of literature is arranged in chapters from one to six with thought provoking and are stimulating issue at each chapter. A post script as well as a biography of the author is attached at the latter part of the literature. A chapter by chapter method of review have been adopted to do justice to this work for an incisive appreciation.
The conceptualization of the notion of development and underdevelopment took the central stage in the first chapter, as the author attempted a penetrating analysis into the duo concepts in order to demystify their justification of capitalism which myopically conceives economic development with little or no consideration for human social development.
Chapter two focused mainly on the developed nature of African territories before the coming of the Europeans up to the 15th century. The unique status of African civilization which is characterised by certain peculiarities some of which include the possession of distinct institutions/ideas of government etc as examplified by certain African territories like Egypt, Ethiopia, Nubia, Zimbabwe, the Maghreb, Western Sudan, etc were altered by culture contact which saw the infiltration of European civilization into the African system, though with its attendant consequence.
Africa’s contribution to European capitalist development during the pre-colonial period forced the major emphasis of chapter three. The unequal trade relations which saw the transfer of wealth from Africa to Europe was a direct consequence of trade internationalization which elevated Europe’s status as the dominant section of world wide trade system. By extension, the author argued that Africa’s contribution to the development of beliefs of early capitalists Europe was a confirmation of the dependent status of the European national economies which is in interconnectivity wit the world at large.
The fourth chapter is entitled Europe and the Roots of African underdevelopment to 1885. It evaluates the European slave trace as a dominant factor in African underdevelopment, all in the interest of European capitalism. Further, a penetrating discuss on the advancement of Europe technology as against that of Africa which is stagnant ( this culminating into a distorted economy) was evaluated.
Again, the continuing political/military development in Africa from about 1500 to 1885 was attributed to the imperialist incursion /scramble were African territories were partitioned in accordance with the sphere of interest of the colonizers with colonialism as a major expression in the entire process.
An assessment of African contribution to the capitalist development of Europe during the colonial period was discussed in chapter five. The author argued that the unequal international division of labour automatically assigned Africa the status of a primary producer whose surplus is extracted and channeled to the development of the metropolis at the expense of the satellite. Furthermore, it was argued that colonialism brought forth additional non-monetary proceed to the colonizers asides the conventional monetary rewards.
The sixth chapter attempts a rationalization of the colonial incursion, that is drawing a balance sheet of the effects of the brutal, nasty and obnoxious experience. The author argued contrary to pervasive sentiments displayed by bourgeois scholars who argue in favour of the good side of colonialism outweighing the bad side. Rodney, Opined that this contention is completely false. Colonialism had only one hand- it was a one-armed bandit. (Rodney, 1972: 247). This further saw to the power seizure from Africa which had damaging consequences socially. Economically and politically.
The structure of the colonial education system was not left out in the entire manipulation in consonance with the perpetuation of the existence of colonial dominance.
The last segment of this chapter (Development by contradiction) illustrates ‘white man in black man skin’, that is the withdrawal of direct control by colonizers with an attendant installation of indigenous incorporated dependent bourgeois comparados (tried and tested puppets in the hands of metropolitan superpowers) whose services are comparable to a conduit perpetuancy Africa’s underdevelopment.
This piece of literature is not without criticisms despite its wide range coverage. The author was not ignorant of certain positive features of colonialism rather he opined that they were grossly inconsequential when placed side by side it negative effects. In a much as this is contentious, critics have argued that the author was propelled by a value considered as being extreme in its bias in favour of the periphery.
Critiques have further argued that contemporary African territories have come of age after years of independence, it is absurd to hinge underdevelopment issues on the mythology of imperialism and colonialism as underdevelopment and development are both states of mind”.
The prevalence of this piece of literature cannot be overemphasized especially in the continent of Africa where the wind of globalization has almost blown off senses of our authentic ancestral antecedents. Though modernization and westernization have eaten up almost the entire fabrics of Africa but these phenomena have witnessed an extensive investigation into its realities and have formulated strategies and tactics of African emancipation and development which is situated in this book.
I recommend this scholarly, well edited piece to all African students and lecturers to further remain conscientized on the social realities of their contemporary world.
GUIDANCE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH PSYCHOLOGY, CURRICULUM, ADMINISTRATION, DISCIPLINE, COMMUNITY
GUIDANCE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH PSYCHOLOGY, CURRICULUM, ADMINISTRATION, DISCIPLINE AND THE COMMUNITY
Introduction
Education as a concept is a process of socialization of the child so that he becomes useful to himself and the society to which he belongs and be accepted by that society.
Guidance emerged as a rescuer of drowning educational processes, and so guidance is operational, functional and remedial. It is an essential and indispensable component in education. Hence, guidance was introduced in schools for socio-personal adjustment. Lack of this adjustment among school students can work against the successful realization of educational aims and objectives.
For an effective achievement of educational goals, there must be an inter-play of the school curriculum which encompasses all the activities involved in the school guidance. It provides persona-social sanity for teaching. Learning transaction based on the curriculum and administration involves the systematic organisation of the activities and their components so as to enhance a decent continuity of the educational process.
Guidance is an integral part of the total educational programme; it can benefit from as well as make useful contributions to other aspects of the school programme such as psychology curriculum, administration, discipline and the community.
GUIDANCE AND PSYCHOLOGY
Ekanem and Enoh (2005) defined Guidance as a process or service which helps in directing an individual to resolve his or her problems.
Akinade, (1996) defined Psychology as a scientific discipline that studies behaviour and the behavioral manifestations of experiences in human and other animals.
Guidance is related to Psychology in that both are fields of study that deals with shaping of human behaviour. Guidance and Psychology aim at modifying the behaviour of individuals to enable them understand themselves. The principles of Guidance and Psychology are geared towards preventing and reducing problems in the society. Their concepts are used in the educational system such as the school to make learners learn effectively.
In Educational Psychology therefore, the counselors who deal with human nature play a lot of roles in the lives of individuals both in the school and outside the school.
According to Makinde, (1983) three important roles should be specified for school counselors for effective guidance:
1) Rehabilitative role: This deals with helping people who are presently in difficulty.
2) Preventive Role: This is concerned with anticipating, circumventing and if possible, forestalling difficulties which may arise in the future and prevent them from occurring.
3) Educative and Developmental Role: This is concern with helping individuals to plan, obtained and derive maximum benefits from educational, school, vocational and other kinds of experiences which will enable these individuals discover and develop their potentials.
He said further that the counseling psychologists should:
i) Provide the individual and group guidance and counseling services in schools, colleges and Universities; hospitals, clinics, rehabilitation centres and industries. This is done with the aim of assisting individuals in achieving more effective personal, social, educational and vocational development.
ii) He should collect data about the individuals through the use of interview, case history and observational techniques.
iii) He should select, administer, scores and interprets psychological tests designed to assists, applying /using his knowledge of statistical analysis.
iv) Evaluate data to identify the causes of problem. This will help to determine whether the counselor should handle the case or refer it to other specialists.
v) Conduct counseling or therapeutic interview so as to define goals and plan action that will reflect their interests, abilities and needs.
vi) Provide occupational, educational and other information that will enable individuals to make more realistic educational and vocational plans.
vii) Follow-up counseling results that will determine the reliability and validity of the treatment used.
viii) Engage in research that will help develop and improve diagnostic and counseling techniques.
GUIDANCE AND SCHOOL CURRICULUM
Denga, (2001) defines curriculum as the complete school environment encompassing academic programmes, co-curricular activities of students and other learning experiences organized under the auspices of the school.
Generally, curriculum includes the complete school environment. This includes courses, activities, and other things which are arranged to advantage students’ knowledge, exposure and ability.
Okon (1984) defines the school curriculum as:
“The sum total of all suspended learning experiences of the school whether they are in class or out of class, on the campus or off the school campus. It includes the complete school environment, course or school subjects. The Curriculum includes all planned school activities including, courses of study, organized play, athletics, dramatics and clubs. Each school, college and University has its specific curricular activities designed to suit the needs of the learners and society. The Curriculum is a planned learning activity engaged in by the learners to induct them into society”.
As society changes, school curricular change when there is a serious societal change, the school curricular is affected and therefore care and attention should be given to its purpose and content. More so, in a rapidly changing society like ours, the policies of education should be constantly revised to meet the needs of people since according to Denga, (2001) curricular objectives are derived from the subject matter, the content, teaching, assessment and evaluation.
A deficient curriculum does not take care of all the needs of an individual in the school. For instance in Nigeria, we concentrate on subject and classroom (i.e. cognitive) without doing anything about the adjustment and social life of the learner. If an individual is to achieve satisfaction and meet his needs from his experiences in the school, then the school should be able to address the purposes for which the child is in the school and also what the society needs from the school. So to support the development approach of the school objectives, it is necessary to inter-relate Guidance programme with the curriculum contents because both of them help in the complete education of the learner.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GUIDANCE AND CURRICULUM Guidance as an educational service permeates the determination of curricular objectives, contents, teaching, assessment and evaluation Denga, (2001). A nation may decide to fashion its educational system towards vocational emphasis in order to boost or increase the required manpower for socio-economic and technological development, Oladele J.O. (2000). This was the philosophy behind the introduction of the 6334 system of education in Nigeria. National Policy on Education (1981). The skills were taught by the teachers but the placement were effected by appraising the students attitudes, interests, personality and placing them into appropriate educational programmes and it was the work of Guidance Counsellor. The Counselor needs to take part in planning the learning experiences, assist teachers by removing all personal, social, emotional, and other things that run against learning. Denga, (2001)
From the above, it is clear that Guidance and Curriculum activities are related because they help the individual to achieve their highest potential and are able to have self direction.
Although, Guidance and Curriculum are related, they are wide apart on their methods of operations. The first is that distinct specialists are required in each field to render distinct, complex activities. The second point is that Curriculum deals with large groups of students while Guidance is individualized.
The third is that Guidance unlike School curriculum deals on the need of individual to have self knowledge, know their strengths, weaknesses, interests, values, and aspirations. Guidance deals in the affective domain of a child which calls for a modification in teaching strategies to suit the vocational needs of the individual while Curriculum stresses the skills, Denga (2001)
Anther difference lies on the fact that learning experiences provided through the curricular are for groups of students and for the needs of the society, these could be in the area of specific manpower, discipline citizens, community health needs etc. While the learning experiences provided by Guidance are for individuals.
The fifth and maybe the most crucial is that the emphasis of learning by Guidance is the learner itself. This is because the subject of the learning experience is the learner himself.
From the above, it is clear that Guidance and Curriculum though share in the need to help students, they are not the same, but whether they are relevant to one another or not, there is a need for one to complement the other, because none can replace the other.
GUIDANCE CONTRIBUTIONS TO CURRICULUM
Guidance and Counseling seeks to help an individual develop his or her potentials and so, the counselor should take part in curricular activities that will make the students abilities and interest to develop.
One, in placing a child in curricular activities the counselor can help the school administration, teachers and parents with the implications, applications of child development process and how individuals are different so the students are helped to choose circular activities that are best suited for each child to develop their skills and potentials.
Two, the Counselor can give the teacher data concerning a student so that the teacher can individualize instructions. For example, when a student is having learning difficulties, the counselor can diagnose and advice the teacher on what to do, it could be giving extra lesson, paying close attention or other remedial programmes, Denga (2001).
Three, the Counselor can help teachers with facts they got from administering test to students to know their abilities, so that the teachers could enlighten the parent about the weaknesses and strengths of their children to avoid them making unrealistic demands. Guidance Counselors can meet with Curricular Planners and provide them the ability range, achievements, strengths and weaknesses of student population in order to help the planners modify the curricular. For instance after research, the counselor might meet with the curriculum planners and tell them about their findings that what is being taught is above the capabilities of the child at that stage.
CURRICULUM CONTRIBUTIONS TO GUIDANCE
Curriculum exposes the students to a variety of knowledge that will help in their various occupational learning. A well planned curriculum contributes to the development of the individual.
One, a well planned curriculum provides all or most of the information or knowledge a student will need to pursue a vocation. Classes should include the environmental information on the vocations, the job satisfaction, hazards and rewards derived from being in such occupations.
Secondly, the curriculum should be broad and versed. For instance, there is arts, sciences, crafts etc. this allows the individual to flow into a vocation that best suits his personality and interest. Somebody who wants to be a sports person should have every opportunity to actualize his dreams. A dramatist should be allowed to flourish.
Thirdly, school curriculum should be flexible; students should easily rotate, or explore themselves. A science student who likes to draw should be encouraged to decipher if he just likes to draw and paint generally or should be an architect. With the availability of choices he could sort out the type of person he is and the vocation he should be in.
In summary, both Guidance and Curriculum could work co-operatively in planning, extensively and evaluating school programme. The data gotten through cooperative research could help revise curriculum and Guidance Services.
GUIDANCE AND SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION
According to Denga, (2001) Educational administration is defined as a process of planning directing, coordinating and modifying the efforts of people and in several cases, machinery towards the achievements of the organizational goals.
Administration when applied to a school organisation helps in the learning and teaching process by making appropriate arrangement to enable the school realize its purpose. The way the school conducts itself or operates is largely determined by the administrative style.
Therefore, the need for professional administrative leadership cannot be overemphasized. The headmaster or principal of a school are administrative leaders who coordinates the staff to achieve a desired goal. One of which is effective teaching and learning, another is creating a good environment for learning.
Guidance Relationship with Administration
The above administrative function shows the relationship between Guidance and Administration. Administration helps the school ensure its goals. School administrators ensure that the schools function efficiently. Administrators provide the infrastructures, personnel, and are responsible for students’ welfare. Nevertheless, the school administration is concerned about what happens to the students and their training, so they introduce a school counselor to the school and school community, thus, initiating the guidance programme. Any school administrator who wants the school system to run well recruits human and material resources for all the programmes including guidance and counseling services. Guidance is related to school administration because it is responsible for preserving and protecting the individuals within the organisation of the school. While Guidance is structured to help individuals attain their goals within the system, the Administration provides good environment for learning.
School Administrator Contribution to Guidance
1) The School Administrators make provision of finance and personnel for effective running of the Guidance programme.
2) They provide office space, bulleting, boards, filling cabinets, equipment. Like TV or radio, Carriers, library and other facilities Oladele (1987).
3) They make sure that guidance and counseling are put on the time-table and to see that time is effectively utilized.
4) They provide and allow for publicity of the programme to the students, staff, parents and the community.
5) Then allow for interaction between staff, parents and the community.
6) Then allow for interaction between staff, parents and the community on the Guidance Programme being done in the school to help them to fully understand their use and their input to the Guidance programme.
7) Above all, they provide leadership for the guidance programme so that the service will be well executed.
8) Allow the Counselor to go for conferences, meetings etc and also the teachers should be encouraged to attend too.
GUIDANCE CONTRIBUTION TO ADMINISTRATION
1) Guidance through research data on student’s progress in school and out of school will be able to gauge if the school is achieving its goals.
2) Guidance provides data on students to help need identification and to help to provide this need. For instance a child having difficulty in learning would be help by the data provided to the teacher by the Counselor.
3) Guidance focuses on curbing student interest through proactive and remedial measures, also through the application of psychological tools and knowledge. For instance the knowledge of any school reoccurring problem coupled with the knowledge of adolescent behavior, a Counselor can stop or manage dangerous trend that might affect the smooth running of the school.
4) Guidance helps students achieve self realization, understanding, direction and actualization.
GUIDANCE AND SCHOOL DISCIPLINE
When there is violence or any act of indiscipline in the school, the principal or the head of the school recover most of the blame. There is a lapse in administration of a school that has unrest.
Hence students discipline remains and forms a great part of the school administration. It will help the school administration to work effectively and for the general conducive environment for leaning if the school counselor is allowed to function effectively and does help to curb the unrest.
What is discipline?
There has been a misconception of the word discipline. Many think that discipline means class control or a system where nobody speaks or move around but does anything in accordance to some rules and regulation. They feel discipline should be enforced and maintained through any means no matter how rough. So degrees of punishment are given to make sure nobody go away or everybody stay in line. But researches have proved that it’s not always like that.
Discipline can mean the way in which a teacher operates in a class or the way an individual is trained to follow rules that have been established by any authority. It can also mean punishment; Lee (1963) defines discipline as a function of power. It could be external, defective and threatening. It is external because it is from the authority, directive because it involves specific things to be done or undone. It is threatening because punishment is disconcerting.
Howard, (1996) said that the word discipline, comes from the root word disciplinare to teach or instruct, it refers to the system of teaching and nurturing that prepares children to achieve competence, self control, self direction and caring for others.
Discipline could be classified into five broad areas; developmental, authority responsive, preventive, and corrective or rehabilitative. Tan, (2002)
Discipline is rehabilitative in function. It is a reconstructive effort to make individuals change and do well.
Discipline can also be preventive, when discipline is a focused training to develop self control, individuals finds it easy to repress misbehavior. The environment encourages the discovery of self and helps one to accept and develop good social standards; in this case it is developmental. Discipline can also be said to be Authority responsive, Tan (2002). The aim of any discipline is to help individual inculcate the habit of respect for the rule of law and order.
Nevertheless, the counselor view of discipline is that of correcting the underlying cause of indiscipline than the external maintenance of social control. Active rehabilitative methods are needed to transform misbehavior to an enlightened self directed behavior Howard, (1996).
So the concept of discipline should involve the encouragement and assistance that permits good attitudes and feelings for productive and constructive living.
Cause of indiscipline in schools
According to Chauhan, (1978) there is a trading of responsibility between the schools and the parents. Parents criticize the school that they do not discipline the students very well while the school on the other hand blames parents that they do not train their children in fundamental social etiquettes.
The following factors may lead to indiscipline in schools.
1. Location, if the school is located near a market or near a big commercial centre. Chauhan, (1978)
2 Lack of discipline, if there is no discipline or the discipline is too strict, when there is arbitrarily use of Authority, high handedness.
3 Emotional climate of the school, when the teachers fight themselves or the school administrator, and the students are associated with the politics involved, when there is oppression and ill treatment of new or Junior Students by the Senior Students, the percentage of indiscipline will increase.
4 Lack of school facilities like fence and gate, amenities and essential services like good food or poor food services in the dinning, lack of teachers, chairs and tables, light, water, textbooks, laboratory equipment, toilets, etc.
5 Partiality. Sometimes teachers have pets and they give them undue attention and advantages. Their behavior and treatment with children of the class is unfair and partial. This teacher’s attitude creates these favorites or pets, and at times this result in permanent grouping among student.
6. Meaningless and narrow school curriculum when the school curriculum is broad, versed and flexible as mentioned earlier the students find school exciting and engaging for instance, they not only do bookish work or use their cognitive domain only, their affective and psychomotor domains are involved. This is by diversifying the curriculum to include games, debate library, excursion, drama, scouting etc, all these not only engages the students but also teach them morals. The reverse is the case when the curriculum is meaningless, narrow, and defective.
7 Indiscipline in students sometimes originates from the home or within the students themselves. When a student has problem at home as a result of unsteady or polygamous home the tendency to be unruly, to let out steam negatively will be there.
8 Lack of understanding and guidance. When the school does not understand the need of the student neither communicates with them by promptly meeting their grievances, developing extra curriculum activities to meet their needs, the students could be frustrated and these will manifest in anti-social activities. When a school has a guidance service instituted and functional most of these problems will be nipped in the bud.
Strategies for Effective Discipline in Schools
Effective discipline according to Howard, (1991) requires three essential components:
· Use of positive reinforcement strategies to increase desired behaviors.
· Removing reinforcement or applying punishment to reduce or eliminate undesired behaviors.
· Promoting Optimal Parent-Child Relationships and Reinforcing Positive Behaviors.
Strategies for parents, Schools and other caregivers that help children learn positive behaviors include:
providing regular positive attention, sometimes called special time (opportunities to communicate positively are important for children of all ages);
listening carefully to children and helping them learn to use words to express their feelings;
providing children with opportunities to make choices whenever appropriate options exist and then helping them learn to evaluate the potential consequences of their choice;
Reinforcing emerging desirable behaviors with frequent praise and ignoring trivial misdeeds; and modeling orderly, predictable behavior, respectful communication, and collaborative conflict resolution strategies. Kohlberg, (1964)
Guidance contribution to school discipline
There are so many cases of indiscipline in schools. Really, an individual who misbehave have an underlying problem or unsatisfied needs. Using punishment, without an organized plan to remove the cause does not necessary stop the indiscipline. The work of guidance service can not be downplayed in the fight against indiscipline in schools. Students can be helped to grow toward self discipline only as they understand their behavior and the way it affects others and themselves.
Where there is discipline, administration of any social system, organization will be easy. Where discipline is lacking, punishment alone does not provide the solution. Hence guidance and counseling play a vital role in helping individuals attain self discipline person- social and environmental satisfaction. This it does through exposing and taking care of the aspect of life that cause dissatisfaction maladjustment, violence and aggression.
The need for counselors in school discipline;
1. Helping to institute disciplinary codes that are preventive, developmental and rehabilitative or corrective.
2 Helping teachers, parents to notice or identify an early case of indiscipline so offer help to the student involved.
3 Helping the school administration in planning the school extra curricula activities and giving the teachers some activities that will help students who misbehave.
4 Easy referrals encourage teachers to notify counselors of potential disciplinary cases.
5 Being in constant touch with the students to know when an issue needs early attention.
In summary, treatment and prevention of indiscipline in schools should not just be punitive but rehabilitative, developmental and preventive. Tan, (2002)
Effective discipline requires re-education, compromise, information, intervention, arbitration persuasion and counseling among others.
The school can do a great lot to prevent indiscipline such as providing good atmosphere devoid of tensions, facilities, understanding and knowing the students. According to Nenmeyer, (1961) in Chauhan, (1978), the school has an important role to play to indiscipline.
GUIDANCE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COMMUNITY
The school exists for the community; this is because education is needed by all in the community. The desire to attain, work and be relevant is the goal of every body in the community and so people send their children to school for this goal to be achieved, without the problem of dropouts and delinquencies which in turn becomes a nuisance to the community, there is need for guidance services. On the other hand the community supports guidance in many ways, in supplying human and material resources to the school also provides for guidance services.
Educational guidance, as was said earlier is important in helping students who are members of the community, stay in school and because self actualized. They are then ploughed back to the community to help build it.
Social Guidance is also another area Guidance enhances the community. This service covers the industries, and work places for workers to have job satisfaction, the hospitals for workers job satisfaction, special counselling and psychotherapy services given to patients. In the social welfare; family, persona-social guidance and marriage guidance is given, all these are aimed at improving the quality of life in the society.
For the reasons given above and many more the provision of guidance services in the community and school can not be compromised. The reduction of suicide cares arising from problems in the home, at work, relationships and other causes of hopelessness are the benefit accruing from the community- Guidance relationship.
Contributions of Community to Guidance
There is need for cooperation between guidance and the community. The community apart from providing human and material resources has agencies provided by the Government and private organizations. Places like the juvenile centres, Library, old people homes, motherless babies’ home etc. can be a good resource centre providing data, career information, avenues for guidance service and other resources.
Contributions of Guidance to community
· Counsellors are Liaison officers between the school, teachers and the parents in the community.
· The counsellor helps the parents or the community through consultation and meetings to understand and get along with their children.
· Guidance service can help the community in avoiding break down of law and other.
· Through conferences, PTAs, consultations, community members should be brought into the school. They should be helped to understand the workings and goals of the school and in what ways they can better relate and help each other.
Conclusions
Guidance, school Administration, school discipline and the community play an interwoven role, and contribute to each other for efficiency to be achieved in the school system- which will alternately help the student to achieve success. Relationships among these sectors are being encouraged through Guidance Services. These sectors should play their part effectively in helping the school achieve its purpose students for the ultimate goal of life fulfillment
REFERENCES
Chauhan, S.S. (1978) Advanced Educational Psychology, Vikas Publishing, House, PVT ltd., New Deilhi
Denga, D.I. (1983) The Counsellor in a Developing Nation: Problems and Prospects 3rd edn. Rapid Educational publishers ltd. Calabar
Howard, B.J. (1996) Advising Parents on Discipline, what works. Pediatrics Pg 98,
Howard B.J. (1991) Discipline in early childhood. Pediatr Clin North Am.;38:1351-1369
Ikeotuonye, A.I., Olufegba, and Gambari, (1990) eds. Career Guidance, Hudahuda Publishing, Company. Zaria
Kohlberg L. (1964) Development of moral character and moral ideology. In: Hoffman ML, Hoffman LW, eds. Review of Child Development Research. New York, NY: Russell-Sage Foundation; 383-431
National Policy on Education, (1981) pg 16-21
Okon, S.A. (1984) Guidance for 6-3-3-4 system of Education. Nigerian Institute of Education Printing Press. A.B.U Zaria
Oladele, J.O. (1987) Guidance and Counselling, a Functional Approach. 1st edn. Johnson-Lad Publishers
Oladele, J.O. (2000) Guidance and Counselling, a Functional Approach. 3rd edn. Johnson-Lad Publishers
Tan, E. (2000) Care and Control: On the relationship between Discipline and Counselling in education Discipline and Counselling, Vol. 5 No. 5
Williamson, E.G. (1955) The fusion of Discipline and Counselling in the Educative Process. Personnel and Guidance Vol.34 (October)
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