246 > EDUCATION from the designated list that will allow them university entry on the one side and the other subjects on the opposite side. We can only start to imagine the consequences of such actions. There is also a great need for resources and training of teachers. But I am concerned about the lack of skills and those who are leading the teachers. I am afraid the blind are leading the blind and this is still continuing despite a knowledgeable few who try to intervene to keep everything afloat. It is the responsibility of the Department of Education to provide quality education and if they are dealing with a subject that they themselves know little about, is it not also their responsibility to find the experts to advise and lead the way? They most certainly won’t hesitate to take those measures for subjects like languages, mathematics, science and technology. Design methodology is a highly specialised field and you definitely need experts on board to lead the rest. Unfortunately, due to the lack of their own understanding of the real essence of design as a subject, the wrong people are placed in positions of leadership, which has been very damaging, to say the least. The Western Cape is continuing to deliver quality work. They have an excellent leader in Leon Buchner who is currently the deputy chief education specialist for Visual Arts and Design. He understands the design processes, is very knowledgeable in interpreting the design curriculum and definitely leads his teachers by example. He is also making a noticeable effort to get experts from different fields to offer training workshops to the teachers and the progress has been phenomenal. Other provinces have also showed a lot of improvement. In Gauteng we can note the voluntary efforts made by a few tertiary schools like that of Desmond Laubscher and his team who make every effort to assist in teacher training. The sad thing is that they don’t get support from the Department of Education or from the lead teacher who should be guiding the design teachers.
This is a great pity if you consider the profound impact that this could have on the quality and skills development of any young learner. The scale of the problem has become even more evident when design departments at universities and colleges recently and unanimously voiced their concern about the quality of work they receive, especially from Gauteng. And might I add this is a national concern. I am not only referring to tertiary institutions situated in Gauteng. Yes, there are always the exceptional few but according to the tertiary community, these students usually struggle to measure up against students from other provinces. Their visual literacy and communication skills, creative, conceptual and critical thinking abilities are really challenged and under-developed. Departments in fashion, interior design, industrial design, architecture and design engineering also voiced their concerns about the ‘flat quality’ of work they receive and these students really struggle to conceptualise in 3D which, as you can imagine, is really problematic when you are studying a field that is concerned with three-dimensional concepts. D > What are your opinions on meta-disciplinary collaboration between designers and professionals from other disciplines? SS > Brilliant designers, thought leaders, entrepreneurs and successful business men and women will tell you that the most phenomenal ideas, concepts and products they have developed did not just happen in silos. Collaboration is absolutely vital. No matter your field of expertise, we all have to understand and work with different value systems and different people to really make things work as a whole. Each industry or field of expertise is another spoke in the wheel of development, existence and progress. Competitive business needs creative, critical and innovative thinkers. <