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Learning Lessons
‘It is probably the question I get asked most often by how did you achieve what you did? There is an urgency to the question and more than a little self-interest. If I can figure out how he made it, the student reasons, then maybe I will know how to chart my own path. It was always difficult to provide a simple answer to a long and complex journey. So I often leave the inquiring student with a pointer here or a caution there. Never enough to really account for lessons from learning and life…’ – Jonathan Jansen Jonathan Jansen doesn’t regard the achievements he has made in academia and his contributions to public intellectual life as his own – rather, he sees these accomplishments as a product of the hard work and sacrifices of family, friends, teachers, colleagues and mentors around him. Jansen recounts, in his indomitable way, how the people in his life invested love, direction, encouragement (and even money) to make his journey possible – in the hope that his story may give inspiration and direction to generations of young people taking their first steps in adult life. Yet, cautions Jansen, this book is not a ‘what-to-do’ checklist to leverage learning for success in life – as every journey is different, every circumstance carries unique challenges, and every personality manages difficulty in various ways. What the book offers is the chance to learn from the moves and mistakes that others have made along their way to achieving great things in life.
204 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2020
3 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Jansen
31 books19 followersProfessor Jonathan Jansen is the Vice Chancellor of the University of the Free State, South Africa, where he has earned a formidable reputation for transformation and for a deep commitment to reconciliation in communities living with the heritage of apartheid. He is an educationalist, a former Dean of Education at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, who holds an impressive collection of degrees and awards, including the position as President of the South African Institute of Race Relations. He was born in the Western Cape, South Africa, and has lived in various parts of South Africa and in the United States. He is married with two children.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 1, 2020
The achievement of an undergraduate qualification is an exciting moment for any student however some may want to climb the academic ladder a bit further. Post graduate studies such as Masters and Doctorate can be argued as necessary to ensure not only personal growth but also enhancement of knowledge production in higher education.
In this latest book Professor Jonathan Jansen offers an easy-to-digest memoir about his academic journey as a scholar from early primary education in Cape Town, South Africa until doctorate studies in the United States of America. Typical of any academic quest, there are some riptides that could deter students; the author’s personal challenges included dropping out on his first year; adapting to new international educational standards and readjusting to a post-apartheid education system in South Africa that treated him like an “outsider”.
Some have contested that one of the reasons for high levels of drop outs in higher education is due to lack of effective support structures. The author’s academic journey was filled with positive (and negative) influences that encouraged the value of education. The book highlights how lecturers, peers, mentors, supervisors and counselors could serve as positive support structures to students dealing with personal burdens particularly students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The author is fondly grateful to those educators who saw and believed in his potential which led him to the realization that if students are given more credit they perform at their best. The book asserts that South Africa’s education system needs to be more student-centric with a two-dimensional teaching approach, where educators consider the student’s views and feedback. In essence as a student “you are smarter than you think” (or taught) thus an environment that promotes critical thinking, problem solving and questioning is needed in order to change the mindset of passive-spoon-feeding teaching methods.
As an avid critic of the standard of South African education both in basic and higher education Prof Jansen argues that the focus should be on quality of education instead of quantity in pushing students forward with mediocre qualifications. He cautions scholars to focus on quality research and knowledge production instead of rushing to publish substandard work or chasing awards. In comparing the education offered in other countries like the USA and post-colonial Zimbabwe, the author argues that there should be an urgent improvement in valuing the academic project; building institutional stability and mobilization of resources to attract and retain best students particularly in higher institutions.
In regards to his leadership competencies Prof has been exhibiting what transformational and servant leadership looks like through various academic and social initiatives he has implemented. Apart from frequently visiting schools through-out the country, the author discusses his strategic projects in improving academic standards at institutions like the University of Pretoria and University of the Free State. The author challenges university management to look at innovative ways to improve the quality of education in higher learning institutions and challenges policy makers to be more receptive of alternative views in order to develop more modern and sustainable education policies.
The book however fell short in highlighting the effects of technology in education over the decades particularly in the author’s own academic journey. For instance when it comes to aspects such as research and data analysis instead of spending hours in a library with hard copies, now students can use Google Scholar or Research Gate for immediate access to academic articles and for data analysis students can now make use of more sophisticated software.
There is a perception that scholars live intheory-land with tons of published but unapplied research, thus there was a missed opportunity to offer some insight on how a scholar could get to have their theories applied in various spheres of society. What reassurance is given to an aspiring scholar that their research will be adopted by governments, companies or included in the public school’s curriculum, where future generations could be studying Khumalo’s Model of Needs instead of Maslow’s Model.
Overall this is a great retrospective offering filled with many practical lessons such as the importance of always paying attention to one’s environment and affirms that indeed“hard work works”. This book is highly recommended to aspiring scholars seeking to pursue higher education in order to add more to the country’s knowledge pool. Professor Jonathan Jansen is an educationist and prolific scholar that has been fully committed to transforming South Africa’s education.
Rolland Simpi Motaung ©
South Africa 2020
In this latest book Professor Jonathan Jansen offers an easy-to-digest memoir about his academic journey as a scholar from early primary education in Cape Town, South Africa until doctorate studies in the United States of America. Typical of any academic quest, there are some riptides that could deter students; the author’s personal challenges included dropping out on his first year; adapting to new international educational standards and readjusting to a post-apartheid education system in South Africa that treated him like an “outsider”.
Some have contested that one of the reasons for high levels of drop outs in higher education is due to lack of effective support structures. The author’s academic journey was filled with positive (and negative) influences that encouraged the value of education. The book highlights how lecturers, peers, mentors, supervisors and counselors could serve as positive support structures to students dealing with personal burdens particularly students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The author is fondly grateful to those educators who saw and believed in his potential which led him to the realization that if students are given more credit they perform at their best. The book asserts that South Africa’s education system needs to be more student-centric with a two-dimensional teaching approach, where educators consider the student’s views and feedback. In essence as a student “you are smarter than you think” (or taught) thus an environment that promotes critical thinking, problem solving and questioning is needed in order to change the mindset of passive-spoon-feeding teaching methods.
As an avid critic of the standard of South African education both in basic and higher education Prof Jansen argues that the focus should be on quality of education instead of quantity in pushing students forward with mediocre qualifications. He cautions scholars to focus on quality research and knowledge production instead of rushing to publish substandard work or chasing awards. In comparing the education offered in other countries like the USA and post-colonial Zimbabwe, the author argues that there should be an urgent improvement in valuing the academic project; building institutional stability and mobilization of resources to attract and retain best students particularly in higher institutions.
In regards to his leadership competencies Prof has been exhibiting what transformational and servant leadership looks like through various academic and social initiatives he has implemented. Apart from frequently visiting schools through-out the country, the author discusses his strategic projects in improving academic standards at institutions like the University of Pretoria and University of the Free State. The author challenges university management to look at innovative ways to improve the quality of education in higher learning institutions and challenges policy makers to be more receptive of alternative views in order to develop more modern and sustainable education policies.
The book however fell short in highlighting the effects of technology in education over the decades particularly in the author’s own academic journey. For instance when it comes to aspects such as research and data analysis instead of spending hours in a library with hard copies, now students can use Google Scholar or Research Gate for immediate access to academic articles and for data analysis students can now make use of more sophisticated software.
There is a perception that scholars live intheory-land with tons of published but unapplied research, thus there was a missed opportunity to offer some insight on how a scholar could get to have their theories applied in various spheres of society. What reassurance is given to an aspiring scholar that their research will be adopted by governments, companies or included in the public school’s curriculum, where future generations could be studying Khumalo’s Model of Needs instead of Maslow’s Model.
Overall this is a great retrospective offering filled with many practical lessons such as the importance of always paying attention to one’s environment and affirms that indeed“hard work works”. This book is highly recommended to aspiring scholars seeking to pursue higher education in order to add more to the country’s knowledge pool. Professor Jonathan Jansen is an educationist and prolific scholar that has been fully committed to transforming South Africa’s education.
Rolland Simpi Motaung ©
South Africa 2020
May 17, 2021
In this house we LOVE education 👩🏾🎓👨🏾🎓👨🏾🏫👩🏾🏫👩🏾🔬👩🏾💻👩🏾🎨
Book Review of Learning Lessons by Johnathan Jansen
Rating 5 out of 5🐨
Things I LOVED about the book:
🐨I love Jansen's passion for education, how he highlights the importance of a robust curriculum and why teachers and educators need to hold the educational institutions they work with accountable when they are stuck in colonial traditional approaches to education.
🐨I loved his reflection on his trip to Zimbabwe and how he engaged with the educational reform of the curriculum.
🐨I appreciated his honest reflections on the need to constantly be publishing to stay relevant in academia and the pressure that it comes with the higher the station you hold, especially because you are also meant to be running research groups, attempting to gain Research Chair positions, land grant funding and more. How difficult this is and how excellent academics can fail to be seen because of this system.
Overall General Thoughts:
🐨 Prof Jansen wrote in a frank and reflective tone, unpacking multiple circumstances that we all know but may not necessarily talk about:
✍🏾the racial and class privilege that lands people jobs in South Africa,
✍🏾the impact of not having solid role models to guide and advice a person as one is growing up,
✍🏾the need for champions in different rooms at the various stages of one's academic career and a support system in the form of family and friends to get you through the tough trek towards achieving your goals.
I hope to meet Prof Jansen one day and have a solid debate. He seems really wise, pours his heart into his work and is an educator and a humanitarian. Thank you for all you have done for education in South Africa and Southern Africa in turn.
Prof Jansen is a Distinguished Professor of Education at Stellenbosch University after serving for many years as the Vice Chancellor of UFS
#ownvoices #ReadAfrica #representation #educationmatters #blackexcellence #sammikoalareads #africanauthors #southernnarratives #mybookfeatures #globalsouth
Book Review of Learning Lessons by Johnathan Jansen
Rating 5 out of 5🐨
Things I LOVED about the book:
🐨I love Jansen's passion for education, how he highlights the importance of a robust curriculum and why teachers and educators need to hold the educational institutions they work with accountable when they are stuck in colonial traditional approaches to education.
🐨I loved his reflection on his trip to Zimbabwe and how he engaged with the educational reform of the curriculum.
🐨I appreciated his honest reflections on the need to constantly be publishing to stay relevant in academia and the pressure that it comes with the higher the station you hold, especially because you are also meant to be running research groups, attempting to gain Research Chair positions, land grant funding and more. How difficult this is and how excellent academics can fail to be seen because of this system.
Overall General Thoughts:
🐨 Prof Jansen wrote in a frank and reflective tone, unpacking multiple circumstances that we all know but may not necessarily talk about:
✍🏾the racial and class privilege that lands people jobs in South Africa,
✍🏾the impact of not having solid role models to guide and advice a person as one is growing up,
✍🏾the need for champions in different rooms at the various stages of one's academic career and a support system in the form of family and friends to get you through the tough trek towards achieving your goals.
I hope to meet Prof Jansen one day and have a solid debate. He seems really wise, pours his heart into his work and is an educator and a humanitarian. Thank you for all you have done for education in South Africa and Southern Africa in turn.
Prof Jansen is a Distinguished Professor of Education at Stellenbosch University after serving for many years as the Vice Chancellor of UFS
#ownvoices #ReadAfrica #representation #educationmatters #blackexcellence #sammikoalareads #africanauthors #southernnarratives #mybookfeatures #globalsouth
July 19, 2022
Inspirational book, this book left a lasting impression on me and got me out of a reading slump. I've got so much respect for Prof Jonathan Jansen and his commitment to building a better South Africa.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews