Robert@PNG

Was a success !

Anthony and myself “performed” to a packed house at Duncanson Hall last
night and the response from the students (crowd) was very positive.

It was also nice to give something back to the students for their
enormous effort in organising and participating in the 2006 UNITECH
Cultural Show.

By the end of the night we would have shared approximately 300 photos.
Amongst these pictures were some great portraits of the students in
their traditional bilas. A few stories, a few jokes and plenty of
laughter was had by all.

One thing puzzles me though…

Other than Anthony and myself, I was not aware of any another academic
staff present in the audience. Sad but true. Whether its the guys playing rugby or sports days or cultural shows, whatever the occasion might be, if it's being organised
by the students - academic staff for some reason do not attend.

The absence (of most academics) from these types of events saddens me.
Is a University not a teaching institution? What is teaching if it's not
an interaction and dialogue that occurs between student and teacher?

What is it with academics? Are they that absorbed in themselves and
there own thinking (research) that they can afford to ignore all that
goes on around them? Oblivious to their reason for being here and to the beauty they are surrounded by. This condition of the mind could quite easily be interpreted as self obsession or self centeredness.

Not long after starting at UNITECH - University's were described to me
as a type of “Sheltered Workshop”. I now see why. A bunch of folks with
their heads so far up their arse they become totally oblivious to what really goes on
around them.

Sad but true.

NB: If I sound like I'm having a go at all academics this could not be further from the truth , some of the nicest people I have met in PNG are the people that I work with.