Give Opportunity To A Child

The gift of education is priceless. It is the opportunity for lives to be changed and futures to be secured; it is the chance to rise above circumstances and "change your stars".

South Africa's history of racial discrimination has resulted in a huge disparity in educational opportunities within the country. Although the national education department is hard at work to rectify the imbalances and independent schools continue to offer scholarships to previously-disadvantaged communities, more work is needed.

Lanner House School is an independent school in Worcester in the Western Cape and is trying hard to raise money for bursaries for children from previously-disadvantaged communities. They have put together a simple capital fund-raising site where pledges can be made for anything from supporting a learning area in the school to offering full bursaries to students.

I encourage you to take a look and then consider posting a blogpost about it - let's spread the word and make a difference to the future of this country!

Click here to go to the site : Lanner House Capital Fundraising

Are Schools Responsible For Good Manners?

I had the privilege of attending the Annual Old Boys' Dinner at my alma mater, Wynberg Boys' High School, this past Thursday evening. It was a wonderful evening spent reliving moments of school mischief, reminding each other of memorable moments inside and outside the classroom and being reminded of how fortunate we were to have attended such a great boy's high school with so many years of tradition (167 years old this year).

It was not however the tradition or the sense of history, recent or distant, that drew comment from guys seated around our table (all from the 1990 crop of matrics), but rather the manner in which each one of us was greeted as we moved through the school to the Old Boys' Pavilion where we met for pre-dinner drinks. Every boy, without fail, who we came across on the field, in the corridors, walking along the pathways greeted us with "Good evening, Sir" or "How can I help you, Sir?". This show of manners and respect left its mark on all of us and reminded us of the value of the education we had received.

Those who decry the youth of today and who lament the lack of respect among young people need to pay a visit to many of our country's schools. I have been able to visit a great many schools over the past number of years and in many I have been delighted at the show of manners by the pupils.

I must make one comment though that I know will upset some but it is borne out through my experience and observations in many schools across the country : it would appear that schools with a long history and tradition (both government and independent schools)are those in which emphasis is placed on producing young men and women of character and in which manners and respect are given high value.

This is obviously a generalisation but this observation is proved time and time again. On Thursday afternoon I was driving in the southern suburbs of Cape Town and was in the vicinity of a well-known large co-ed school at about the time of the final bell of the day. Scores of pupils were walking home and frequenting a local shopping centre. The abiding memory is ties hanging loose around necks, shirts hanging out, loose shoe laces and the vigorous chewing of gum by several pupils. I know that the education received at this school is good and that the staff are extremely dedicated to their pupils. Indeed I know several very fine men and women who attending this school - the fact is that the issue of dress and pride in the school and themselves is just not high on the agenda in the life of the school.

The question remains - why can some schools pull it off and other can't? Are schools of tradition and history guilty of producing snobs or young men and women who think too highly of themselves, or are they just successful at using their history to instil a sense of pride and honour in their pupils? Are single-sex schools more successful in this aspect of schooling than their co-ed counterparts?


As always, your comments are welcome...

So What Does A Teacher Make?

What Teachers Make

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Rubbish Monster - Clean Up Or Else!

I remember very clearly the anti-littering campaign in South Africa during the 1980's - Watch the Zap It In A Zibi advert here and bring back the memories. The message was very clearly etched in my mind after countless SABC screenings of the ad, the posters in schools and around the suburbs and in the general print media.

In 2007 there is clearly a need for a renewed campaign against the scourge of littering. Our beautiful country is becoming a giant repository for junk as an attitude of social irresponsibility takes hold.

Enter - The Rubbish Monster! Watch the ad here (7.8MB).

This is the creation of Braam Jordaan of the Computer Graphics Society. The back story to the creation of this ad makes for interesting reading. I have not seen this ad on TV yet but I do believe it should be shown. Perhaps this character will hold as much sway in the minds of today's youth as the Zap It In A Zibi Can ostrich did for me back in the 1980's.

Schools - Is There Hope?

Schools come with a reputation - either it is a school to which you would like to send your child or it isn't - its that simple! The reality is that many school in South Africa find themselves understaffed, battling dwindling resources, trying to maintain aging facilities and struggling to keep up staff morale in light of poor state salaries and increasing class sizes.

It is not all doom and gloom however. Throughout our country schools in various socio-economic settings are making a difference. Learners are receiving good education, educators are going the extra mile and true holistic education is happening.

So what then differentiates the really good schools from the mediocre ones? What is the "x-factor" that makes the difference between a great school in a rural setting and one which is falling apart?

I believe that the difference lies with the person responsible for the school - the headmaster/headmistress. The key is leadership. In 2001 the Sunday Times reported on a school in a remote area of the Eastern Cape, Sandi Senior Secondary School, which improved its matric pass rate from 4% to 93% in just three years! At that time the school did not have electricity, telephones or running water and could only be reached by travelling 40km on a rough gravel road. A young headmaster, 24 years old at the time, Bongi Penyana, began to make some significant changes in the school which brought about this change. He personally recruited 75% of the school's teachers. He encouraged his learners to take subjects at higher-grade level and instilled a love of teaching into his staff. So much so that his team of educators go way beyond expectation to build into the lives of the learner - they come in during the holidays to give extra-lessons, they give their pupils English newspapers to help develop language skills, they take their learners to the doctor when needed and some even bring in chairs from their homes for their classrooms.

If it can happen at Sandi Secondary, why not everywhere else? I truly believe to my core that the key lies with the person at the helm.

This view is shared by the previous headmaster of Westerford High and Queens Park High - both in Cape Town. Alan Clarke spent 16 years as headmaster at both these schools and has just written a book entitled "The Handbook of School Management". In this book he makes the point that schools need to be places where the learners feel they want to be. He also makes the point that large class size should not be as big a stumbling block as some would like it to be. He calls on the government to ensure that adequate help is given to those school heads who have given up hope and who have allowed their schools to degenerate. Read an extract here - "Words Of Wisdom"

For those who sit on the sidelines and criticise the education ministry and the local school, here is a challenge - get out there and visit your local school's head - offer practical support where you can, mobilise community support and be part of the solution!