By Sandile Tshabalala Black women remain the most vulnerable to the endless socioeconomic realities of our society. In spite of this, we cannot ignore the existence of wealthy, motivated and healthy women. It is imperative to grapple with the right to “human dignity” afforded to all South Africans but barely enjoyed by ordinary black women, […]
education
Posted inGeneral
Add reality to the instructional core
By Lehlohonolo Mofokeng There are ample traditions of educational change, that is, how we can make every school function. One can think of the school effectiveness, social movements and markets, among others. The proponents of each one of these traditions argue convincingly that there isn’t a better way in which every learner in a school […]
Posted inEquality
Can we be inspired by role models across the race barrier?
The idea that one benefits mainly from having a role model within the same race group is not new. I have encountered this viewpoint in the workplace many times and it is a largely accepted position. When I matriculated in 1999, it was very early days into our new democracy, with plenty of optimism about […]
Posted inGeneral
There is a plague in my hood and to the enemy it smells good
By Lindokuhle Shandu There is a plague in my hood where even the unborn struggles to make it out of the womb. Those who do, these fragile babies, turn into kids who are confused and before they reach adulthood carry knives and porn magazines instead of pencils and drawing pads to primary schools. In our […]
Posted inLifestyle
Eduf**ktion: Out of the mouths of teens
“In high school, we should be learning about the real world, how to pay my (sic) taxes, apply for jobs, mortgage my house, buy a car, things that we will actually use in the future. So far, I’ve only learned that whatever I manage to get done in a short amount of time isn’t enough. […]
Posted inEquality
I’m privileged and underprivileged
By Mfundo Radebe So, here’s the thing: I’m privileged; I’m under-privileged. As a grade 12 student at one of those affluent private schools which people complain reflect “privilege”, I believe I have had an incredible vantage point towards the social dynamics of our country. I’m not privileged economically per se; I’m just a township boy […]
Posted inNews/Politics
How dare you compare the youth of 2015 to those of 1976?
The youth of 1976 stand lauded for their bravery in standing up to the government of the time. They held what was meant to be a peaceful march in protest against being instructed, as black learners, in Afrikaans. Afrikaans was the language of the leadership at the time. This peaceful march turned gruesome and now […]
Posted inGeneral
You say I’m not African – but that’s where I’m from?
… And my parents were also born and raised in South Africa? Those were the questions running through my mind during an encounter with a senior member of the English Department, Julia*, at a university here in Auckland where I was studying in 2014. We were pleasantly discussing possible PhD courses I could look at […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
The June 16s of tomorrow
Yesterday we honoured Youth Day in South Africa, a day when we remember the hundreds of young people who were massacred in 1976 by the apartheid regime for their peaceful protests against a state education system that sought to forever keep them as economic slaves. It took the courage of children to bring the apartheid […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Privileged schools could help township schools
By Lehlohonolo Mofokeng Although our township schools prove year in year out that they are capable of producing world movers and sharers, much of their potential is untapped because of factors that only JK Rowling could describe in depth. But what do privileged schools do to level the educational playing field that is often characterised […]
Posted inEquality, General
My ideal township school
By Lehlohonolo Israel Mofokeng There is no doubt there is a hive of township schools that continue to show signs of holistic excellence. By holistic excellence, I mean developing conscious learners who are not detached from the realities of their lives — learners who will engage with hegemonic structures, learners who will understand that their […]
Posted inEquality, General
Education, class differences and equality: Bourdieu and Rancière
Does the fact that children go to different schools, and that some go to college, while others attend university, have anything to do with the ostensibly irremediable class structure of societies? One’s intuitive response is likely to be in the affirmative, and it has been “scientifically” confirmed by none other than the famous French sociologist […]