The Role of Education

“Education will open doors where none seem to exist.” This quote, which begins the second section in the novel “Kaffir Boy” by Mark Mathabane, really stood out to me as a testament to the role that education has taken in the South African society. Throughout our time here, we have been to a few different schools and/or educare centers in township communities. These places really provide something special to their students, including everything from meals to learning how to read to an adult to pick them up and hug them when they’re crying. It seemed to me that no child took for granted their right or ability to be there. Education is one of the most fundamental parts of society, and the South Africans seem to understand how valuable it is.

Since our time here, I have also seen, however, that this value of education did not always hold true. It seems that only recently people here, especially blacks, have come to realize how valuable and worthwhile an education is. During apartheid, many black families couldn’t afford an education. Feeding their family and paying rent were the top priorities, meaning education was often last on the list. Parents of previous generations were often uneducated themselves, and therefore didn’t see purpose in paying the money to send their children to school.

Many schools at this time also didn’t provide a good or worthwhile education to their students. When we visited the apartheid museum, I was very surprised when I saw the section titled “an education in servitude.” It explained that black schools gave students an education that left them capable of doing nothing more than menial labor. Their hard work and schooling ultimately prepared them to be slaves or hold a low class job in the bottoms of society. Many schools were run in Afrikaans or other languages that were unfamiliar to black students, whereas white schools were all taught in the students’ “mother tongue.” This really blew me away. Education should lift you up and raise you to higher levels. It “opens doors” and provides opportunity. Instead, during apartheid, education was just another tool used to oppress people.

It seems, though, that the role of education has almost done a total 180 since then. Our visits to schools here have left me with a positive attitude and a reminder of the importance of a good education. The teachers we have worked with really care about the students with all their heart. I think that the role of education here is really twofold. For one thing, education, as it always should be, gives people opportunities to advance and become contributing members of a society. It allows them to develop thoughts and ideas and become knowledgeable and worldly citizens. For black people in South Africa, this gives them the chance to rise above the oppression they have felt for years.

In addition though, and importantly in South Africa, schools provide students with many things that they may be missing at home. Township home life is difficult to say the least, and schools often become a child’s safe haven. Here they are cared for by their teachers and classmates. They are fed and watched over. They receive one on one attention. It is these crucial things that are provided in schools that make education that much more important in a developing country such as South Africa.

All of this was really solidified for me when I talked to one of our tour guides about his educational background. He grew up during the later apartheid years and lived in a township shack with his parents and 9 siblings. He saw the great value in having an education, so as soon as he was old enough, he began working to fund his education. He worked as many as three jobs at a time, including doing a pre-sunrise paper route as well as various after school, night or weekend jobs. Half of his paycheck, however, always went to his family. “Since I was old enough to work, I was considered an adult and therefore had to contribute to my family so we could be fed and pay rent,” he said. Even when the goings got tough and not everyone agreed with him, he persisted and eventually paid his way through primary school, high school and university.

The fact that he, like so many other colored people and blacks at this time, would go to such lengths to go to school really proved how valuable and significant education is in South African society. Those who have been able to make it through school have often been able to rise out of the lower classes of society to hold steady jobs and support families. Overall, education is powerful and the examples we have seen here really show the role that education has taken on today in South African society.

After our interactions in schools here, I am really interested to see where the future of South African education will go. The teachers I have interacted with all seem to have wonderful philosophies and ideas of education, but it is the supplies and materials they are often lacking. I wonder if students will be able to persist through the lack of ideal conditions and still benefit fully from an education, or if organizations and/or the government will be able to find ways and step in to support the school systems more.

I also am curious if the schools might include more integration between the races. Public schools are of course based on where you live, and the people of South Africa are still largely segregated by their races as far as living goes. However, if this should some day change, I would be interested in seeing the implications in the school systems. I believe that we benefit from learning in environments with many different beliefs, backgrounds or races. In the US, integrating the school systems caused a lot of violence and problems. If South Africans (and the US as well since we still struggle with this) could get past these problems I think it would be a very unique and interesting learning atmosphere.

Overall, I think the school systems here will change as the South Africans still push to have an equal society. I wonder what measures might be taken to help them and what new problems they might encounter in the future.