In the 1950s, Dr. Hedrick F Verwoerd was on his way to becoming the Prime Minister of South Africa when he made the following statement: “When I have control of native education, I will reform it so that natives will be taught from childhood to realize that equality with Europeans is not for them.” Thus Bantu Education began. This education style systematically guaranteed that blacks and Coloureds in South Africa would not have the skills or knowledge to challenge white dominance. When Apartheid ended in the 1990s, South Africa was faced with a massive, poorly educated population and had to find someway to bring those people out of this intellectual retardation. Education has taken on the task of not only closing the intellectual gap but also educating the people on social issues such as HIV/AIDS prevention and life skills.
South Africa has taken a different approach to education than the United States. They have similar subjects like reading, math, and languages but they put a strong emphasis on normal life skills to prepare their students for everyday tasks of normal life. Everywhere we have traveled on this trip, I have seen signs of learning and growing in children and adults. In the townships, I saw preschools that take kids off of the streets and teach them how to succeed in formal school. I spent my two and a half day internship at an educare (preschool) in Khayelitsha, one of the townships in Cape Town. I was able to talk to the principal, Gloria, about the goals of the school. She said the main goal is to prepare the children for formal schooling by teaching them some English and the routine schedule of schools. Although this establishment is not accredited, it serves as a good alternative to wandering the streets where several children can get into trouble. The seventy children that Gloria and three other teachers take in each day are given food to eat, toys to play with, and tools needed to succeed in their future schooling. Gloria charges R50 per student per month but still takes in those that cannot afford to pay. This dedication to her students shows how much Gloria cares about her neighborhood. She says that she started the school to help her neighbors and those that need the most help are often those that do not have the money to pay. The students here are not only taught skills for school, but also skills for surviving in the townships. The students I was with were 3-5 years old and sang everyday. The main song that stood out to me was called “My Body.” The words are “this is my body from my head to my toes. No one can touch me, I have the right to say no. This is my body.” With the constant news of violence and rape in South Africa as well as the belief that sex with a virgin will cure HIV/AIDS, I was delighted to hear that these children are being taught how wrong these practices are. They are being taught that they do not have to stand for any kind of abuse. It really shows that the education system has realized it needs to teach people about problems in their lives and not just academics.
Education becomes a little more difficult for students once they reach the formal school age. In Kaffir Boy, Mark Mathabane talks about his school experiences during Apartheid. He speaks of struggles to pay school fees, acquire uniforms, and get schoolbooks, which had to be purchased by each individual student. Though the system of Apartheid has ended, students are still struggling to meet all these requirements. On our visit to the Ekukhanyisweni Primary School in Alexandra, the township that Mathabane grew up in, I spoke to several students that do not have the money to buy school uniforms. These students come to school in torn clothes that have been passed down from older siblings or friends because they do not have extra money to buy their own uniforms. In order to try to address this problem, several schools have removed fees. This allows students to attend school more easily and set high career goals. I talked to students that are dreaming of careers as doctors, social workers, fashion designers, and pilots. When I asked each preteen child if he or she thought they would have any difficulty attending university or reaching their career goals, none of them mentioned money as a limiting factor. This shows how much this generation is being taught that they can pursue anything through education. In formal school, students are given Life Orientation, a combination of sex education, home economics, and health classes in the United States. Students learn about how their bodies work, what they need to do to care for them and how to perform basic household skills. If a child cannot pass this class each year, he or she cannot move on to this next grade. By stressing this subject, schools are again reaffirming how important it is to prepare students for life, not just more schooling.
South Africa has realized how important education is to bringing this nation out of its tragic past and into the future. Education is not only geared at closing the academic knowledge gap but also at educating the people about social issues such as HIV/AIDS, abuse, and household skills. Several schools are trying to make their classrooms more accessible to reach more students. Instead of simply preparing students for more education, these schools are preparing students for jobs and independent lives. Compare this type of education to the high stakes, high achievement education in some American schools. In the United States, Advanced Placement classes take precedence over wellness and students are tracked for college, not careers. Is it possible that students exiting a public high school in South Africa are more prepared for normal, everyday life in their country than students exiting high achievement high schools in the United States?