Subjects
I sat for my final examinations in 1987. I had applied for a bursary to go into teaching through the Transvaal Department of Education. The T.E.D. would pay for four years of study at the Johannesburg College of Education (now the Wits School of Education) and would place you in a school where you were required to work back the bursary. The principal, Mr. Louis White supported me by writing a recommendation. However, my application was turned down in 1987 and I was told I was ‘not a suitable candidate to be a teacher’. Although I was not ‘out of the closet’ I was bullied throughout my high school career and called a ‘moffie’.
The South African Education system for the white population of South Africa in the 80s was based on the philosophy of Christian National Education. “Those involved in selecting suitable candidates adhered to the “Credo” that teachers practise their calling “in an awareness that education in this country is founded on the Bible”. Teachers had to join a teachers’ council that required them to sign a code of conduct. In the preamble to the “Code of Conduct” which teachers had to accept when they joined the Teachers’ Council, they pledge themselves “to honour and obey the laws of the country.” Under South Africa’s ruling National Party from 1948 to 1994, homosexuality was a crime punishable by up to seven years in prison. This law was used to harass and outlaw South African gay community events and political activists. So there were no ‘out’ gay teachers in South Africa’s schools and the T.E.D. did not fund students they suspected to be gay or lesbian. This was a setback which had an impact on my final examinations. Although I passed, to realise my dream to be a teacher I applied to the University of the Witwatersrand but needed to improve my marks to get a bursary. I returned to Athlone Boys’ High in for the duration of 1988 and rewrote five of my six subjects and improved in each subject. With my final results I was awarded a bursary to study at Wits.
Staff at Athlone Boys’ High in 1988
(1) Mr Nick Parsons.
He was my Physical Science teacher in Standard 9 and Standard 10. A fabulous teacher. He was also the first person I knew who was victim of the 80s AIDS pandemic. He passed away in 1991 from liver complications.
(2) Mr O’connel. He taught me English in Standard 8.
He was an anglophile and had pictures of Queen Elizabeth II in his classroom. He was very excited when he was invited to have an audience with her when I was in Standard 8.
(3) Mr Louis White.
He was the school principal from 1986. He was a very supportive headmaster.
(4) Mr Douglas Walendorf. He taught me accounting in Standard 12.
(5) Miss Emmet was an English teacher and taught me in Standard 7 and was the Driving Instructor. She was always very supportive and friendly.
(6) Miss Maureen Maguire was my favorite teacher and taught me Biology from Standard 8.
(7) Mr van Wyk taught me accounting in Standard 8. He became principal after Mr White was appointed as a School Inspector.
(8) Mr Hill was my Grade 12 Afrikaans teacher.
My Schooling and Systemic Racism
My schooling was part of the systemic racism of Apartheid. Systemic racism happens when these structures or processes are carried out by groups with power, such as governments, businesses or schools. In South Africa the Bantu Education Act governed the education of black South African. It was part of the government’s system of apartheid, which sanctioned racial segregation and discrimination against nonwhites in the country.
The Act demanded that all such schools register with the state, and removed control of African education from the churches and provincial authorities. This control was centralized in the Bantu Education Department, a body dedicated to keeping it separate and inferior. The act required black children to attend these government schools. Instruction was mandated in needlework (for girls), handcraft, planting, and soil conservation as well as in arithmetic, social studies, and Christian religion. The education was aimed at training the children for the manual labour and menial jobs that the government deemed suitable for those of their race, and it was explicitly intended to inculcate the idea that black people were to accept being subservient to white South Africans.
Funding for the schools was to come from taxes paid by the communities that they served, so black schools received only a small fraction of the amount of money that was available to their white counterparts. As a result, there was a profound shortage of qualified teachers, and teacher-student ratios ranged from 40–1 to 60–1.
Acknowledging my White Privileged during my Schooling
Due to the policies of Bantu Education I acknowledge my white privilege as a white South African due to the systemic inequality of the South African schooling system under Apartheid. Having white privilege and recognizing it is not racist. But white privilege exists because of historic, enduring racism and biases. The two-word term packs a double whammy that inspires pushback. 1) The word white creates discomfort among those who are not used to being defined or described by their race. And 2) the word privilege, especially for poor and rural white people, sounds like a word that doesn’t belong to them—like a word that suggests they have never struggled. White privilege is not the assumption that everything a white person has accomplished is unearned; most white people who have reached a high level of success worked extremely hard to get there. Instead, white privilege should be viewed as a built-in advantage, separate from one’s level of income or effort.
The advantages I had included:
- Being in classes where the teacher-student ratio was 30-1 for Languages and even lower for my choice subjects.
- Being taught by qualified teachers in all my subjects.
- Learning in my home language especially science subjects.
- Having more spent on my education by the government and therefore having access to better resources.
English
I attended an English-medium school and took English as my first language. English is my home language. The Home Language level provides for language proficiency that reflects the mastery of basic interpersonal communication skills required in social situations and the cognitive academic skills essential for learning across the curriculum. Emphasis is placed on the teaching of the listening, speaking, reading and writing skills at this language
level. This level also provides learners with a literary, aesthetic and imaginative ability that will provide them with the
ability to recreate, imagine, and empower their understandings of the world they live in.
My final mark for English was C (60 – 69%).
This was my largest class with a student teacher ratio of 30-1.
We were provided with textbooks and the different setworks including the Shakespeare play Hamlet, Hard Times by Charles Dickens we had to read and a poetry book.
Afrikaans
Afrikaans was compulsory and was done as a second language. As a second language the focus in the first few years of primary school is on developing learners’ ability to understand and speak the language-basic interpersonal communication skills. As students progress through primary school the focus is on continuing to strengthen students’ listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Greater emphasis is therefore given to using Afrikaans for the purposes of thinking and reasoning. Students also engage more with literary texts and begin to develop aesthetic and imaginative ability in Afrikaans. By the time students enter high school, they should be reasonably proficient in Afrikaans with regard to both interpersonal and cognitive academic skills.
My final mark for Afrikaans was D (50 – 59%).
This was my second largest class with a student teacher ratio of 29-1 as immigrants were exempted from doing Afrikaans.
We were provided with textbooks and the different setworks we had to read and a poetry book. We also went to see the movie Kringe in die Bos which was our setwork book in Standard 10.
Mathematics (Higher Grade)
Mathematics was not compulsory when I attended school. Today students in South Africa have to take either Mathematics of Mathematical Literacy.
Mathematics is a language that makes use of symbols and notations for describing numerical, geometric and graphical relationships. It is a human activity that involves observing, representing and investigating patterns and qualitative relationships in physical and social phenomena and between mathematical objects themselves. It helps to develop mental processes that enhance logical and critical thinking, accuracy and problem solving that will contribute in decision-making. Mathematical problem solving enables us to understand the world (physical, social and economic) around us, and, most of all, to teach us to think creatively.
In 1987 we had a Mathematics teacher who had a gambling problem and he spent more time perusing the horse racing guides than teaching. Only two people passed Higher Grade Maths and three of us had our marks converted to a Standard Grade pass (35 to 39%). This was one of the subjects I went back to improve in 1988. However, in the first term we had two teachers and I worked on my own to pass. Eventually, a qualified teacher who was doing his National Service in the South African Defence Force was brought in to teach us.
My final mark for Mathematics was D (50 – 59%).
The student teacher ratio was 20-1. In 1987 we had a Mathematics teacher who had a gambling problem and he spent more time perusing the horse racing guides than teaching. Only two people passed Higher Grade Maths and three of us had our marks converted to a Standard Grade pass (35 to 39%). This was one of the subjects I went back to improve in 1988. However, in the first term we had two teachers and I worked on my own to pass. Eventually, a qualified teacher who was doing his National Service in the South African Defense Force was brought in to teach us.
We were provided with textbooks and in 1987 we were the first Standard 10 Group to be allowed to use calculators instead of the old log books and had to purchase our own calculators. We were also the first group to do calculus in schools.
Physical Science (Higher Grade)
Physical Science was one of the subjects I really enjoyed at school. In South African schools Physics and Chemistry are not taught as separate subjects and we always wrote two exams. A Physics exam and a Chemistry exam.
Physical Sciences investigate physical and chemical phenomena. This is done through scientific inquiry, application of scientific models, theories and laws in order to explain and predict events in the physical environment. The focus when I was at school was primarily on content aspects of Physics and Chemistry. However, since the revision of the curriculum the purpose of Physical Science is to make students aware of their environment and to equip students with investigating skills relating to physical and chemical phenomena. Some of the skills that are relevant for the study of Physical Sciences are classifying, communicating, measuring, designing an investigation, drawing and evaluating conclusions, formulating models, hypothesising, identifying and
controlling variables, inferring, observing and comparing, interpreting, predicting, problem-solving and reflective skills.
Physical Science promotes knowledge and skills in scientific inquiry and problem solving; the construction and application of scientific and technological knowledge; an understanding of the nature of science and its relationships to technology, society and the environment.
My final mark for Physical Science was C (60 – 69%).
This was my smallest classes with a student teacher ratio of 25-1.
We were taught in a laboratory and did practical work such as acid-base titrations, kinematics experiments and working with electrical circuits. Our Science teacher did experiments as demonstrations when we learnt about sulfur compounds, the halogens, nitrogen compounds and electrochemistry. The school had a lab assistant that helped set up the practicals.
The Physics examination included both Grade 9 and 10 work including Force vectros, Newtons’ Laws, Momentum, Kinematics, Work and Power, Electrostatics and Electricity. In Standard 8 we covered Light.
The Chemistry examination included Organic chemistry, Sulfur, Nitrogen and Halogen Chemistry, Electrochemistry, Rates of Reactions and Chemical Equilibrium.
Biology (Higher Grade)
Biology was the subject I enjoyed most at school and my Biology teacher paired me up with friends who struggled. Due to the policy of Christian National Education we did not learn about the theory of evolution. It is now included in the South African curriculum and teachers can focus on the idea that scientists may disagree and debate theories but that science theory taught in schools has been tested and is generally accepted.
Biology is the scientific study of living things from molecular level to their interactions with one another and their environments. To be accepted as a science, it is necessary to use certain methods for broadening existing knowledge, or discovering new things. These methods must lend themselves to replication and a systematic approach to scientific inquiry. The methods include formulating hypotheses and carrying out investigations and experiments as objectively as possible to test these hypotheses. Repeated investigations are carried out and adapted. The methods
and results are analysed, evaluated and debated before the community of scientists accepts them as valid. Knowledge production in science is an ongoing endeavour that usually happens gradually but, occasionally, knowledge and insights take a leap forward as new knowledge, or a new theory, replaces what was previously accepted. As with all knowledge, scientific knowledge changes over time as scientists improve their knowledge and understanding and as people change their views of the world around them. Scientific investigations are mostly about things that are poorly understood or not understood at all. Scientists are frequently involved in debates and disagreements. As more people take on such investigations, they tend to reach consensus about the ways in which the world works. The
science theory that is taught in schools has been tested and is generally accepted. A good teacher will inform learners
of debates and arguments among the scientists who were the first to investigate a phenomenon.
My final mark for Biology was A (80 – 89%).
The student teacher ratio was 25-1. In 1987 I was very disappointed when I got a B. Even though this was the highest mark I took the subject again in 1988 and consistently came first in the school.
We were provided with textbooks and did practical work on a regular basis and the Lab assistant helped set up practicals and microscopes. My biology teacher often used the human anatomy models in teaching.
Accounting (Higher Grade)
I excelled at Accounting and started it in Standard 6 when I started high school. When I started high school we were required to select one subject in addition to the compulsory subjects of English, Afrikaans, Mathematics, General Science, History and Geography. I started it in Standard 6 at the insistence of my father who wanted me to become a chartered accountant. We still had to draw up ledgers and journals and so had to learn the format for the different types of journals.
Accounting focuses on measuring performance, and processing and communicating financial information about economic sectors. This discipline ensures that principles such as ethical behaviour, transparency and accountability are adhered to. It deals with the logical, systematic and accurate selection and recording of financial information and transactions, as well as the compilation, analysis, interpretation and communication of financial statements and managerial reports for use by interested parties.
The subject encompasses accounting knowledge, skills and values that focus on the financial accounting, managerial accounting and auditing fields.
My final mark for Accounting was A (80 – 89%).
The student teacher ratio for Accounting was about 23-1.
In 1987 I passed accounting with a C (60 to 69%). In 1988 I rewrote the subject and in the July Holidays I completed a Basic Bookkeeping Course at the Academy of Learning in Kempton Park through a program of the department of Labour. I received a Certificate for this course and achieved 89% for the course. This additional practical experience helped me achieve a distinction. The distinction was endorsed, which means after the final examination my mark was 79%.
