3 minute read
Editor’s letter
Safe schools – not just about Covid-19
The focus on re-opening schools safely has seemingly overshadowed the need for us to consider the emotional wellbeing of our learners and colleagues. Teachers are valued, now more than ever – yet teachers are also being retrenched, SGB teachers aren’t receiving salaries, and some schools are seeing high infection rates.
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Much has been done to ensure that our schools are safe spaces for learning. Revised timetables, trimmed content and emergency catch-up plans have been put in place. Sanitiser and soap have been stockpiled, and students have been briefed on the new protocols. Notably, while some schools have rushed to ready themselves and have received learners back with open arms (at a distance), others have struggled to get the basics delivered from the DBE. The effort that has been put in must not be downplayed, but neither should the remaining challenges and concerns.
While schools were getting their physical environments ready, South African youth have used social media to amplify their voices, influenced by the Black Lives Matter movement in the US. They are speaking out about the prejudice they’ve experienced in our schools. Alarmingly, this prejudice – from teachers as well as fellow students – continues decades after SA schools have supposedly been “transformed”. In many schools, where black, Indian and coloured learners are the minority, or where the staff don’t represent the demographics of the school, there are learners who still feel disrespected, unwelcome, unsafe.
Via social media, current and past learners across the country have described how they’ve been treated – from being teased about appearances to not being allowed to speak home languages at school. There are teachers who have not been willing to learn African names, teachers referring to apartheid as a conspiracy theory, teachers who have ridiculed policies that aim to uplift the previously disadvantaged in South Africa, and teachers who’ve turned a blind eye to white students’ blatant racism against their classmates.
Though racism is the main theme, the hundreds of stories shared on social media show that learners continue to be discriminated against on the basis of religion, gender, and sexual orientation too. achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms (Section 1a). As we nurture the next generation, it is a teacher’s responsibility to implement these values – in the classroom, on the sports field, and in our own hearts – so that all learners are able to reach their full potential.
Any teacher who’s had to teach Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to their pupils will know that we all need to feel safe and secure before we can achieve our best. A school that does not ensure emotional security, foster connection, build self-esteem, and ensure respect and recognition is letting young people down in a huge way.
Schools, and teachers, must make every effort to create safe spaces for all of our learners – whether by mitigating the spread of Covid-19 or by halting prejudice.
Teachers this year have had to adapt and work even harder than before to give our students the best chance in the current circumstances. I call on you to extend this endeavour to squashing discrimination too. A school policy is not enough. Real, meaningful change starts with taking a hard and uncomfortable look at our own practices as teachers.
I encourage you to get a cup of tea, take some deep breaths, and read through the posts on the Instagram page You Silence We Amplify with the intention of questioning your own biases. How do you speak about race in your class? Are you always respectful of other religions? Is your staff diverse? Do you understand LGBTQ+ rights? Does your school value and promote languages other than English and Afrikaans?
We all have one teacher who we remember fondly from our own schooldays. Those who’ve had a negative impact on our schooling experience are also always remembered. In the words of the legendary Rita Pierson: “Kids don't learn from people they don't like.” Which type of teacher will you be for your students?
