Now that we know that 230 000 African matric students failed last year, we can sit down to have a decent conversation about what is wrong with them.
The fact that it is white and so-called Indian students who achieved straight As has serious implications for the leadership of this country in the next 10 years or more.
If we are to be fair and reward merit, the 2009 matric results tell us that white and Indian students deserve to be the future leaders of this country in the next decade or so.
But will this be allowed?
A few days ago I had a conversation with my niece, Nomfundo, about the matric results.
She is a second-year science student at Wits university who obtained one distinction at a private school. She does not believe that whites possess more intelligence than Africans.
“It is not that whites are smarter. The fact of the matter is that African students are just lazy and uninspired. They lack focus, discipline and determination. Anything else is just an excuse,” said Nomfundo.
It is a fact that in the post-liberation period African students in matric hold the record for the worst performers.
If you look at the faces of the smiling and happy pupils who have obtained more that six distinctions in matric this year, they are mostly white.
Of course, that tells us something not about who has superior intelligence but who is willing to work, work and work hard even if they go to parties.
Nomfundo told me that during her high school days, what struck her was what African students obsess with.
“African students seem to be interested in hair, designer labels, parties and, of course, booze.”
“It is no excuse that their parents are more interested in being BEE multimillionaires who do not monitor their school work,” she said.
Of course, this is a generalisation, which makes the innocent suffer but one needs to visit malls, festivals, night clubs and other places of entertainment to find out which direction African students channel their youthful energies.
The reality of the situation is that white pupils are too small a minority for them to dominate the matric results.
It is time that hard questions are put to our African post-liberation society: for how long are Africans going to depend on affirmative action and government tenders to make headway in life?
Of course, it is a justifiable government policy to demand that tertiary institutions give preferential treatment to African students when enrolling.
But who deserves the opportunity more? A white student or a time-wasting African student with low marks?
I would be wary to answer quickly, without any reservation and with the deepest conviction of my heart and soul, that the opportunity should go to an African student.
It is time that the African nation re-examines the under-performance of African students at matric level and beyond.
Since 1994 African students like Nomfundo have been given the same equal opportunities as their white counterparts.
They now have the power to choose to be great super-achievers or mediocre talent.
Their parents and government continue to sacrifice huge amounts of money for them to attend the best white schools under the best conditions.
The excuse of racism, victimisation and blaming white teachers and principals for their poor performance no longer holds.
Fundamentally, African students are products of their socio-economic circumstances.
Their matric results have very little to do with their genes or the ability to do better.
It is time Africans accept that they are raising uninspired students who are encouraged to rely on false affirmative action.
In fact, African pupils have internalised a culture of entitlement that overemphasises skin colour, material worship and political connection over merit.
This marks the beginning of the end of African rule and self-determination as ultimate power, knowledge and intelligence will always rest with whites.
If we want a better future for our youth, it is time we critically examined their performance in matric as that will determine the quality of leadership for the country.
But the present youth are failing themselves and the country.
Until when are we going to use the word “White Schools”? isn’t time we have the same quality schools for our children? the majority of the matrics who failed don’t come from the “White Schools” they come from the township and rural schools and this are children of the unedicated working class voters of the ruling party. You surely cannot expect a child of an uneducated, unemployed person with no dreams, taught by SADTU members who think only of his/her pay (which they use to send their kids to “white schools”), taught in an under-resourced school, no guidance teacher, etc to work hard. Children needs role models and there are very few in the Black society in this country (all the black millionaire are Tender-prenours)!
Susan well done you…praise and all that.
Unfortunately what you have stated is not fact? Were you marked by a teacher trained by the bantu education system?
It is always difficult to differ when the facts are starring naked at you. What is however missing is the contextualisation of the piece. Schools are a microcosm of society which is stratified along racial lines. At the bottom pit, blacks are locked in poverty, dirt and squalor. It is therefore not suprising that black learners would perform dismally compared to their white and indian counterparts. This however does not preclude us from engaging critically with tendencies that are counterproductive. Those tendenceies are not confined to learners only. I would have loved to hear Sandile expressing his disgust at the abominal behaviour of some teachers in black schools. It would help to interrogate the role of teacher trade unions in the context of failed schooling. It would also be useful to engage COSAS in resuscitating the culture of learning. Sandile side stepped these issues and as such the article borders on hot air. I concur that blaming apartheid is not sustainable and frowning upon white succes does not help either. All learners who did well in matric should be applauded and be reminded that again and again that they are South Africans first and owe their allegiance to this counrty.The struggle of course is to make sure more black students and enter universities because the country needs high level skills. The country cannot afford to rely on a minority for these skills. Sandile,we need to intensify the debate on the need for black people to assume responsibilty for progress.
The goal in a nation should be equality of opportunity – not equality of result. We should all start the race together but why on earth should we finish the race as in a dead heat.
Maybe this is one of the unintended consequences of the social engineering policies.
But it has dire consequences for the economy and the need for an internationally competitive nation.
That must have been difficult to write. Nomfundo, living it, has come to terms with her opinions.
Generalising is dangerous. Far more Matriculants are black; far more black failures are to be expected. And the learning conditions are not comparable.
One of SA’s best-loved (and often wrongly used) words comes to mind: culture. In this case, the culture of working hard. How badly does the individual want to rise to the top? Good black students must find other good black students there. We won’t all reach the top.
During apartheid, Afrikaans people had better employment opportunities than English-speaking people, particularly in government circles. The Broederbond existed for this reason: more Afrikaaners initially had further to climb from their generally ‘poor white’ status. But one has to hand it to them. Many worked very hard to obtain credentials along the way.
Yesterday, my son went to register for DUT. He worked for two years after Matric because we couldn’t afford fees before now. The process was disrupted by a protest of mainly ANCYL (by their shirts) youngsters, who threatened to shoot anyone who didn’t leave immediately. He, and others who had travelled from as far as Nelspruit and Namibia, ran for their lives.
I find it strange that those protesting support our present government, but seem to like little it does. Something does not add up.
Free education is one thing. Expecting further education when one hasn’t passed the previous stage, quite another.
Reading through this thread it is easy to see why we have such problems in this country. This article could have been about a flying unicorn and this thread would have turned to race and hatred.
TOO MANY ARM CHAIR COMMENTATORS WHO NEVER GET OFF THEIR @RSE AND ACTUALLY MAKE A CHANGE. TOO MANY EXCUSES, TOO MANY VICTIMS!!
So many excuses
Phillipa – Black children do not have educated parents.
Susan – Apartheid style education still in existence. Bantu educated teachers, No equipment. But she admits that it takes dedication and hard work.
Tie guy – blames AA.
Joe – Teachers
Stephen Brown and Mark Robertson – If only they attended the best schools.
All relate to the political expedience propaganda and excuses put forward by the ANC government.
The same has an above average number of uneducated Cadre holding positions in Government that need an almost entrepreneurial spirit to run.
Susan the one exception achieving what she wanted against all odds.
The ANC politically interfered with the education system. Zim and Botswana did little but maintained the standard in competition to whites. Prooving that it can be done.
Lack of equipment and such. This is absolute BS. Some of these schools had the necessary equipment but it is stolen or broken.
Never before did we have security guards and security fences around schools. Why is it that everything is chained down?
As for the teachers, was it not politically expedient to do away with school inspectors and teachers training colleges? That is what made the differenced in Black schools. Now these are being reintroduced to for full the promise of 7 years back. Note seven years ago.
Uneducated parents. Most of my extended family parents never passed std seven. They worked till they dropped to educate their children. We understood the sacrifice and paid back with success. Now what’s that other excuse?
What worries me more is the 400,000 to 500,000 who “dropped out” of the school system before they reached matric. That is the true tragedy.
Alan
I am not going to congratulate on the article like all the others. As it is still full of hidden innuendoes and some dubious stats.For starters do we know how many students didn’t even make it to matric,some say that could be as many as another 250000 a year, this makes things even worse then we think. I do agree however that the goverment and “Black” peoples need to seriously look at this problem, and just for once not dwell on all the other so called influencing factors,and believe it they have all been mentioned above. This is not a new problem, ask the Americans, forty odd years of AA and other types of “For Blacks Only” type aid systems have failed miserably. Their is something else going on here ? It is one thing fighting for equality,but what does that mean,and does it have the same meaning to all people. It is quite simple,to be Equal is to have the same opportunities and choices only, not more and certainly not protectionism or favouritism. Anybody in SA after 1994 has exactly that, kids and parents.How long is that life line,lets get one thing straight not all “White” kids come from rich and affluent homes. As a matter of fact the reality is, probably very few, but they soldier on and some wont make it either.Have honest debate and find solutions that are tough and work.BRING BACK THE ROD is a start.
Wow, well said Sandile…
I would like to add the inspiring true story of what anyone can do, from whatever level of poverty, if they work hard, and discipline themselves:
Nkosinathi Mbatha, 18, of Old Mill High School, in Empangeni, is an orphan. Mbatha received As in mathematics, physical science, life science and life orientation. He received a B in IsiZulu, a B in English and a C in computer technology. “I am very proud of myself. I spent many sleepless nights studying and putting in a lot in my studies,” he said on Thursday.
Other stories that prove that poverty should not be used as an excuse (in fact if there is anything that is massively damaging to a poor person, it is a liberal who gives them an excuse that they cannot succeed because they are a victim), are the stories of the kids under Ben Chavis and his tough love, no excuses gethho school, which now produces some of the top students in california.
So, once again Sandile! Well Said!
My parents were functionally illiterate. My father was a coal-miner, my mother a domestic worker. They insisted that I did my homework before play, then had to wash supper dishes, help do the domestic chores. My friends’ parents couldn’t care less about their homework. I ended up with a university education, my friends ended up as coalminers.
I volunteer at a school for black kids, mostly from Khayalitsha. They are not interested in getting an education, school is a joke to them.
I try and tell them they are just as intelligent as any other kid, but other kids work harder at school. The attitude of the kids towards education has to change. They have to want to get educated, only then can they start to overcome the obstacles in their way.
I have noticed that the Congolese kids in the school have a much better attitude, and more respect for their teachers than the Xhosa kids from the townships.
I try to get them to take responsiblity for their behaviour, that they have to change it if they want a better life. To show respect for what education can do to improve your life-chances.
It’s hard work.
@Alan: thanks, great comment.
@Deworde: thanks, great comment. I have seen this with my own eyes.
Many of the current racial obsessed, entitlement driven elders can do more harm given enough time in the future than 40 years of apartheid have done in the past.
I don’t believe it has entirely to do with the school one went to but more with the will to succeed. Sure, some schools in the ‘ghettos’ are bad (I went to one) but when one’s prepared to work hard, not much will get in one’s ways. But we as black people wanna be CEO’s without any background or even without experiencing a properly run organisation or without any knowledge in that particular field, how nice! And the youth nowadays all wanna be rock stars, designers or whatever not actuaries or architects so we could build our country. I never thought I’d say this but we are F’d. Now it’s not about race now because we’re killing ourslves
Phillipa
Still, not having educated parents, domestics to help with house chores or going to school with an empty stomach doesn’t automatically mean people should fail or become unmotivated. One thing each individual needs to keep in mind, is that more than to the country’s benefit, you are doing this for yourself.
Can someone please make sure that the Minister of Education reads this,especially the part about high school results and leadership!
it’s all about how hard you push yourself – and how literate you are – many white kids are encouraged to read huge amounts from about the age of ten or so – they simply cram themselves full of knowledge (albeit fiction) non-stop as a cultural norm – on the other hand, a lot of white families don’t read a lot, and just watch TV -as a result they end up doing badly at school – they are less creative, the kids turn out simpler, duller – less able to be creative (in my opinion) – at the end of the day it’s all about the knowledge and the habits set during the first few years of a childs life – a lot of it is linked to cultural norms – whites imported these high expectations as standard for their kids – anything less would simply be unacceptable – black people who dive to deeply into the western education system are branded coconuts and perhaps are seen as being too keen on a foriegn culture – which is b*llsh*t really : it’s a global world, he who holds knowledge holds the keys to the world.
Let us not forget that the pass rate was lowered a few years ago from 40% to 30%. The failure rate would have been much higher if it were not for this fact. What next – 25%?
It irks me that the Shembe church now claims the rights of ownership for the vuvuzela, and now also wants compensation from the company who marketed it and turned it into a profitable business. Why did they not market it and sell it themselves if they originated the idea?
just to add: and this is a very big issue: Our schools, all across the country, are collapsing. They are , sadly, less efficient than the Bantu system of yesteryear. Most of these pupils are black, and the system is doing them even more of an injustice than the system before. (which was designed with injustice in mind!). it’s no wonder the white kids are flying ahead: the ANC has neglected our system – the results will only get worse; as there is no accountability in place for those in charge of our children’s future. Corruption and mistakes go unpunished. we need accountability and a coherent, effective, well-managed plan – or in a few years we’ll all just be holding our heads in our hands.
My grandfather never went to school. When great-grandpa died, grandpa went to work as a deckhand on a fishing boat. He was 10 years old. My father went to school, matriculated, and then went off to war and, upon returning, straight off to work and raise a family. I went to school and then to university and, upon completion of my degree, to work. My son is completing his Ph.D. Four generations of leapfrogging the previous one. Nobody “blamed” the underachievement of the previous one for his own failure. Each one took it onwards and upwards.
You cannot single out 4 or 5 five poor black children who did exceptionally well and say that everyone who is poor should be expected to do well. If that were the case, then why don;t you ask whites to give up their domestic servants, middle class priviledges, sit in an ill-equipped class with a hardly-literate teacher and see how well they will do.
Kids want to learn so much hey? Why then do they burn down schools when in protest?
Phillipa
You mean there’s no hope for thousands of kids in Diepsloot, Alex, Kya Sands and the likes. They are just doomed, their destiny is failure because they live in dire situations?
More often than not your surroundings dictate your attitude. If I live in a house that is the size of a garage in the suburbs with 8 other people, I’m not going to be particularly inspired to learn what atoms are and the format of a haiku.
Our country lacks inspiration. We are not truly “Proudly South African”. We need men and women who inspire not only our kids, but their parents. Inspire a man to reach for the stars, he’ll at the very least get moon dust on his finger tips. Inspiration is every bit as important as houses, sanitation and education. Without it, we cannot inject dreams and excellence into our children.
An interesting, if somewhat obvious observation, Sandile. I would just like to throw in my two cents, and analysis of why this is happening. Some of the previous posts have also referred to this obliquely, for example, Susan.
The problem is that an inferior education cannot be eradicated in a single generation. Education is a joint responsibility between government and parents. Even if government is doing their job (which they are not always, even now) and well equipped to do that job (which they are not, as Susan points out) that is only half, or even less of the equation.
Parents have to perform the other half. The parents of the children who wrote matric in 2009 had their education under apartheid. They were not equipped to help their children. Many of them dropped out of school for many reasons, not always connected to laziness or lack of motivation.
In the mid-nineties I was heavily involved in early childhood education. I pointed out repeatedly to all and sundry, including ANC luminaries, that the reform of education had to start, not at universities and colleges as they were hell-bent on, but at preschool level. I pointed out that preschools had to be provided from a very early age (as early as 12 months of age) because most underprivileged children had both parents out of the house, unable to do anything for the education of their child.
Nothing was done, and now we reap the rewards.
You cannot single out 4 or 5 five poor black children who did exceptionally well and say that everyone who is poor should be expected to do well. If that were the case, then why don;t you ask whites to give up their domestic servants,(So if the whites (and blacks) give up their domestic servants, will these servants go teach or will they simply add to the unemployed list???) middle class priviledges,(what about the high class black’s priveledges!!!) sit in an ill-equipped class with a hardly-literate teacher (why are they not literate, who put them in this position, AA and BEE did and cadre deployment does it everyday in SA)and see how well they will do.
Stop looking for excuses. Hard work and a will to succeed (even as an orphan,trust me on this)is all it takes.Get rid of the entitlement attitude and like SUPERFAST
Julius Malema was in Khutsong on Wednesday, encouraging learners to go back to school and learn.Seeing the capitalist media cannot create any sensation out of this,they ignored this newsbyte.It was instead covered by our Indigenous language radio station.Makes you sit up and wonder.
Once again, Mr Memela reaches conclusions which clearly have no link to the reality we see around us every day.
Leadership in South Africa is NOT characterised by intelligence and good qualifications. Rather it is characterised by brash and ill conceived populist exhortation and a duplicitous life of luxury lived while appealing to the poverty stricken to accept their lot in a setting where the educational opportunities which would grant them relief are denied them and a simple measure such as actual teaching time in classes is the first disjuncture between people lucky enough to be in good schools and those (mostly black) who don’t.
And our political leaders and government functionaries seem not to have what it takes to address even this basic anomaly.
If South Africa really wants race and skin colour to stop being an issue, then it is up to everyone to stop making them an issue! This kind of article is not ‘thought-provoking’ at all – it is about an irrelevant distinction (race and skin-colour). The issue is that the matric results are appalling. Move on people!
This country is coming back to what it was, i see alot of inverted racism in parliment, and in public. Black people are the majority in this country yet we have affirmitive action which favours a majority? normally countrys have this too allow the minority to have a fair chance, this country had war and blood shedded on these grounds to fight for democracy, after mandela left the presidency that all stopped, we have people in high positions who cant speak english, even people here at big companies, we set a standard off education but that is not needed if you’re a certain race, what do you call that? to prosper , we non blacks have to leave south africa.
Firstly, I am white and my daughter finished matric last year. She’s not the smartest (takes after her dad probably) but she worked damn hard, finished mostly with C’s and 2 B’s. Top mark was History about which she was incredibly proud and I was unbelievably impressed.
That’s background…..
I think obesssion with race is wrong. Its the attitude of the school which is most important. We have formerly model C schools which cannot fairly be compared to township schools as
– parents can pay up to R20 000 per year fees (not to be sniffe at and just about as close as one can get to being a private school)
– even some township schools with no additional fees get really good pass rates because of sound and dedicated management and teaching
I would be very interested in seeing pass rates not by race but split into
1. formerly model C where fees exceeding say R8000 p.a are charged
2. formerly model C with annual fees of less than R8000 p.a.
3. any more or less non fee paying school where attitude and dedication result in pass rate exceeding national pass rate of about 60%
4. the rest
I think the results would be startling, especially the pass rate of category 4. I reckon that 90% of the passes come from categories 1 to 3 (probably 20% of the pupils) and that the other 80% only provide 10% of passes. SCARY STUFF!
Mr Memela,right now iam feeling very sorry for you and your niece.have you ever heard of the word research? commonly used by all writers before writting any article.well i know you have, but you just chose to ignore it for reasons known by you and ME.
Do you know that in S.A we still have matric learners who cannot attend classes when its raining?.iam sure you did not count them amongst the majority black student who failed last year.and iam not talking about just one province here.i have this to say to you and your niece, TO BE UP THERE WHERE YOU AND UR NIECE ARE DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE ALL HAD FAIR CHANCE, NO WE DID NOT.and it is not our fault as BLACKS students that we are staying in white’s farms. so please things are not as white as you see them to some most of US,they are still as black as they were.
Pramashan Moodley: In South Africa Indians are classified BLACK and they benefit from Affirmative Action more than Africans. The second biggest beneficiaries are white women.
@Mashwabana,
If anyone told you that life was fair, they lied. No doubt you will still vote for the ANC, despite the fact that they have lied to their supporters for the last 15 years.
I have to say that Sandile Memela is a good journalist.
A true journalist’s job isn’t to air his own views, it isn’t always to believe in the material he offers to his public if it achieves his aims.
His aims are not only to impart and inform, but to get people thinking, and get them analysing through discussion.
Sandile, I see you have done a grand job here.
Ampers Taylor
Editor – UK
This makes me so very angry, my daughter, Nina, worked herself into a coma so that she could study to be a medical doctor, she wanted to do reconstructive surgery and she would have been good at it. She is fearless, strong and a hard worker. Her only “failing” is that she is white. Her application to US was turned down to make way for the black quota even though she had the credentials. She opted to do BSc Agriculture instead, specializing in viticulture. She applied to a large corporation in the wine and spirit industry for a bursary. Sorry, their mandate is to support only blacks. This country is destined to lose her and many like her. It’s the blacks that will ultimately be the losers, if only they could see it!
My daughter will be the first in my family to matriculate, She will be the first to attend university in the extended family. All this despite my lack of education. I cannot assist with her homework, The maths is way above my head. Cooking, Tourism and accountancy, hahahaha. Where and how will I ever be able to help her.
She is an above average achiever, always a few distinctions in the mix. No thanks to Dad and Mom. It’s her efforts that has got her to a 79.6% average in Grade 11. My only contribution was making sure she went to school.
My cleaning ladies son now in grade 5 is also an achiever, no reliance on Moms education. He is doing it himself. Now my thoughts are that the majority of children in the Dual medium schools these kids attend are not doing as well, do we blame their parents? their teachers or the lazy little sods that don’t hand in their homework, don’t study for tests and exams? Me thinks Sandile has a point
I agree with you Mr Mamela, but before we judge and see what the faults of our students are , we first have to look where the majority of the african students live and the type of facilities, and how the curriculum is tought to them. I have a coloured little brother who left a previously white primary school Tamboerskloof primary where he excelled in sport and schoolwork to go to a coloured school Belgravia high. He was left with no choice to go to this school because of the financial situation his parents are in and yet his friends have all gone to Camps Bay high a previously white school. My brother is only 4weeks at school and his attitude to learning has changed because he is bieng taught things he already knows and the camps bay student whom he keeps in contact with, are way ahead with there learning. They have a pool and many other facilities on hand. The only swimming pool close to belgravia was demolished to make for the new athlone stadium. Where does his future lay, he will be stereotyped and might end up loosing his way if he doesnt get inspired to learn or have extra murals that excels in.
Go into our schools and spend a day there then pass judgement.
Food for though !!! Very interesting. Our church is involved in numerous missioneries and the fruits are seen in the way the children are growing up. They are eager,hungry and willing to take in whatever information they can acquire through love. Love is learnt through Christ who is in the church and the children through the fruits of this love are eager to be pleasing. The question is are our people in this country have love for their children. Do we have to alter a mindset of people to change the outcome of educating our children or the big question, is nothing right in our country no more because Christ is no longer in soceity. The answer is pretty simple go into an institution with christian PRACTISING ethics and people are differrent and willing and go into a similar institution where christianity is ignored and see the downfall !!!!
@Philipa Lipinski
“…why don;t you ask whites to give up their domestic servants, middle class priviledges, sit in an ill-equipped class with a hardly-literate teacher and see how well they will do”.
My mother was a domestic servant, couldn’t help me with my schoolwork. She just made sure I did my homework, went to school(not a flash one either)and treated my teachers with respect.
Result: completed university education.
Kids from black homes have no respect for education and what it can do for them, no respect for teachers, don’t want to learn. Kids from the Congo at the school where I work are far more respectful of teachers and education than the local black kids. Many of them lost everything in the Xenophobia attacks, some still living in tents. They don’t let it get them down, and it’s very humbling to see how they handle their problems and outperform the local kids. Maybe that’s why the locals tried to chase them away.
You wrote: ““…why don;t you ask whites to give up their domestic servants,” What do you have against blacks that you want even more to go hungry?
Then “My mother was a domestic servant, couldn’t help me with my schoolwork. … … Result: completed university education. and “Kids from black homes have no respect for education.” So are you black or aren’t you? Did you have respect or didn’t you?
I think you wrote your post from anger and got it a little mixed up. Always best to wait a day before posting.
I live in England and the government are continuing to pull down everyone to the lowest common denominator. I haven’t had a university education, I am white, and I left school at 14. And like you, I pulled myself up by my jockstraps and tried. (now an editor of a newspaper) but to me, you, I and governments everywhere should try, rather, to bring everyone up to higher levels.
But they don’t because it is easier to pull the successful ones down. But is this any future for South Africa?
Ampers.
@Ampers Taylor,
Then “My mother was a domestic servant, couldn’t help me with my schoolwork. … … Result: completed university education. and “Kids from black homes have no respect for education.”
I am white and I got my education in the UK, I was born in South Wales, my father was a coalminer, semi-literate. First day of grammar school, my father words were “You will respect your teachers, and respect your chance to get an education”. Most of my friends didn’t get that message and ended up as coalminers. That was over 40 years ago.
I volunteer at a primary school in Cape Town, and the kids are from the black townships. I spead from experience when I say these kids have no respect for their teachers or their education. They do not want to learn, and believe me this is one of the better primary schools who are dealing with township kids.
I try to explain to them the value of respect for education and how it can change their circumstances. I seem to be getting through to some of them. Respect, and responsiblity for my own actions were taught to me when I was young. My parents may have been uneducated, but they were not stupid.
@Ampers Taylor,
You wrote: ““…why don;t you ask whites to give up their domestic servants,” What do you have against blacks that you want even more to go hungry?
I never wrote that Phillipa Lipinsky did, and I was replying to her post.
I skipped past the last 50 comments, but I get the feeling that the one thing that isn’t discussed here (in quantity, anyway), is pride.
I’m talking about personal pride – pride in the quality of your work, and pride in your contribution to society. As far as I’m concerned, that drives just about everything else.
I’m 20. I work at an online marketing company as an analyst, and develop reporting software to make it all easier (in a mix of opensource and proprietary langauges, all self-taught). I do freelance web development in my spare time. I don’t have a single qualification beyond Matric, but what I do have is the absolute drive to do the best work I can – and its paid off.
That same pride is what drove me through 7 different schools in 3 countries before I even turned 17. What I did or didn’t have was irrelevant – I did the best with what I was given, and even now, new opportunities are opening up.
So before people whine at the government or the system or OBE or parents or laziness or entitlement or AA or any of that shit, they REALLY need to look at themselves, what they want out of life, and what they’re willing to do to get it.
~ Wogan
A childs education starts long before hes/she comes into contact with an incompatent theacer (part of the problem) . A childs education starts at the age of one year old. If parents do not do simple things like talk to the child properly or read and count using playful games to stimulate the childs brain development- that child is doomed – the childs development up to. Age 6 is most critical to the developing the childs menatl ,social and emotional abilities, irrespective of colour -