CHAPTER 4: CARVING THE FIRST LAYER OF MY MASTERPIECE
4.3 PORTRAIT TWO: HAPPY, THE RESILIENT-MOTHERLY TEACHER
100
101
generation. We lived under a chief, and my father was the inDuna in the area. As the inDuna, he was the advisor and spokesperson, and acted as a link between the people and the chief.
I come from a family where polygamy was practised. Growing up was very difficult. It was not easy for my dad to raise 21 children. Therefore, I like the saying, “you may not be able to control a situation but you can control how you handle it”. My family was poor.
My father and mother worked on a farm where they made cheese. When my father got paid then maybe we would eat meat or beans. However, the factory closed down, and life became harder. Despite the hardships that rural life presented, I am thankful for the strong support from my parents. Both my parents were illiterate but had a big influence on my life. My father inspired me to learn. He always said, “Education is the key to a successful career and a rewarding future.” I also learnt a lot from my mum. My mother was very hard working.
I grew up in a traditional rural area. I did all the cultural things that the other people used to do also. I am a very traditional person. After getting my chores done, I had to cook for the whole family. Our parents taught us how to make the fire, cook and then dish out for them. These experiences shaped my identity as a rural woman. As a girl growing up in this community and family, I was also expected to herd cattle. My father had many cattle and watching them became the job of the girls. We had many brothers, but they would never take the buckets and fetch the water, let alone watch the cattle. My brothers were bigger, and were looking for jobs in the mines because there were very few jobs in the rural areas for the men. The mines needed labour and many men from the rural areas took up these jobs. This tore families apart and resulted in many households being headed by women, as most men only visited once or twice a year.
Our rural schools were not good but still excelled
Primary school was a distance from where we lived, and so we had to walk 7km to school, and 7km back. We could not afford transport to travel to better schools elsewhere as the company my parents worked at closed down. Our rural schools were not good. We had no chairs and tables. We did not have a proper blackboard or any other facilities. We did not have things like electricity, running water, sports fields or libraries. However, I was a
102
very good learner and used to compete. I received first position in Standard 4 and 5. At the high school I was also performing well. The teachers used to rely on me. I remember Mr Ndlovu. He started saying, ‘When I am not in class you are the teacher. Take my books and start asking questions”.
However, in Standard Six, I had to go and rent with my sister as there was no high school in the area. So at the age of fifteen, I met a boy and fell pregnant. This was a very big setback for me. I could not finish my schooling. That year I had to leave school and stay at home. I gave birth to my son and had to raise my son. I messed up so now I must be the one to take charge of my life. However, I was lucky. My teachers wrote a letter to my parents. They said I had so much potential and I must be given permission to return to school as soon as I had delivered the baby. Luckily in the middle of the following year, I went back to school and completed Standard Seven. I tried to do even better at school. At school, we used to have debates. I took part in debates and won. Thereafter, I started my own debating society at school. Also, my performance was based on hard work, commitment and dedication. I eventually completed my Standard Ten with a matric exemption. I was amongst the best learners, and I was known in the area and the community. When I got my exemption, my family, the chief and the community were excited. Everyone came home to visit and I felt like a queen. However, not many learners completed matric. They could not understand the instructions in English and performed badly. We were taught only in isiZulu, but when the exam papers came, they were in English.
The induna’s daughter is going to university
I did well in school, and my desire was to go to university.
Dad: “I am proud of you, Happy. Everyone is saying the induna’s daughter got an exemption.”
Happy: “Baba, I want to go to university. You know I am good. I am a competitor. I can do this.”
103
Dad: “Happy, you know the factory closed down. I don’t have the money you need for varsity. I did promise you I would slaughter a cow if you pass matric. I will keep my promise.”
Happy: “Please, baba, make a plan, baba”
Dad: “Ok. I will not slaughter a cow. I will give you three cows. You sell them at the dip and go fulfil your dreams.”
I used to take the cows every day to the dip. However, initially, nobody could afford to buy the cows and by the time the cows did get sold it was a little late. Sadly, by the time I got to the University of Durban-Westville (UDW) my first choice, which was teaching, was full, so I took my second choice, which was a B.Admin. I still completed my B.Admin in 1999. However, from 2000 to 2001, I had no work but volunteered as a clerk at a school. During this time, I fell pregnant with my second son. While at the hospital giving birth, I saw an advert for trainee nurses. I applied and started working as a nurse from 2005 to 2007. I knew for me to win in this game of life and to provide for my child, I had to make the first move. I had to be an example for my child. However, even as a nurse, I found myself most of the time teaching the other nurses. Most of my colleagues commented that I am not a nurse, I am a teacher. So, in 2007 I told myself that I am born to be a teacher. I resigned as a nurse. I went to Edgewood and did my Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) and graduated as a teacher. I was then sent to Endongeni.
I was at that school until 2015.
I am a rural girl, but when I came to the school I cried
Sadly, in 2016, I was declared in excess and sent to a Q2 rural school in the Umbumbulu district. This is a no-fee school. Our school community is not rich, and poverty is rampant.
We also have families that are headed by children because parents are working away from home, or have died. We therefore have a feeding scheme to cater for them. I am a rural girl, but when I came to this school, I cried.
We have sand roads. We have a truck that delivers water at the school. I make sure that I am there to receive the truck and ensure the JoJo tanks are filled. Not all the teachers will
104
come, but I make sure I am there. If we don’t, then the kids and teachers won’t have water and will suffer. Learners are also taught the importance of preserving the water that we have, and also how to harvest the water from our school roofs by making sure that the gutters are free of leaves and weeds. This can then be applied to their homes as well because the area does not have service delivery.
Figure 4.5 The surroundings of the rural school where Happy is a teacher
The school was really bad and was struggling when I arrived. Luckily now the school is being renovated and repaired by the Department of Public Works and is being funded by the government. The old desks have been taken away for repairs. The admin block and reception area are now so beautiful. Everything is new. There are also new toilets for the staff, but we cannot use them because they are flush toilets and our school still does not have running water. Sadly, despite the renovations, we find that both the community and learners do not care much for the school. If there are no burglar guards, the community will steal everything. The community destroy classrooms when they want something.
They came in and stole asbestos and electricity cables.
105
Figure 4.6 The revamped school where Happy is a teacher
Inspiring learners to look beyond their conditions and circumstances
We have about 40 learners per class. As a teacher, I am angry about CAPS. The curriculum does not allow you to explore the different capability groups of learners. With CAPS, everything is determined for you. They decide your pace without considering the different levels in the classroom. Some learners can’t even read or write, but we are expected to move on. With big numbers, there is no time to do revision. So there is no fairness in the system. However, despite the difficulties that are experienced as a result of the syllabus and also teaching at the rural school, I still have to show interest in the learners. Our parents don’t take an interest in their children. So I have to be a mother to
A
B C
106
some of these children. Now that I work in this rural school, I am able to inspire the learners to look beyond their conditions and circumstances, by showing an interest in them and motivating them. I encourage them to see education as a means for a better life.
I encourage them to do their schoolwork and assist them even during my break because I know once they go home they have other household duties to perform. I love my learners.
I am friendly and approachable. As a teacher, I am a life coach. I give moral support. We work with children with different problems. I also listen to their concerns. My aim is to bring change in the lives of the children through education. I am passionate about this job. I am also a caring person. I worked as a nurse. My training as a nurse has helped me a lot to diagnose some problems that the learners may be facing. I then refer them to the clinic or hospital for treatment. I also used to invite the nurses from Prince Mshiyeni hospital to school to do check-ups because the children cannot afford the cost of transport to travel to the clinic or hospital. The clinics are not near, they are far. I do all this with love because I know what it is to face hardships in life. I shared my story with them. I told them about my life and how poor my family was. But now I am an example of what can be achieved if you work hard.
I am a networking and collaborating teacher
At school I have time to collaborate with some of my colleagues. If you, as a teacher, know how to do something well, you can develop the others through engaging in workshops and team building. We take areas that we struggle with and get outside assistance from teachers in other schools who may have good ideas. I attend workshops to try and give me some direction. I also network with the cluster co-ordinators, who assist me. However, not all teachers are open to assisting others. Not long ago, I asked the senior English teacher for some assistance, and she told me she would be leaving the profession soon and that I should ask someone else. She has no interest in mentoring me.
I was, therefore, forced to go back to my previous school and get assistance from my colleagues there. You have to be a teacher who will go out and seek help from others.
You have to be motivated and enthusiastic about the job. However, we also have some teachers who are in the last lap of teaching, and they no longer have the zeal to do more.
Now when UNISA students come to the school, there is no mentoring. They are just told
107
to take the books and go teach. So I took it upon myself to help where I can and to help them with their difficulties.
I conclude this story of my life with a poem. This poem encapsulates my life as a rural girl from a polygamous family. It highlights my outlook on education and my desire to excel academically. It also shows my love for others in my desire to be a helping hand.
However, it also highlights my frustration at the present CAPS curriculum which I believe robs me of my ability to be the best by being so prescriptive.
A competitor is born
Polygamy Love Good competitor Achieve the impossible
CEO of your dreams Good competitor Mad about CAPS CEO of your dreams Caring helping friend
Good competitor Achieve the impossible
Mad about CAPS Polygamy Love
4.4 PORTRAIT THREE: BERNELL, THE TENACIOUS-RESOURCEFUL
TEACHER
Bernell is a 27-year-old Indian woman. She belongs to the Christian faith. She is the eldest of three sisters. Her religion, culture and traditions are essential to her. She comes across as a strong woman who knows what she wants. She has been teaching for three years so
108
she can be regarded as a novice teacher. For the first year after graduation, she worked as an SGB teacher. Her first permanent post was at a school in Chatsworth. She spent a year at the school. However, as a result of a drop in learner numbers and the Rationalisation and Redeployment (R&R) process, she was transferred to a Q3 school. The process of R&R is where a teacher from an overstaffed school is re-deployed to an understaffed school. She is presently teaching at this school.
Figure 4.7 Bernell’s collage portrait
My early life: I was allowed to fly, but I had to soar on my own wings
My family are from the township of Chatsworth. My grandparents had their roots in the Cato Manor area and were moved to Chatsworth as a result of the Group Areas Act. I remember sitting at my nana’s (grandfather) feet and listening to the stories that captivated my attention of life in Cato Manor before I was born. They lived in wood-and- iron homes. There was a sense of community. Indians, Blacks and Coloureds lived side by side in Cato Manor. What little people had, they shared, and people watched out for each other. People mattered, families mattered. However, because of the forced removals families were also torn apart and communities destroyed.
109
Despite the heartache of forced removals of people of colour to townships, I admire the tenacity of my family and others like them. Family is important to me. My grandparents, Leela ma, Cynthia ma and Dudu nana, played a huge part in my upbringing. They did not slot into the typical profile of Indian grandparents. When other grandparents were encouraging their children and grandchildren to get married, my grandparents were telling us to not think about marriage but concentrate on our studies. I was allowed to fly, but I had to soar on my own wings. Being a woman did not have any disadvantages for my two sisters and me. We were never restricted because of our gender. However, we were required to undertake household chores and assist the family. This applied to both the male and female children in the family.
From a poor primary school to an affluent high school
When I was six years old, my parents bought land and built a house in Malvern. However, although there were schools in the Malvern area, my mum chose to take us to the school in Chatsworth where she was teaching. The primary school was in one of the poorer parts of Chatsworth bordering the Welbedacht and Naickers Farm area. Most of my friends’
parents were either unemployed or had average jobs. They worked in factories or engaged in farming and hawking. In primary school, most learners did not have certain “luxuries”
I took for granted like transport to and from school. Nevertheless, I made good friends who I still keep in touch with. I also had Indian and Black friends. Race was never an issue. Our parents encouraged us to be friends with all children.
When I started schooling, I remember my classroom used to be full. Not full because there were too many learners or because there was no space but full of fun and excitement.
Teachers were always motivated to work and made do with what they had. Being a school in a poor community, they were forced to either buy or make their resources. The teachers prepared us for high school. I remember my primary school teachers. I remember them as dedicated teachers. I learned a lot about being a proactive teacher from observing my primary school teachers.
From primary school, I moved to high school. I attended a high school in Kharwarstan [an area near Chatsworth]. But it was not a familiar schooling environment. There were a lot of learners from affluent homes. However, being in primary school was easier. At
110
primary school, it was not about branded clothes and shoes, the luxury cars, or about how much money your parents had. Money was not a criterion for friendship or to even judge others on. In high school, this became the norm. However, I made friends very quickly. I learnt to adapt and move with the times.
My mum inspired me to become a teacher
I started university in 2008. I decided to do teaching. My mum was a teacher. She had a lot to do with my decision. For me, it was a new experience compared to school. At school, we were spoon-fed. At university, I was expected to fend for myself. Here you are on your own. I had to get my game on. I conquered university. I majored in commerce and science. I am hard working. I received many merit awards and also the Gold Key and Dean’s commendation. It was in this space, coupled with my years of teaching and mentoring within my family, that I learned how to be a strong woman. I learned that if I wanted to progress in life, I had to rely on myself and make good, reliable decisions.
I started teaching in 2012 at a primary school in Chatsworth. It was an SGB post paying only R5000 per month. I was a self-funded student at university, so there were no automatic jobs on completion. I accepted the offer as a way to get into the system. I spent an entire year at the school, earning this meagre amount, but I appreciated the job. The following year I was lucky to get department posts intermittently. I then by the grace of God got a department offer for a year to teach at a school in Chatsworth. This allowed me to reach twelve full months in a substantive post, after which I was made a permanent teacher. However, the school was under-resourced. The number of learners who attended the school dramatically dropped. Due to the drop in learner enrolment and the R&R process, I was declared in excess in 2015. I was then posted to my present school.
Learning to be a teacher at a rural school situated deep in the valley
My current school is away from Chatsworth. The school is located deep in the valley near a river in the Welbedacht West area. The school is surrounded by RDP houses and shacks.
It’s an isiZulu-medium school from Grade 1 to 3 and English from Grade 4 to 7. The school has 100% Black learners. The school population is about 1500. Each class has 50