CHAPTER 5: CARVING UNIQUE PORTRAITS OF TEACHERS’ PERSONAL-
5.3 STORIED VIGNETTE TWO
5.3.1 Scenario one: From traditional girl to competitive learner
Happy is a traditional Zulu woman from Ixopo (in the KZN Midlands), who was raised in a low-income family: Growing up was very difficult. It was not easy for my dad to raise 21 children. The hardships experienced her parents provided the necessary grounding that she needed:
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.
According to Ceka and Murati (2016), if parents are involved in the educational development of their children, then usually the outcome of that interaction can be seen as positive and encouraging. As a child Happy learned essential lessons from her parents.
She learned the value of hard work from her mum and the importance of education from her dad. These lessons were necessary for her identity formation. Through socialisation within the family, Happy learned what was required of her as a girl in a traditional Zulu family. As a girl, Happy also took on the role of a mother. In Africa, all women are regarded as being mothers, irrespective of whether they have any biological children or not (Nortjé-Meyer, 2017). As a daughter, Happy was taught how to take on the role of mutual mothering within the family (Hardy, 2009). Mutual mothering speaks of the non- maternal care afforded to a person or a group by a person other than the mother. Mutual mothering can cover aspects such as nursing, being a provider or general extended care of the group (Hardy, 2009). Happy engaged in mutual mothering within her family when she states: “After getting my chores done, I had to cook for the whole family.” This rural context, therefore, became an external force that, in Happy’s own words, “shaped my identity as a rural woman” (Rodgers & Scott, 2008).
Thus Happy took on the role of caregiver and nurturer from a very young age and did not shy away from these duties, which were challenging. Undertaking the tasks considered to be “women’s work” carried some form of gendered meaning for her (Carter, 2014).
Additionally, in later life, the roles she subscribed to as a child played a large part in shaping her self-concept and also influenced how she executed her duties as a teacher (Beal, 1994). However, while Happy took on the role of a mutual mother, she also went
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beyond that to take on duties generally considered to be boys’ chores. Happy’s actions are contrary to Hadebe’s (2010) finding that Zulu culture encourages the gendered division of labour, as in the Zulu tradition it was generally the boys who were expected to look after the family herd:
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.
Happy’s actions here were a consequence of the “progressive destabilisation of rural livelihoods”, which included, amongst other things, the migration of rural labour to the mines (Balfour, de Lange & Khau, 2012, p. 1). This view is supported by Rabe (2006), whose study focused on the effects of mining on Black mineworkers in the South African mining industry. She indicated that Black males were generally drawn away from their homes for lengthy periods. This separation resulted in the women in the family assuming duties generally considered to be men’s work within the homestead. Happy nevertheless undertook those duties for the betterment of the entire family. Besides, undertaking these various activities assisted Happy in acquiring a range of experiences (Ceka & Murati, 2016), which also contributed to her drive and agency as a teacher in later life (Leibowitz, 2017). In addition, while Happy experienced challenges within her family, she also recounted that life at a rural school was not easy:
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.
Happy’s circumstances might appear to resonate with the reality of rural life, and the discourse of disadvantage around rurality (Roberts & Green, 2013). However, this deficit- based approach to rurality denies people within this context of their agency (Moletsane, 2012). Happy is an example of a rural girl who survived irrespective of the lack. She displayed resilience in the face of adversity when she said, “You may not be able to control a situation but you can control how you handle it”. This statement confirms Randall, Clews and Furlong’s (2015) finding that people living in rural areas are strong and
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resolute, regardless of their constraints, about working at making a better life for themselves.
Despite the lack, Happy knew her capabilities as a learner. In a study on rural women, Sandys (2008) found that in several countries gender-based stereotypes and discrimination deny rural women access to education. However, Happy was a learner who believed in her abilities and had high self-esteem (Tajfel & Turner, 1979):
I was a 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.
According to Lent, Brown and Gore (1997), academic self-concept is the attitudes, opinions, and views that learners have about their academic performance and skills. It was a positive academic self-concept that stimulated Happy’s agency for educational self- improvement and growth.
However, Happy’s excellence as a learner and her dream of breaking the shackles of poverty through education (World Development Report, 2018) had to be put on hold when, in her words, “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”. Happy’s circumstances lend credence to Ramulumo and Pitsoe’s (2013) finding that teenage pregnancies are a crucial obstacle to social development and academic success in South Africa. Despite this dilemma, Happy did not shy away from the responsibility of being a teenage mother: “That year I had to leave school and stay at home. I gave birth to my son and had to raise my son.”
Happy’s circumstances and actions echo Mhele and Ayiga (2014) finding that the high dropout rate amongst school girls can be attributed to pregnancy and birth. Happy, nevertheless, was able to reflect on her life rationally. Through this reflection, she was able to further shape her identity (Urzua & Vasquez, 2008) into one of a responsible adult:
“I messed up so now I must be the one to take charge of my life.” This ability highlights her inner strength and provides a canvas to reveal the self, which in turn reveals aspects of her identity (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009) as a strong, reflective woman.
For some learners, pregnancy can mean the end of their educational journey at school (Bhana, Clowes, Morrell & Shefer, 2008). Luckily for Happy, she was assisted by teachers who saw the capabilities that she possessed:
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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.
Many female learners who leave school to have their babies do not return after delivery, but Happy was able to defy the odds (Fihlani & Masombuka, 2007). She was able to do this because she had supportive parents and teachers in her life. Because she was intelligent and a go-getter, Happy made her mark on people that she had contact with and worked to bridge the two worlds of being a mother and being a learner (Bhana et al., 2008). On returning to school, Happy pushed herself to excel. Happy’s perseverance, tenacity, agency and will to succeed saw her constructing herself as one of the best in the community, and as a person of influence:
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.
In this space Happy was able to juggle her identities of dedicated learner and responsible teenage mother. This easy slide from mother at home to learner at school and vice-versa illustrates the fluid sense of identity that Happy negotiates (Rodgers & Scott, 2008). This episode in Happy’s life was a defining point that allowed her to see education as a stepping stone to her future success in life and allowed her to feel like a queen. In the setbacks that she experienced, Happy was able to recognise her priorities in life. She was able to shift her perspective of herself from just being a mother to establishing herself as a student of excellence.
5.3.2 Scenario two: From teenage mother to caregiving teacher