EduWhatNothing

DemonSpawn

Date:
01/03/2005

Writing for me is a painful experience. Because words that the rest of you buggers will understand do not come easily. I just started a column, then erased it. It didn't feel right. This is take #2.

Let's talk about something that most of the assholes in power out there know almost nothing about: education.

I think it's sort-of vitally important that every kid gets educated. And not in the religious dogma they spew at them in the yank schools. And not in the remnants of the Struggle that was simply a political power discourse here in South Africa. Personally, I don't believe that politics should be mixed with educating young minds. They shouldn't have to deal with all the leftovers of our crap.

So far, I can't seem to see any effective methods of teaching kids how to think for themselves. Perhaps that's because the government don't want people to think. They would rather people not question the status quo. Which brings us back to politics. See how easily they get confused?

I think that the government should have no say whatsoever in the task of educating the children of this country. That seems to be the only way to separate them and their politics from the children and their own futures. We should have an independent body, to which a certain amount of our taxes are allocated each month or financial year. They should be headed up by people who are actually qualified in teaching and all the related stuff.

To add to that idea, there should be a facet of this body which enforces the basic human right of every child to have an education. Which means that every child, whether it has parents, or a home, or even more than one shirt, should be in school during term-time. Kids should not be seen begging on the streets while other kids are in school.

I mean, we have to be realistic here – those kids aren't there because they have a burning ambition to be homeless beggars. But the state cannot, or will not, provide a safe place for them to live. Some would rather fend for themselves, and run away if they are placed in orphanages. So be it. If they want to live on the streets, let them. But during school, they should be in school receiving the tools and skills they deserve, under the Bill of Rights. If they choose not to live on the streets, at least then they will have the chance to get off them.

It's all about an equal footing. There will never be equality among people, because, to quote a line from the well-known 'Desiderata', “always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself”. However, you can make it so that each person has an equal chance to make of themselves what they can. Not all of us can be great leaders, or medical specialists, but there is a thought that gnaws at me every time I ride around the city and see those small kids, looking lost and forgotten. I have to wonder, Is that child capable of creating a cure for AIDS? Could he maybe be the next Mzwakhe Mbuli? Why shouldn't he be? But for all the chance he has to prove his worth, he may as well be a vegetable in a bed.

It's wrong, and unfair, and although I love my country, I think the people in it are a bunch of fucks. Especially the ones in power, who still have not, as yet, woken up to the reality of what they are doing to the very children they fought so hard to liberate.

Hey!
HEY! MBEKI!
DO YOU HEAR ME? WAKE UP!
WAKE THE FUCK UP AND LOOK AFTER YOUR COUNTRY!
LOOK AFTER YOUR CHILDREN!
EQUALITY IS NOT RESERVED FOR THE POLITICIANS!

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