High School at last!

In South Africa the new school year starts early in January.  Today was that day and my son approached his first day in high school filled with nervous anticipation.

There are a number of great things associated with this day for him.

Previously he walked about three kilometres to school - uphill, downhill, uphill - rainy day or South African sunshine day.  Now he has to walk the equivalent of two city blocks.  He quickly saw the advantage of this.  The most important one being that he can sleep for an extra 45 minutes each day and still get to school on time.


For me the greatest advantage is that he will hopefully come straight home from school each day and, at worst, bring all his mates with him for Playstation challenges.  That way I know exactly who he is hanging with and where he is.


The downside of this particular school is that it is a 'poor' school in a less affluent suburb in the east of Johannesburg.  As I sat in the hall with the other parents this morning, watching the resigned expressions on the faces of most of the kids, I noticed that there are massive stains on the ceiling and many of the planks holding the ceiling together are falling, or have fallen, out.  Obviously the roof is in serious need of repair.  However, there was no excuse for the fact that the hall looked as though it had not been cleaned since its last usage in 2010.  There was a chair that was covered in pigeon poop. A glance upward showed that a spotlight directly above the chair was also covered in pigeon poop.  Glancing idly around the hall what did I see?  The poor pigeon lying dead on the floor near the stage.

No good, people.  The school can be 'poor' but there is no excuse for dirt and dead pigeons in a hall that you knew the new pupils and their parents would be using today.

Another good thing about the school is that the intention is obviously to have a well-disciplined bunch of learners neatly attired in school uniform.  However, seeing the existing learners one can be forgiven for doubting that they are achieving their goals.  I saw at least eight learners arriving at the school at 8:40 as I was leaving.  School officially starts at 07:50!  I saw a few kids slouching around with earphones dangling from their ears - a forbidden practise.  There was one dawdler who was puffing on the remnants of a cigarette at approximately 08:50 as he trawelled up the hill towards the school.


Altogether my son's first school day marking his school days for the next five years seems to have passed without incident and even less work!  I certainly hope they get into the swing of things sooner rather than later because these kids need every second of tuition they can get considering the amount of teaching time lost last year during the national teachers' strike.


Good luck Lungi.  May you find schooling more interesting and challenging this year than in previous years.  I still have high hopes that you will come into your own and achieve your full potential.  Godspeed.