i was privileged enough to get to visit Lavender Hill High School three times last week. Now i imagine that sentence will make some people curious. Heading into Lavender Hill is not something that most people might connect to the idea of privilege. But i will wager that those people have never pulled up at the gates and been welcomed to: The Best School in the Western Cape. Is it the best school in [...]
What is it like to be teaching during a pandemic? As we close in on a year-and-a-half of what has been a world-shaking pandemic, everyone has paid a cost. Whether it has been personal or in your community, financial or mental-health related, no-one has escaped. But some have definitely paid more than others. A teacher friend asked if they could use this space to share some of their thoughts and feelings and experiences as [...]
In 2021 i became part of the Partners for Possibility program. i have mentioned this a few times recently, but thought it might be helpful to give a bit of a bigger glimpse into what it is as it feels like such a super inspiring program that i am truly privileged to be a part of. In their own words, on their website, they describe themselves in this way: Partners for Possibility is a creative [...]
Don't let it stop at the end of the fishing lesson though! From the BottomUp In two weeks time, about 15 learners from schools in the Greater Grassy Park area, are going to be presenting 7 to 10 minute speeches at the second ever Speak Up Festival. My favourite non-profit organisation, BottomUp, has been working with a number of students from Zeekoevlei, Fairmount and Lotus High to help get them ready for the event [...]
A few weeks ago i got to help out at a camp with The LifeMatters Foundation, on this occasion with grade seven pupils from three different schools in the Cape Flats. They are doing some incredible things in schools and so i asked them to share a little bit of who they are: Who we are We are The LifeMatters Foundation, a proudly South African Non-Profit Organisation promoting holistic development in children through literacy, numeracy, life skills workshops, counselling and [...]
i know a lot of people in Cape Town who are involved in some exciting educational non-profit organisations doing a range of inspirational things with the young people in our province, particularly those in less resourced schools. One such group is Outliers and i asked them to share a little bit about what they are about: In South Africa, only 50% of children who originally enroll in school make it to matric. In addition, an [...]
When i say "Cape Flats", you say "Violence!" "Cape Flats!" "VIOLENCE!!" "Cape Flats!" "VIOLENCE!!" Because, along with Nazareth and townships and maybe even Africa as a whole, that is the kind of mindset that too many of us hold, right? The mindset that says [or suggests, or at the very least thinks]: What good ever came out of the Cape Flats...? Time to flip this narrative This past weekend i had the privilege - and [...]
Last night tbV and i attended the end of year function - AGM and celebration - of the local non-profit organisation Bottomup. Who are Bottomup? i will let them introduce themselves to you in their own words: What is Bottomup?: Bottomup positions itself as a catalyst for organizational change in the under-resourced schools in the Grassy Park, Lotus River and Ottery area. We aim to apply an assets based approach, assisting schools to leverage their existing [...]
'Dear Boys, Some really horrible things happened to someone who could be one of your friends, and it was done by some people who could be your friends. You're 11 and almost-8 now, so the incident that made me write this letter isn't something you've heard about, but this stuff keeps happening, unfortunately. So I need to talk to you about it...' with that attention-grabbing opening paragraph, Magda Pecsenye, who is the writer for the [...]
so there was this email, and by now i think we're all up to speed with that - this was part of it: Brett-boy, you need to rethink how you spend your energy. And here I’m speaking in particular about the humor side of your energy. To take an example: Brett, let’s be honest: your youtube videos suck. Big time. And I don’t even see the purpose in it. Will you really stand before the [...]
