I have been meeting up with education officials at district and circuit level for the past two weeks, and most of them asked me the same question: Why don't you train us as circuit managers (the old inspectors) to do the turn around work that you are doing? At first, I thought it was a 'short cut' for them not to get to a commitment to turn around their schools, but after deep reflection, I realised that the ability to 'be aware' and to 'see things' is actually a choice. One can go through life, deciding that you only want to see those things which are preferred or comfortable to see, and so you either not see them, or decide not to see them. A typical example from our past, was those who decided not to see the destructive influence of Apartheid on our society. Certainly, the recent events of powerplay and positioning within politics are none different than those past events - just different actors, same greed.
Lets get back to education - those who are caught up with a 'compliance' perspective, are actually denying themselves the opportunity to see what is really wrong with our schools. During a recent two days session with 110 senior leaders of schools within the Bushbuckridge area, which was hosted within Thulamahashe (take note that the GPS spelled it Thulamahaxi) circuit, a 'lightbulb' when on. It was during this workshop that I realised that the entire education system is focused on 'policy compliance', and therefore they (education officials) can't see the real problems within education. When you focus on policy compliance (ticking all the right boxes in the checklist), you are looking for policy intent, and not people outcome. That is why our education reports from different education officials contain numerous of the following phrases: "... we are making progress ...", "... we are moving in the right direction ...", "... it is not the policy that is a problem, rather than the implementation ...", etc. Evaluation and monitoring of the policy process is often not subjected to clear indicators which are quantitative in nature (meaning that one can independently judge whether they are achieved or not), but they are rather very qualitatively expressed. They are often only 'input' indicators and not 'process' nor 'output' indicators. For example, they will express the need to have a workshop/meeting, but not indicate what the results from the meeting/workshop should be. Most of our policies, if not all, are not describing the baseline situation (where we are), the processes or steps we would go through (how we need to get there), and most importantly, what are the targets, indicators, outcomes and result points (what the dream looks like) when these policies are implemented successfully.
During the second day of the mentioned workshop, one of the principals, in an honest and open way, expressed that he was under the impression that we needed to change the previous apartheid education system in a way that would have retained most of the characteristics of the past education system. In fact, he was looking for a 'Black Education' system, but just with another name. I then realised that the apartheid system has succeeded to 'imprison' our minds, and that we as Blacks, have taken on the 'masters' plan without realising it. Our perception of 'what education can be' is not based on the open possibility of the future, but rather not our 'narrow experiences of the past', let alone the vast opportunities of the now (presence).
Awareness is therefore a choice of seeing 'what is in front of you', and not 'seeing what you want to see', nor 'seeing yesterday within today'. And this is an absolute choice ... if you want it, you will get it. And it is not available for a selected few! But if you want it, you need to be open to the presence, and have to commitment yourself to deal with what will confront you, no matter how difficult and/or unacceptable the present or reality is - seeing it for what it is, and for what it could be. So, South Africans, if you want to eradicate all your dysfunctional schools within the next three to five years, it is certainly possible, but you will have to make that choice ... hopefully sooner rather than later.
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