/ 24 May 2013

Discipline and dedication prevail

Discipline And Dedication Prevail

It's 5am and we are driving through the gates of Velabahleke Secondary School in Umlazi, about 20 minutes outside Durban. Why 5am? That's when principal Mbongeni Mtshali arrives — to read his newspaper, drink his cup of tea for breakfast and prepare for his morning lesson. 

At 6am he makes his way to the school hall where 300 grade 12 pupils are packed in, ready to learn more about the star-crossed love of Romeo and Juliet. 

Mtshali is not a gentle teacher or a gentle principal, but this early morning class reflects his dogged dedication to his pupils.

He has received a series of questions from pupils and starts the class by reading through the "stupid questions" and calling out the classes where they came from. "Is this 12A? 12B? What were you thinking?"

As the lesson continued, he said something to the effect of: "Even if aliens came down to teach you, you would still fail." And then as the hour continued, pupils engaged, answered questions and read passages — sincerely happy to be there, even at 6am.

The key? Discipline. Mtshali says that many pupils may initially flinch against such discipline, but in the end they call him a father. The teachers say that he disciplines them. They are always in class on time and teaching. 

Discipline dominates
The word "discipline" is so loaded and is defined by principals in so many different ways. But at this school it dominates in a way I have not seen before. 

Mtshali doesn't hesitate to confront pupils, to say that they are "damn wrong" in what they are doing. At the same time, with a hug or a few words, he will heap praise and he recognises the impact of both.

And he has little patience for pupils who do not help him to achieve his goals. Pupils who misbehave or don't do work are, as he often says, "square pegs in round holes", ruining instruction for everyone else. Removing them from class seems to be a simple solution. 

This is tough love — discipline with understanding. He has dreams for the future of his 1 400 pupils and they thrive under his strict leadership. The matric pass rate last year was 97%. 

Mtshali defines himself as "auto-democratic" — an autocrat and a democrat, all in one. He listens, but also has to draw the line. Not an uncaring autocrat, but a firm one who relies on discipline defined in several forms, all his own. 

"I carry the vision of the school," he said. "So for me, for that vision to be accomplished there are things that need to be removed on the way."

He runs his school with a purpose and a strong awareness of the community he serves. "My philosophy is that whatever education we have should be based on our cultural influence, so that it becomes meaningful …

Value your parents, value your past
"It makes [parents] value kids going to school … It is coupled with a high element of discipline that involves a high element of respect. If education could produce kids who value their parents, value their past, and then focus on what they intend to be — but without actually neglecting their roots — we would be better off."

While he values the community's African roots and firmly believes in parents setting examples for young people, he knows that those examples are often hard to find. Unemployment, illiteracy, poverty and alcoholism take their toll. But amid this devastation the school is valued. It is not vandalised, but respected. 

He wants the pupils to value themselves in the same way that the community values the school. While Mtshali holds after-school and morning classes to help pupils excel, there is a larger purpose; an acknowledgement that many may not have electricity or space to study at home, or may live next to a noisy shebeen.

"My vision," he says, "is to see this school as a beacon of hope when all other schools crumble in whatever way." He knows what the neighbouring schools in his community look like. And that is part of what drives him. He knows that a good education is what will transform the lives of these pupils.

One morning, at a school assembly, his style really became apparent. The previous day a parent had come to his office, asking when progress reports were going to be issued.

Mtshali's tone was angry as he chastised pupils for not sharing these reports with their parents. 

Pupils, he said, have a responsibility to give parents progress reports.

 "Your parents may not know what is going on, may be illiterate," he said. "But you shouldn't make them look like a fool to the rest of the world." 

Believing in his teachers
In addition to discipline, he relies on another key element — an unwavering belief in his teachers. 

"There is no resource that beats a teacher," he replied when I asked him about lack of resources. "In a teacher there is everything … A teacher can even improvise where a resource is not available … As long as they are … highly inspired to see their kids succeed in life, they will never stop. They move heaven and earth, they move mountains. Teachers are one of the greatest resources of all time."

Economics teacher Nozibusiso Shez affirmed this commitment. "The spirit of teaching — it has to be within you," she said. "That oomph. So maybe that's why he talks about the spirit of teaching. Spirit is something that revolves around you, has to be there with you all the time."

Mtshali references the mammoth task of his teachers, but he has a mammoth task as well — enforcing his code of discipline, trying to engage parents and offering some pupils life examples that they may not always get at home. And, of course, aiming to achieve a 100% pass rate.

He tells me that as he finishes each task he proclaims: "Mission accomplished." 

So, at the end of our interview, I receive a smile when I state: "Mission accomplished."

Molly Blank is a documentary filmmaker. This is her sixth article about Schools That Work, the video series she is directing on disadvantaged schools that achieve exceptional results. The series was conceived by University of the Free State rector Jonathan Jansen. For more information go to vimeo.com/schoolsthatwork or email schools­[email protected]