The demographics of former model-C schools reflect the multicultural nature of our country, but are primarily dictated by the financial status of parents. Simply put, the children whose parents who can afford higher school fees can access the superior resources, though not necessarily superior education, of these institutions.
The result is a classroom in which children of various cultures receive instruction from a teacher who is often not of their culture.
Classrooms are the microcosm of larger society where values and attitudes are passed on to pupils. These values will dictate their interactions throughout their lives. One such value that should therefore, be espoused is tolerance.
Pupils and teachers of colour who have moved into these former model-C institutions, find themselves isolated from their cultures as they are forced to conform to the Eurocentric values that prevail.
Often, learners participate in ceremonies that may echo the tradition of the school but hold no significance for them. They are forced to sublimate their own religious beliefs, rituals and language to conform to a common identity as members of the school community. When they get home, however, their reality is different and often part of a culture that is far removed from the one they experience at school.
Such learners usually develop coping strategies and are able to straddle both worlds with ease. They do so by adopting the culture of the school community during the school day, while returning to the bosom of familiarity of their own cultures afterwards. Others try to integrate their cultures into the school by forming cultural or religious societies.
Many former model-C schools boast active Hindu student associations (HSAs) that provide a forum for showcasing Hindu culture. Pupils join these societies in droves to satisfy their need to belong to something familiar. They are also well supported by their parents who encourage this cultural revival and relish the sense of identity engendered in their children.
In spite of belonging to these societies, pupils still find themselves longing for some symbol of their culture to remind them of their identities. Some wear a red string on their wrists, a sacred thread, tied on an auspicious day in the Hindu calendar, that can be inconspicuous under a long-sleeved shirt. Others wear a strip of goat skin tied on during a religious ceremony, while pupils of the Christian faith wear bands reflecting messages of their faith. Even teenagers who do not wear bands of religious significance, sport the thin, colourful bands of popular culture as an expression of their identities.
The furore at a local former model-C girls school in Durban over a learner wearing a nose ring reflects an attitude of intolerance and is, sadly, not the exception but the norm at many of these institutions. It has been argued that the nose adornment worn by the pupil is an item of jewellery rather than an expression of cultural identity. Infringing on a persons right to practise the traditions associated with his or her culture has always been an emotive issue, especially in our young democracy. It is an unfortunate reality that transformation has been met with hostility and reluctance by some of our citizens.
Traditionally, the nose ring has been worn for centuries by girls and women of Indian origin an adornment that has, with time, become part of the culture. An acceptance of this and an attitude of tolerance by the school can only show its willingness to embrace diversity. Commitment to transformation is also under scrutiny, yet all it would take is a shift in mindset to defuse a potentially explosive situation. After all, the school nurtures and promotes its active HSA, which must be pondering the schools commitment and motive if it is now denying a Hindu child the right to wear a cultural symbol.
Herein lies a lesson to all other former model-C institutions grappling with issues of culture and identity. While acculturation or adopting the new culture of the school does occur to some extent, few people of colour are likely to abandon the safety and familiarity of their birth culture. Transformation in mindset is imperative and people in charge of these institutions would do well to change or adapt to the needs of a changing society.
Embracing cultural diversity in the school means not only allowing the cultural societies to exist, but also being sensitive and accommodating cultural needs. Condescending attitudes and patronising behaviour lead to conflict, which ultimately results in learners being the losers in the long term.
The former model-C school that offered up an old, disused toilet to its Hindu society in which to store religious icons displayed disrespect and disdain for the entire Indian community, let alone the teacher and pupils of the society. Such intolerance and insensitivity has no place in our democracy.
If allowed to fester in our schools, these actions taint the perceptions and interactions of the future leaders of our country who are currently being nurtured in our schools. The stance of the Department of Education should be clear: no pupil and no teacher should be allowed to experience the pain of persecution for practising the culture into which they were born.
* Usha Naidu is an educator at Glenwood High School