Barnato Park High is a public school located in the heart of Hillbrow, Johannesburg. It is well known that Hillbrow is associated with crime, drugs, grime and prostitution. This kind of background has had a huge effect on the behaviour of our learners.
At the school, I have helped solve problems experienced by both learners and colleagues. They include bunking classes, failure to submit assignments, homework not done, and not wearing proper school uniform. There is one incident I experienced in March 2009 that I would like to share.
Around this time of the year, learners are expected to write what we call control tests. I had to invigilate one of the register classes, grade 10B, whose teacher was not well. I gave out the question papers and, after three minutes, ticked off the register.
Ten minutes after the class had started writing the test, Lucky* entered the classroom. He seemed surprised to find me invigilating. He neither greeted me nor apologised for arriving late. Rather, he waltzed past to his desk at the back of the classroom — a place he prefers, especially during substitution periods in my class.
I went to his desk and handed him the question paper. This surprised him. He thought I was going to comment on his tardiness or about the smell of dagga coming from his clothes.
A few minutes later, a loud voice came from the back of the class. “Choshi!! Choshi!!” It was Lucky.
“Yes, Lucky?” I said, thinking he wanted to ask a question or needed a pen or paper. He said: “Why are you not saying anything today? You like to comment on things with the pretence of advising learners who go astray.”
Suddenly he stood up, crumpled the question paper, threw it into the dustbin and stormed out of the classroom.
I went to reception and found Lucky’s learner profile. I immediately phoned his mother and informed her what had happened. While paging through Lucky’s profile, I saw a report by one of my colleagues saying that in January 2010 “Lucky … was caught smoking dagga on the school premises”. Unfortunately, the letter did not say what steps were taken.
I informed my principal about what had happened and suggested involving our student counsellor. At the end of the control test period, Lucky came to politely inform me about his mother’s arrival at the school. I involved three other stakeholders: the principal, the student counsellor and the grade 10 controller. Lucky’s mother was furious that no one had told her of Lucky’s misdemeanours.
In the end, Lucky undertook to mend his ways by attending school regularly and to stop smoking dagga. The grade 10 controller agreed to monitor Lucky’s behaviour and Lucky was ordered to report first thing in the morning and after school. His mother pledged to help him with homework and urge him to be serious about his schoolwork.
Because of constant monitoring and communication between the school and Lucky’s mother his schoolwork has improved dramatically.
* Lucky is not his real name. Tlou Choshi is a life orientation educator at Barnato Park High School in Hillbrow, Johannesburg