Sunday, July 12, 2009

Initiation - Parktown Boys

The Star,February 28, 2009 Edition 1

INITIATION, as highlighted by the Parktown Boys' expose, is an archaic approach to entry into high school life.

The experience is not valuable. The kids who can tough it out do so. The ones who can't are either emotionally scarred or develop high levels of hatred of the perpetrators, and their burning desire is to perpetrate the same hurt on their juniors in due course. It is a legacy of English-style schooling.

Teenagehood is very difficult: brains are still growing and hormones are flowing through bodies. A very potent combination.

We wouldn't subject new staff to initiation at the workplace, so there is no reason to do it at schools.

Governing Body Member

Co-ed school

Northern Johannesburg

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