Sunday, July 12, 2009

Wrong lessons taught

The Star, February 21, 2009 Edition 1

I'M A parent of an ex-Parktown boy and I would like to add my voice to the debate with respect to the headlines regarding the school.

Four years ago my boy was enrolled as a Grade 8, and we had high expectations. He was unlucky and ended up in the most rowdy class of his grade, and five boys made teaching that class hell - not the school's fault, as these things happen.

What, however, was strange to me was the school's approach to handling the problem. When teachers could not handle the class, and could not teach, a prefect was called in and the whole class was subsequently punished as a group.

Often during break the whole class had to run and do PT, sometimes there wasn't even time to eat.

Needless to say we took him out of the school at the end of that year.

It is the system that is at fault; it is the leadership at the school that has instilled this thinking and this behaviour.

Men can be quite successful in life as gentle and compassionate souls.

We need to produce competent, self-respecting and compassionate young men, not men who carry grudges and take these out on others.

Jochen Radel

Parktown North

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