Oh shame, you went to a private school.
My poor parents pulled their happy 10-year-old daughter with a white-blonde afro out of Knysna Primary thinking my education was suffering being at a mediocre government school. Now that I look back at all the chopping and changing of schools in search of the "best education", I wonder if it was actually worth it.
There is no question that acquiring a good education in South Africa is exorbitant. Having attended 6 schools in my 12 years of schooling, I have experienced a lot of varied teaching methods and attitudes to education. Some schools were worth the money, some were anything but. I realise that we cannot, particularly in our society, attribute huge amounts of weight to attending a private school particularly when this does not always equate to a better education. What makes me upset is that it seems going to a private school works to your disadvantage.
Firstly, just getting into university is more difficult. The syllabuses are different in private schools following the IEB curriculum and yet, come admission time, private school applicants are compared to public school applicants. Is it just my “snobby” private school that taught “you can’t compare apples and oranges”? That is not to say private schools are better, but they are certainly different.
Not only this, but international students are admitted along similar guidelines. My brother matriculated overseas with what should be a prestigious International Baccalaureate – only to be rejected at Stellenbosch due to their incompetence to convert the credits of what should be a universally recognised qualification. (He was accepted at UCT which tends to be more selective than Stellies).
Firstly, just getting into university is more difficult. The syllabuses are different in private schools following the IEB curriculum and yet, come admission time, private school applicants are compared to public school applicants. Is it just my “snobby” private school that taught “you can’t compare apples and oranges”? That is not to say private schools are better, but they are certainly different.
Not only this, but international students are admitted along similar guidelines. My brother matriculated overseas with what should be a prestigious International Baccalaureate – only to be rejected at Stellenbosch due to their incompetence to convert the credits of what should be a universally recognised qualification. (He was accepted at UCT which tends to be more selective than Stellies).
When my brother was applying for varsity here in South Africa I enrolled at Oakhill, a small private school in Knysna. The maths I did in grade 11 in Oakhill was the same maths I had done in grade 9 in Germany. And what about the maths my matriculated public school friends couldn’t help me with because they had “never seen it before?”
I’m not quite sure what my parents paid for in the end - even when we are accepted at university, applications to Journalism and Media Studies 2 include asking what kind of school we went to. Why? So that we are placed in a “privileged” category that works against us? I thought the whole point is that you can’t discriminate. Or does that only work the one way? Thanks for nothing.
Posted by Megan
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Hey, I see your point regarding the disadvantages of attending a private school, but I also think your argument is completely bogus. I’m a matriculant of a private school and I had absolutely no problem getting into Rhodes or anywhere else for that matter. You’re getting it completely wrong. It’s not going to a private school that’s the problem, it’s the fact that our country’s education system hasn’t advanced to the international level as of yet. So you’re saying that your education wasn’t worth it just because Stellies can’t convert your marks? Don’t be a dunda head; your mother paid big money for you to even sit down and be able to understand the conversion system. It’s people like you who encourage other people to look down on children who attended private schools: we’re seen as snobs, as people who can get away with anything and you sit there and nod your head saying “yes, I didn’t deserve my top education”? You should actually be ashamed of yourself. There’s a lot to be proud of. In fact, I find myself using notes I made in high school for things I’m doing now in my subjects. I’m not saying that people in public schools are worse off; I’m just saying that you shouldn’t put down your private school education just because South African society gives it a negative connotation.
Thanks,
Khanyi
http://www.truthshots.blogspot.com
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