Mountview matric results a high note after difficult year

IT IS with great happiness that I write this piece.

Since 2017, Mountview High School has been under-performing in their matric results.

Many said there was no excuse for any school in a gang-infested area to under-perform. Maybe there is some truth to this.

But seeing the decay in the community, one begs to differ. Everyone knows that 2020 was not and easy year. With Covid -19 and all the protocols, you were restricted in class on the playground, etc.

The 77 matric pupils at Mountview were sceptical of returning to school after the lengthy lockdown break. Many stayed away and never returned, but the class of 2020 went on.

Pupils who could afford data worked from home via WhatsApp classes. Many returned to school but were nervous and unsure of what lay ahead. Teachers on a daily basis were also worried about their own health, but persevered.

“Hard work” was many a time mentioned to pupils, but what does it mean?

To be more specific it is studying late nights, extra classes with the woman in the feeding scheme making extra food for them. It is not sleeping at all, it is Saturday classes, coaching pupils to read with understanding, sending pupils on study camps, personal and emotional consulting – the list is endless.

To transform matric pupils’ mindset was like a big mountain. The attitude change needed towards their work was to to become consistent and persevere in spite of whatever situation.

Being an under-performing school, it has all the social ills you can think off. Nine out of 10 pupils come from single-parent families or stay with their grandmother or a foster parents. The powers that be don’t want to hear anything about these realities. It is only about numbers and stats and you as an human being are ignored.

I don’t think anyone understands the pressure on matric teachers. They need to deal with more than just schoolwork and finishing the curriculum.

With little sleep and different co-morbidities, they soldiered on. They have families that are dependent on them, the life they are living is year-in and year-out about these precious souls.

For these matric teachers, it is about seeing another child turning his or her back on gangsterism.

It is never about complaining but instead it is all about dedication and not to disappoint these pupils – they only know broken promises and disappointments.

Finally, some of the negative stigma of under-performing for years has been dealt with. The 14% improvement on the 2019 matric results says a lot.

In a year with so much happening, the emotions at present are running high. To see the faces of these matrics of 2020 light up on receiving their results brought a tear to our eyes.

Parents hugging teachers in this pandemic was unavoidable. Parents shouting “this is my first child that got a matric pass in the family – because the others have dropped out.” Those words were thanks enough.

As educators at Mountview, it was a high note in a year with so much trauma. God bless Mountview High in Hanover Park and its principal, teachers, school governing body and all supporting staff. Hallelujah, the song says, “it wasn’t easy but it was worth it”. PN HENDRICKS | Hanover Park