Isaacs must be reinstated
WE CALL on the Western Cape Education Department to reinstate Brain Isaacs to his position as principal of South Peninsula High School. Mr Isaacs is an exceptional teacher and an outstanding principal.
He has an established reputation with an abiding commitment to building a free, quality schooling system for all, based on equality and justice.
Mr Isaacs is involved in various educational organisations that promote the development of an education system aimed at servicing the needs of all communities, especially the poor and disadvantaged.
This commitment, we believe, is best illustrated by his more than 40 years of teaching and educational leadership at South Peninsula High School.
He belongs to a league of teachers whose names need to be gilded on a roll of honour, not nailed on an indictment sheet.
Stripping the school of courageous and principled leadership imperils the educational development of its students.
South Peninsula is one of our province’s best schools largely due to the leadership provided by Mr Isaacs and his colleagues.
The school has excelled in producing students who obtain good results over many years and has provided a well rounded education that emphasises engaged citizenship and productive activity.
The school’s students, despite their socio-economic backgrounds, gain access to, and excel at university and go on to play an important role in society.
Mr Isaacs has accomplished his educational endeavours without optimal resources or parents who can afford high fees.
SP draws its students from all over the Cape Flats and the school towers as a beacon of hope for children striving to escape the debilitating effects of spatial violence and poor schooling generally. It offers a quality education with integrity and bold leadership, based on a motivated staff, effective tuition, a sound motivational ethos and an ordered and disciplined learning environment.
Mr Isaacs is just the type of educational leader that our school system requires.
His disciplined, committed and intellectually engaged approach is exactly what is required at a time when we are confronted with a faltering education system, increased drop-outs, and a dismally low quality education.
Attempts to silence and shackle Mr Isaacs erode the hard earned gains made at South Peninsula in countering the crippling effects of these educational challenges in a harsh and hostile social environment.
We call on the Western Cape Education Department to reinstate Mr Isaacs to his position as principal.
He is an exceptional educational leader who should be allowed to resume his position at this flourishing school. Reinstating Mr Isaacs is the correct thing to do.