Pianist hits high note with two scholarships
DISSATISFIED with the education system, a Malvern father decided to take early retirement 16 years ago to home school his three daughters and despite the financial strain, the rewards are proving to be nothing less than remarkable.
Late last month, Woody Pather’s second eldest child, Rashalia, a final year student studying towards her bachelor of music degree, was awarded two prestigious scholarships from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
One was the Lawrence and Constance Robinson Scholarship for the best undergraduate and the other was the Townley Williams Scholarship for the best student entering the final year of study in a first degree.
She also received the Deputy Vice- Chancellor’s Award for the best student in the humanities faculty.
This means the burden of tertiary fees this year will no longer impact on her cash-strapped parents.
The 22-year-old, who intends pursuing her postgraduate studies, said she appreciated her father’s sacrifice.
“He was working for the Natal Provincial Administration (in budget and housing) when he decided to take early retirement to focus on the educational needs of myself and my sisters. For this, we will forever be grateful to him,” said Rashalia.
Her elder sister Santhiska, 27, completed her Master’s of science degree at the University of Massachusetts in the US after having being awarded a Fulbright Scholarship.
She attained her BSc honours summa cum laude.
Santhiska is currently a third year medical student at the University of Witwatersrand.
Youngest daughter Theshira, 19, is a first year classical civilisation student at UKZN and is already topping her class.
Pather said: “I was dissatisfied with the education system at that stage already, because the department of education had ‘dumbed down’ teaching, especially at matric level. Pupils had to attain 33% to pass a subject. This, to me, was breeding mediocrity.
“If we are to compete on a world stage, where does this place us? We as a country have the worst mathematic results, especially here in Africa, yet we are supposed to be progressive-minded. So I decided that if I wanted to give my children a competitive chance at life on a global scale, I was going to have to educate them myself.”
He said his wife, Kalaivani, was a housewife, and his early retirement meant they had to live off his work pension.
“Our standard of living had plummeted but it was worth it. I recommend home schooling, but it means a parent must be able to give up their time to help their children, and at the same time realise that their standard of living will drop.
“You might not be able to drive a Mercedes Benz or a BMW but an average car. You could always revert to your higher standard of living when your children have realised their dreams and you could start working again.”
Pather is currently tutoring high school pupils and his wife administers the tuition school.
Rashalia said she started playing the piano when she was 6, having heard her mother and older sister play.
“They received lessons from Dave Wellard at the time. I heard them and was curious by what they were doing. I began tinkering with the piano and soon I too began attending lessons.”
At age 16 she started lessons with Dr Liezl-Maret Jacobs, and is still being tutored by her.
She said playing the piano entailed hard work.
“You must practise every day and you must be patient with yourself because it can take a long time to learn a piece.
“It can also be physically demanding because you must learn technically how to equate a passage correctly, from an intellectual and an emotional point of view. And there is also a mental strain in that you must listen to the how the piece sounds and play the right notes.”
Theshira also played the piano, she said, while her dad preferred the guitar.