ADDRESS HAIR-RAISING ISSUE OF RACISM

THE suppression of black culture at the Pretoria High School for Girls is not surprising. However, the issue is much bigger than simply hairstyles. For years some former Model C schools have been able to get away with blatant disregard for the cultures of black South Africans, as if to make black children apologetic for their blackness.

As black primary school children we were discouraged from speaking “that black language” because English was the medium of instruction.

Black people still refer to such schools as izikolo zabelungu (white schools). Referring to a prominent, suburban school in such a fashion makes black children feel they are inferior to their white counterparts, perpetuating the belief that black children are lucky even to be considered for enrolment.

It’s hard to find a school where black, white, coloured and Indian children alike are taught an indigenous language and not just English and Afrikaans. Teaching South Africa’s languages to children of all races is important. Being a rainbow nation extends to our wealth of languages.

The level of transformation among academic staff also needs to be addressed. What must a black child think when all the teachers are white and the only black employees are the cleaners? Hiring more coloured, black and Indian teachers is long overdue.

Sandile Ntuli Johannesburg

MY RATHER precocious grandson, who is in high school and who professes to know everything about everything and anything, feels he is being unfairly prejudiced and oppressed by having to wear a blazer and tie in summer at his larney school.

He feels, quite rightly, that his well-worn T-shirt, which says “I am the greatest”, his out-of-the-washing-bag jeans and ancient sneakers – which cause our Rotweiller-boerboel, Julius Sneezer, to take off frantically when he gets a whiff of them – help him to concentrate and work much better.

He is quite an intelligent youngster. Who on earth thought up the idea of uniforms? His big mate, Phillip, says he is being hounded by narrow-minded teachers for wearing three rather large earrings in his left ear. He says it’s tradition in his family.

“After all,” he says, “we have rights and choices and we should be allowed to look whichever way we want.” Brilliant! This goes not only for him and my grandson, but for the third member of the trio, Melanie.

She is 14, and loves to wear purple lipstick, false eyelashes and her long, blonde hair hanging loose over her shoulders. Big trouble at school.

Melanie maintains that pupils should feel “liberated” and be “free thinkers”.

Who are these dreadful people “that want to impose their expectations and appearances so forcibly on others?” Do away with them!

JR Whitlock Germiston

IMPOSING European culture on African people in Africa has nothing to do with the preservation of “high standards” or strict WHEN Fitch Ratings and S&P affirmed our rating as BBB-, the lowest grade, but still an investment grade, in June, we all breathed a sign of relief – although these agencies warned us that unless the government took decisive measures to bolster growth, quell the prevailing uncertainty and end political turmoil, a downgrade would be inevitable.

Just after peaceful local government elections and the acceptance of the results, the Hawks pounced on Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, trying to resurrect, with much zeal and vigour, an investigation that seems to be nothing but political – to get him replaced.

One of the world’s money managers said “if Gordhan goes it’s an indication that the government is happy to get downgraded”.

If this is not a wake-up call, then I don’t know what is.

JM Bouvier Bryanston