The School Corridor Tatler

Generally, every school has a vision statement.  The problem is that the vision statement is exactly that; a well-written document only. Sadly, in many cases, the SMT and the teachers themselves do not know the vision of the school. Why would schools disregard their own dream for their organization? What then, is a vision? What is a vision. A vision is what gives an organization purpose. A vision statement captures what your school wants to be and where the school sees itself in the future.  Your core values will be the foundation on which your vision is built.  Your vision is your BIG dream, the destination that you want to reach. Your vision is there to guide you and to inspire you to work towards the future that you see for all the learners at the school. Think of President Nelson Mandela's closing lines  of his speech in 1964: "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have carried the ideal of a democratic...

Meeting Zwelakhe Today I met 21-year old Zwelakhe Nofemele at the Lentegeur Psychiatric hospital in Mitchell's Plain. Zwelakhe was manning the Lentegeur Resource centre where there is small shop selling T-shirts. The T- shirt slogans catch one's eye immediately. I am hooked.Emblazoned across the t-shirts are the slogans as you can see on the picture: Mal / adjusted and Nor / Mal. The word "Mal" is an Afrikaans word meaning mad, mentally ill. Good gracious, I thought. Why would the very place where the mentally ill are supposed to find refuge and support, exploit their vulnerability? Society already stigmatizes those who have mental illnesses, now this? I asked Zwelakhe why these slogans gave been chosen. Zwelakhe became the storyteller.   " These t-shirts are part of a small business that is run by one of the past patients of Lentegeur Psychiatric Hospital. This man designed the slogans when he was a patient here. These slogans highlight the discrimination and...