The School Corridor Tatler

Ashton showing me the uppercut move. I enjoy meeting young people. This week I met a professional boxer, Ashton Whiteboy. Ashton came to our offices to help resolve the internet problems we were experiencing. He struggled to find the problem for a while so I made small talk to pass the time.   Ashton attended Westridge High school in Mitchell's Plain. After sharing some experiences about his school and the Mitchell's Plain area, our conversation shifted to his plans for the future.   "I want to become a professional boxer," Ashton said.   This response came as quite a surprise to me. Of all the possible career paths out there, this young man has chosen to be a boxer. In my head, I just saw mashed faces and jabs flying all over the place. Why has he decided to become a boxer, I asked.   " I come from a family of boxers. My dad who is now my coach, used to be a boxer. I used to go to the gym with him when he used to train. When I was about fourteen, I became inter...

All children are born entrepreneurs. They are curious, experimental, innovative and talented. They enjoy taking charge and showing off their skills and competencies. Yet, we force them to be passive onlookers at school assemblies and other school events. Even when we receive guests at the school, the learners often just interact with them from a distance. Often the teachers are bogged down with all the planning details while the bored learners direct their pent up energies to amuse themselves in ways which are not appreciated by the adult folk around them. The question begs: why are we not allowing the 'Steve Jobs' to help us with the organizational planning so that we can reserve our energies for the classroom?   Jacques Schouw, the sound and lighting engineer of Muizenberg High school with Mel September, Hospitality educator I can see the possibility of an entrepreneurial- driven Programme embedded in a school's infrastructural curriculum framework because there are scho...