Philosophy of Education as a Means to Educate Humanity in a Diverse South Africa

In the 1930’s it was rare for a black South African to attend college. But Mandela not only attended, he graduated, got a degree from law school, and set up a practice in Johannesburg which he hoped could support his small family. Yet apartheid was always a humiliation to him. When the Afrikaner, or Dutch South African, Nationalists came to power in the 1948 election, the segregation habits of the past three hundred years became law. Hoping for a brighter future, Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC) and became its first Youth Leader.

Segregation between white and black long preceded the apartheid, however, this remained the prime objective in the creation of the apartheid state. This system created a racial hierarchy which started with franchise restrictions imposed by the Parliamentary Registration Act of

humane place, we had to embrace our enemies as well as our friends.” (81) This new beginning for South Africa was largely successful because it was built on honesty, peace and compassion; the foundations of forgiveness.

The South African apartheid system has quite a significant impact on the lives of black Africans in terms of education. A vast majority of these Africans went to schools which had teachers who were inexperienced, a lack of textbooks and were placed in classes of up to eighty children or more. Brenda Modisaotsile (2012) simply states that the education system, as well as the quality of education in South Africa has continued to remain poor and ineffective. The amount of students in a class is still increasingly large, the issue of learners’ dropping out of school and the standards of numeracy and literacy are extremely

Race and subsequent racial discrimination has molded South Africa from its inception. Apartheid institutionalized racial discrimination and subjugation in order to further the notion of white superiority. Apartheid legitimized violence based on the perception of racial inferiority. Race, in and of itself, was the social and psychological reality through which repression and violence functioned. South Africans saw the world in “black” and “white” terms and violence was commonly used to maintain this status quo. However, during the Mandela era (1994-1999), a new mindset emerged to describe the social order. This mindset culminated in nationhood, unity, racial harmony and reconciliation.12 Reference to race entered a sensitive and delicate space. Choosing to downplay the role of race rendered the real, often violent, consequences of race invisible.11 This self-imposed cognitive dissonance was seen as a necessity in creating national unity. In the Mandela era, and during the TRC processes, there was little national debate on how race had influenced past human rights violations. In fact, the TRC had a direct and explicit focus on events post-1960s, which dismissed colonization and the historical build up to Apartheid. There is also little recognition that race continues to shape identity and interactions within contemporary South Africa.

Since the fall of apartheid, 22 years ago, South Africa is still grappling with how to get the country reconciled particularly, in terms of race, class, and intergenerational differences. As South Africa navigates through its democratic journey, the role of the youth has also become more pronounced. The participation of youth in the political and economic spaces is very central to consolidating South Africa’s democracy. Yet, the challenges the youth face in most spheres of South African society, leaves many to be skeptical about the promise of the rainbow nation as Mandela has envisioned. The hope and shining future associated

     “And so it has come to pass, that South Africa today undergoes her rebirth, cleansed of a horrible past, matured from a tentative beginning, and reaching out to the future with confidence,”(Mandela 1994) Nelson Mandela predicts. They

Many of the contemporary issues in South Africa can easily be associated with the apartheid laws which devastated the country. The people of South Africa struggle day by day to reverse “the most cruel, yet well-crafted,” horrific tactic “of social engineering.” The concept behind apartheid emerged in 1948 when the nationalist party took over government, and the all-white government enforced “racial segregation under a system of legislation” . The central issues stem from 50 years of apartheid include poverty, income inequality, land ownership rates and many other long term affects that still plague the brunt of the South African population while the small white minority still enjoy much of the wealth, most of the land and opportunities

The South Africa the world knows today was not always one of general unity and democracy but of division and supremacy throughout the races. John Carlin’s, “Playing the Enemy,” guides you through South Africa’s journey during the nineteen eighties and early nineties to non-racial democracy. Through firsthand experiences of many South Africans including the dismantler of apartheid and former president, Nelson Mandela, Carlin helps the reader understand what Mandela and many others had to endure to make equality a reality for black South Africans. Carlin’s focus on the destruction of apartheid is coupled with the 1995 Rugby World Cup held in South Africa, more specifically South Africa’s Springboks and how Mandela used them to unite the

Since its colonization by England and the Dutch, South Africa’s government struggled under power hungry colonial leaders and most recently under the white dominated Apartheid regime. Before colonization, South Africa was ruled by different tribes each having jurisdiction over their section of land. Eventually, South Africa like so many other Africa countries, fell victim to European colonization. The first European settlers were Dutch, who arrived in 1652 and worked for the Dutch East India Company, whose main focuses were trade, exploration, and colonization. In 1820 the British arrived and for years South Africa was suppressed and ruled by Britain and the Dutch. Finally, South Africa gained independence on May 31, 1910. The country was unified from its previous divided British colonies and was now called the Union of South Africa, ruled by its minority white population. In 1948, the National Party won the election and was lead by Daniel Malan. Malan and the National Party installed the apartheid system, a word meaning apartness, which segregated the country into blacks to whites. In 1950, Malan created the Registration Act and which required everyone to classify according to race, and African Americans were forced to live in separate cities and ostracized by the white population. Through almost 50 years South Africa lived through a dark stage while the rest of the world shunned them and the UN deemed the apartheid a “crime against humanity.”

I have always thought that Nelson Mandela has been one of the most important people in history. I find it very fascinating that one man could end the Apartheid and that is why I want to find out more about this. South Africa is a country with a past of enforced racism and separation of its multi-racial community. The White Europeans invaded South Africa and started a political system known as 'Apartheid' (meaning 'apartness'). This system severely restricted the rights and lifestyle of the non-White inhabitants of the country forcing them to live separately from the White Europeans. I have chosen to investigate how the Apartheid affected people’s lives, and also how and why the Apartheid system rose and fell in South Africa.

This is a good reminder that what we have here in south Africa is special. For most of history, people have been trapped in un unified societies, where the same people always stays on top and everyone else never had the chance .But South Africa is exceptional because , here , we believe that every human being, is unique, and that every human being has a right to go as far as their talents and capabilities will allow us to work .Like most South Africans, this is a personal representaion . My great grandparents came here in search of opportunity to improve their lives and give their children the opportunity for a better life. And they left me something that not many people can

Many have fallen into the trap of rebuffing a historical analysis of contemporary South African problems. Almost habitually, the critics of historical analysis accuse its proponents of turning a blind eye on failings of the post apartheid administration led by the ANC. ‘Apartheid cannot be blamed on that is wrong in South Africa’ they seem to say. Deservedly that statement is true. While race politics falls outside the scope of the study, it is difficult to understand agitation relating to service delivery entirely outside

Education in South Africa is in crisis due to lot of issues that it’s facing. Education in South Africa is governed by the state under the department of basic education for primary school and secondary school not higher education and training. The question that I am going to address here state that “is the democratic education a solution to South Africa’s educational problems”? As lots of people know that our education in South Africa is facing lot of problems that affect learning in our school, that also affect the learners. The way those things are happening now seems as if our government is failing to address those issues. In this essay I will provide an

To those of you who do not support our party and feel that by supporting the current government, it will ensure that our country never returns to the dark days of inequality and ignorance. We want you to know that we played our part in opposing apartheid. On election day voters like you have an opportunity to put South Africa back on track towards realising the dream of 1994.