I don't think I'm a racist. Probably just a bad human.

1. Volksrust Recorder - Column/Rubrieke10 Recorder 08 January 2016
Change
Your
Story
With Jacques de Villiers
Matrics:Thereare
always options -
even afterbad results
Am I a Racist
For further information:
Jacques de Villiers
jacques@jacquesdevilliers.com
082 906 3693
Many thousands of Grade 12 learners from
the Class of 2015 will this week have to face
the reality that things have not worked out
the way they wanted them to in terms of
their results. With this disappointment will
come the disarray of having to review their
plans for 2016, an education expert says.
The most important thing to realise at this
stage – even though it may be tough to
stand up and face these choices – is that
bad results are not the end of the road, and
that there are still many options to get back
on track.
“Below par matric results do not mean you
have to give up on your dreams and
aspirations,” says Dr Felicity Coughlan,
Director of The Independent Institute of
Education, SA’s largest private higher
education institution.
“In fact, if handled maturely and
pragmatically, a disappointing performance
could be just the catalyst needed to propel
a learner in a new and better direction, with
more determination and resolve than before.
As the saying goes, one should never let a
good crisis go to waste,” she says.
Coughlan says parents, guardians and other
caregivers should ensure they positively
support learners during this difficult time as
they may be facing a number of concerns,
such as not being able to get into the higher
education institution they expected, having
to choose a different course, having to write
supplementary exams, or even having to
repeat the year. Many also have the
emotional struggle with having
disappointed themselves and others.
“There are still many options available, but
it is imperative that proper research into all
these options be conducted,” she says.
“These include options in the public and
private sector, different degrees or diplomas,
a higher certificate instead of a degree as a
stepping stone, volunteer work
opportunities or part-time study, second
semester registrations, supplementary
exams or redoing the school year in a more
supportive environment.
“First, adults should assist disappointed
learners to get the poor results into
perspective. This is often best done by
plotting all the options that are still available
and weighing them up against each other,”
says Coughlan.
“It is easier to feel better in the face of real
choices than to be told to feel better without
any sense of options. Facts help to
reintroduce a sense of control over one’s
fate and the path is then cleared for choosing
the best possible way forward,” she says.
Coughlan suggests that parents and
caregivers (and students) who suspect that
things are not going to turn out as well as
hoped begin to look for options now so that
if the disappointment does happen, options
can be put on the table sooner rather than
later.
Options available to learners who did not
do as well as they hoped, include:
WRITINGSUPPLEMENTARYEXAMS
Not everyone will qualify for supplementary
exams, but if they do, they should definitely
register and do their very best to pass. Check
with your school whether you qualify, and
then go all out these next few weeks in
ensuring that you spend as much time as
possible behind your books.
REPEATINGTHEYEAR
Having another go at matric is not a happy
prospect for anyone who has just been
through the mill, but it could be an exciting
second chance if you go about it differently
this time round. For instance you might
choose to do some part-time work while
being enrolled in a distance learning course,
or you could choose to attend a different
institution that specialises in rewriting.
Many will even allow you to change your
subjects.
ENROLLINGATADIFFERENTHIGHER
EDUCATIONINSTITUTION
SouthAfrica has only one quality assurance
system, which means that private
institutions and public universities are
subjected to the same registration and
accreditation checks and balances. So if your
marks mean that you pass but are not able
to go to your institution of first choice, have
a look around. There are some fantastic and
often more work-oriented options available
out there that you might not even have
considered.
CHOOSINGADIFFERENTCOURSE
Perhaps a higher certificate is the stepping
stone you need to be accepted into the
course of your choice. Or perhaps there is a
completely different direction which you can
tackle, one that you were not aware of
before. Again, do your research and do it
thoroughly. Speak to the people in the
industry you want to enter, and have a look
around to see which institutions produce
industry leaders. Today there are courses
that did not even exist two years ago. Are
you aware of these? If not, you have some
pleasantly surprising research to do.
ELECTING TO KEEP GOING EVEN IF
THINGSARENOTYETCLEAR
Another cliché which continues to exist
because it is true, is that it does not matter
how many times you fall – it matters only
how many times you stand up. This is
painful and disappointing, but it is only a
catastrophe if you don’t stand up and face
it. This can be no more than a temporary
setback and can in fact be a character and
strength-building exercise. Do not let the
year go to waste. If fulltime study or a return
to school feels like too much of an ask or
you do not have the funds to do this, then
at least enrol for a short course which can
keep you growing and in the habit of
learning. Sometimes all that is needed is one
or two small successes to realise that you
are more than capable. Everyone fails
sometimes. Successful people learn from
their failures.
Phew, Penny Sparrow’s post referring
to black people as “monkeys” has caused
a storm of unprecedented proportions.
I think she did us a favour.
What she did was to lance the festering
ulcer of racism that has plagued our
country for as long as I can remember
and brought it out into the open. That
has to be a good thing because for too
long we have avoided confronting it.
This so-called “Rainbow Nation” of ours
is nothing but a box of Smarties. Smarties
that are hell-bent on destroying each
other.
Last year I got sucked into some of the
comment feeds on News 24. The hatred
and vitriol between our black and white
brothers and sisters on these feeds were
too ghastly for words.
It got so bad that News 24 switched off
the comment section. When hardened
journalists can’t handle the ‘free speech’
then you know there’s trouble in
Paradise. Based on the comments I read,
I’m surprised that we’re not at war with
each other. Perhaps we are; we just
haven’t named it as such.
The Sparrow debacle has given me a
moment to pause and reflect on my own
filter when it comes to racism and
intolerance of those who are different
to me. I had to ask myself the question
out loud: “Am I racist?” I’d like to think
I am not... At least not overtly… But,
covertly where the demons hang out,
deep, deep inside my soul, it may be a
different story.
Sometimes, some of the things I do and
say (or omit) make me think that I’m
not there yet. I think I may be a little
racist (which is like being a little
pregnant). So, draw your own
conclusion.
My first clue that I’m not as tolerant as
I think I am is when I start labelling and
stereotyping personas. I sometimes
catch myself starting sentences with
things like, “Blacks always …”;
“Muslims are …”; “The Jews …”;
“Women can’t …”; and “The
government never …”. I think you get
it, don’t you? Fortunately, I’ve made
myself aware that when I do start
sentences in such a manner, I’m heading
to a place I don’t want to be: intolerance.
Even though I am aware, I slip more
often than I would like to.
My second clue that I’m not squeaky
clean is when I turn into a coward and
don’t stand up for what I believe is right.
It typically happens when I’m at a braai,
dinner or any other outing and folks are
disparaging about another race or culture
while I stuff my face with food and say
nothing. I suppose it is because I don’t
always want to be “that guy”.You know
the one … the one that sucks the fun
out of any event. The one that’s always
preaching, correcting and being the
moral compass. I have so few friends, I
can’t afford to lose any more. Also, the
disparager is normally built like an ox.
Taking him on, especially when he’s had
a couple of Klippies and Coke in him,
could be harmful to my health.
My third clue that I’m an inter-cultural
moron is when I become dogmatic. I
start thinking things like, “Nothing can
be done, it’s in their nature …”; “It says
so in their scriptures …”; and “They’re
all the same …”.
So, as you can see, I struggle with this
stuff. Do you?
If I were perfect I’d see everyone as a
human being. I’d know that everyone is
on a journey to make their soul sing. I’d
realise that the person I’m sitting next
to is carrying a burden that I could never
handle. That everybody wants the same
thing ultimately … to be happy (whatever
that means). That everyone is entitled
to journey on this earth without being
harmed or harming others. That we’re
all the same … we’re human.
"I’d realise that the person
I’m sitting next to is carrying
a burden that I could never
handle. That everybody wants
the same thing ultimately …
to be happy (whatever that
means). That everyone is
entitled to journey on this
earth without being harmed
or harming others."