Schools That Rock ask a few questions to Thandeka Mdawini, Deputy Head prefect of Camps Bay High School.
Question: How do you experience the influence of the Covid19 virus on our country?
CoronaVirus has pretty much taken over the world. It has installed a large amount of fear into people worldwide. It has disrupted economies, taken away people’s jobs, broken families and worse of all increased poverty levels drastically. It has broken into people’s comfort zones and disrupted everyday life. We all are so scared because we do not know what’s around the corner and when this is going to end. To be honest, it doesn’t feel real at all. Im sure a lot of us still think its a dream and we’re all going to wake up and everything is going to be back to normal. I know this isn’t going to be the case, and after this pandemic has slowed down/ ended, there might not even be a “normal” to go back to.
As matrics of 2020, we are all on edge. There are far too many unknowns than certainties and our last year of high school is not as exciting as we were expecting it to be. Not only are we not attending school as usual, we are constantly thinking about our parents’ employment, will there be jobs for us when we leave school, are we ready for university, how many of us are going to pass at the end of the year, when are we writing exams and if we are prepared for them, when are we going to be reunited with our school mates etc.
A time like this makes me feel so guilty, I know I am fortunate enough to have access to the internet and a quiet space to do my school work but I know the majority of the country’s students are not. It scares me that we all are experiencing “school” in a different way and not all of us have the same resources at home like we would at school.
I pray everyday that we can all go back to school because I want us to learn the same way and be educated equally. I want us as a Matric class of 2020 to pass together at the end of the year and receive the “pot of gold” we have ALL been working hard for.
Question: Do you think the virus will influence future education at schools? Will schools approach education in a new way?
Yes, the virus has forced many schools to approach new ways of teaching. That’s with the use of google classroom, zoom, whatsapp groups, teachers creating videos and more. However I do not think this is going to drive education systems to be permanently online. For a first world country, online schooling could be the way forward. A country like South Africa, where there is a large amount of students who live in poverty and do not have access to all educational resources, it makes it hard for South Africa to have a large amount of educated/ skilled students entering the workforce. This could potentially increase unemployment rates. Another concept to consider is that even if we as South Africa had the resources to do so, there are still students who struggle to learn online regardless.
Question: How are you planning to still reach your goals for your last year at school?
My biggest goal is to pass matric and receive the distinctions I have been working for. I want to receive my bachelors degree pass and be able to study at any university across the country. I plan to achieve this by maintaining self discipline and tackling all difficulties faced through online schooling.
As an individual who takes their sporting code very seriously, for five years I have been working toward achieving the greatest this year. One of the highlights of highschool is to be able to play a team sport and to play as a unit on the sports field. I plan to maintain my fitness levels to ensure my goal is met by the end of this year.
Question:Â What and where are you going to study after school?
I would like to study a BA, specifically majoring in Industrial Psychology at a university, one of which would be UCT or Stellenbosch and other institutions I will be applying to.