We owe a lot to our teachers

Madam – 2014 marks the 30th anniversary of the first group of matriculants leaving Lincoln Heights Secondary.

Ten years before the first democratic elections in South Africa, 1984 was a year of huge change in our country. The Tricameral Parliamentary system was forced through and the South African Indian and Coloured population stayed away from the elections thereby rendering the system illegitimate by virtue of the lack of support.

Few would have believed that ten years later our country would be turning out in their millions to vote for the first democratic government and that we would join the rest of the civilised world in pursuit of the ideal of non-racialism. If 1984 was challenging for young people and the beginning of tumultuous social change in our country, then it was much more challenging for those dedicated educators who taught within an inherently unjust system and strove to create independent thinkers in the midst of oppressive state policies and conditioning.

I would like to pay tribute to these dedicated teachers (that is what they were called and we were called pupils) who still ignited in the class of ’84 a burning desire for education and self-improvement that has seen many of the matriculants of 1984 achieve great heights in their chosen fields and become leaders in their own rights.

Those of us who matriculated in 1984 would remember with varying degrees of fondness the efforts of these teachers:

Ms Chetty who, besides English, imbued us with a sense that there is a chasm between the law and justice and that the two are not necessarily interchangeable. We also learnt that silence can be just as effective as shouting at the top of your voice.

Mr Gayapersad with his methodical, almost pedantic way, got us to learn concepts and methods that included using three figure tables (no calculators were permitted in the examinations) and leaving us with a sense that the simplest of things done well builds to a complex whole, much like life itself.

Mr Ally who taught us the language of the oppressors (at least that is what it felt like then), Afrikaans. Impeccably dressed and always with every strand of hair in place he was instrumental in creating the perception of teachers as professional individuals who could educate far beyond their didactic role. He also taught me that even if you dislike something intensely you need to fulfil your duty and that success is not achieved by just what is enjoyable but also doing those things that are inherently difficult.

Mr Paruk who delivered his biology lessons in a casually effective manner so that you knew exactly where everything was in the Smit & Van Dijk!

Mr Vawda made Physical Science seem almost like an everyday occurrence (which he insisted it was). His nonchalant attitude belied the fact that he was a teacher par excellence and thus showed us that you didn’t have to be intense all the time and you didn’t have to demand respect – you commanded it in the way you treated others irrespective of religion, social standing or creed.

Mr Singh who provided the dreaded three hour papers in Accounting that became part of the folklore behind the Accounting results produced by his matriculants. His insistence that you could survive on five hours of sleep a night was not just talk – he lived it as he pursued his own education. He taught us that lifelong learning is not only necessary but an integral part of continuous development and that it requires conscious commitment to excellence to aspire to be the best.

Newcastle may not be the biggest city in the country, nor does it boast the formidable educational pedigree inherent in some of the bigger centres, but is has at its core a community who is committed to education and a community that has shown generational improvement in educational achievement.

No matter how far we go, and members of our class live as far as the USA, no matter how high we climb, and many of the class of ’84 are in prominent positions, Lincoln Heights Secondary, as our Alma Mater, provided us with the tools to take the first steps in the adult world.

This year, on the 30th anniversary of our matriculation we offer our sincere gratitude to our teachers and the broader school community for sending us on our way as well prepared and capable young adults.

Jaidev Maharaj