Astra School

~Jillian Tomaselli~ In class throughout the semester we studied education and its significant impact on the past, present, and future of South Africa. We were fortunate enough to continue our analysis of the education system through first hand observation once in South Africa itself. Our experiences in the schools with the children, South Africas future, were some of the most powerful. One of the first schools we visited was the Astra School in Cape Town, which catered to learners with special needs. This unique school was a striking example of the complicated issues surrounding education, which South Africa must attend to in order to facilitate a Our group in front of the Astra School in Cape Town
Photo Credit Nancy Lory

successful transformation. We saw for ourselves the problems that the country must fix in education, which deepened our understanding of the obstacles. In every culture, education plays an important role in transmitting values from generation to generation. It is simultaneously a force of both continuity and change (Johnson 214). This is why the education system is South Africas biggest challenge to overcome, but also its greatest opportunity to successfully transform. Once the problems have been resolved, the education system can be used to instill and pass on values of the new democracy to future generations of South Africans. In our study of the past, we saw that education was the keystone of apartheid (Johnson 214). During that era the school system was distorted and manipulated into a tool used to enforce apartheid policies. Social stratification was ingrained

into the minds of students not only through the physical separation of schools, but through a curriculum which carefully manipulated young learners. South Africa now works towards a system of inclusion and equality. White Papers have been written, laying out an ambitious plan to amalgamate the fragmented system (http://mg.co.za/article/2005-12-05-a-school-that-fits). However, the Astra School demonstrated many of the problems that still exist and make education one of South Africas biggest challenges. Inclusion and equality applies not only to race and socio-economic standing, but disabilities as well. The Astra School is a public school that caters to students with an extremely broad range of both physical and mental disabilities. It boasts comprehensive care for its learners; it provides everything from occupational and physical therapy to housing for those students who come from far outside Cape Town. It is a school like no other I have ever seen or heard of in the United States. We were all impressed by the measures taken by the school to create a successful and comfortable learning environment for their special students, especially considering the variety of disabilities they dealt with. The concept of a public school just for children with disabilities sent our minds spinning, thinking A poster of the Astra School Song posted in the main lobby
Photo Credit - Nancy Lory

about all of the issues, but also all the benefits, to such a school. Its difficult to comprehend fully. On top of this, they were underfunded. I visited a unit classroom that consisted of no more than seven kids, and yet the teacher was not provided with enough pencils for all of them. I cant imagine having to teach a group of young kids without even the necessary supplies to keep them all on the same page. And yet, the teacher still had control over her class and each student was busy and productive with something. Despite the challenges, the Astra School seemed to function well and the children were happy, comfortable, and successful. Unfortunately, some aspects of the Astra School were uncomfortably reminiscent of the concept of separate but equal, regardless of the schools unique accomplishments. The Astra School is for students with disabilities only, separating them entirely from the rest of the student population. This has both its benefits and its disadvantages. First off, it is in a way a continuation of the separation which characterized apartheid. Even if it is well meant in the case of the Astra School, separate is never really equal and causes problems even if it is meant for good. It is near impossible to ensure equal resources, teachers and curriculum with such a fragmented system. Second, children with disabilities should not be separated from their peers as if there were something wrong with them. During apartheid, non-whites were separated from whites in all aspects of life because they were seen, treated, and taught that they were inferior, even subhuman. Walking through the hallways of the Astra School, I was unsure about how I felt about the separateness. It was very different from what I experienced myself in my own school, where children with disabilities participated in many of the same classes, clubs and sports teams as the rest of the student population. Special needs learners should be participating in the same system so that they do not risk seeing themselves as outcasts, but instead as part of the population. This leads to the next argument for inclusion. Students with disabilities and typically functioning students should have the opportunity to interact. In his

article Education: the Keystone of Apartheid, Johnson states that children do not see color. Children are not born with negative illusions of racial and social stratification. They learn about these things based on how they are raised and with whom they interact. In the apartheid system white children never interacted with non-whites; they were taught that non-whites were inferior and therefore believed them to be. Children who are brought up and educated in a diverse environment are more likely to be tolerant and accepting of those who are different than them. Inclusion encourages the development of a tolerant and open minded school community, which South Africa is in need of. The same is true of all communities, not just school. Many of the Astra School students are housed at school because they are from outside Cape Town and unable to commute. However, it could be argued that this process sends a negative message. If children are uprooted from their hometown and their community and sent to a boarding school, it may not encourage an accepting, accommodating, Astra School students in class
Photo Credit Nancy Lory

open minded society. It is also probably difficult for such young children to be

living far from the support of their family. It is again uncomfortably reminiscent of apartheid policies, which removed people deemed to be of undesirable race from their homes and communities. I couldnt help but think of our visit to District 6. This is of course not the intention of the Astra School system, but there are undeniable negatives to a segregated education system.

However, there can be many arguments made supporting the current system. First of all, it must be considered how underfunded many of the schools in South Africa currently are and how unlikely it is that public schools be redesigned to be appropriate for such a student population. The Astra School is special because it provides many unique accommodations necessary for the education of students with a variety of physical and mental disabilities. It would be difficult and costly for the average public school to provide the same services, such as on site physical and occupational therapy. The public school would have to provide the space and physical resources, as well as space in the schedule to accommodate those students who need time to take advantage of extra health or learning services. Something as simple as adding ramps and elevators could be a major obstacle cost-wise. A second issue is that some of the students at the Astra School are simply too low functioning to be mainstreamed. These students are currently in Unit classes, which teach and reteach them very basic skills. However, these students are unable to progress beyond the A group of Astra School students excited to meet the visitors basics. They need the attention
Photo Credit Jillian Tomaselli

and resources provided at the Astra School. It is likely that many teachers in typical public schools do not possess the special training to teach these students.

Finally, the positive atmosphere of the Astra School must be considered. The Astra School has created a community where their students support each other academically and otherwise. Walking through the hallways, it struck me immediately that the students all seemed happy and helpful. They have formed their own strong school community and a confidence that I could see when students helped other students in the hallways and especially in the morning assembly. The assembly consisted of musical performances of different groups of students (including our own rendition of our national anthem). The audience of three hundred elementary to high school aged students was impressively Our performance of the American national anthem at the morning assembly
Photo Credit Nancy Lory

watchful and supportive. In a mainstream school this may not be the case. There is a

good chance that in a typical school, a child with disabilities could feel separate from the others still, and may get teased. This is not the case at the Astra School. The debate continues throughout South Africa (http://mg.co.za/article/2011-05-20-allschools-are-not-equal). Are special schools like the Astra School perpetuating the social inequalities that South Africa has been trying to fight? Or are they providing an essential resource? Some believe that universal equality is simply unrealistic, and these special schools provide some of the choice that is so important to a free society. I understand the arguments of both sides, and yet absolutely cannot choose a side myself. Complicated does not even begin to explain it.

Works Cited All Schools are Not Equal. Mail and Guardian Online. Mail and Guardian, 20 May 2011. Web. 14 July 2011. Johnson, Walton R. Education: Keystone of Apartheid. Anthropology and Education Quarterly 13.3 (1982): 214-237. Web. Kapilevich, Ami. A School That Fits. Mail and Guardian Online. Mail and Guardian, 05 Dec 2005. Web. 14 July 2011.