Paraphrase the following

In 2019, almost 25 years into South Africa’s democratic dispensation, and racism is still playing out in the country’s schools.

Most recently, a primary school teacher was accused of separating children according to race. Elsewhere, a high school was accused of progressing white pupils who failed while holding back black pupils who’d failed. There have been numerous other stories of racist behaviour, separatist language policies and instances of schools turning away largely black pupils, claiming their classrooms are full.

This is happening despite legislative changes since the end of apartheid, along with a noticeable change in the demographics of former white and private schools.

The problem is that general assimilatory practices persist. These don’t deal with each learner as an individual. Instead, they expect black students to think, look and speak like their white peers so that they don’t somehow stand out. The attitude of “this is our school, our culture, our language; if you want to be here, you will have to accept and adapt to it” is rife.

Many formerly whites only schools also show little flexibility in accommodating the identities and worldviews of students from other race groups.

There are several ways to deal with these issues, from initiating national dialogues to training teachers to identify their own biases.

1 answer

In South Africa in 2019, nearly 25 years after the country's transition to democracy, racism continues to be a problem in schools. Recently, a primary school teacher was accused of segregating students based on their race, and a high school was accused of unfairly promoting white students while holding back black students who had also failed. Despite changes in legislation and a shift in the demographics of formerly white and private schools, racist incidents, separatist language policies, and discrimination against black students persist. Assimilation practices that expect black students to conform to white norms are also a contributing factor. Many schools are resistant to accommodating the identities and perspectives of students from different racial backgrounds. Possible solutions to these issues include promoting national dialogues and providing training for teachers to recognize and address their own biases.