Optimistically Oprah

Although S. Africa is completely blessed with natural beauty, we still got the sense that there are a lot of challenges that lay ahead after apartheid. Much of my knowledge of S. Africa came form the book A Long Walk to Freedom which I embarrassingly called A Long Walk of Reading when I read it many years ago. With my very limited knowledge, I don't want to assume that I am a sage when it comes to the world of politics and social structure of S. Africa. Although it doesn't take a brilliant mind to recognize that S. Africa still has some formidable challenges in the way of equity. While traveling along the Garden Route I got the feeling that everything was not as the ideological S. African constitution lays out.

One night several beaches into our coastal tour, I got to have one of those snippets of conversation that makes the experience of traveling just that much richer. While sitting around a campfire, I got to talk to a man about his experience before apartheid ended. He talked about his experiences openly and freely, so after a glass of wine I decided to broach the subject on something that is near and dear to my heart.

Now that apartheid has ended, do all students have the opportunity to go to school together?

I know that even in the US after decades after the civil rights movement, we still face challenges with the resegregation of our schools long after Brown vs. The Board of Education. This issue is something that has had a deep impact on me for quite some time. I've worked with various organizations trying to gain a better grasp of the issue and possible solutions throughout my career.

I was extremely fortuitous when I interviewed for a school a little over six years ago and had the amazing opportunity to be a part of the founding faculty of an incredible school in Colorado that promised to buck this trend of resegregation. Previous to this job, my brief stint in teaching almost pushed me out of the profession. However, my experience at DSST changed my perception about what was possible in education, and quite honestly is why I am still in the profession today.

So what was the answer to my question asked around the campfire? Simply put, theoretically children could go to school together, but in reality putting black and white students in the same school, in his mind, only Oprah could accomplish such a feat.