Waiting for “Superman” [in South Africa]

Around this time last year, I saw WAITING FOR “SUPERMAN” at the E Street Cinema in DC. The film chronicled the lives of students and families in the US as they hoped to be selected in a lottery for admittance into charter schools – an acceptance that could change the trajectory of their “entire, unwritten adult lives” by granting them access to quality education. The film was a sobering reminder of the grave situation that some of our public schools are in across America.

Furthermore, WAITING FOR ‘SUPERMAN’ ignited conversations across the country and sensitized larger audiences to the shortfalls of the educational system. Having read Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol the year before seeing the film, Guggenheim’s film was a noteworthy attempt to bring to the screen the horrible injustices that students face when there is an inequitable distribution of resources and funds across all school districts.

Director Davis Guggenheim of the film stated, “I think that every kid, no matter where they are born or what they have been given in life, deserves a great education and a piece of the American dream. That's what drove me to tell this story and to make this movie."

Guggenheim’s vision of access to a great education applies not only to children in America, but all over the world. This dream is not limited by geographical or political borders but is a universal aspiration that many people hope will one day be actualized in all communities – despite race, neighborhood, circumstance, gender or class.

So as kids in America are waiting for “Superman,” children in South Africa are also eagerly anticipating his arrival.

The past months that I’ve been here has focused on the recruitment of outstanding candidates to receive a 5 year scholarship to the best schools in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape – admittance that has to potential to enhance the yet unwritten story of their adult lives. In late July over 2,400 candidates from all over Gauteng and a few from other nearby provinces came to sit for an exam at Wits University to get to the next round of the scholarship. The shortlisted candidates following the exam were interviewed in late August.

The interviews were inspirational as I saw how eagerly and desperately bright eyed six graders wanted this scholarship. Some circumstances were heart breaking yet overall the day was heart building when I seeing that despite their setbacks, the students had learned at a very early age to never give up.

One girl named Lerato (name has been changed) particularly impressed me. Her mother passed away last year and she lives with her dad. She was bright, articulate, confident, and seemed to face challenges that came her way with brave resilience. She spoke about her achievements at the tender age of 12. In response to a question about leadership, she replied that her teacher told her that “You should be nice to people on your way up because on your way down you are going to meet them.”

Lerato was quite knowledgable about the SSP scholarship and our partner schools. During the interview, she told me that she reads about SSP every night. She truly wants the scholarship and it was evident in her careful and compelling articulation of her desires during her interview.

I think Guggenheim said it best when he concluded: “The idea of education reform becomes a lot less abstract and a lot more compelling when you see these beautiful kids and realize all their potential.”

These past couple of weeks, I’ve seen so many beautiful kids with much potential, many from broken homes or communities all waiting for ‘Superman’ to come to the “rainbow nation,” too.