There
was even one lady who had set up a school under a tree
in her garden for pre-school children from her local squatter
camp. Pieter Steyn, head of St. James Johannesburg, had
met this lady only the previous week when she brought her
troupe of children to the restaurant where Pieter was having
lunch, to sing for the owner in gratitude for food that
he regularly provided them with. Pieter discovered that
she had taken it upon herself to look after these children
during the day and protect them from the possibility of
child rape and had now begun to educate them. He immediately
invited her to the ERT workshop, which she enthusiastically
attended. Links have now been set up between St. James
and the “tree school”.
Despite this
variety, the mark of the day was unity. All present were
brought together by the desire to teach from true authority
and fully nourish the children in their care.
 After
an introduction by Pieter Steyn, Paul Moss, head teacher
of St James Junior School, London, took the first session.
He reminded everyone that education was of body, mind, heart & spirit.
He spoke of the true, position of the teacher, pointing out
that the great educators of the past placed the role of teacher
second only to that of priest. He explained that in such
a position there was a need to constantly put oneself under
the discipline of true authority and to present the children
with material of the very highest quality. This did not just
include the work that was presented but necessarily had to
be reflected in the actions of the teacher.
To assist in
this Paul presented a very simple exercise which allowed
body, mind, heart and spirit of both teacher and pupil to
come to rest and be united. As we practised the effect was
electrifying – the whole room became profoundly still until
the quiet was broken by Paul’s questioning of what was experienced.
People spoke of experiencing great harmony, peace, the presence
of God, connection with everyone else and being energised.
With this the session was brought to a close and we moved
downstairs for tea and coffee.
The next session
was an illustration of how the simple principles so far presented
had been put into practice at St. James School in Johannesburg.
Pieter Steyn and his wife Joao, also a teacher at the school,
described a typical day whose focal point was connecting
with the inner child. The audience was delighted and inspired
to hear how simply this connection could be made, starting
with greeting each child at the beginning of each day, through
the format of assembly, the simple rule at lunch of serving
each other, to the teaching of history through looking at
the lives of South Africa’s great men and women. The audience
was particularly enchanted by the examples of children’s
work that were used.
We were then
treated to a splendid lunch, beautifully prepared and presented
by the matron of St James, Dorothy Joubert, her team of men
and women drawn from the local community, and assisted by
the staff of St. James. The room was quickly filled with
conversation, and the assembled company quite naturally served
each other.
 After
lunch, Andrew Bedford provided a session of practising staying
in the present moment as a means to preventing stress. Everyone
was keen to discover how this might be achieved, but were
unaware that they would be doing this through singing! However
initial reservations having been dismissed by Mr. Bedford
with a wave of his baton, all joined in with the same interest,
commitment and open heart that had been present in the morning.
At the conclusion of the session, observations of the “timeless” and “no
worries” quality of the experience were offered and there
was unanimous acknowledgment that being in the present moment
was both extremely productive and stress free – two for the
price of one!
The final
session of the day was given over to the audience to support
each other by voicing practical approaches they could implement
in their schools. Contributions included “speech & example;
greeting the children & staff as they come to school;
practising the exercise of coming to rest; coming to the
level of the children; taking care of the children and producing
good citizens.” One headteacher from Soweto seemed to sum
up the spirit of the day and indeed the spirit of South Africa
in its vigorous quest for unity when she said “We must learn
to serve each other- not physical food only - everyone and
everything”.
Pieter brought
the day to a close by offering a prayer and inviting the
audience to sing the National anthem. This was perhaps the
most moving moment of the whole day, and it left hardly a
dry eye in the room.
This first
ERT workshop in Johannesburg was a resounding success. Participants
obviously valued the words of true principle and authority,
and examples of how to put these into practice. But more
than this, there was a very strong appreciation of having
the opportunity to meet with like-minded teachers whose united
aim is the truest education possible for their pupils. There
was a unanimous desire for this to be just the beginning
of a renaissance of education in Johannesburg.
 Special
mention must be made of Gillian Wilkinson who promoted this
event so extensively, particularly in Soweto and through
whose practical efforts and encouragement so many teachers
from there could attend.
Finally, many
thanks should go to all the staff of St. James School who
hosted the event so beautifully, and to Pieter Steyn, whose
inspiration and enthusiasm it was that brought the event
into existence.
Linda Bedford
Linda Bedford was one of
a team of teachers, led by Paul Moss, who travelled to Johannesburg
to run this teachers’ workshop. Their travel was funded by
ERT.
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FIRST
ERT WORKSHOP IN JOHANNESBURG