Living arrows: educate SA’s youth or risk a loss of social cohesion
Our young people remain marginalised even as global labour opportunities beckon
Khalil Gibran wrote: “You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.” The word “parent” originates from the Latin verb parere, which means “to bring forth”. In a broad sense, our youth have different “parents” (bows) in different phases of their development. Most of these parents have a pure intent in “bringing forth” as well as “sending forth” these living arrows. The desired outcome is an empowered young mind with good character, serving society with accumulated competence, while becoming a responsible “bow” in humanity’s trajectory to a sustainable future. This good intent is expressed differently by the different “parents”. Biological parents visualise their children in an end state of success and then guide them as best they can towards that destination. Our Constitution, in the preamble, expresses the conducive environment for these ideals. The National Youth Policy 2020 envisages a “non-sexist, non-racist, democratic South Africa in which young pe...
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