School Then And Now In The New South Africa Poem by Gert Strydom

When we went to school
we had respect, good manners
combed our hair, brushed our nails and teeth
wore uniforms and blazers
and followed a decent curriculum.
A portion was read from the Bible
and prayers were said
and hymns were sung at school

and although the cane sometimes
did it's whacking, it was for minor things,
or for sometimes not learning for tests
although some teachers misused its functions
by applying it for marks under ninety percent,

using it as a teaching tool
when scientific formulae was written
on the black board
and summoning a pupil
to give a answer
or to get caned until it was correct

and the most deviant pupils
were smoking cigarettes
at the toilets while one was watching
for approaching teachers

and we sorted out our differences
at the oak bush,
where we rolled up our sleeves
used flying bare fists
to hit a bloody nose
and shook hands as friends afterwards

not like now where parents are compelled to help
with homework from the Internet
being brainwashed into a new way of living
without God and indoctrinated
into New Age teachings
where man is a god,

teenage girls are pregnant,
a boy in class urinates in a tin,
marijuana, cocaine and heroine
is available at even the best schools,
sold by Nigerian drug dealers

the cane has been withdrawn
and children's rights are in
and using cellular phones
learners call the office
to call the teacher out of class,

a union to which the teachers
at the school does not belong
is on strike
and minivan taxis drive up
with unionists causing a ruckus,
forcing the school to close down
for the day or for a whole week.

A pistol, a knife, a screwdriver,
a sword is drawn
and someone is shot, stabbed
or beheaded
and the savagery is barbarian
as if from a primitive man
right out of the bush.