“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela
I receive hundreds of messages, emails and comments on a daily basis. I read and reply to all of them myself. This is why it sometimes takes time to get through them (I am sorry, exams are rough). Most of them are short, sweet and urge me to continue writing. Some of them are from people who want to discuss things that I have written to get further clarity. I also get hate mail from the extremists which is usually funny (Bye, Felicia).
Sometimes I get lucky and I get messages from people like Kyla Mills, who want to build a better future for our youth and bring about positive change in South Africa. The way Kyla been trying to make this change is by trying to get ‘grounding and traction through graduate studies’. Kyla worked for three years to get into Harvard but now she’s stuck and needs help. She received financial aid from the HARVARD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION but it isn’t nearly enough to cover the fees.
Many people are probably thinking ‘how is she helping anyone by wanting to go to an expensive school in America?’ The answer is simple; the Spirit of Significance. This is ’empowering oneself in order that one may serve others’. She wants to get the best possible skills and knowledge so that she can help other people.
So who is this Kyla and why should she get our support?
I’ll let her tell you herself.
I’m 28 years old; a born and raised South African. I am a hopeless idealist but I get things done. Education is my passion and Psychology my major interest. Within those spheres, I’m interested in the intersection between race/culture and learning; and race/culture as something we “do” in South African society.
I’m a bit different to most people in some obvious ways – I have a pet pig, I coach a mixed gender social rugby team (and I’m a qualified rugby ref), and I’m a very unorthodox teacher. I don’t think it would be fair to the world if I tried to be normal.
What I would like to do is work with Life Orientation as a subject. While I think a lot of progress has been made recently in terms of education and activism in education in South Africa (especially with the implementation of the news CAPS system and various organisations stepping up to change things), I don’t believe that enough is being done in terms of the psychological, social, emotional, and moral development of learners. Compared to life skills programmes abroad we are miles behind and I think we’re failing our young learners in that critical aspect of their development through schooling.
Kyla chose Harvard because ‘it promotes practical application and prioritises action’. She has already done her Masters in Research Psychology.
‘I know how to research. But I have no idea where to start changing things in education in South Africa. The Harvard Graduate School of Education has the motto, “Learn to change the world” and I can see from their curriculum how one might be able to do that.
I’m not asking for anything except for you to read my story and share it if you think it’s worthwhile. I have an Indiegogo crowd funding account and I will also be handing out flyers at intersections soon and trying to do my best to get the word out.
For more information about our future Harvard graduate and how she’s trying to raise the funds you can go to https://life.indiegogo.com/fundraisers/sending-kyla-to-harvard.
Still not convinced? Then you can read her statement of purpose from her Harvard application below (future Harvard applicants: take note).
I always knew I would find my way to education. As a small child, my friends would only agree to play at my house if I guaranteed their immunity from the game “Teacher Teacher”. Throughout my nursery and pre-primary years I was wont to explore my own versions of pedagogy with imaginary classes of deprived and unruly children. My idealistic nature told me that anything was possible through education. Nevertheless, even from a young age, I wanted to be more than just a teacher.
An interest in psychology developed into a passion in my late teens and I aspired to complete my Honours in General Psychology before becoming a qualified teacher. Much to my delight, I began teaching in my second year of university. Our students were from all over the world and had varying abilities and issues since the college at which I worked was new and did not have any admission criteria. Although the college attracted students with some rather colourful backgrounds, I saw possibility where my colleagues saw despair. I thrived and was promoted year after year. I considered doing my Masters in Educational Psychology until I realised how limited in scope the field of Educational Psychology was in South Africa. I felt that the focus on assessment and psychotherapy strayed too much from my interests in teaching practice. I nonetheless decided to do an advanced counselling course to see if it would pique my interest. It didn’t.
One day in class we were discussing the rates at which mental illness returns even after protracted therapy. I thought about the famed Starfish Story. I had first heard it in an assembly when I was in primary school. Touched immeasurably, I had left school that day determined to be a starfish kind of person. Compassion was always at the core of my values but I had gained a renewed perspective on its influence. From that day I began to interact with others more frequently with the purpose of transformation rather than transaction. For the longest time I felt that that was how the world would change. Being part of the discussion in my psychotherapy class that day, however, shattered that perspective and put me on the path to HGSE.
I thought about how people who undergo therapy only to relapse are like starfish that are thrown back into the ocean only to be beached again. My heart sank. Then, in a very sudden and lucid moment, I realised that the starfish story was wholly inadequate for the kinds of big dreams for positive change I have always had. Where were the systems that stopped the starfish from being beached in the first place? Maybe I could help develop those systems. I decided I wanted to be the person who went a little further to make a greater difference.
Thus began my search for something bigger and more appropriate to my interests. I researched the Education branch of Educational Psychology in South Africa which dealt more closely with teaching practice. Unfortunately the courses were limited in extent and design. I was looking for something more comprehensive and challenging. In March of 2012, after extensive research on programs across the globe, I happened upon HGSE’s Education Master’s in Human Development and Psychology. I felt immediately that the course was what I had been looking for and would offer an excellent platform from which I could grow and establish my career. My fascination with psychological development and more particularly the influence that education and educational systems have on development align closely with the HDP curriculum. My greatest passion and interest is in cross-cultural learning and the way that constructs such as race, gender, and individual psychology interact with it to produce the “educated” person. I am thrilled by the flexibility of the Human Development and Psychology program and the various paths which can be undertaken. Once I had seen the curriculum I felt a surge of determination to be a Harvard candidate.
As I looked at pictures of Harvard graduates a residual memory surfaced. Perhaps it was the crimson apparel which I recognised, but I recalled a moment in my youth when I pointed to an American graduation on TV and said to my brother, “One day I’m going there and I’m going to throw my hat in the air like that”. All those years ago a seed had been planted and I had just dumped a bucket of water upon it.
There were, however, obstacles to my success. In my late teens I had a brain tumour and its removal when I was 20 prompted chronic pain, illness, and fatigue. Although I managed to continue with my studies I was forced to complete my Honours over two years. I was not well enough for Harvard. My academic record was not Harvard calibre. I had passively completed my studies and lacked proper focus. But I was not prepared to let my misfortunes influence my dreams and ambitions. I focused all my energy on preparing for the demanding requirements set by Harvard and proving myself to be an exceptional potential candidate.
I went to gym. No matter how much I cried and anguished, I just kept imagining I was approaching
Appian Way. I saw a psychologist and successfully worked through my distress. My blood tests normalised in time. I published an article in an international, peer-reviewed journal. I did my Masters in Research to prepare myself for a rigorous academic approach to solving problems and I was top of my class. I completed my certificate in Education and I gained more focus than I ever dreamt was possible. The entire time, I worked on enhancing my natural talent for leadership. I now feel that I am ready to learn how to channel my idealism into action through HGSE. I feel that HGSE can help me achieve my ambitions in the field of education, which will be no easy feat in South Africa.
South Africa’s education system ranks amongst the world’s worst. Many factors are responsible for this, including curriculum design and content. The curriculum which experiences the greatest censure is Life Orientation, a subject which is supposed to help develop our youths as they become active members of society. It should be the syllabus which prevents the proverbial beaching of starfish. When I studied Life Orientation as a subject I was troubled. I found the curriculum offensive to the intelligence of students and this was confirmed when I did my teaching practical at an underprivileged school. The students asked me one day to close the text-book. They protested to its condescending nature and asked me to teach them about something that was actually valid in their lives. What followed was an emotional but healthy and collaborative discussion about coping with trauma. As I watched them leave I thought carefully about what could be done to foster more productive discussions such as the one we had just had, and concluded that the Life Orientation syllabus and how it is taught require transformation.
My dream is to collaborate with like-minded educational leaders to produce a world-class Life Orientation curriculum with extensive support materials for teachers. I believe that our country needs to empower future generations to solve the problems which we are facing, and an inspiring Life Orientation curriculum might be able to provide some of that empowerment. If transformation of the Life Orientation syllabus becomes impossible, then I would like to begin a widespread initiative in which young leaders from South African schools are mentored by student volunteers to help tackle the problems and injustices which the learners face. Particular issues which I believe should be the focus in any kind of project involving the psychological development of youths are the same ones we face as a country – racism, gender injustice, general human rights violations including bullying, and trauma (amongst others).
I feel that my studies at HGSE will prepare me to tackle either project adeptly as I gain a deeper knowledge of the way children develop and how this can be applied to education. The HDP program appears to be as intensive as it is extensive and I hunger for the challenge. Furthermore, the idea of being anywhere in the vicinity of Professor Howard Gardner and potentially working with experts in my fields of interest, especially Professor Kurt Fischer and Ms Betsy McAlister Groves, is inspiring. I know that with a world-class curriculum and faculty, HGSE can take me far beyond my goals and help me become an established educational leader.
Whether or not I make it all the way to HGSE, my journey has helped me to be healthy and live with purpose. For that I will always be grateful. That being said, there is nowhere else on this earth I would rather be this time next year than 13 Appian Way in Cambridge, Massachusetts – ever hopeful that I will one day be able to “throw my hat in the air like that”.
#IntshaIyashintsha #YouthMonth #KylaMills #Harvard
