Seeds of Separate Development: Origins of Bantu EducationAuthor Cynthia Kros UNEDITED FROM LINDSEY, END APRIL 09: As the memory of apartheid recedes it becomes ever harder to capture what philosopher Hannah Arendt might have described as its appearance of normality – which is not to deny in any sense that it was a cruel and destructive system which has left a deeply ingrained legacy of bitterness and harm in its wake. But, how was it that so many people who thought of themselves as just and decent citizens subscribed to the ideas of apartheid, and believed that it was the only way in which South Africa’s many diverse ‘communities’ could live in harmony? This book, through tracking the intellectual development of one of apartheid’s deftest ideologues, W. W. M. Eiselen, explores how the seeds of separate development were sown in at least one quarter of apartheid’s toxic fields, and the conditions under which they began to take root. Description‘As the memory of apartheid recedes it becomes ever harder to capture what philosopher Hannah Arendt might have described as its appearance of normality – which is not to deny in any sense that it was a cruel and destructive system which has left a deeply ingrained legacy of bitterness and harm in its wake. But, how was it that so many people who thought of themselves as just and decent citizens subscribed to the ideas of apartheid, and believed that it was the only way in which South Africa’s many diverse ‘communities’ could live in harmony?’ Cynthia Kros’s study tracks the intellectual development of one of apartheid’s deftest ideologues, W. W. M. Eiselen, exploring how the seeds of separate development were sown in at least one quarter of apartheid’s toxic fields, and the conditions under which they began to take root. The book opens with a location of the topic within the literature on apartheid and Bantu Education, and goes on to examine the shaping of Eiselen’s discourse over several stages of his career before he entered politics. Later chapters explore the world of the 1940s, emphasising both the upheavals and the sense of possibilities that were its defining characteristics. The study concludes with an examination of the context, procedures, and finally the Report, of the Eiselen Commission. ‘Many students have been battling to overcome the treacherous legacy of Bantu Education. What this means, I think, from my work with them, is that they have been deprived of essential language skills: their reading and writing abilities have been almost irredeemably stunted by the time they come to the university. They have been so conditioned to rote learning and authoritarian styles of teaching that, at first, they can make no sense of a question that asks for critical evaluation or an argued response. And this continues to be the case for many black students, despite the advent of Outcomes-Based Education, which is aligned to the democratic principles of our fabled constitution. For those children obliged to go on attending township schools – for the most part (though there are some honourable exceptions) – Bantu Education continues to exercise its brain-numbing potency, transmitted by new generations of hapless teachers.’ -Cynthia Kros Contents
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Unisa Press

