Sneaking Out

The Tuesday after Easter, I went to Mandela Secondary School to teach The Secret Things to Senior 3 girls (basically 10th grade).  As I came up the drive to the school, the path was covered with boys in the school uniform, standing with their trunks and mattresses outside the gate.  Immediately, I started trying to think why they would be dismissing students two weeks early for break.  Maybe they ran out of food and they had to send students home.  (You laugh, but it’s happened!)  Maybe they’re all just arriving back from Easter weekend.  Or maybe they’re just ending this term early. After maneuvering around all the (rather unhappy) boys and their belongings, I parked and got out.  I saw a large group of girls watching the commotion from inside the fence, so I asked them what was going on.

Sunday night over Easter weekend, about 75 boys had the bright idea to sneak away from school and go to the discos, and they stayed out until Monday morning.  (Keep in mind that most secondary schools are boarding schools, and that discos are a  major factor in the spread of AIDS in Africa. ) The school administrators were away because of the Easter Monday holiday, so when they arrived on Tuesday, they had to decide how to deal with this huge number of AWOL students.  All they boys who snuck out were suspended for the rest of the term, which is a big deal, since they’ve all paid to attend school.  They’ll miss the last two weeks of class, and their first-term exams, and they won’t be allowed to return to Mandela until next term begins at the end of May.

It turns out that the teachers, knowing teenage boys, had a sign-in sheet that the boys had to register on throughout the night.  They actually had to wake up in the middle of the night and sign in to prove that they were on campus.  Some of the boys who remained signed in for their friends who snuck out. When the teachers discovered this forgery, they chose a very ironic punishment.  They boy who snuck out, whose name was forged, was forced to cane (paddle with a wooden switch) the boy who signed in for him.  Imagine the guilt he felt, caning the friend who was “helping” him.

Having worked in the American public school system, I am a bit in awe of how the whole thing works.  There’s no disciplinary hearing or parent conferences.  A boy who left to buy avocados is in just as much trouble as the ones who went to the discos.  And none of this is private.  It’s all discussed out in the open, with all kinds of students and visitors (myself included) around.  Shoot- I knew what happened before I ever really set foot inside the campus!

Some of the boys who were sent away didn’t really care.  Some were angry.  But some were really upset. They know how much school fees are, and what a privilege it is to be able to attend.  And they know that missing two weeks of classes and exams will put their entire school year at risk.  They never thought that one night of chasing fun (and girls) would have such serious consequences.  And, sadly, it’s not just about school.  I’m willing to bet that there’s at least one more AIDS-infected student on the campus of Mandela SS, now that it’s all said and done.

Just one more reminder that the things we do make a lasting impact on our lives and the lives of those around us, for better or worse.  And that teenagers are all the same, all over the world.