Class of 2020 hijacked by a Virus

“There is no education like adversity”  - Disraeli

Last week marked the moment that our 2020 final year students completed the last chapter of their school life. What a $!&!#!*!  year it was! The cherry on top of all school years has certainly got to be your final year when all the traditional celebrations and rites of passages occur: year 12 graduation, school farewell, annual awards ceremony, school leadership roles, school formal, your last school production or school athletics carnival, driving your friends around with a bona fide driver’s licence, 18th birthday party(for many) and schoolies(a beach celebration for school leavers in Australia). However for the Class of 2020, Covid has robbed them of what is touted as being the best and most memorable year of their teenage lives. True, some generations had it tougher during the war years, depression and recession but it still sucks. 

The year started like any other with year 12 students entering the hallowed halls of their schools bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with aspirations of making it their best year yet. Resplendent in fresh uniforms, armed with the year’s book lists and stationery and an eager and optimistic attitude towards their studies, they were ready for the challenges that this all-important school year would throw at them. Never in their wildest dreams did they expect the insidious Covid-19 virus would be hurtling towards them at breakneck speed to wreak havoc on their precious, final school year. 

It is not just the big ceremonies and celebrations that were missed but also the little, insignificant moments that all contribute to this coming-of-age year: like studying in the library, attending career workshops, enjoying little moments with friends, mucking up in the common room, making plans for overseas experience, deliberating with your besties about the trendiest colour or sexiest cut for the ball gown, agonising over whether your crush will ask you to be your partner for the school formal. It is these mundanities too that collectively  make up the final year which will be etched in their  minds more than any other. What a devastating loss for our school leavers of 2020 who for the most part were out of their normal school setting as they battled the the year remotely and online. 

Their last year of school was literally turned upside down for the 2020 cohort: an academic year that is usually ordered and organised in military-like precision in neat sections of covering curriculum, well-planned study sessions and the mandatory tests and exams was suddenly up in the air. Instead of forging and cementing friendships in the final year which many say last a lifetime, the students had to social distance and isolate. Ploughing through the complex course work is tough enough but to be suddenly thrown in the deep end in terms of the delivery and disruptions made the senior year even harder to contend with. Overnight, traditional classroom settings were replaced by Zoom sessions which unsettled many because of technical difficulties and unfamiliar territory in terms of lesson delivery. 

In Australia, the Corona virus pandemic was just another “first” for the 2020 cohort who will turn out to be the most resilient bunch yet because of other changes that they endured during their school career. They made up the first year of compulsory prep school when it was trialed in 2008, they were the first year 7 classes who were removed from primary school and newly housed in high schools, and in Queensland it is the first year that Year 12 students are sitting the newly introduced ATAR exams which other states are familiar with. No other peace time school leavers had to deal with the changes that our 2020 cohort had to struggle through with such unprecedented disruptions in their education. 

As it often is, the best laid plans in life go awry and in times like these, the inspirational words of Oprah Winfrey can be so motivating: “Turn your wounds into wisdom”. Adversity is unwelcome and  inevitable but it does not have to define who we intrinsically are. We can overcome our mishaps, misfortunes and mistakes to still find happiness and conquer our goals. Every metaphorical demon we successfully slay, serves to strengthen our will, our confidence and our ability to confront future obstacles. What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger, right?

It is often during a time of upheaval that the most soulful reflections are made. The class of 2020 had a taste first-hand to do without in terms of rationing and restrictions that were put in place. The products of decades of economic prosperity, these school leavers have never really faced financial hardship. Unlike our generation that studied after leaving school so that we could fast track to a career that would ensure our economic survival, this Generation Z were more into higher order thinking like: what vocation would align to my moral values, is the career direction I pursue based on ethics, how can I add value to the world as a environmentally conscious individual and for many school leavers, work-related ambitions were a distant thought as they planned for the overseas gap year. Suddenly, international travel is not happening in the foreseeable future and jobs are few and far between as big conglomerates have become bankrupt. The immediate future looks bleak and our school leavers this year will no doubt face the brunt of economic hardship. The silver lining though has to be the time honoured truth which proves that in times of trouble, creativity and ingenuity comes to the fore. This has to be a positive thing, surely.

So, in these extraordinary times when our education system the world over has witnessed the most cataclysmic catastrophe in the history of education, the Class of 2020 will emerge as the most resilient, most creative and most compassionate cohort not in spite of, but because of the significant challenges that they had to face. Instead of bemoaning what has been lost from this watershed, final school year because of the pandemic,let us focus on the blessings in the form of lessons that came in its wake like learning to adapt, to be flexible, to be creative, to problem solve and to communicate better - invaluable life skills that are not part of the senior year school syllabus but smart skills which will no doubt hold us in good stead for the unpredictable future. 

So, Class of 2020, never for a moment think you were disadvantaged. On the contrary, you were the chosen ones, the lucky ones, because you share a bond that goes beyond borders with your global peers  and having experienced the limitations of our education system that was glaringly exposed through the virus, you are the best persons to redefine our dismal education system that have been trust upon us for centuries without heeding all forms of changes. You represent true grit. Go out and dream big! Oh, and also, thank you, Covid-19, for usurping the traditional teacher’s role and delivering to the senior students of 2020 the best life lessons they will ever experience. 

 

Shattering the Glass Ceiling

 

“Rosa sat, so that Ruby could walk, so that Kamala could run”

“While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last, because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a country of possibilities.” This was part of the victory speech of Kamala Harris, first female and first woman of colour to be elected as Vice President of the United States.  I don’t think the glory is diminished in any way by the fact that  she has reached this high office on the coat tails of an aged,  77-year old white man because the daughter of immigrant parents is still paving the way on this momentous occasion for little girls everywhere. The glass ceiling has been symbolically shattered and the fairer sex who have been marginalised for centuries now nurture the hope that if a person who is historically the wrong sex, the wrong colour and of the wrong birthright can ascend to such dizzying heights, then they can too. 

Throughout her campaign trial on the road to the Whitehouse, Kamala touched on the struggles of being a person of colour and the plight of immigrant families of which she was a product of an Indian born mother, Shamala Gopalan, and Jamaican father, Professor Donald Harris. However, what she focussed on most during her campaigning was the hardship and the obstacles women faced in getting ahead in office. While she accepts the accolade of forging new frontiers for women , she knows she has the sisterhood behind her back as can be seen in a pre-election speech she gave in Texas: ““Yes, sister, sometimes we may be the only one that looks like us walking in that room but the thing we all know is we never walk in those rooms alone — we are all in that room together.” (A Liverpool supporter, perchance?)

With all the astounding advancements  we as a global community have made in all the different spheres of life, we are still woefully, far behind in affording equal opportunity for women. It is for this reason that the metaphorical phrase “ the glass ceiling” was coined in the eighties to refer to women in leadership roles who seem to plateau and go no further than middle management roles. The glass ceiling , however, is still at least breakable on the odd occasion compared to the concrete ceiling which is almost impenetrable if you are a woman of colour. Thus, Kamala Harris’ role as second-in-command in one of the world’s largest democracies, must be seen as an extraordinary victory in view of the triple whammy she faced in being woman, coloured and from immigrant heritage. 

Closer to home there seems to be a “boys’ club” mentality that prevents or makes it difficult for women from securing promotions as heads of institutions. For whatever reason, men seem to be the preferred candidate against their female counterparts. Why? Is it because males already occupy leadership roles in that institution so they choose other males to fill positions because they are more familiar with the biological make-up of their male peers? Easier to go pub crawling? Or is there a notion that males are competitive, aggressive and outspoken which is more in keeping with head roles as opposed to women who are culturally brought up to be quiet, unassuming and subservient? What about the best person for the job based on competence and calibre?

One of my hobbies outside of teaching is to dabble in real estate - forever renovating a home to add value and then on-sell. So, as a project manager, I am forever dealing with men who almost always make up the building trade. In spite of me working on all the ideas of the design concepts and having thought out the whole aesthetics of the project, when it comes to issuing instructions to the workmen on what I need to have done, they will address my unsuspecting husband who happens to be nearby. Even though he reminds them to speak to the “the Mrs”, they will still continue to consult him proving blatantly that they don’t consider a woman to be capable of making decisions in which they consider to be a male domain. Even at my tuition centre, when someone pops in to make an enquiry about tuition, they bypass the tanned lady in front and look towards one of the male (bald and white) tutors and direct their enquiry. You see when it comes to looking like the head, you have to fit a certain mould - the less curvier, the less softer, the less compassionate, the better. 

One only has to take a look at boardrooms or management credentials to see how skewed the representation is in favour of males. The gender bias is top heavy in favour of men even in developed countries where women were given the vote from the early days. Who can forget that unforgettable moment in Australian history when the then female prime minister, Julia Gillard, stood up and berated the leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott, for  being a misogynist and sexist. 

While Julia Gillard made history by breaking the glass ceiling she then had to face a glass cliff- where women who have been successful in securing the head position face unfair criticism and pressures  in their new, leading roles. For three years and three days in her role of prime minister she was constantly subjected to comments by the press on the fit of her jackets, the tone of her voice, the cut of her hair, the size of her bottom, the exposure of her cleavage, the state of being childless and most importantly the legitimacy of her rule. The men in her cabinet unfairly stuck the knife behind her back so that one of their cronies from the boys' club, Kevin Rudd, could succeed her. Had she been a man, her stay at the top would have been beyond any shadow of doubt a “cruisy” and infinitely longer one. 

When women managers display leadership qualities like being assertive, competitive or ambitious they are seen to be bossy or bitchy. When they try to be accommodating, tolerant or compassionate, they are seen as weak and pushovers. They don’t seem to win whichever leadership style they choose. While a male colleague may ask for a pay rise, offer an unsolicited opinion, use a harsh tone or challenge the status quo and still climb the corporate ladder, heaven forbid if a female dare do the same - she would be instantly labelled cranky and therefore poor leadership material. 

Perhaps the worst thing that hold women back in terms of leadership roles, is the fact they are held down by their own gender since the dawn of time. This female misogyny or what is often referred to as the “queen bee” syndrome is prevalent in almost every workplace where the mean girl behaviour often associated with high school continue to flourish when a female rises above the ranks. In the work place, for women leaders it is like being in the movie set of The Devil wears Prada or Mean Girls where you are viewed by the other females purely on how you look and what you wear than on your knowledge, expertise or competency. These women would much rather cheer or mentor a male colleague than their sisterhood. Sad, but true. 

Even when we occupy leadership roles that we have rightfully earned because of our hard work and competence, we still can’t get rid of the feeling that we are usurping a position that should be filled by someone with much higher testosterone levels. On a personal note, as Head of English at a high school in New Zealand and as moderator ( check marker) of an external English written expression paper in Australia, I would come up with creative and innovative ways to improve the system but would rack my brain as to how to present it in an understated almost apologetic manner lest I be seen as an upstart or an intruder. Even when I became owner and principal of my first tuition franchise, I still doubted whether I would be a successful businessman (sorry, businesswoman). You see, I notched two more obstacles than Kamala Harris as besides being on the wrong side of the track in terms of colour, gender, birthright, I also had the different nationality and accent. 

Admittedly, women are moving into fields that have been hitherto considered the male bastion in engineering,  the trades, the medical field, the sciences and on the sports field but the change is still in the form of tiny droplets. We, (with permission to speak on behalf of my soul sisters), are not asking for a deluge in terms of leadership roles in the upper echelons but we would be content with a steady flow. After all,when one looks at the global gender ratio, it is almost even at 101 males to 100 females and yet women only represent a meagre 10 %  as heads of a hierarchy ( largely dependent in which country you are from). Whether you are Eve or Steve, these are embarrassing statistics, wouldn’t you agree?

Eternal optimist that I am, it is my fervent hope that much sooner than later, our policy makers and employers will reinvigorate their efforts to work towards the universal goal of being judged as the right person for the job instead of the fusion of your chromosomes. 

For my part, I, and I trust that other mothers like me, will follow Kamala’s mother, Shyamala’s example, and teach our daughters to shatter the glass ceiling into smithereens instead of trying to fit into the glass slipper. 

Vijay Naidoo

+61 435784775

vijay_naidoo@hotmail.com