Magona

2 Pages 554 Words

To My Children’s Children by Sindiwe Magona is an autobiography that creatively illustrates her development into womanhood while integrating her limitations due to apartheid. Amazingly Magona tells of her loving childhood with an optimistic tone even though she and her family had to overcome struggles dealing with poverty, death, schooling, pregnancy, politics and racism. Apartheid may have cynically affected many aspects of Sindiwe’s life, but she never allowed her determination or spirit to be defeated.

There were many facets of Magona’s life that were affected by Apartheid, one of them being the educational system. Under the rules of a Bantu education, the government believed that Black Africans should only be educated for their opportunities in life and that there was no place for them above the level of certain forms of labor. (Magona) Luckily, Sindiwe just missed the year that this form of thought was put into effect, so she was able to graduate high school and go on to earn a degree as a teacher. This did however, affect her teaching career. There were too many students, not enough books, and the grade levels were all mixed. Although she tried to teach some the basics, most of the time it seemed futile in trying to organize the abilities of the students, or even teach lessons. Then there was her salary, or lack there of. Magona had a degree and earned very little. “Yes, teacher’s salaries, a decade and a half after I had started teaching, were still so low as to elicit scorn from everybody, from lowly domestic workers to common criminals. When I had entered the field of education, to say I had been astounded at the pittance African teachers earned would be an understatement.” (Magona, 96)

Another part of Magona’s life affected by Apartheid was her environment; where she grew up. Black African’s were forced to move to homelands, which were designated areas. These places were usually pits of poverty. “ Blaau...