Emang Mmogo Comprehensive School (Sports Section)

Dear Grade 12 pupil,

If you passed, congratulations. If you failed, try again – it’s not the end of the world, and many young people have bounced back from failure and made a success of their lives.

If you passed well, with one or more distinction, well done. You have worked hard for this achievement and I salute you.

Now, we need to talk. Passing Grade 12 in South Africa is actually quite easy and it means very little.

The standards are low and the marks are adjusted upwards for most subjects. Those of you with six or more distinctions are particularly vulnerable to self-deception because “smart” means much more than conquering the rules of the examination game.

Remember the exams are rigged to make the weakest students pass, not to make the brightest students excel. Or more directly, the exams are designed to compensate for the dysfunction in most of our schools because the politicians are too scared to confront those who hold hostage the potential of all our pupils.

The only subject that directly tests logical thinking and intellectual acumen is mathematics. And here, from the primary grades to the final matric year, we are regularly exposed as one of the worst performers in the world.

When Umalusi, the standards setting body for exams, tells you that even “mathematical literacy is [now] as hard as mathematics”, then you know that school education is in shallow waters.

The real test of how much and how well you know comes when you enter university. Here the rules are different.

It will not help you in a good university to memorise and repeat facts. What will be tested is your ability to think critically, independently and thoughtfully.

The smart schoolers among you will, for the first time, experience difficulty in one or more university subjects. That is good, for you need to learn how to struggle and deal with failure.

But even more important than subject knowledge competence is your capacity for democratic, decent and deliberative behaviour on and off campus. The violent and disruptive student protests which you will encounter will provide you with a spectacular example of the failure of education.

South African universities, sadly, are no longer bastions of tolerance and exchange where the battle over ideas holds centre stage in our contested democracy. Campuses have been reduced to shrill places where the loudest voices and the most aggressive postures win the day.

The violent minority leading the assault on our best universities are examples of the mis-education of youth processed through the sausage machine of South African schools.

Why am I telling you this? So that you can change this culture through a new brand of activism that achieves the goals of access and inclusion without demeaning yourself and others in the process.

You will spend three to six years at university. Whether your children will one day experience a top class university education in South Africa depends on you, the new incoming class of undergraduate students.

To be educated, in this broader sense, means that you dare not conceive of your university education in the same way you thought of school – which is to pass your subjects and get a degree. That is not education.

1. Read as many good books outside of your discipline as you can so that your knowledge of science, society and humanity prepares you for a much bigger encounter with the larger world you will enter one day.

2. Resist the temptation of here-and-now thinking. Focus on what you will build up, not what you will break down.

3. Make your own decisions and resist, at all costs, the temptation to follow a crowd. Love without boundaries, and do not trap yourself within the racial and ethnic circles in which many of you feel deceptively comfortable.

4. Learn how to make a persuasive argument by using your mind, not by overpowering your opponent using your muscles. Keep open the possibility at all times that no matter how clear and obvious something is to you, that you might be wrong.

5. In other words, pursue education. I wish these were the kinds of values all of you were taught in your homes and in your schools.

Too many South African students bring their intolerance and intemperance to university campuses today. Your National Senior Certificate results released this week will not, unfortunately, provide any evidence of your education – only that you were successful in passing a low-demand examination.

6. To make your degree count, therefore, you will have to do much more than show up for classes.

Professor Jonathan Jansen. . Mzamo Masito thank you for the inspiration

I was at Emmas, what i saw broke my heart. Looking at the pix below i just wondered what went wrong. Mr Vika must be turning in his grave. What happened Emmas ??? Is there no-one interested in SPORTS any longer???

Big things coming up for Emmas !!!!! Emang Mmogo has been identified as One of the Five schools of FOCUS in the province for its zeal and passion in SPORTS. This is the directive from National(Dept of Sports,Arts and Culture). The Sporting Codes identified are Chess, Cricket,Rugby, Athletics and Table Tennis. So this is a big challenge to the teachers not to let this opportunity to slip through the fingers. To add to that Cricket South Africa has also identified Emang Mmogo as a hub of cricket where they are going to spend millions of rands to revamp our sports field so that we have facilities of class. Wake up Emmas and rise to the occasion before it is too late.

Or else I'm going to erase this one so that whoever is interested can open another one.

Anyone from the school interested in becoming an administrator of this page I can add him/her as one. I'm afraid that I might be missing some important events about the school or he page become dormant because of missed action.

It is with great pleasure to announce that one of the girls who started rugby at Emang Mmogo, Nomthandazo Cele, is playing for Griquas. She was playing at Limpopo today against Pumas of Limpopo. Ayeye Emmaz Ayeye!!!!

Thanks to everyone at Emang Mmogo who have made my time a pleasant one. I will always miss every second, minute, hour, day the list is endless. It was a well spent 8 years and now is the time to move on. When i joined the institution in 2005 Mr Mokwena made me to feel at home and i felt welcome. Mr Brooker thanks so much for becoming such a transformational leader and manager, I will remember the name 'big Man'.Thanks to your entire SMT for steering the ship so well regardless the turbulences encountered along the way. To learners at large I will always miss you. To the entire staff at large thanks once more for showing confidence in me as your Site Steward (SADTU) and Sport Coordinator . I will always remember the nicknames you gave as a symbol of love ( like, Mntase, Mr Dwee, Mhlekazi, Mntazozo, Big Man, Dwebsie etc. To all the sporting codes please don't drop the standards we've set for our school.Cricketers and Ruggerites you know the passion I had for the codes please keep on practicing hard there's a lot awaiting for you. To learners more especially my Geographers,keep on studying hard and remember I will ALWAYS be the member of Emmaz as long as I live. Sincerley yours, R.T Dweba

Mr Dweba far right,a senior rugby coach, poses with Emmaz rugby team before the start of the game. On the left is Robert Nerdy, the boys call him the "Punisher"

Matlhomola watching the ball thrown from the line out by Barkley West ho**er

Taote patiently waiting for the ball to be thrown by Matlhomola

Emmaz in action

Emang Mmogo Rugby team played against Barkles West XV and they drew 5-5. It was our first game of the season at least the boys didn't disappoint us. Well done Emmaz keep up the good work.