An Education Parable from an African Farm

I am from Africa. I am in the world, and very much of it, but in a very real way I am from Africa, where I was born and raised and where I sometimes have the chance to return.

In Africa, cattle are regarded as wealth: they are considered to be a form of living capital, and even comprise the dowry in traditional wedding procedures. For this reason, cattle theft is as much part of our lives as samp, strikes and sunshine.

While visiting our family farm this week, I woke to the news that the fence had been clipped overnight, which usually means only one thing: losses. This meant an expedition to the farthest outskirts of the lands to count the cattle and herd them to safety. When I joined the party, the mood made it clear that the numbers were down. The herd was already assembled and ready to move to the other side of the farm while fences are repaired. As I approached, though, I crossed a ridge that was somewhat higher than the others. From that higher ground I could see what they could not: the missing cows were in a distant field, concealed by tall, gold savannah grass. Although this meant trawling through a river and a swampy meadow, the herd was intact.

It is not that I am a better farmer. Far from it. Yet I could find what the farmers could not, simply by having a different point of view. This is no less valid in education than it is in farming: different and diverse points of view are important. They may even realize that which seems impossible.

The picture is of our beautiful mare, Venus, who accompanies the cattle in the background as they graze.