Madiba.
Rolihlahla. Nelson Mandela. His life, legacy and the world wide vigil in
his honor has captivated me for the past week.
I’ve paused for a week between teaching Things Fall Apart and Hamlet in
British Literature to ensure my students realize how historic these days are
for South Africa and the world. Despite
varying degrees of prior knowledge, many of them seem captivated along with
me.
So, what is there to teach?
There is the obvious. There is
the history of apartheid and his own personal biography. More than that, though, are the lessons that
he teaches, even posthumously through his words and example. Here are a list of the first five that come
to mind:
- Don’t
ever quite, even when you feel trapped, alone or condemned. He puts it this way: "Difficulties break some men but make others. No
axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed
with the hope that he will rise even in the end."
- Nothing
is impossible. Nothing. In his own words, “It seems impossible until
it’s done.”
- We
are all connected and ought to love one another. If we can be taught
to hate each other, we can learn to love each other as well. He once said, “No one is born hating another person because of the
color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to
hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes
more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
- We
were born to reflect greatness and should not shrink from that
responsibility. During his inauguration
speech he quoted Return to Love when he said, “We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of
God.”
- We
are not defined by where we were born or where life takes us, but our ability to keep on standing despite being knocked down at times. In Madiba’s words: "Do not judge me by my
successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again."
How do we teach this?
Here is a tic tac toe board you can use to teach your students more
about him and the principles he stood for.
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Create a collage about one of his life’s themes. Include at least two quotes and five images
from his life and/or country’s history
that illustrates the theme.
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Write a eulogy for him.
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Read excerpts from some of his speeches and write a reflection on which of his messages you believe teaches the most
important lesson.
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Design a memorial for him.
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Read about his political career
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Read Invictus (his favorite poem) and Return to Love (a passage he read at his inauguration) and put one of them to
song. Perform it.
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I hope you find this helpful. If you have any other ideas, please let us know!
