According to Ubuntu philosophy, which has its origins in ancient Africa, people are born without ‘ena’, or selfhood, and instead must acquire it through interactions and experiences over time.  So the ‘self’/‘other’ distinction that’s axiomatic in Western philosophy is much blurrier in Ubuntu thought.  As the Kenyan-born philosopher John Mbiti put it in African Religions and Philosophy (1975): ‘I am because we are, and since we are, therefore I am.’

We know from everyday experience that a person is partly forged in the crucible of community. Relationships inform self-understanding. Who I am depends on many ‘others’: my family, my friends, my culture, my work colleagues. The self I take grocery shopping, say, differs in self actions and behaviors from the self that talks to my supervisor.  Even my most private and personal reflections are entangled with the perspectives and voices of different people, be it those who agree with me, those who criticize, or those who praise me.

The point is, we have gotten away from “it takes a village to raise a child.” Much like it was when I was growing up.  I remember when I did something in the community or around the corner from where I lived, when I got home, my parents already knew about it and I got dealt with, without question.  I didn’t have anything to say and I’d better not say anything negative to my parents or I might have lost a few teeth.  I dared not behave in a manner such as many kids do today.  I may have not made it to the age I am today, or at least I would think that.

I see the students every day in school and I think, “what happened?”  Has our world evolved so much that we have forgotten about the children.  Where is the village?  Where is respect and responsibility?  Where is the idea of caring for others?

My heart grieves every time I have to send a student home because of his or her actions in school.  My heart grieves not only for the student, but for the parents, and for the community because as a village, we must do better.  We can’t leave it up to someone else to correct a behavior that has been in the making for many years before the student gets to us.  I firmly believe that the village is stronger than any individual, but we must step forward and show our worth in the village.

I believe that students will only do what they are allowed to do.  Some because they don’t really understand, and some, well, because no one has ever explained it to them or told them that magical word “NO!”

I tell our students all the time, that they are the ones who will make our school a great school, not me and the staff.  The school belongs to the students, we just teach them, enforce the policies, and give them all the love we can.

We have had a great start to the new year, but we can do even better.  Our students deserve it.  The community deserves it.  We deserve it!