As many schools would attest, Heritage Day is a national holiday that many struggle to celebrate well. It can seem superficial and, at worst, be a pain point for many students – raising issues of cultural appropriation, misunderstandings of cultures, fear of judgement from peers, and discomfort. At St Stithians Girls’ College (SSGC), we wanted to be more intentional about Heritage Day and use it as a vehicle for learning, sharing and increased social cohesion.
History and development of the idea
In 2022, and in 2023, we took a new approach to Heritage Day, focusing on how we could use it as a vehicle to express and learn about cultures on various levels. The key to the success of this effort lay in preparation, as well as in grade and tutor group discussions before the event. Grade discussions were structured as panels composed of a teacher, a member of the student Transformation Committee, and grade representatives.
The guiding questions were tailored to suit the age and stage of the students and centred on the meaning of the terms ‘heritage’ and ‘culture’, while exploring ideas of cultural appreciation; exchange and appropriation; whether cultures can change and develop and; different ways in which we celebrate and interact with our cultures.
The discussions proved to be open and fruitful. In addition, small group discussions were held in tutor groups with a tutor teacher and two to three students from each grade. These interactions focused on ensuring that all students engaged before Heritage Day and were aware of how to respect and value various cultures; how different cultures may or may not have outward representations and; how to discuss aspects of culture respectfully and with a learning- focus.
Discussions on the nature of heritage and culture were particularly interesting. In general, the students do not only see ‘heritage’ as tangible, but importantly, as intangible – linking a person to their forbears and the broader context. It was interesting to note that there was some debate around the nature of culture and whether it is mutable or fixed. We steered away from imposing strict definitions, rather finding that learning and appreciation of multiple perspectives took place organically.
The preparation went a long way to helping students engage with Heritage Day on a deeper level and interact respectfully with their peers.
The three-course meal structure
Food is a universal language that brings people together, and what better way to celebrate our cultures and heritage than through a meal. We divided the three segments of our Heritage Day celebrations into starter, main and dessert.
For the starter, we hosted a special assembly where in 2022 we invited a guest speaker to talk about African heritage sites and the preservation of heritage. In 2023, we focused on performances and dances from various cultures in our school. In both cases we made sure that the celebrations were inclusive and representative of the diversity of our school community.
We considered the power of connection that comes from teaching about your own culture and learning from immersion. For this segment, parents and students held workshops that focused on language, dance, music and cultural artefacts. The idea is that everyone actively engages in the learning.
In 2023, for example, a student taught the Greek Zorba dance, complete with plate smashing, and we invited a local trader, based at the traffic lights outside our school, to show us how he makes art using beads. Some workshops involved conversational language, while others considered modern culture linked to Amapiano music and dance.
For the main course, the focus was on experience. We played traditional music in a market-style setting, where participants could walk around and engage the presenters at their stalls. The food stalls were a hit, with most of the vetkoek, mince, chicken feet and gemmer bier (ginger beer) being cleared within a few minutes.
Indigenous games, facilitated by the Gauteng Department of Arts and Culture, provided a fun and active mode of engagement. Members of our Diversity and Transformation Parent Reference Group were also actively involved in the day, hosting the indigenous games and DJing the event. This group works to ensure belonging among our parent body and strengthens links between parents, students and the school in the interests of diversity and inclusion.
In the dessert section of the celebrations, we held a joint concert between the Girls’ and Boys’ colleges, where the students showcased and celebrated heritages linked with our FAL subjects – IsiZulu, SeSotho and Afrikaans.
Learnings and insights
Celebrating our diversity in ways that honour each person’s roots and allows them to express their heritage comfortably has helped us to move away from merely dressing up in traditional attire to a more holistic approach linked to lineage, customs and traditions.
Our main takeaway was the importance of using Heritage Day as a learning and sharing experience to foster a deeper connection to our heritages. Preparation was key to the success, as was the involvement of the broader school community.