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When we talk about discrimination we are talking about power - and how those who have it consciously or unconsciously exclude those who don't.

The Barriers to Education Project in South Africa examined the relationship between poverty and school drop-out. Despite high levels of absolute poverty, South Africa has high enrolment rates (96%). Instead it is relative poverty - the feeling of being poor relative to other people that seems to be the key driver of drop-out in grades 1-9. Here we are looking at children from informal settlements (squatter camps) attending township schools, or children from the townships attending schools in the suburbs. These children tend to leave school because they have less than other learners and feel ashamed of where they come from. This sense of social exclusion may be unconcious or it may be driven by active discrimination on the part of school management, teachers and learners

This has serious implications for social change, and raises questions about what kind of support systems are needed to help children break through barriers of race, class and poverty.

I also worry that many people enter teaching for the wrong reasons. It is all too easy to see teachers as caring and benevolent with a genuine interest in their learners well-being and development. Yet many teachers choose to the enter the profession for the money, status and power that comes with the position. These teachers are not interested in relinquishing control or fostering a human rights culture in the classroom. So perhaps more work needs to be done in relation to teacher selection, and training so that teachers can develop a real respect for their own and other people's worth and dignity.