South Africa's schools have a lot to teach us about our priorities

Schools and our society are changing dramatically, but nothing beats the economics of schoolboy rugby

- Stephen Grootes

I hope you have been lucky enough to have this experience as an adult, but I find going to schools, sniffing the air, looking at the badges, uniforms and hairstyles and speaking to other parents one of the best ways to see how our country is changing.

I remember once, years ago, as a new parent to a government primary school in northern Joburg, just being astounded by how different it was to my school, which was also a government primary school in Joburg.

In those days everyone looked the same. It was not just that they were of the same race, but they wore the same clothes. The dads wore what their sons wore — a jacket and tie.

I've tried pretty hard to imagine this today, but I just cannot see my headmaster from that time sitting face to face with a parent wearing a nose ring.

It’s so different now. Our diversity, along the lines of facial jewellery, race, language and sexuality, is on full display.

When I mentioned this at the time to my older and wiser colleague, David O'Sullivan, he looked at me and said: "Do you want to know what the best part of it is?"

"What?" I asked.

"It will never go back," he said.

Wonderfully, he was 100% correct.

But our schools also tell us a lot about our economy, and what our priorities are, and where we are going as a society.