Teaching Durban children for 36 years

Looking forward to being in the audience for Grandparents Day and enjoying “biscuits and sprinkles”, along with cards covered in glitter and bright crayons.

That’s Durban Preparatory High School (DPHS) principal, Barry Wilson, who will be retiring at the end of the year after 36 years of teaching in Durban.

This week, Wilson, who is the only DPHS “old boy” in the school’s proud 111-year history to hold the position of principal (and there have been 12 principals), spoke about his passion for education and how the right approach can build a strong foundation for any child’s future.

“As a DHS (Durban High School) old boy, when I was at high school there was a teacher of a subject I wasn’t very good at, but he still made the lessons so warm and encouraging, it inspired me to go into education,” said Wilson.

After studying for four years, Wilson started as a coach at DPHS and then was posted as a teacher to DPHS by the KZN Department of Education in 1985.

He reached the position of head of department before moving to Northlands Primary School in 2003 to take up the position of deputy principal and then principal. In 2017, he returned to DPHS as the headmaster.

“I feel I left as a son of DPHS and returned as a dad of the DPHS family. My reward has been to help mould the dreams and lifestyles of individuals, whether it’s the children, coaches or staff.

“I love watching children develop over the years and have travelled a long journey with many ‘old boys’, some of whose children have come through the school.

“Many of our ‘old boys’ have achieved in business, sport or culture at the highest level and my reward has been playing a part in the chapter of each journey,” said Wilson.

He has also developed strong bonds during his long career with fellow principals, staff, coaches, parents and education officials.

Always maintaining an optimistic outlook, Wilson said he preferred to focus on rewards rather than challenges.

“It’s very easy to focus on the negative, I prefer to focus on the abundant privileges we have around us. For example, during this time of Covid, we have learned how to interact between children, staff and parents for us to get to the final outcome. We have worked closely together and grown from this experience,” he said.

He added that the most important facet of education is building relationships, whether in a classroom between teachers and the boys, or the boys’ friendships with one another, parents with class teachers, and teachers with teachers.

“Our focus is preparing our boys for life through valuable lifeskills, such as honesty, trust, responsibility and accountability. If you get these value systems correct, we can give them the platform to grow and be successful as individuals. I’ve seen how successful our ‘old boys’ have become and that is from getting the core values correct at school,” said Wilson.

He said that while some struggled during school, it was crucial for each child “to understand we have all been blessed with different skills and talents which need to be nurtured and encouraged. It is finding this common denominator and getting the child to grow through perseverance. He may stumble but he will get up again,” said Wilson.

With many years of classroom experience, Wilson said his advice to young teachers would be “to approach each day knowing that you are going to make an ordinary day into an extraordinary day for somebody.

“Those extra moments will fulfil your inner sense of purpose, satisfaction and happiness,” he said.

The Covid pandemic has also seen Wilson re-assess his own stage in life with his decision to retire at the end of the year. He and his wife Melanie are planning to move to the Cape so they can spend more time with family, especially their three grandchildren.

“It’s been a hard decision, but I’ve reached a stage where the heartstrings are being pulled to spend the next chapter with family and our grandchildren.

“We are living off photos and phone calls and we are missing out on wonderful memories. While it may be routine to collect children from school, I want to fetch my grandchildren from school, it will be exciting.

“I’ve hosted Grandparents Day for 36 years, now I want to be in the audience and on the receiving end of biscuits and sprinkles and cards covered in glitter and crayons,” Wilson said.

Independent on Saturday