Where Light Shines Through

• The remarkable stories of 16 teachers working in public schools who are excelling at their calling. • Engagingly written in a narrative non-fiction style. • Contains 16 portraits of the featured teachers by the Artist Proof Studio. • Kimon Phitidis is a well-known educationist. THE BOOK Two generations after democracy, South Africa’s public schooling system continues to underperform. Despite some gains, many South African children still don’t achieve basic academic milestones, and teachers are often blamed. Where Light Shines Through allows glimmers of light to shine through the darkness of the public education story and reveals can-do teachers who are excelling despite the odds. It explores what we can learn from these teachers to build the quality of the schooling sector and the public sector more broadly – and turns our gaze momentarily away from public officials who are in power, towards those who are in service. The remarkable stories of sixteen South African teachers from all over the country, illustrated with portraits from the Artist Proof Studio, show that while our attitude to life is often informed by our experiences, our attitude nevertheless remains our choice. THE AUTHOR Kimon Phitidis is the managing director of Social Innovations, a social investment agency delivering programmes that supplement public schooling and research that informs a better system. Phitidis began his career as a communication strategist in both South Africa and the United Kingdom. He lives in Johannesburg, South Africa.