FRANKIE’S FLYER

An aspiration of self-fulfilment and defiance takes flight when Peter Reed, a newly qualified teacher with top honours from the renowned University of Stellenbosch, arrives in the rural town of Somerset East, South Africa.At the celebrated Gill College High School, Peter brings a vision inspired by the enduring wisdom of Confucius and Aristotle and the modern insights of Howard Gardner s theory of multiple intelligences.Determined to challenge the narrow labels assigned to his special class students, Peter teaches by an irrefutable principle: I hear, I forget. I see; I remember. I do; I understand. Through hands-on learning and a belief in every student s unique potential, he breathes new life into children labelled as mentally retarded .But in a school steeped in enduring tradition, Peter s radical innovative teaching methods spark fierce resistance from Dr Hawkins, a principal with secrets of his own.As Peter battles prejudice, narrow-mindedness, and a failing system, his students begin to defy every expectation, led by Frankie, an orphan Indian boy with a dream of building and flying his own glider.Years later, fate delivers a cruel irony: Peter, now broken by time and circumstance, is reduced to menial labour in a multi-million-rand business owned by his former students.As he toils in the shadows of their success, a familiar voice calls his name. Rochelle, a former student, now an accomplished medical doctor, echoes his own words back to him: A good teacher is like a candle it consumes itself to light the way for others.