Treading a Delicate Tightrope

When Mike Burton became the principal of All Saints College in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, little did he know about the journey on which he was embarking.

Very soon after taking up the position, Mike realised that the vision of the founding organisation was becoming irrelevant as education and politics converged, reaching a crisis point in the second half of the 1980s. Mike found himself walking the tightrope between the expectations of the funders on the one hand and those of the students and community on the other.

Matters reached a tipping point and Mike had to make a decision. As ‘Comrade Mike’ he elected that the interests of the students and the community take precedence. Mike chose education AND liberation. 

Mike Burton’s Tightrope is a gripping, personal account that transports the reader back to the liberation struggle of the 1980s and the educational issues that informed policy in the nascent democracy. The book will be of particular interest to those involved in education at the time as well anybody who observed or was engaged during that turbulent period of change.

"Mike Burton’s leadership must truly be remembered as one of the markers on the course of doing at times the impossible, viz. to teach excellently as well as to struggle with conviction"

Franklin Sonn

 

"[Mike Burton’s story] is a reminder of why so many people supported the new regime and its education initiatives with such dedication and enthusiasm. It was the dawn of a new era, filled with hope and optimism. And it is good to be reminded of that during current times."

Reviewer