What happens when a Professor of Education steps back into the classroom, not as a researcher or academic, but as a teacher of Grade 9 students in a working-class school in the 2020s? He quickly realises that the theories and strategies developed in lecture halls fall short in the face of the real, daily challenges these students experience. Unprepared for the overwhelming complexity, yet driven by a desire to lead meaningful change in a dysfunctional school, he embarks on a journey that tests his resolve, his knowledge, and his heart. What unfolds is not just a lesson in education reform, but a deeply personal transformation—for both him and the children he seeks to uplift. In this talk, he shares the raw, eye-opening truths about the ongoing failure of schools to serve working-class children, and what it truly takes to begin making a difference. Professor Jonathan Jansen is a Distinguished Professor of Education at Stellenbosch University and the immediate past President of the Academy of Science of South Africa.

He started his career as a high school Biology teacher in the Cape and holds a PhD from Stanford as well as honorary doctorates from four universities, including the University of Edinburgh.

He is the author of the award-winning book, Knowledge in the Blood (Stanford University Press) and his recent books include Corrupted a study of chronic dysfunction in South African universities (2023, Wits University Press), and The decolonization of knowledge (2022, Cambridge University Press).

He was recently inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and will be the Chin Yidan Global Fellow at Harvard University in 2024. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx