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.