This is a LONG entry! If you care about my school-related experiences and reflections, read the whole thing. If you just want to know about what I’ve been up to outside of school, skip to the last 2-3 paragraphs!
I started teaching this week! For my OU assignments, I’ve been focusing on cultural and school-related differences, so much of this entry has to do with those things. I have been placed in a sixth grade classroom at Collegiate Junior School in Port Elizabeth (Google it—they have a great website!). It is an all-girls school but it is a state school (I originally thought it was private). In SA, however, education is not free, and Collegiate is an expensive school to attend. There are houses (like in Harry Potter) into which all the girls are divided. The houses are named after English queens: Victoria, Elizabeth, Alexandra, and Mary. The houses are just a grouping which are used for intra-school competitions and are not connected to boarding arrangements. Some girls are boarders, but not too many in the junior school. The girls wear adorable uniforms but there are these odd rules about them: they’re not allowed to push up the sleeves on their sweaters and they are not allowed to wear their sweaters (over their dresses) outside as outerwear. They call the sweaters “jerseys,” by the way.
The hardest things for me have been thinking about how to deal with the lack of technology in the classrooms—I will pretty much be working with a chalkboard and whatever books and worksheets I have—and thinking about how I will make connections with the girls during lessons considering we have such a different background. When I listen to the teachers talk about the industry in PE or the types of animals that would be in a forest in SA, I wonder how I will be able to do that given that I don’t know much about those things. It’s also been difficult to get a handle on how their standards work. There is no prescribed curriculum here and there is much more freedom to do whatever one wants in the classroom. In the standards book it says, “…teaching has a strong creative component, one which often finds expression in a particular context…we see this guide as a supportive tool…you are encouraged to make adaptations and changes which you believe can further enhance the attainment of learning outcomes. In the final analysis the learner is the key subject of focus.” AMAZING! It seems South Africa has not yet lost faith in the expertise of its teachers as many districts in the U.S. seem to.
This week I’ve just been observing and following one class around to all of their lessons. They take an amazing amount of classes! EMS (Economics/Accounting), Math (or “Maths,” as they call it), Computers, Technology, Life Orientation (kind of like health), Social Science (History and Geography), English, Afrikaans (second language in SA—sort of like Dutch), Music, Xhosa (an African language spoken, mostly by black people, around PE), Phys Ed (which includes swimming), Dance and Drama, Library, and Art. It’s amazing how much they do! They sort of use block scheduling which is nice because they get hour-long lessons most of the time. The school also has an outstanding amount of extracurriculars (“extramurals”) which take place after school: Band, Chess, Needlework, Art Club, Country Dancing, Swimming (like swim team), Tennis, Community Service, Knowledge is Fun Club (field trips, etc.), Road Running (Cross Country), Netball (Volleyball), Astro Hockey (Field Hockey), Computer Club, Arts & Crafts, Athletics (Track & Field), Drama Club, Squash, and Choir! On my first day at the school, I was given a track suit to wear when I attend athletic practices or events. It’s all very fun!
The school environment here is incredibly different from mine in the US, at least so far. When the bell rings at the end of a period, the girls wait to be dismissed—there’s no rush to get packed up and move on! At the beginning of every class the girls stand and the teacher says, “Good morning/afternoon, girls,” and the girls respond, “Good morning/afternoon, Mr./Ms./Mrs. So-and-so.” At the end of every period the girls all stand and the teacher says, “Good morning/afternoon girls,” and the girls respond, “Good morning/afternoon and thank you, Mr./Ms./Mrs. So-and-so.” It’s great! Everything is, “please” and “thank you” and “may I…” I am going to be so spoiled over here! Even when the girls are “shouting” out answers or “being loud,” they are quiet compared to my loud-mouth American kids! The girls seem to be comfortable struggling through things to figure out the answer without getting too frustrated. This is a real difference from my experience in the US where kids expect me to tell them the answer!
The teachers here are so devoted! They all take on after-school activities and spend a lot of time and energy on their commitments. They sit in the teachers’ lounge and talk about out-of-school things, rather than gossiping and complaining about students; any talk of students is professional. There are two “tea breaks” during the day and all the teachers gather together to socialize and drink coffee and tea (or eat lunch). They make the girls think and challenge them to work hard. My teacher said to one child about an answer, “Put it down and trust yourself.” The girls are allowed to share personal stories and ask questions and the teachers really listen to them and take advantage of teachable moments. There are clear expectations in the school and the girls know what to do to attain them. Much more to come on the school front, I’m sure!
The girls are pretty funny here. They were doing an assignment in one class where they had to list role models and write why they were good role models. One group wrote: “1. Nelson Mandela-Good role model; 2. Queen Latifah-Great role model” Apparently Queen Latifah has some major clout here in SA. One girl yesterday asked me if I knew Rihanna… I guess since we live in the same country? They all wanted to know if I’ve been to Hollywood and Disneyland. I guess kids are quirky everywhere!
There are some very interesting cultural things I’ve come to learn about as well. In SA, “black people” are native Africans while “colored people” are what we in the US would call “mixed.” The white people call the black people “black” or “Africans” which is interesting to me because they don’t refer to themselves as “Africans” even though most of them have lived in Africa their entire lives with generations before them. One of my favorite language things is a response similar to our, “really?” If, for example, I were to say, “I would like to go shark diving while I’m here,” a South African might respond, “Is it?” (the emphasis goes on the “is”).
In home news, we have been spending a lot of time at the Boardwalk grabbing after-school mojitos. We are heading off to a lion park this Saturday where we will be able to pet baby lions and tigers! After that, we are going on a 2-hour long horseback ride on the beach followed by a barbecue (“bry”). I’m really looking forward to it! We have a full weekend calendar (which I will hopefully be able to post up here so you all can follow along)! More news soon!
