Day Five

Today was my second day at the High School. My post yesterday was really short, so today I hope to give you some more details and hopefully help you to better understand the situation.

I am volunteering at the Learner Support Centre, which is sponsored by Teachers for Africa; an NGO started by a group of teachers in Holland, one of whom was Dutch South African. The Learner Support Centre has six computers that are available to the students, some books (not a lot by our standards) on many different subjects as well as career opportunities and social issues, and ideally volunteers who are available to assist them in meeting their educational needs. Unfortunately the Centre cannot help everyone, and thus the aim is to assist the students who are serious about their education. The Centre keeps track of the students who are utilizing the resources and then if/when money becomes available they try to ensure that it is going to the students who deserve it.

The idea that not everything can be available for everyone is not an idea we are very familiar with in our Canadian education system, but the situation here in the classroom is also something you would not recognize. It makes me think of Quincy and how she complained about the rowdy boys in her class, ha Quin you have absolutely nothing to complain about. There is no real value or understanding of education instilled in these children, and there is no discipline. It is incredibly unfortunate. The classrooms are filled beyond capacity and there is great disparity within. Some of the children are incredibly hardworking and intelligent, but a lot have literally no interest in schoolwork, and then some struggle with different learning challenges (there is nothing available to help those specific needs). In a grade 8 class you will have 16 year olds as well as 13 year olds. For every child performing at or above grade level there are significantly more who struggle with basic reading and writing. The classrooms are chaotic; children climbing on desks, walking around, and whispering is apparently not something they do. It is very energetic. A lot of the children don’t hand in, or even do their assignments because they are so difficult for them. But in the midst of this insane learning environment you find dedicated teachers who are trying to relay the material in the midst of constant crowd control, as well as incredibly dedicated and hardworking students who somehow manage to hear themselves think.

This morning I visited with a girl Busie in grade 8, she loves English and after High School she wants to study business so that she can travel and see the world. She loves to meet interesting people from around the world so that she can learn about their countries and talk to them about her South Africa. She is so dedicated, hardworking, and articulate. It really is inspiring to see her dedication and hope for her future.

The Learner Support Centre is designed to help the students like Busie who want to do well. For them English is a second language, and they work very hard at it because they see it as the key to a lot of opportunities for them. The children who are taking their educations seriously understand that this is their only way out. On average one Hout Bay High School student goes on to attend a post-secondary institution. Considering where this individual has come from it is a remarkable success, but considering all the other children who will not have the opportunity obviously more needs to be done at the outset. They don’t even have enough books, most of what the students receive are photocopies from a textbook, or copied off the chalkboard into their notebooks. In the English classes I have been volunteering in they only have three dictionaries, and one the teacher had to bring from home. It is unbelievable.

Look, I even included some pictures...