Kaths late edition

       

Well – where do I start??

Observation week and week 1 of teaching were spent in two schools Katleho English medium school which is a privately run non-government funded school. It is basically held in an old church hall with a small stage at one end. In here are four classes; Grade 1, grades 2 and 3 are taught together, grade 4 and standard 5. In a small building next door are standards 6 and 7. As you can imagine, it is quite difficult to teach in these circumstances as you can hear the other teachers. The older children are beautifully behaved and sit quietly during lessons. However, this is an indicator of their lack of participation and they are on the whole passive learners who repeat sentences and copy from the board. This is so different from my school in Wales where there is always a happy buzz of children engaged and actively learning. I spent my time with grades 1,2 and 3 as this is where the principal would like the focus of my work and as these are children aged between 5 to 8 I am more than happy. The staff were a little suspicious of me at first and needed to be reassured I was not an inspector, I was not there to judge but to become a team member and that my intention is for us to work together. They have softened towards me now and love a chat in the mornings. We all arrive at school by 7.15 and the children play traditional games under teacher supervision. The older children play so well with the younger ones, its lovely to see. The backdrop is stunning with mountains around us. The children then stand in rows in their grades and recite some rhymes, sing songs, say the Lord’s prayer and sing the National Anthem. They then march into class and work begins at 8.00am. Usually either grade 1 or grades 2/3 go outside and sit under a tree for lessons. Using the outdoor environment for learning – I can hear your thoughts – but not in the way we use it. They take out the chalk board and the children sit and rest their books on their knees to copy from the board. They are used to this though as there are no tables for these grades to use. Some of them have brought their own plastic chairs, others the principal has brought. The Principal is a lovely, enthusiastic lady who is aiming high. She founded the school and is hoping to build a new school. She has found a location and has already met with the officials.

The other school called Villa Maria is a very large Catholic school. They now have almost 900 children on their register. It uses the buildings of an old convent. The classes I have been working in are held in what used to be the cold store rooms. They are very small rooms with about 35 – 40 children in each room. One teacher works there but doesn’t get paid! She has worked there as a volunteer since last July and hasn’t been paid – the paper work has not gone through. The rooms are quite dark and get very very cold in the winter. The earth outside is like sand and it is very dusty. The children have to sweep the classroom out at the end of every day using branches from a tree. Every morning in both schools all the children line up in their year groups outside with all the staff standing in front of them. They say prayers and sing songs and then march off to class singing the song until they get there. With 900 children this takes a while! The teachers here are keen to learn and they all want me to go into their classes but with 3 classes per year group that’s 21 classes so once again I am working with the grade 3’s. I am enjoying being with the older children even though some of the work is the work I do with Reception back home in Wales, the children are learning quickly and it is a joy to see their faces when they achieve and also when they listen to a story – it’s truly heart warming.

We have also spent some amazing time off with swims in a river, Chinese New Year, a Braai (a bar-b-que) with a fantastic family who have been kindness itself.