We spent the day today at Sapphire Primary School in Booysen Park, a township in Port Elizabeth, SA (our host, Bruce, is the principal of the school).
We were all busy doing different things.... Sapphire is a Port Elizabeth primary school, serving grades 1-7 (secondary schools serve 8-12). It is home to about 1000 students, and is set in a colored community of PE, with black townships surrounding it (these are real terms in South African: colored = of mixed race, and black = indigenous Africans). The school instructs in both Afrikaans and English, with the third language of the school being Xhosa - the indigenous African language. It's population is about 50% colored and 50% black, but all poor - with 90% of the families unemployed. For many of the students at the school, the lunch the school provides (two slices of bread, sometimes with spread, and a nutritional drink) is the only meal they will have for the day.
The Different Experiences
Chris: I shadowed Bruce all day, reliving my life as a principal - ringing phones, visiting parents, recess duty. Bruce is a remarkable leader, and an inspiration for those he works with, as well as for me. We have had powerful and deep conversations not only about South Africa and education, but about human nature and leadership, and we continue to examine the parallels and differences between our settings (the paradox being there are so many similarities set is startling contrasts). I am inspired by his vision, and his ability to balance the practical (he is South African's version of a notary public and took time out of his crazy day to notarize employment application documents for a young man who came in off the streets) and often unplanned work of a principal in his setting, with the visionary work of being an instructional leader and community leader. I also had the opportunity to sit in on an adult education course that takes place at his school. It is a program run by the SA department of labor, but fits perfectly into the vision of the school (committed to empowering the neighborhood, not just working with the students of the community). These are folks, ages 18-50+ who have committed to going back to complete the schooling they never finished. They are an inspiration, and they represent authentic, student centered and driven learning. It was great to have a chance to sit in their midst.
Chrissie: Mom attended an adult bead-making class most of the day.
Since the area around Sapphire has about 90% unemployment, the school has become a parent job-training site as well as a primary school. (Welding, carpentry, sewing, farming.) One of the courses is a week-long bead work class, taught by a school parent and graduate of the program, Lynn. Chrissie was joined by another parent, Theodora, and a neighbor, Latisha, who had some craft ideas of her own to share. They spent the day making necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. Bruce has encouraged us not to be afraid to cross boundaries, and to ask probing questions. So Chrissie asked the other ladies what life was like under apartheid, and now, after. Latisha said, "Under apartheid, only white ladies would sit around playing with beads. And now here we are teaching you!"
Andy: Sapphire is almost done for the school year. Their summer break starts in two weeks. (The seasons are opposite of ours here in the southern hemisphere.) So Andy attended a Grade 6 class with Mrs. Williams. The students asked him lots of questions - Has he been to a 50-Cent concert? - What does a dollar look like? Does it have the picture of our president on it? - Has he been to a WWE event? In the classes, if you misbehave, teachers are allowed to pinch you or smack you with a ruler. Lucky Andy, he made it through the day without either!
Matt: Matt attended a Grade 4 class with Ms. Prinsloo. He was also asked lots of questions. In his class, the teacher was allowed to 1) hit your shoulder with a ruler, 2) hit you with a bamboo pole. Matt says his day was good, and he misses everyone who is reading this, and those who aren't, too.
We're looking forward to tomorrow and day 2 at Sapphire. On Thursday and Friday we are visiting a primary school in a black township, so we'll be able to give you a comparative sense of our experience.
Blessings!
The Drapes
We were all busy doing different things.... Sapphire is a Port Elizabeth primary school, serving grades 1-7 (secondary schools serve 8-12). It is home to about 1000 students, and is set in a colored community of PE, with black townships surrounding it (these are real terms in South African: colored = of mixed race, and black = indigenous Africans). The school instructs in both Afrikaans and English, with the third language of the school being Xhosa - the indigenous African language. It's population is about 50% colored and 50% black, but all poor - with 90% of the families unemployed. For many of the students at the school, the lunch the school provides (two slices of bread, sometimes with spread, and a nutritional drink) is the only meal they will have for the day.The Different Experiences
Chris: I shadowed Bruce all day, reliving my life as a principal - ringing phones, visiting parents, recess duty. Bruce is a remarkable leader, and an inspiration for those he works with, as well as for me. We have had powerful and deep conversations not only about South Africa and education, but about human nature and leadership, and we continue to examine the parallels and differences between our settings (the paradox being there are so many similarities set is startling contrasts). I am inspired by his vision, and his ability to balance the practical (he is South African's version of a notary public and took time out of his crazy day to notarize employment application documents for a young man who came in off the streets) and often unplanned work of a principal in his setting, with the visionary work of being an instructional leader and community leader. I also had the opportunity to sit in on an adult education course that takes place at his school. It is a program run by the SA department of labor, but fits perfectly into the vision of the school (committed to empowering the neighborhood, not just working with the students of the community). These are folks, ages 18-50+ who have committed to going back to complete the schooling they never finished. They are an inspiration, and they represent authentic, student centered and driven learning. It was great to have a chance to sit in their midst.
Chrissie: Mom attended an adult bead-making class most of the day.
Since the area around Sapphire has about 90% unemployment, the school has become a parent job-training site as well as a primary school. (Welding, carpentry, sewing, farming.) One of the courses is a week-long bead work class, taught by a school parent and graduate of the program, Lynn. Chrissie was joined by another parent, Theodora, and a neighbor, Latisha, who had some craft ideas of her own to share. They spent the day making necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. Bruce has encouraged us not to be afraid to cross boundaries, and to ask probing questions. So Chrissie asked the other ladies what life was like under apartheid, and now, after. Latisha said, "Under apartheid, only white ladies would sit around playing with beads. And now here we are teaching you!"Andy: Sapphire is almost done for the school year. Their summer break starts in two weeks. (The seasons are opposite of ours here in the southern hemisphere.) So Andy attended a Grade 6 class with Mrs. Williams. The students asked him lots of questions - Has he been to a 50-Cent concert? - What does a dollar look like? Does it have the picture of our president on it? - Has he been to a WWE event? In the classes, if you misbehave, teachers are allowed to pinch you or smack you with a ruler. Lucky Andy, he made it through the day without either!
Matt: Matt attended a Grade 4 class with Ms. Prinsloo. He was also asked lots of questions. In his class, the teacher was allowed to 1) hit your shoulder with a ruler, 2) hit you with a bamboo pole. Matt says his day was good, and he misses everyone who is reading this, and those who aren't, too.
We're looking forward to tomorrow and day 2 at Sapphire. On Thursday and Friday we are visiting a primary school in a black township, so we'll be able to give you a comparative sense of our experience.
Blessings!
The Drapes
4 comments:
Hello-Chrissie-fun time with bead making! Are you learning how to use magazine paper to roll into beads? I've seen a couple of those kinds of beaded necklaces. Hello to Chris, Matt, and Andy. Hope school goes well!!
Wow! That school development sounds amazingly holistic! What an amazing opportunity!
I'm glad the boys behaved. :)
My favorite question while in Africa was "how many cows are you worth?"
XO KT
Hi from Mrs. Egli's Class!
Hi Matt it's Noah from carey. Did you hug a drunk person and he took something from you?
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