Week Three- Ceremony, Celebration, and Schools

January 20^th-  It was raining quite hard (from my perspective, however, the locals said it wasn’t really much) and so the BBQ that I was invited to attend with Michelle and her family was moved to a clubhouse party at a condominium complex in Four Ways (named for the grid-like area with a four way stop).  Michelle, Kai, Dustin, and Edward picked me up and we made our way to party. There I met a woman named Lydia. She told me how she became a financial manger for South African Board of Jewish Education. She said that each step of her life, each class she took, and each class she taught brought her closer to the job she was meant to do. I enjoyed meeting her and hearing her story. She also told me about her daughter trying to bring solar energy streetlights to South Africa. Out of the few people I have met here, three have told me about solar energy.

January 21- Luneta came to pick me up at 7am so we could get across town with little traffic. One thing I have noticed is Johannesburg has a lot of traffic and it starts early. People take a lot of back roads as well, so they are full as well. Some say this problem could get worse if the toll take affect on the freeways. There is some controversy there. I guess they improved the infrastructure for the World Cup, the highways were built and renovated, and they added toll towers. Once the World Cup was over, the government began the process of activating these tolls. This led to a court case against the government and a lot of drama from the people of Johannesburg. A taxi driver told me that you have to register for a transponder and then they will charge you for the amount of time spent on the road. He said the tolls wouldn’t work because people (especially drivers) will refuse to get the transponders and the government will spend more money trying to track down the cars on the road. A colleague says although people have issues, eventually everyone will comply, the court case didn’t seem legitimate, and “big business” influences the government here. I am interested in seeing how this plays out (or if it even does while I am here).

Interestingly, when I looked up the issue online I found this Bloomberg article from last year (Robert Brand and Andres Martinez, February 2012):

South Africa will begin tolling road users in Johannesburg from April to help repay 20 billion rand of debt incurred in expanding highways in the nation’s most populous city.

The government will allocate South African National Roads Agency 5.8 billion rand ($727 million) to pay outstanding debt, helping to lower toll fees to 30 cents a kilometer, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan told reporters in Cape Town today.

Sanral, as the agency is known, sold bonds in the past four years to finance the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project the helped to widen, upgrade, resurface and build 185 kilometers of roads around Johannesburg. The tolling system, which was due to start in March, was postponed after labor unions threatened strike action. Taxis and public buses will be exempt from the fees.

“This is an extremely generous and balanced way in which government is responding to the various suggestions and concerns that are being raised,” Gordhan said. “It is a win-win solution for everyone involved.”

In March of 2012, there were mass marches against the toll. For now, they just seem to be part of the road. There are also the traffic enforcers, basically guys who sit in the median with radar guns calculating the speed of some cars and writing tickets (I am not sure how they go to the bathroom during the day). I will try to get a picture of one of the enforcers in the median of the freeway, but for now here is an example of one on the side of a smaller road. 

I attended the first Department of Childhood Education meeting and was formally introduced to the members of the department. I was reminded how often educators enjoy using acronyms for everything. I began to write them down for translation later.

After the meeting, Luneta and I met about the protocol we will be using to gather data about addressing the needs of diverse learners. I made a few changes to reflect the language used here in South Africa. We are now ready to begin collecting information as soon as I can schedule times to meet with different faculty members.

Michelle, Kai, and Dustin invited me over for dinner. Dustin and Kai attend the German school in Johannesburg. Kai (age 7) was struggling getting his homework done because he wants to know that everything was perfect. He read a poem about two friends and was asked to write their differences. He was frustrated that he couldn’t think of a better way of identifying the girls besides “one.” He wrote, “One has dark skin and one has light skin. One has black hair and one has light hair.” Michelle tried to encourage him to just write and his teacher would help him with the details later, but that didn’t seem to hurry him in any way. In Math, he wanted one of us to check each problem before he went on to the next. Although he finished his writing assignment, he did not finish his math homework before he needed to go to bed. Since I can barely get my high school students to bring in work from home, his few hours on his homework seemed a bit excessive. Are three pages of multiplication and division, a poem and one page write up, and a page of German homework too much for a 7 year old?

January 22- Today was the 1^st Year Welcome Ceremony at Auckland Park Kingsway (APK) campus. Most of the faculty from the School of Education met at the APK auditorium for a formal procession, words from the Dean, and introduction of the department heads. After our introductions, the faculty was excused but the students continued to hear about the expectations of their program. 

After the ceremony, Gadija and I went to the faculty tearoom to work on study guide for her English literacy class. The textbooks for the class include a book of African folklore and stories, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and a textbook on Academic Literacy written by Judy Seligjmann (professor at UJ). I really appreciate how Gadija uses service learning to support the education of her students (there is around 180 students in her class). She is guiding her students in organizing a story telling festival with a famous author, her students organizing activities, and local schools getting involved. We brainstormed activities based on the African folklores that the groups in her class could do to get involved in the event: face painting, plays, multimedia (video tape and photography), registration and marketing, reading stories, arts and crafts, games, and background support. What an amazing opportunity for these future teachers, the community, and, of course, the kids!

Next, the department uses the Harry Potter series in their classes. I gave her an English lesson I have used in my Reading class. Students are asked to complete tasks related to 10 literary elements and devices based on a novel. Because her class is so large, I imagine the grading to be very overwhelming, partially because of the size and also because of the English Language issues. I told her about a useful technique I began using in my university class with master’s students who struggled with English and academic writing. I put them in groups and had them edit each other’s work prior to turning it into me. This greatly reduced the amount little grammatical errors and increased my students understanding of writing because they had others' work to guide them.

Finally, we looked at the Academic Literacy book and split up the topics and activities. Gadija and a few other faculty are going to the American Educational Research Association conference (in San Francisco) at the end of April so I will be teaching two classes on how to dissect a research journal article and academic writing (which my university students will tell you is “totally my thing”). By the way, SF people- I am putting together a guide for San Francisco, if you have any recommendations, let me know.

The Lovely Gadija and I at the
post-planning lunch (Catz Pyjama's)
in Melville.

After our planning session, she took me to a restaurant down the street from my place called the Catz Pyjama’s. We had the vegetarian sandwiches and they were EXCELLENT! The eggplant, pesto, acorn squash, and feta cheese on bread were so delicious. 

A friend of mine from San Francisco, Amy, connected me with her friend Niki here in Jo’burg. He came and picked me up to take me somewhere new- a neighborhood called Parkhurst. If Melville is like Upper Haight, then Parkhurst is like Union Street- full of restaurants and little shops. We went to a place called Espresso and enjoyed a bottle of local wine (a rose made with pinot noir grapes) and grilled Kingklip fish (white fish with mild flavor).

January 23, 2013- This morning was the 1^st Year Foundations I Orientation at the Soweto Campus. The faculty of the Department of Childhood Education faculty welcomed the first year students. Each person stood in front of about 140 students and gave short explanation of what they would teach and what the students could expect during the next four years while they worked on their Bachelor of Education (or B Ed as it was called). This was useful for the students and me…I got to hear about what they were to expect for the next four years.  

When it was my turn, I told the students that I came from the United States as a Fulbright Scholar to learn more about how South Africa works with students with diverse needs and so I could share some of my knowledge of learning and instruction with educators here. I asked if anyone knew what inclusion meant, they all nodded no (they are just about to begin their teaching education next week). I said, after apartheid ended the South African government decided that all students, regardless of race, money, or ability level, would get education, that it is a human right to have access. Because of this decision, youth who would not have had access to quality education before are now in their classrooms and that, as educators, it is necessary to learn about working with diverse learners to ensure they too received a quality education.

Dr. Luneta speaking to the First Year
Students

After the orientation, a colleague came to my office to tell me how much he appreciated my words to the students. He believes they were impressed that a professor from the United States knows about apartheid and has come here to teach them about working with diverse learners. He said he didn’t think many believe anyone in the world knows what is going on in their lives. That surprised me, could it be true that the students don’t know? Is it true that the world doesn’t know? Or is it that we don’t think about the world beyond our daily life (many of them are only 18 years old)?

That brings me to some of the racial issues I have noticed and that I am still trying to settle in my frame of mind. Now, as a disclaimer, I may change my perception as I spend more time here, but as of today this is how I have interpreted things that have been said to me. I will be cautious as I write, although unlike in America, these terms that group people do not seem to be seen as offensive, rather words to describe someone. As an American, I find myself flinching when these conversations are had.

Here, in South Africa, most people use the terms from apartheid- Afrikaan, White, Black, Colored, and Indian. Afrikaners (White people) are very proud of their heritage and language. Many of the faculty is Afrikaan, when they speak of being Afrikaan they do so with much pride in their heritage. A few of the professors have been working with me to learn some as well (good morning = goeie more). The Afrikaan language is easily spoken within the department and in the hallways to me as well a few times. It seems like people move from Afrikaan to English without noticing it. The students have to take a language class of either Zulu or Sesotho as well (taught by Afrikaners). One of the students at the orientation asked if they could take Afrikaan…she was told no, not unless she just wanted to take extra classes on top of her required workload.

The two main native languages I have encountered are isiZulu and Sesotho. In fact, at the teaching school connected with the university, Funda Ujabule, those are the two languages in which students learn (in addition to English). From what I hear, most of the local languages (Zulu, Soethe, Xhosa, Ndebele, Setswana, Swati, Tshivenda, and Xitsonga) can be understood by each other because they are just different dialects. The women who work at the guesthouse I live in speak Sesotho…one is from Zimbabwe and the other is South African (but her father came from Swaziland so she is still considered an immigrant at times).

There is also a big distinction from Black as in Black South African and people who have migrated here from another country. Some people blame the unemployment, the crime, and the downfall of certain neighborhoods to the immigrants, others say certain groups make them look bad by working so hard. It seems very similar to the talk in the U.S. about immigration during the political debates.

January 24^th- Because I noticed my sleep has been disrupted and I am feeling a bit tired (could be remnants of jet lag and moving), I decided to stay home from the office today. I took it easy in the morning, worked on my computer outside, read a bit, painted my nails by the pool, took a nap on the grass, and read some research. I remember reading somewhere that one way to “ground” your body is to literally connect with the earth (something about the negative ions alkalinize your body). I figured it couldn’t hurt and might allow me to bounce back from this lagging feeling in my body. I also found a Chinese healer down the street and made an appointment. I am glad to report the massage worked. I came back feeling rejuvenated.

View from under the tree...

Later that night, I went to Michelle’s and made her and the family dinner (I tried to make salmon, but the stores that were open didn’t have any so I ended up making trout- lesson learned: go to the fish monger earlier in the day).

That night I finally slept all through the night and since my office was being occupied at the campus, I elected to work from home again. What a beautiful day.

Home Office

January 26, 2013- Saturday: Today I am working in the morning, going to an event connected with Kai and Dustin’s (Michelle’s kids) school.

The event is called Croissants and Sauerkraut. This is a celebration of the Élysée –Treaty between France and Germany that was signed 50 years ago today. Here is the description from the Goethe Institut website (German Cultural Center):

On 22 January 1963, French President Charles de Gaulle and Germany’s first Chancellor Konrad Adenauer signed the so-called Élysée Treaty, a contract that set the seal on reconciliation between France and Germany and ended centuries of rivalry between them. With it, the two countries established a new foundation for relations and partnership.

In honour of the anniversary, the Goethe-Institut and the Alliance Française will host an event to recall the beginnings of the French-German friendship and to celebrate their union over the past 50 years. Starting with a welcome reception at the Alliance Française, the guests are invited to walk together from the French cultural center to the Goethe-Institut (less than one kilometre distance). At the Goethe-Institut, DJ Hannes Teichmann (Germany), VJ Alexandre Elkouby (France) and BLKJKS Soundsystem (South Africa) will entertain the guests with music from three nations – an evening of music, celebration and dance.

Me, Michelle, Edward, Kai, and Dustin
at French Alliance (with wine and "croissants")

Niki picked me up from the Goethe Insitut and took me to the Barnyard (in Four Ways). He told me that his friend’s mother from the town where he grew up (on the coast) was an actress. She decided to use the barn on their property to put on live shows…well, that idea has grown and now the Barnyard venues are all over South Africa (this one was in a strip mall in a suburb). Niki’s friend, Claire, organized a group of us to attend “The 80’s” show that was being performed. I was surprised at how much fun I had. A few times Claire came over to ask if we knew who was singing…yes, I love Pat Benetar!!!!

"Pat Benatar"

I also met a teacher from a model-C Afrikaan school in Johannesburg. Schools are categorized by how well they are functioning and depending on the “model” the families contribute more to the education. There are three types of schools (that I know about):  independent or private, public or government, and Model-C. Private schools may get some funding from the government, but usually just from businesses or overseas. They can screen their students to make sure they have “high performing students (and scores).” Oprah’s school is considered private…and there is an academic skills requirement to be enrolled. I read an article in the Sunday Times about how businesses are investing in for-profit schools. They have high tuition fees and state of the art classrooms.

The public or government schools are usually funded depending on the need that the government determines often based on the scores the students are receiving. They may have class sizes of 50-80, minimal teaching support, and their parents pay a scaled amount of tuition fees (some are given bursaries to cover the educational cost). Usually the schools that are considered “low-performing” are in the poorer areas, such as Soweto. Nadine (the woman who’s cottage I stayed in the first two weeks) told me Elizabeth, her maid, came to her last year because they were denying her children to enroll in the school because they said they were too full. Nadine had to advocate for Elizabeth to get her kids enrolled.

Finally, the Model-C schools are usually found in the nicer areas. They may receive minimal funding from the government, there is tuition paid by the parents, and with the additional funds they hire extra teachers and support staff. Penny, the teacher I met, teaches Math to a class size of 22-24. Sounds quite a bit different from the public schools.