It’s hard to believe that we are already halfway done tutoring the children. It has been a trying experience thus far as the program is not well run and is very unorganized. However, each day is more successful than the one before. All of us work with between 2 and 3 students in either grade 6 or grade 7, but we have had to tailor the curriculum to the abilities of our individual learners. This past week, we taught our learners English (Afrikaans is their first language) and quickly discovered that our learners were all at very different points in their level of understanding. Some were able to differentiate the difference between reported and directed speech, while others did not know the alphabet. My three learners, Klinsito, Shimone and Chanté, are relatively advanced, but still struggle with many basic concepts, such as differentiating parts of speech. Additionally, they all have individual strengths and weaknesses so it is difficult to move at a pace appropriate for all of them.
This demonstrates one of the primary problems with the South African education system. Students are passed on to the next grade without mastering the basic material appropriate for their age group because of overcrowding. For example, we learned in lecture that many classrooms in the poorer townships have just one teacher for up to 60 students. Struggling students do not receive the individual attention to successfully learn the material. Therefore, we all have individual goals for our students. For example, I hope that my students will have their multiplication tables memorized and be able to correctly punctuate a paragraph of text. We only have two weeks total, so the best goals are small, but specific, as these offer the greatest chance of success. Although the program has offered both frustrations and tribulations, we are all excited for the opportunities to teach our learners math in the week ahead and to get to know them better through more fun activities.
This weekend was very eventful. On Saturday morning, I went shark cage diving with six friends. Although this is usually very expensive, we managed to get a deal through Groupon that cut the price in half. It was an awesome experience. We went in the cage in groups of 4 and got to see numerous Great White Sharks up close. Although I’ve seen sharks at the aquarium, it was awesome seeing them in their natural habitat. It was definitely an experience that I’ll never forget.
On Saturday evening, we met up with the rest of the group and went to Camps Bay to relax on the beach. It was a beautiful spot, full of rock pools and crevices and many marine creatures. It was great to just relax after a hectic week and the sunset was truly breathtaking. The area around Camps Bay was very wealthy and offered a stark contrast to life in Manenberg.
Today, Sunday, we hiked on the top of Table Mountain. The weather was perfect, and it offered beautiful, clear views of the city. The abundance of beautiful hikes is definitely one of the best aspects of this city.
Although it was a great week, I wouldn’t be accurately depicting the trip without describing the tribulations of living in a house with 20 people. As one member of our group put it, “I thought the drama on The Real World was scripted, until I lived in this house.” Although we have all become good friends, there are too many strong personalities in the house to avoid conflict. I have managed to stay out of most of the tension and remain good friends with everyone, but I definitely have my frustrations. I have just had to train myself to let a lot of things go. After coming back from our work in Manenberg each day, we are all tired and hungry and often frustrated at the lack of organization within the program or progress that our learners are making. This creates a perfect storm for seemingly trivial disputes to get blown out of proportion within the house. I am hopeful, however, that we can put everything behind us and enjoy the rest of this tremendous opportunity.
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