The Shack

Week 9 Cultural/Personal

On Friday we decided to take advantage of a day off to head away for the weekend.  We had been invited to stay at Edward and Juanita’s holiday home in Eersterivier which means First River in Afrikaans.  ‘The Shack’ was built by their grandfather and is situated right beside a secluded beach surrounded by beautiful hills.  The house itself has many features that are unique and different; and it was an ideal location to escape from the hustle and bustle of city life.  For a house so small it has tremendous character and you can tell the Kotze family have added a different element each time they visited building upon the foundations their grandfather had started many years before.  The location was ideal to simply relax and enjoy another beautiful part of South Africa’s famous Garden route.  It was also the first place where security seemed not to be an issue as there was no need for high walls or electric fences to guard the various properties.  This of course was completely different to the homes situated in the Summerstrand area of Port Elizabeth.  That evening Juanita and I decided it was time for Paddy to get his hand s dirty and cook everyone an evening meal.  Although Paddy, argued this was not a good idea, under supervision he made proofed to everyone that he had the potential to be the next Jamie Oliver (Maybe not quite).

On Friday we spent most of the day exploring the various beaches situated in the area and in the afternoon we decided to hike into the hills behind the shack and explore the rocky terrain. After several attempts of trying to find, Simba the lion cub, we headed back to the shack to start the preparations for the tradition meal; we have both fully embraced and come to love, a South African ‘braai.’  As the evening progressed we all were drawn to the beautiful night sky.  In all my travels across the seas I have never witnessed such a dark clear sky with a wealth of stars to gaze upon.  It was a pleasant contrast from the bright lights found in Port Elizabeth.

The next day we planned to explore further down the coastline to a river mouth that had many things to see in regards to wildlife and scenery as well as a few rocks which Paddy was keen to jump from.  However we experienced some difficulty in trying to reach our destination.  The river mouth was situated in area where we would have to journey through holiday homes owned by the Afrikaans community and let’s just say they were not the most welcoming of people. 

Edward and Juanita informed us of recent tension and trouble concerning the Afrikaans residents and that of the black and coloured community.  The residents want to preserve this particular area for various reasons such as the protection of the local wildlife found in the sea and neighbouring nature reserve.  The coloured and black community feel that they have should also have the right to buy land, enjoy the beaches and help protect the local wildlife and scenery.  Therefore you can appreciate the current tension and problems these differing opinions have created.   For this simple reason the locals stop anybody “trespassing” in this particular area, even though the property boundaries end at high water marks.  We thought is best to turn around and head back to the area surrounding ‘The Shack,’ as we could potentially end up in an difficult situation.

It was a pity to witness the underlying racism that exists among this particular Afrikaans community towards the black and coloured community.  This incident reminded me of the current problems that are becoming more prevalent in both Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, towards people from foreign countries.   We as teachers will have to learn to deal with the trauma that comes with these issues as these children will be in our classrooms.  If we equip ourselves with the tools to overcome the problems effectively and create an environment where everyone feels included, our learners will be able to progress and develop to their full potential.

Unfortunately on Saturday afternoon while swimming in some rock pools, Paddy was knocked back onto a rock by an oncoming wave and caught his hand on one of the rocks and if left him with quite a deep cut on his hand.  Paddy found the whole situation quite funny even though the cut itself needed stitches as the wound was quite deep.  Juanita is a qualified nurse and recommended that Paddy would need to go to hospital to have his hand sewn back together.  However, as we were about to take Paddy to the nearest hospital, Juanita found some sewing needles in her car and we all debated whether he should go to hospital or that we stay at the shack and Juanita would stitch up Paddy as best she could.  The decision was made to stay and try our best to sew Paddy’s hand back together as the hospital would probably charge him a small fortune for getting stitches.  Edward and I were delighted at the prospect of helping in this minor procedure and held the Paddy’s leatherman in place for Juanita to successfully tie the stitches.  Kirsty, however didn’t appreciate our enthusiasm as she is quite squeamish in regards to blood.  It wasn’t long until the job was complete and set about making a fire for the evening’s festivities. 

On Sunday we continued to bask in the beautiful South African sun and had a great time snorkelling in the sea where we collected a few shellfish to add to our lunchtime meal.  Surprisingly they tasted pretty good, even though you had to chew for quite a while.  

On Tuesday I was asked to help with Sports Day for the Primary Phase at Cape Recife High school.   I can honestly say this was one of the best days I have had in my whole experience in South Africa.  One of the children in my Grade1 class Althutho has only started to walk using a walker in the past 6 months.  From an early age doctors told her parents and teachers she would always be confined to a wheelchair and would not develop any movement below her waist.  Therefore, it was amazing to watch her take part in a walking race for the disabled and refuse the assistance of any staff member when she was clearly struggling.  It was clear she was determined to finish the race by herself un-aided!  Althutho was met by cheers from her class mates and tears of joy from most of the primary staff.    I was amazed to witness a child that is only 8 years old prove all the doctors and other professionals wrong, that in fact she can walk. I can safely say this moment will remain with me long after I leave Africa and I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to be a part of such a momentous event in this child’s life.

On Wednesday we decided that we should share some of our own Northern Irish culture with some of our South African friends, by cooking some Irish stew and homemade wheaten bread.  Although I did lack some essential ingredients I think everyone enjoyed the meal and the fun and games that followed.

Until next time,

“Baai” (bye)

Callum.

 

School so far

Week 8- Professional

I cannot believe we have now reached are half way point in our international exchange to Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Through our studies at NMMU and our school observation days we have gained a valuable insight into the South African Education system.

Within South Africa, learners have twelve years of formal schooling, from grade 1 to 12. Grade R is a pre-primary foundation year similar to the reception/nursery phases found in Northern Ireland. Primary schools span the first seven years of schooling and are separated into the foundation (grade 1-4) and intermediate phase (grade 5-7). The Senior Certificate examination takes place at the end of grade 12 and is necessary for tertiary studies at a South African university. This is similar to the A level examination students have to sit in order to gain a place at an University in the UK. 

I began the week by visiting Ebenezer Academy.  This is a private school funded by the Ebenezer Centre; a community-based Christian church.  The school caters for both the foundation and intermediate phases only and has two classes of each grade containing 30 pupils.  The school uses the church building to conduct the lessons of the day and rooms alongside the main hall are used as classrooms. 

Ebenezer Academy and Church

"Meet the children."

I was placed with one of the Grade 1(primary 1) for the day and my teacher’s name was Miss Greenwood.  Throughout the day I observed the curriculum at first hand with various lessons and helped in the instruction of free play, Literacy, Numeracy, Phonics and Science lessons. In many ways there are great similarities in regards to the instruction of the various learning areas, however many of the topics covered, would not be taught to primary one in Northern Ireland as it would be regarded as barrier to the child’s holistic  development and their overall academic progression.  However, I believe that we as professionals can learn from this particular method of instruction, especially concerning their phonics and writing programme.  English for most of the children in the school is a second or third language as most of the children come from Xhosa speaking families and have spoken very little English before they enter Grade R or Grade 1.   I was so encouraged to see that all the children in the class could identify all the letters of the alphabet, through visual and oral prompts and with little or no assistance and they had only begun school in late January.   



Grade 1 hard at work



The teacher simply made the lesson, interactive, relevant and fun for the children making sure that all the children participated at a level that was comfortable for them to progress in their learning.   As the day continued I did see some minor irritations concerning the America curriculum, such as the way in which the date is written and indeed the teaching of money concerns dollars rather than South African rand which made no sense in my estimation.  It was also refreshing to see the positive classroom environment and caring demeanour observed by the classroom teacher, compared to the behaviour I witnessed by the teachers in the township schools.  As I reflect upon the professional competences outlined in my application to come to South Africa, I feel I can now fully appreciate the importance of maintaining professional relationships with all the pupils / learners entrusted to my care (GTCNI:2009) .  This can only be conducted by acknowledging each learner as a person, encouraging their growth and development as much as we can as facilitator’s of learning.  Overall I enjoyed my experience in the school and it gave me the opportunity to experience another element of the way education is facilitated within South Africa.

On Saturday we headed to Jeffery’s bay for the day to relax and unwind on the beautiful beaches found in and around the surfing town.  Paddy and Gareth had left at around 5am as they were very keen on surfing as many waves before the Saturday crowds arrived to the beaches.  I am certainly not an expert when it comes to surfing but the standard we witnessed at the Super tubes beach was incredible, but Paddy and the lads gave them a run for their money!  That afternoon we made our way to secluded place just outside J-Bay that we had heard had a zip-line and rock jumping into the river.  We made the journey through the dirt tracks and found the location we were looking for!  It was definitely at lot of fun jumping into the water from various heights, although I had a few bruises the next day.



Mr Parke Surfing..who would have thought?



Potjie time..

On Sunday after church we were invited round to Edward and Juanita’s for Sunday lunch African style.  Of course this was not your full roast dinner with all the trims but rather a good old South African ‘braai.’  The meal was great and we got the opportunity to meet some of the wider Kotze family and share some stories about our differing cultures and experiences.  That evening we had our first ‘Potjie,’ very similar to a stew as it takes several hours to make and cooked in a big cast iron pot over a fire.  I was really looking forward to this as Irish stew is one of my favourite meals from home.  The ‘Potjie’ was quite sweet and had all sorts of vegetable and meat which added lots of different flavours.  Although I thoroughly enjoyed the food, I can safely say  I will be looking forward to bowl of Irish stew served with fresh homemade wheaten bread, regardless if it is summer.

  

We both returned to Cape Recife High school on Tuesday for another day of observation.   The school itself is a public school for Learners with Special Educational needs.  The school aim is to strive to promote inclusive education by means of integrating the learners as much as possible with learners from mainstream schools.  The experience so far has been extremely interesting as we are currently studying a module concerning inclusive education at the University and it has been useful to not only observe various classes but also have the opportunity to witness the various policies and changes being made towards providing better education for those who have Special needs.    It has also provided an opportunity for me to reflect upon the previous module I studied in semester one at Stranmillis, Managing differences in the primary school.  This module looked at various issues concerning various issues of a modern day classroom, such as differentiation, behaviour issues; learning difficulties and special need provision within Northern Ireland.  With such resources, research and knowledge at our disposal this could be further shared with a developing country such as South Africa to enhance and extend the special needs provision. 

I’m definitely looking forward to putting all this experience into practice in a couple of week’s time.

On Wednesday I got a great picture of the sunset at one of the beaches just in front of our apartment! Enjoy the view!

TIA (THIS IS AFRICA)

Until next time,

“Baai” (bye)

Callum.

 It was very interesting to observe a differing curriculum to that found in Northern Ireland and indeed that of South Africa.  In contrast to Cape Recife our placement; the school uses the American curriculum as their method of instruction.  I asked the principal why this was the case and she informed me that the leadership of the school  and church, believe the current South African curriculum does not prepare children with the necessary skills to be able to grow, develop and function in the modern world.  She also highlighted the serious issue in the mainstream system concerning children's abilities and talents; where the learners are simply left to ‘sink or swim.’ Thus preventing the development and progress of these gifts as they are not being identified and nurtured effectively within state schools.

One of the many classrooms