“Whakka Whakka, this is Africa!”

Week 12 Cultural

After a great night of exchanging stories and filling each other in on what we had been getting up to we decided to actually go and see what the girls had been doing whilst they had been staying in Zambia.  Although lying beside the pool was extremely tempting we resisted the temptation and made our way to the orphanage the girls had been volunteering at for the past three months.  The children at the orphanage really enjoyed being read to, so Amy and Jess took a seat on the ground and began to read a few children’s story books.  The children were mesmerized by the colourful big books and listened attentively to the girls read a few classics such as Goldilocks and three bears and my favourite The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. 

The children earlier that day had been given a chess set in which they took great pleasure making up their own game. One of the children asked me to teach him how to play and so I sat down and explained the rules and we began to play.  I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know some of the children at the orphanage and could understand why Amy and Jess continued to come here week and after week and give up their own time to play and have fun with these incredible children. 



Later that day we headed to the local markets to buy some material and try some local cuisine.  I was really looking forward to giving bartering a go and trying to haggle with the local traders, however I had not yet experienced the wonder that is the Zambian Kwacha. I have never in my life used a 50,000 note before and could not comprehend that this was worth about £7.50.  I didn’t even attempt to work out exchange rates and looked to Amy and Jess to help me understand if I was paying too much for something or too little.    

Later that day we headed to the local markets to buy some material and try some local cuisine.  I was really looking forward to giving bartering a go and trying to haggle with the local traders, however I had not yet experienced the wonder that is the Zambian Kwacha. I have never in my life used a 50,000 note before and could not comprehend that this was worth about £7.50.  I didn’t even attempt to work out exchange rates and looked to Amy and Jess to help me understand if I was paying too much for something or too little.    

Map???

The next day Amy was determined to take us to the bush for a hike to a gorge she had visited with some friend’s earlier that month.  So using a map drawn on a used cardboard box we headed off into the bush!  Let’s just say we were all feeling slightly un-easy as Amy doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to directions!  After a very bumpy ride in a taxi we were left to fend for ourselves in the African bush.  After several detours, Amy finally recognised the correct path and we were greeted with a spectacular view of the gorge that stretches beyond Victoria Falls.  Much to everyone to the enjoyment of everyone else I provided some entertainment by re-creating several scenes from the Lion King.



Amy thinks she has found the gorge...

 

Lost???

 



Pride Rock..





What a view?



I can safely say Easter Sunday was definitely an eventful day and the girls celebrated by completing the bungee jump off the Victoria Falls Bridge.  Jess’s family who were visiting over the Easter break also joined us to watch the girls plummet 119 feet into the Zambezi River! I cannot describe how entertaining it was to watch the girls jump from the bridge.  As expected Amy screamed from the minute she left the platform until she arrived safely back onto the bridge.  The girls also decided to face the gorge swing, and zip line which left Paddy and green with envy; however we had already decided to save our money and jump the world’s largest bungee back in South Africa.

On Monday we decided it was time to venture to the famous Victoria Falls and luckily we entered the park for free courtesy of Jess’ parents, as all guests staying at the Royal Livingstone Hotel could enter the park for free and bringing as many guests as wanted.  We explored the various routes such as the boiling pot and paths leading around he falls but I cannot describe the feeling of standing on ‘Knife Edge Bridge,’ and getting absolutely soaked.  All we were missing was the shower gel and shampoo as the water was so strong it seemed we were all walking through a power shower.  I was glad that Paddy seen some sense as he decided that travelling over the falls in a barrel would probably not be a good idea.



At the boiling pot..




 



at the top of Victoria falls...



On Tuesday Amy, Jess and I travelled to the Zimbabwe to explore and observe the falls from the neighbouring country.    After seeing the falls in Zambia, I was unsure of what to expect in Zimbabwe, however I was completely blown away by the beauty and power of the biggest waterfall in the world.  We spent a few hours exploring the falls and then ventured into the town to visit the local craft market to pick up a few souvenirs to take home!  After lunch we decided to head back to Zambia before it started to get dark and on our way back to the border, we witnessed two elephants simply walking about 400 yards from the footpath.  Amy and Jess couldn’t believe how excited I was to see elephants just walking around in the open bush and I explained that it was the first time I had seen them this close and not in a zoo, it was definitely a spectacular moment!

 

Of course the evenings in Zambia were jam packed with entertained and much to Amy’s delight we tended to braai quite a lot.  Paddy used the skills he had learnt in South Africa to give Amy and Jess a taste of what a real South African braai is suppose to be about.  It has been great so far getting to catch up with the two girls in Zambia and share our experiences of the differing cultures that our found in this diverse continent.  We had thoroughly enjoyed our time here so far and cannot wait to see what the rest of the holiday has in store.

It is hard to believe that we only have one month left before we return home, but I’m sure there will be plenty to see and do in that short period of time!

Until next time,

“Baai” (bye)

Callum.

Teaching Practice

Week 11 Professional

The weather has changed significantly in the past week here in PE, South Africa, we are finding the evening are quite cold and even Paddy has to put on pair of trousers every now and again.  We still however, are experiencing beautiful sunshine during the day, and are continuing to enjoy the African sun.  On Sunday I attended a concert in the town hall with Leo, Sally and Daneel.  We enjoyed listening to the various pieces and were astounded at the ability of the soloist who seemed to have four hands playing the piano instead of two.

Teaching continued in Cape Recife on Monday and in the short week I have gained an insight on how the school works and the ability of the children that are in my class.  As I reflect upon my previous experiences of teaching at home there is no doubt that school based work in Northern Ireland is an extremely stressful and demanding time for most students and I would definitely agree with this mindset.  However, after completing the 5/6 weeks of late nights and early mornings you forget about this attitude and realise all the hard work is worthwhile and that this is indeed a great profession to be entering into. Although there are definite similarities in daily routine in relation to schooling at home, there seems to be a more relaxed about things such as paperwork and admin. 

As mentioned before I am teaching a Grade one class with twelve children, of which each individual has a special need that requires assistance that cannot be provided in the mainstream school.  The most challenging aspect of the teaching is definitely the pace of and timing of your lesson. Where it would normally take 30-45 minutes to complete a lesson for this age group in the mainstream school, it takes double the time and patience for instructions to be followed and tasks completed correctly.  It took me a few lessons to realise that the children in my class needed to be walked through each process together in order to understand what is being asked and how they were going to complete the work that was required.  Teaching in this particular class has made me increasingly aware of the importance of using correct language and vocabulary that caters the ability of the individual.  In essence I have realised that as a teacher you need to be able to effectively communicate to all your pupils at a level in which they understand and can recognise. 

Although English is the language in which all subjects are taught at the School; English for many is an additional language.  (Most of the pupils either have Xhosa or Afrikaans as first language) This issue itself has been a difficult barrier in not only the classroom but also the staffroom.    Over the past two weeks I’ve have learned to adapt and approach this barrier with enthusiasm making sure to approach each situation accordingly whether it be in the classroom or staffroom .  I believe this has been a tremendous opportunity for me as future teacher to become more aware of the problems and indeed the strategies you can use to help children that have English as an additional language.  Furthermore it has given me the opportunity to practice my own English making sure I pronounce all the sounds and words correctly avoiding as much confusion as possible.  The strategies and tools I am learning will also be useful for when I return home as in the past five years Northern Ireland has witnessed an increase in number of children that are entering our schools, where English is not there home or first language.

 Paddy, Juanita and I began our Easter trip to Zambia on Wednesday with a 13 hour drive to Johannesburg.    None of us were looking forward to the long and boring drive to Jo-burg, but apart from the frequent road works, Paddy and I were happy to see some more of the African countryside.



As our flight to Livingstone, Zambia, was the next day we stayed the night at a friend of Juanita’s, whose mum informed us of her open view on the diverse culture and society found in South Africa.  Let’s just say the topic of conversation was quite frank, but in many ways honest!  Debbie also introduced us to the many pets she owned, of which one was a Capuchin monkey!  On Thursday morning Paddy became a little too friendly with Mojo and as a result the monkey bit him on the thumb as Paddy would not give him his camera.  Debbie told us that Paddy wouldn’t need any injections as Mojo was a domestic animal and had been given all the necessary immunisations.  Luckily, Juanita was at hand to dress the wound and we shortly left for the airport. 

After a short flight we landed in Livingstone International Airport to be greeted by Amy and Jess who had prepared a banner for our arrival.  It was so good to see the two girls and we were all extremely excited for the fun week we had planned.  We made the short journey to Jollyboys to leave off our luggage before the girls took us on a short tour around the town and to the school they had taught in for the past three months.  It was quite interesting to draw immediate comparisons between South Africa and Zambia.  I felt like we had entered the ‘real Africa’ and as we walked through the streets of Livingstone I couldn’t help but think that we were going to experience something completely different and new.  As we had been travelling for the past day we decided to be lazy and go out for dinner to the local pizza parlour.  After dinner we headed back to Jollyboys to talk about and catch up with all that we’ve being doing in Africa.  We decided to sit up in the tree house and had a great time exchanging stories, some of which were extremely entertaining!

I’m sure the rest of the holiday will bring a few stories....

Until next time,

“Baai” (bye)

Callum.

'Five little Speckled frogs'

Professional Week 10

NB:  I tried to upload weeks 10 and 11 before I left for Zambia, but as I'm Africa Internet connection tends to be an issue!

Competitors from all over the world converged in Port Elizabeth (PE) for one of the world's most physically demanding sports events -- Ironman South Africa. This is the only leg of the International Ironman Competition to be staged on the African continent consisting of a 3.8km swim, a 180km cycle and a 42.2km marathon.   The competition began very early on Sunday morning and after our visit from the police officer we could have possibly made the journey down to watch the beginning of the race.  As the competition ended as late as midnight; many locals thought of the competition as more of a social gathering or event, rather than a serious athletic competition.  Along the sidelines you could see numerous people drinking, braai-ing and encouraging those taking part in the race, especially those wearing funny costumes and flip flops to persevere to the end.

Adam running 1/2 way through 42.2km

It takes months of dedicated training to compete in this event and competitors have 17 hours to complete all three disciplines. We were very fortunate to know someone that was taking part in this gruelling challenge, a local South African called Adam.  He alongside 1500, other athletes from 37 countries all across the world put their bodies through physical hardship to complete this tough race.   We spent most of the day watching the various elements within the race whilst supporting and encouraging Adam as much as we could.

Supporters Club

Adam at the finish line!

The heat was too much for some

With such a prestigious competition the city saw an influx of people and as a result our accommodation was full to capacity due to its prime location to the beach and the competition itself. Unfortunately during the course of the weekend our flat was robbed and Paddy’s camera and wallet were stolen from the coffee table. From our understanding Paddy was at the beach and I was in the bathroom, when the thief must have slipped in and out without me or anyone else in the building noticing.  After the incident we made our way to the nearest police station and filed a case report, to cover the insurance requirements.  This was an enlightening experience.  On Sunday we received an earlier wakeup call that we would have liked to have imagined but alas a detective from the police station wanted to follow up the case at 6.40am in the morning.  Let’s just say neither Paddy or myself were happy at the thought of someone coming this early in the morning to look at the flat and talk to us about what happened.

On Monday we began our block placement in Cape Recife High School for children with special educational needs.  I have been placed in a Grade 1 classroom under the direction of Ms Jill Hoskin.  As this is a special school, the pupils’ all have some need that could not be catered for in the mainstream classroom.  My class consists of twelve children, with a wide range in ability.  Many children have behaviour problems; some have speech and language problems and other children suffer from a physical disability such as cerebral palsy and brittle bone syndrome.

My first lesson concerned the introduction of a new numeracy topic, subtraction.   After the introduction and explanation of this mathematical concept the children completed the class activity, which involved the children removing fish from their individual ocean scene.  The children were asked to solve various problems as a class and then individually, depending on their awareness and understanding of subtraction.  The children thoroughly enjoyed this resource as they had various textures to feel, keeping each stimulated and focused on the task they were given. After the children completed the worksheet that the teacher asked me to include, I asked the children to come to the carpet  to discuss what we had learned so far and to also teach them the song, about  speckled frogs and how it can help us with subtraction.  They thoroughly enjoyed this part of the lesson. 

Although I felt the children gained a lot from this lesson, I realised that I needed to spend some more time in future taking the children through each step of each activity together as a class, to avoid confusion and frustration.  I definitely recognised what I needed to improve after the teaching of the lesson and gained valuable insight into the various abilities within the classroom.  As the week passed by I gained the knowledge and understanding of what each child needed in order to progress and develop effectively in their own learning and would incorporate this in my further planning. 

'hard at work'



Matthew pleased with his work

Throughout the week I was met by many challenges namely tantrums, however I feel it has helped me develop the tools that are required to effectively deal with such issues that are becoming more apparent in the  mainstream classroom.  The lack of resources has also been a challenge; as it has taken a tremendous amount of time to construct and make individual resources for each child in your class.  However, the children did enjoy the resource and I used it in several other lessons. It did make me wonder about all the expensive resources that we at home buy from catalogues, and that perhaps we should in future, make us of our imagination and creativity and create our own resources for our classrooms.  Although this is a special school it does lack the necessary equipment and funding that is needed to provide a sufficient learning environment to cater for the needs of every individual child.

I have faced many challenges whilst being in this school; these experiences have highlighted the strategies needed to overcome these barriers.  Furthermore, I have had the opportunity to develop my professional competencies particularly in relating to classroom management and working with other professionals.  All of these encounters will better aid me in my teaching in South Africa and indeed when I return home to Northern Ireland.

Every Wednesday evening the local yacht club, situated at the docks, offer free trips to the general public to sail on the open sea.  Of course we jumped at the chance to experience a bit of sailing, South African style. The sunset was beautiful and it was absolutely spectacular experiencing the scenery out at sea on a yacht.  Our crew kept us well entertained and gave us a short education, giving us a taste for what exactly you need to know when it comes to sailing on the open sea.  The South African crew were extremely friendly and encouraged us to come back again to learn and experience sailing in the windy bay of Port Elizabeth. 

I will leave you with a few sunset views we experienced on the open ocean in Port Elizabeth bay! 

Picture Perfect...



Until next time,

“Baai” (bye)

Callum.

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