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Published: April 18th 2008
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04-18-2008: Sorry all, behind already on these entries - had a problem at the hotel in Johannesburg with the internet connection. In a very ritzy hotel in Cape Town now and with a strong internet connection... Will try to catch up tonight, if not - will catch up tomorrow!
04-16-2008: This program is great (People to People Citizens Ambassadors) - they do a great job of informing us about the history and culture of South Africa before they send us out to talk to government officials and school administrators. They are definitely making sure we are going into this experienced, informed, and prepared. People to People organizes professional delegations in many fields so that all professions can exchange views, ideas, and approaches. If you don't know what this program is, People to People is an organization created by President Johnson to promote and enhance cross-national and cross-cultural interactions. He felt that we all have a lot to learn from people all over the world, so People to People promotes such interaction. This is perfect for me, since this has been my approach to anything I do -- you cannot help others to your maximum ability until you know not only
Zulu Kids in front of the Hector Pieterson Museum
They were so adorable! I asked them if I could take their photo and they posed instantly. When I showed them the picture on my digital camera, they just giggled and started teasing each other. who they are and where they come from, but also how other professionals deal with similar situations. In this program, I am definitely learning new visions and views from other educators from the U.S. as well as from South Africa.
OK, I am sure you want to hear about the actual trip! First, our delegation is comprised of 8 education professionals and two husbands. All the delegates are women except on male principal from Amytiville Memorial High School, in New York City. My roommate, Thora, is from Trinidad and is now a school teacher in Florida - she's so much fun! We also have educators from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Missippi, New York, and Michigan/California (That's me!). I am the only person who is not k-12, so I am learning a lot from them.
We started our trip with an orientation on South Africa and it's history. Here's some stats & history for you:
--Demographics: 79% black (African); 9.6% white; 9% coloured (non-African blacks, Indonesians, Malaysians, etc.); 2.5% Asian/other (i.e. Indians)
--There is a decent Indian population here because they were brought here as indentured labourers.
--S. Africa has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS prevalance and
infection rates in the world (you will see in future blogs how they address it in schools)
--27-40% unemployment even though S.A. is the largest economy in Africa
--Leading producer of gold
--7 Nobel prize winners (literature, peace, and medicine)
--Apartheid government began in 1948; Afrikaans came to power to promote white miners (gold)
--1961: S.A. becomes a republic and Afrikaans pulled away from British
--1960's: Repressive laws enacted, no political freedom
--1980's: Violence becomes predominant
--1976: Student protests among blacks wanting fair treatment; increased violence and student protestors killed in Soweto
--1990: Nelson Mandela released from prison
--1994: Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa
--1995-98: Truth and Reconciliation Commission led by Archb. Desmond Tutu; continued protests and violence
Our first delegate meeting was with the S.A. Department of Education. They set the norms and standards for the educational system in S.A. 80% of schools here are comprised of students from disadvantaged populations.
At the university level, there are regular universities, technical universities, comprehensive universities (STEM and social science), and one distance Education Institution. The entire system is undergoing transformation; they are trying to integrate all schools (most white schools have a few blacks, and very few
Nelson Mandela's House
He no longer lives here, he is now living in a more affluent suburb of Johannesburg. black universities have white students, even though all universities are open to everyone). There is thus still a strong attitude of self-segregation and not a lot of incentives to go out of one's comfort zone and integrate. Only 18% of the total population is enrolled in the university; 12% of students are black, and 59% are white (reminder: 79% of the total S.A. population is black).
Currently, there are 360,000 teachers in the public school system. 70% are black, 52% have a 4-year degree, 38% have a 3 year tertiary certificate, and 9% are under-qualified. The goal is that by 2013, all teachers will be qualified with either a 4-year degree or 3-year certification. S. Africa is on a massive recruitment campaign for qualfied teachers. 88% of teachers are unionized, and the officials in the Dept. of Ed. seem to feel that this is an obstacle.
After meeting with officials from the Dept. of Ed., we had the privilege to visit a rural, all black school, in a suburb of Johannesburg. This town is called Soweto. Soweto is a middle class, black suburb of Johannesburg, but when we drove around, you saw all SES levels. The very poor,
the poor, the middle class, and the rich. Before going to the school, we learned about the significance of Soweto in the history of S. Africa. Both Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela are from this town. In addition, the most violent event against children happened here. In 1976, students began to protest against unequal treatment of blacks and skipped school to demonstrate in the streets of Soweto. We had the humbling experience of visiting a museum and a memorial that opened our eyes to the terrible events that happened in this town. When the students were protesting in a non-violent manner, the police and military came to "keep the peace". Well, the accounts we learned talked about police officers throwing rocks into the crowd which instigated students to throw rocks back. This then resulted in the police shooting into the crowd of student protestors and killing some of them. Most noteably, Hector Pieterson, who was not doing anything other than standing up for his rights. We learned that the students were taking the lead on the civil rights movement in that town and would advise their parents when to commute to work in Johannesburg and when not to. The parents
Soweto Lower Class Housing
I learned that even though they are lower class and live in tin shacks, they are very proud of who they are and where they come from. were trying to keep their jobs and keep their kids in school, but the students wanted more. They had many student leaders that had to go into hiding because the S.A. government wanted to keep them from 'causing problems'. As a result, the student protest of 1976 is a major historical event where the children fought for equality and took on the responsibility of fair treatment themselves. Unfortunately this student protest lead to a very tragic event in S. African history. Visiting that museum was a very humbling experience for me. The news reporter and student accounts of what happened there really gave you a hands-on experience of their struggles, that to a certain extent, still exist today. This experience has also given me insight to the true struggles of black South Africans, although the government is trying to promote integration in schools, it is still a long ways away...
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Linda
non-member comment
Thanks Athena for sharing this with all your friends! I look forward to checking out yor blog everyday, it is very interesting and those little boys were just darling! Stay safe and see you soon. Take Care! Linda G