Last week I had the singluar pleasure--one that all teachers both treasure and experience far too seldom--of having lunch with a former student who now lives on the opposite coast of the U.S. Warren was one of a group of exceptional young people on the high school academic competition team I coached in the mid-1990s. He is well-educated, highly accomplished and award-winning in his specialized computer engineering field, and a man of character and compassion. He also knows how to pin down his conversational companion. As we caught up on our lives over the two years since we last met, it came out that I am considering retiring at the end of 2011. Warren, who has always relentlessly asked questions, practically forced me to explore that decision: he asked why I have taught, my philosophy of education, how teaching has changed throughout my career, why I want to retire, and what I will do when I retire. He asked what my dream job is and how I am going to get it. I don't have all those answers yet but my commitment to my former and current students demands that I find the answers. That's what I will try to accomplish with this blog. I' write about who I am at this stage of my career, how education has changed, how it has changed me as a teacher, and what I have learned--and continue to learn--from both former and current students. I'll reflect on choosing teaching as my second career, on following the lives of the adults who were students of mine in past decades, on mentoring/encouraging teachers in the early stages of their career, on advocacy issues, and whatever other topics I need to explore to find answers to Warren's questions.
This blog is a journey. I don't know where it will take me, but I plan to enjoy the ride.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Monday, July 20, 2009
Old Dogs Learning New Tricks
Well, folks, it is now official. Today I signed the transfer papers and am the new English as a Second Language teacher at Whitewater Middle School, which opens in Charlotte, NC, in August 2009. Whew!! What a strange journey has taken me here! For nearly 40 years, the soundtrack of my life has resonated with cross-cultural, international experiences, so this is in a way just part of a long progression; my experiences in Cape Town, South Africa brought it into focus.But it's a little scary, too, because there is so much responsibility that comes along with this position.
All early adolescents feel ill-at-ease both among their peers and in their own skins. Imagine being 13 years old, removed from all your friends and family, in a foreign country where you do not understand the cultural cues, and spending your days in an American middle school among a lot of American early adoloscents whom you can't even understand. Not a comfortable situation. I want not only to teach them to communicate within their daily environment, but also to understand the academic language they need to be successful in school, as well as providing their "safe place" to be themselves. Pretty tall order for someone who as yet doesn't even know the ESL curriculum.
But it's important to be a life-long learner, and I will be able to model this for my students.
Life is good.
All early adolescents feel ill-at-ease both among their peers and in their own skins. Imagine being 13 years old, removed from all your friends and family, in a foreign country where you do not understand the cultural cues, and spending your days in an American middle school among a lot of American early adoloscents whom you can't even understand. Not a comfortable situation. I want not only to teach them to communicate within their daily environment, but also to understand the academic language they need to be successful in school, as well as providing their "safe place" to be themselves. Pretty tall order for someone who as yet doesn't even know the ESL curriculum.
But it's important to be a life-long learner, and I will be able to model this for my students.
Life is good.
Monday, June 15, 2009
One Year Later
It's hard to believe it's been a year since I was wearing an orthopedic boot and diligently going to physical therapy so my foot would be healed enough for my trip to South Africa. I remember the anticipation and impatience as if it were yesterday, and not a single day goes by that my experience doesn't influence my thoughts and actions.
This year the impatience is about whether or not I get a job teaching ESL this fall. In a normal budget year, this wouldn't be in question, as there is such a shortage of ESL teachers. This year, however, is a whole new ball game. CMS has been laying off teachers in anticipation of a massive budget shortfall, and all teacher transfers have been canceled. The fact remains that ESL teachers are in short supply, and it may be possible mid-summer to move into an ESL position. As they say in South Africa, I am holding thumbs.
In other news this summer is also a time for reunions. Fellow volunteer and Charlottean Sunny Hutchinson has begun a photography business (Themba Photography) and had the opening of her first show a week ago Friday at the Evening Muse in the NoDa arts district of Charlotte. It was so great to go to the opening, see her, and see the beautiful black and white photos of Cape Town. Part of the proceeds of her sales will go to the Cape Town agency where Sunny volunteered--Carehaven, a shelter for battered women and children. I'm pleased to say that when her one-woman show closes at the end of the month, I will be hanging one of her photographs in my home. And now I am counting down again for the end of July. This year, I'm going to DC for a long weekend reunion with Jean Doyle and Stacey Karpen, who volunteered with me last summer at Blossom Street School. I can hardly wait!
On a personal note, I am also saying goodbye later this month to my Italian daughter Claudia, whom Mark and I hosted through the international high school student exchange organization AFS. She's been here nearly a year, and it will be very, very hard to say goodbye. I know how hard it will be because this is not the first time I've had to send "my children" home to their parents. The last time was my AFS son Quique from Chile, whom we hosted two years ago. Quique will be arriving here--along with his brother Marcial--for his first visit since he went back to Chile. They will arrive four days after Claudia departs and will stay a month so they can be here for my son Morgan's wedding to his fiancee Morgan (that's not a typo, by the way). And my daughter Caitlin graduated from UNC Chapel Hill last month and is back home while she looks for a job. It should be an interesting summer.
So now I guess my next internationl travel will have to be to Chile and Italy (I've already visited my German daughter Vera several years ago).
This year the impatience is about whether or not I get a job teaching ESL this fall. In a normal budget year, this wouldn't be in question, as there is such a shortage of ESL teachers. This year, however, is a whole new ball game. CMS has been laying off teachers in anticipation of a massive budget shortfall, and all teacher transfers have been canceled. The fact remains that ESL teachers are in short supply, and it may be possible mid-summer to move into an ESL position. As they say in South Africa, I am holding thumbs.
In other news this summer is also a time for reunions. Fellow volunteer and Charlottean Sunny Hutchinson has begun a photography business (Themba Photography) and had the opening of her first show a week ago Friday at the Evening Muse in the NoDa arts district of Charlotte. It was so great to go to the opening, see her, and see the beautiful black and white photos of Cape Town. Part of the proceeds of her sales will go to the Cape Town agency where Sunny volunteered--Carehaven, a shelter for battered women and children. I'm pleased to say that when her one-woman show closes at the end of the month, I will be hanging one of her photographs in my home. And now I am counting down again for the end of July. This year, I'm going to DC for a long weekend reunion with Jean Doyle and Stacey Karpen, who volunteered with me last summer at Blossom Street School. I can hardly wait!
On a personal note, I am also saying goodbye later this month to my Italian daughter Claudia, whom Mark and I hosted through the international high school student exchange organization AFS. She's been here nearly a year, and it will be very, very hard to say goodbye. I know how hard it will be because this is not the first time I've had to send "my children" home to their parents. The last time was my AFS son Quique from Chile, whom we hosted two years ago. Quique will be arriving here--along with his brother Marcial--for his first visit since he went back to Chile. They will arrive four days after Claudia departs and will stay a month so they can be here for my son Morgan's wedding to his fiancee Morgan (that's not a typo, by the way). And my daughter Caitlin graduated from UNC Chapel Hill last month and is back home while she looks for a job. It should be an interesting summer.
So now I guess my next internationl travel will have to be to Chile and Italy (I've already visited my German daughter Vera several years ago).
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Teaching about South Africa
Yesterday and today I taught about 300 7th grade students (or learners, as they would be called in South Africa) a lesson on South Africa. I wore a traditional dress I bought in Greenmarket Square in Cape Town and showed lots of arts and crafts and currency and played South African marimba music for them. I gave a short summary of the history of South Africa and explained how race is viewed there and how that is different from views of race in the US. We learned what apartheid was and why Nelson Mandela is to SA what both Martin Luther King and George Washington are to the US. Then I showed them a slide presentation about my time there and answered lots of questions. The last two groups today (about 50 learners in each) were the best, with the kids very interested. One girl asked me if this experience had changed me and if so, how. Quite a perceptive question from a 7th grader. I told all the kids that rarely does a day go by that I don't hear from someone I met there.
This Saturday will be my last preparation class for the English as a Second Language Praxis exam, which I will take January 10. So now I will be on my own, studying phonology and morphology and all sort of things to be ready for the exam. Send me good thoughts.
This Saturday will be my last preparation class for the English as a Second Language Praxis exam, which I will take January 10. So now I will be on my own, studying phonology and morphology and all sort of things to be ready for the exam. Send me good thoughts.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Article for NCAE News Bulletin, December 2008
Sometime in the next couple of weeks the December issue of the NCAE News Bulletin, a full-color newspaper, will come out with an article I wrote about my experience in South Africa. It may be edited for space, but here is the article I submitted:
Inspired By a Hero
Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” With a long-standing interest in South Africa and how its people were bringing apartheid to an end, I believed universal education was a key to that new democracy’s success. About three years ago I began to ask, “How can I help?” That question eventually grew into a desire to volunteer in a school in South Africa—not because I had any answers for them but because of what I could learn from them.
Turning a Dream into Reality
I knew I couldn’t just show up there so I researched volunteer agencies, checking their mission statements and programs, as well as their reputation within South Africa and in the international community. The most impressive was Cross Cultural Solutions (http://www.crossculturalsolutions.org/). Their vision “is of a world where people value cultures different from their own, are aware of global issues, and are empowered to effect positive change.” CCS operates “volunteer programs around the world in partnership with sustainable community initiatives, bringing people together to work side-by-side while sharing perspectives and fostering cultural understanding.” I’d found my volunteer organization, but volunteers pay all their own expenses; I still needed to pay for it.
Then, NCAE announced the new Linda Rader Professional Opportunity Award. I applied and was thrilled to become its first recipient. I registered with CCS, continued to read and research, got inoculations, fund-raised for part of the remainder of expenses, started a blog (http://www.ncaelindaraderinsouthafrica.blogspot.com/), and packed my bags.
An Unexpected Africa
The word Africa conjures many images, but none prepared me for the spectacular scenery of the Western Cape Province or for the stark contrasts I would encounter. The most European of African cities, Cape Town is also third-world, its stately Cape Dutch architecture in juxtaposition with the heart-breaking poverty of the shanty towns that stretch for miles on the city outskirts. The economy is both formal and informal, with vendors in outdoor markets selling traditional crafts to tourists in high-rise hotels. The past exists alongside the future, and Robben Island, the notorious political prison where Nelson Mandela served eighteen of his twenty-seven years in prison, is now a museum not far from where the 2010 World Cup stadium is under construction. Restaurants serve international cuisine, traditional African foods, local wild game and seafood, and the unique Cape Malay dishes that blend the best tastes of Europe, Africa, and southeast Asia. Table Mountain dominates the landscape, and from the city itself one can look up the slopes and see hikers or numerous species of wild antelope. Music is an integral part of all South Africa’s cultures, with street musicians everywhere. A short drive leads to resort beaches, game reserves, wine farms, some of the world’s best whale-watching, and a penguin colony. Anywhere in the hills a driver must be ready to brake for a troupe of baboons, and in the city’s Bo Kaap neighborhood, one can stand in a residential courtyard and hear the call to prayer from five different mosques. I tried not to miss any of these opportunities to experience South Africa.
A Volunteer’s Day
My day began at Homebase 2, where 20 of the 50 volunteers lived together. Volunteers came from Ireland, Britain, Canada, and the U.S., and included students, a massage therapist, a Congressional aide, attorneys, a laboratory technician, a former nurse, an actor, a business consultant, and several teachers. Living dormitory-style, volunteers of all ages bonded over breakfast cereal and late-night pizza and DVDs. Volunteer placements lasted 4 hours, followed by lunch at homebase and an afternoon of CCS perspective programming or free time. We either ate dinner at homebase or sampled local restaurant cuisine. Evenings included discussions about placement, which included schools, hospitals, hospice centers, orphanages, clinics, community centers, etc. Some worked in townships, and many in AIDS/HIV services. We needed each other to help us process all we were experiencing, and all of us found our worldviews changing in similar ways.
My placement was at Blossom Street Primary School, a government (we would say public) school serving 560 learners (we would say students) in kindergarten through seventh grade. Classes have about 50 learners. The school is located in an area called Athlone. Not technically a township, its homes are small and modest, often with outbuildings in the backyards, housing extended family. Two-thirds of the learners are coloured (mixed-race) and one-third are Africans (black). Many are being raised by grandparents. About half the learners are Muslim, the remainder either Christian or traditional African religions. The African learners come either from townships or the shanty towns while most of the coloured learners walk to school. School is taught in English, but nearly all the coloured children speak Afrikaans as their first language, while the African learners speak isiXhosa—an African click-language. I never met any South Africans who weren’t at least bilingual, and many people speak several of the 11 official languages. I began my volunteer placement assisting in a 6th grade class.
A Principal’s Dream
When the principal found out I was a trained media specialist, he asked if I would split my time between the classroom and the media center, a room piled with very dusty, outdated books, all of which were donated and most of which were discarded from other libraries. The school has no asssitants, special teachers or media specialist. A former teacher had begun organizing the books into a collection but was killed in a automobile accident five years earlier, and since then no one had time to take over. The media center also housed the school’s only television and DVD player. The principal and teachers longed for a place to bring students to read books and watch DVDs. By the time my four weeks were up three other CCS volunteers also split their time between classrooms and the media center. My last task was to develop a plan and instructions for subsequent volunteers so that this long-term project could continue. CCS South Africa’s program manager committed to keeping a volunteer working in the media center at all times so that a Blossom Street Primary media center would become a sustainable project. I hope to find schools in North Carolina that would be interested in raising money for Blossom Street Primary School to purchase new library books, DVDs and library supplies.
Conversations in the Teachers’ Lounge
The teachers at Blossom Street P.S. are as dedicated as any I have ever known. What do they talk about? The same things we do. Teachers in South Africa aren’t paid well. (The cost of living is lower there, but not low enough to justify the under $20K annual income of a 20-year-veteran teacher). Public education is underfunded. The education bureaucrats at the provincial level are out of touch with what goes on in a classroom. Too much emphasis is being put on testing, and schools are evaluated by how learners perform on standardized tests. Lots of conversation centered on a new idea there called pacing guides. Teachers wondered what they were supposed to do when some learners needed longer to master a concept and how they would handle teachable moments. More paperwork kept being added to their jobs. Sound familiar? They said that most of the new initiatives came from the U.S. and the U.K. and they asked that we in the U.S. please start coming up with some better ideas than we have in the past few years.
Changing Whose World?
Can I say that I changed the world? I was part of a continuum of volunteers that are essential to South Africa’s schools, and what I did made a positive impact. I made connections with local people such as the philosophical and wise van driver Shamiel who took me to volunteer placement and Natalie, the high school teacher who taught the volunteers Afrikaans lessons and the volunteers who will be friends for life. I still correspond with two of the Blossom Street teachers and with Shamiel. Natalie is on Facebook, as are most of the volunteers, including my roommate Pat from Canada and the four young women I came to think of as my “daughters.” There hasn’t been a day since returning home that I haven’t been in contact with at least one of them. Every one of us believes that we have been changed by our volunteer experience. And we like the changes in ourselves, even if they do make us feel a little uncomfortable at time. This experience made me realize how important it is to see my work through fresh eyes, to be truly present in the moment, to appreciate the people I connect with daily, and to continue to grow professionally and personally. I hope to bring that back to the learners in my school and to my colleagues in education in North Carolina. Finally, I hope that future winners of NCAE’s Linda Rader Award also find their own life-changing experience..
Inspired By a Hero
Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” With a long-standing interest in South Africa and how its people were bringing apartheid to an end, I believed universal education was a key to that new democracy’s success. About three years ago I began to ask, “How can I help?” That question eventually grew into a desire to volunteer in a school in South Africa—not because I had any answers for them but because of what I could learn from them.
Turning a Dream into Reality
I knew I couldn’t just show up there so I researched volunteer agencies, checking their mission statements and programs, as well as their reputation within South Africa and in the international community. The most impressive was Cross Cultural Solutions (http://www.crossculturalsolutions.org/). Their vision “is of a world where people value cultures different from their own, are aware of global issues, and are empowered to effect positive change.” CCS operates “volunteer programs around the world in partnership with sustainable community initiatives, bringing people together to work side-by-side while sharing perspectives and fostering cultural understanding.” I’d found my volunteer organization, but volunteers pay all their own expenses; I still needed to pay for it.
Then, NCAE announced the new Linda Rader Professional Opportunity Award. I applied and was thrilled to become its first recipient. I registered with CCS, continued to read and research, got inoculations, fund-raised for part of the remainder of expenses, started a blog (http://www.ncaelindaraderinsouthafrica.blogspot.com/), and packed my bags.
An Unexpected Africa
The word Africa conjures many images, but none prepared me for the spectacular scenery of the Western Cape Province or for the stark contrasts I would encounter. The most European of African cities, Cape Town is also third-world, its stately Cape Dutch architecture in juxtaposition with the heart-breaking poverty of the shanty towns that stretch for miles on the city outskirts. The economy is both formal and informal, with vendors in outdoor markets selling traditional crafts to tourists in high-rise hotels. The past exists alongside the future, and Robben Island, the notorious political prison where Nelson Mandela served eighteen of his twenty-seven years in prison, is now a museum not far from where the 2010 World Cup stadium is under construction. Restaurants serve international cuisine, traditional African foods, local wild game and seafood, and the unique Cape Malay dishes that blend the best tastes of Europe, Africa, and southeast Asia. Table Mountain dominates the landscape, and from the city itself one can look up the slopes and see hikers or numerous species of wild antelope. Music is an integral part of all South Africa’s cultures, with street musicians everywhere. A short drive leads to resort beaches, game reserves, wine farms, some of the world’s best whale-watching, and a penguin colony. Anywhere in the hills a driver must be ready to brake for a troupe of baboons, and in the city’s Bo Kaap neighborhood, one can stand in a residential courtyard and hear the call to prayer from five different mosques. I tried not to miss any of these opportunities to experience South Africa.
A Volunteer’s Day
My day began at Homebase 2, where 20 of the 50 volunteers lived together. Volunteers came from Ireland, Britain, Canada, and the U.S., and included students, a massage therapist, a Congressional aide, attorneys, a laboratory technician, a former nurse, an actor, a business consultant, and several teachers. Living dormitory-style, volunteers of all ages bonded over breakfast cereal and late-night pizza and DVDs. Volunteer placements lasted 4 hours, followed by lunch at homebase and an afternoon of CCS perspective programming or free time. We either ate dinner at homebase or sampled local restaurant cuisine. Evenings included discussions about placement, which included schools, hospitals, hospice centers, orphanages, clinics, community centers, etc. Some worked in townships, and many in AIDS/HIV services. We needed each other to help us process all we were experiencing, and all of us found our worldviews changing in similar ways.
My placement was at Blossom Street Primary School, a government (we would say public) school serving 560 learners (we would say students) in kindergarten through seventh grade. Classes have about 50 learners. The school is located in an area called Athlone. Not technically a township, its homes are small and modest, often with outbuildings in the backyards, housing extended family. Two-thirds of the learners are coloured (mixed-race) and one-third are Africans (black). Many are being raised by grandparents. About half the learners are Muslim, the remainder either Christian or traditional African religions. The African learners come either from townships or the shanty towns while most of the coloured learners walk to school. School is taught in English, but nearly all the coloured children speak Afrikaans as their first language, while the African learners speak isiXhosa—an African click-language. I never met any South Africans who weren’t at least bilingual, and many people speak several of the 11 official languages. I began my volunteer placement assisting in a 6th grade class.
A Principal’s Dream
When the principal found out I was a trained media specialist, he asked if I would split my time between the classroom and the media center, a room piled with very dusty, outdated books, all of which were donated and most of which were discarded from other libraries. The school has no asssitants, special teachers or media specialist. A former teacher had begun organizing the books into a collection but was killed in a automobile accident five years earlier, and since then no one had time to take over. The media center also housed the school’s only television and DVD player. The principal and teachers longed for a place to bring students to read books and watch DVDs. By the time my four weeks were up three other CCS volunteers also split their time between classrooms and the media center. My last task was to develop a plan and instructions for subsequent volunteers so that this long-term project could continue. CCS South Africa’s program manager committed to keeping a volunteer working in the media center at all times so that a Blossom Street Primary media center would become a sustainable project. I hope to find schools in North Carolina that would be interested in raising money for Blossom Street Primary School to purchase new library books, DVDs and library supplies.
Conversations in the Teachers’ Lounge
The teachers at Blossom Street P.S. are as dedicated as any I have ever known. What do they talk about? The same things we do. Teachers in South Africa aren’t paid well. (The cost of living is lower there, but not low enough to justify the under $20K annual income of a 20-year-veteran teacher). Public education is underfunded. The education bureaucrats at the provincial level are out of touch with what goes on in a classroom. Too much emphasis is being put on testing, and schools are evaluated by how learners perform on standardized tests. Lots of conversation centered on a new idea there called pacing guides. Teachers wondered what they were supposed to do when some learners needed longer to master a concept and how they would handle teachable moments. More paperwork kept being added to their jobs. Sound familiar? They said that most of the new initiatives came from the U.S. and the U.K. and they asked that we in the U.S. please start coming up with some better ideas than we have in the past few years.
Changing Whose World?
Can I say that I changed the world? I was part of a continuum of volunteers that are essential to South Africa’s schools, and what I did made a positive impact. I made connections with local people such as the philosophical and wise van driver Shamiel who took me to volunteer placement and Natalie, the high school teacher who taught the volunteers Afrikaans lessons and the volunteers who will be friends for life. I still correspond with two of the Blossom Street teachers and with Shamiel. Natalie is on Facebook, as are most of the volunteers, including my roommate Pat from Canada and the four young women I came to think of as my “daughters.” There hasn’t been a day since returning home that I haven’t been in contact with at least one of them. Every one of us believes that we have been changed by our volunteer experience. And we like the changes in ourselves, even if they do make us feel a little uncomfortable at time. This experience made me realize how important it is to see my work through fresh eyes, to be truly present in the moment, to appreciate the people I connect with daily, and to continue to grow professionally and personally. I hope to bring that back to the learners in my school and to my colleagues in education in North Carolina. Finally, I hope that future winners of NCAE’s Linda Rader Award also find their own life-changing experience..
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Volunteering Changes Lives
It's been a long time since I posted but I want to share this news. What follows is an email I sent to several of my fellow volunteers, about half of whom were still in Africa, on September 27. Since then, I have had two classes and shifted my reading and research from South Africa to linguistics and second language acquisition. Please read on to find out what I am talking about:
September 27, 2008
Everybody keeps asking me if my volunteer experience in S. Africa was life-changing, and you know more than anyone else that the only answer is, "Yes!" But I want you to be among the first to know that I have made a big decision that really does change my life in terms of my profession. It used to be that a person in North Carolina had to get a Master's degree in ESL (English as a Second Language) to be licensed (some states call it certified) to teach that. Last year North Carolina changed the requirements. Now, a teacher who is licensed to teach a subject in NC (I'm licensed for 2 areas--library media grades K-12 and social studies grades 6-9) can add ESL licensure just by passing the PRAXIS exam (one of those Education Testing Service exams that are comprehensive, hard, and long) in teaching English as a second language. This is just about impossible still without a lot of coursework. However, there is a cohort of people in Charlotte taking a 12-week long ESL Praxis prep course on alternate Saturdays, meaning we meet 6 times, to telecope the whole master's program into these 12 weeks. If we succeed in learning everything, we can take the test in January. If we pass, we will be eligible to teach ESL next year. Anyway, over a hundred people and I applied for the cohort of 30 and I was accepted! I had my first class today, and I LOVED it. So now I have a couple of thousand pages to read and learn in a huge course notebook and 4 other oversize books, and I have to do this in time to take the exam in January.Now what does all this mean, you ask? My plan is to leave working in the library and next year I hope to teach English as a second language. Look, I don't know if this is something I want to do permanently and that I will never work as a school librarian again, but I feel like lots of experiences have all been leading me in this direction. Then, working in Blossom Street really made me reflect on what I am doing and how to keep living in the moment. And then I read about the cohort and it all fell into place. And next month I turn 57 and I plan to work until I am 65, so if I become an ESL teacher next year, I will have 7 years to do this, and I think I can make a valuable contribution in that time. And anyway I am not too old to learn something new. It is still teaching, after all.So, you were all there when this big idea started to develop and are probably just about the only people (Michelle and Pat, too, but for some reason I couldn't friend them on Facebook and maybe some of the other HB2 people) who would have a clue why I'm "suddenly" making such a big change. You can understand it leading to an epiphany, I think. Okay, what do you think?Can't wait to hear from you. I promise to get my head out of the books long enough to read your reply. :-)Glenda
September 27, 2008
Everybody keeps asking me if my volunteer experience in S. Africa was life-changing, and you know more than anyone else that the only answer is, "Yes!" But I want you to be among the first to know that I have made a big decision that really does change my life in terms of my profession. It used to be that a person in North Carolina had to get a Master's degree in ESL (English as a Second Language) to be licensed (some states call it certified) to teach that. Last year North Carolina changed the requirements. Now, a teacher who is licensed to teach a subject in NC (I'm licensed for 2 areas--library media grades K-12 and social studies grades 6-9) can add ESL licensure just by passing the PRAXIS exam (one of those Education Testing Service exams that are comprehensive, hard, and long) in teaching English as a second language. This is just about impossible still without a lot of coursework. However, there is a cohort of people in Charlotte taking a 12-week long ESL Praxis prep course on alternate Saturdays, meaning we meet 6 times, to telecope the whole master's program into these 12 weeks. If we succeed in learning everything, we can take the test in January. If we pass, we will be eligible to teach ESL next year. Anyway, over a hundred people and I applied for the cohort of 30 and I was accepted! I had my first class today, and I LOVED it. So now I have a couple of thousand pages to read and learn in a huge course notebook and 4 other oversize books, and I have to do this in time to take the exam in January.Now what does all this mean, you ask? My plan is to leave working in the library and next year I hope to teach English as a second language. Look, I don't know if this is something I want to do permanently and that I will never work as a school librarian again, but I feel like lots of experiences have all been leading me in this direction. Then, working in Blossom Street really made me reflect on what I am doing and how to keep living in the moment. And then I read about the cohort and it all fell into place. And next month I turn 57 and I plan to work until I am 65, so if I become an ESL teacher next year, I will have 7 years to do this, and I think I can make a valuable contribution in that time. And anyway I am not too old to learn something new. It is still teaching, after all.So, you were all there when this big idea started to develop and are probably just about the only people (Michelle and Pat, too, but for some reason I couldn't friend them on Facebook and maybe some of the other HB2 people) who would have a clue why I'm "suddenly" making such a big change. You can understand it leading to an epiphany, I think. Okay, what do you think?Can't wait to hear from you. I promise to get my head out of the books long enough to read your reply. :-)Glenda
Monday, September 1, 2008
Home again and beginning to reflect
I got home late Saturday after 33+ hours in transit. The flight from Dakar to Atlanta was cancelled, so I was able to get on a flight to JFK, where I had to wait over 7 hours until I could connect to Charlotte.
Expect more posts from me, though, as I continue to process all that I experienced and explore how it affected me. I already know that in Cape Town I was living in the present in an intentional way that I haven't done in a long time, and I want to make that the way I live here, too. That probably doesn't make much sense, but I will try to figure out how to explain it; I know the other volunteers in Cape Town will know what I mean, and maybe they can express it better.
Shamil, our driver to volunteer placement and now a friend, has a "grateful rock," a small stone he holds every night before bed and thinks about at least one thing during the day he is grateful for. Well, I have so much to be grateful for and I intend to think about it a lot more than I have in the past. Thanks, Shamil. My fellow volunteer (and friend) Scottie is also reflecting on this incredible experience. He writes in his blog that what is important and what he has learned is how alike we all are--black, white, coloured, South African, American, etc. Scottie is one of the wisest people I know.
I'm still recovering from jet lag, e.g., I woke up at 3:45 this morning and am now exhausted. Tomorrow is back to teaching in my school, with a renewed spirit and new attitude to life and what is important, even if I'm confused about whether to be awake or asleep.
Expect more posts from me, though, as I continue to process all that I experienced and explore how it affected me. I already know that in Cape Town I was living in the present in an intentional way that I haven't done in a long time, and I want to make that the way I live here, too. That probably doesn't make much sense, but I will try to figure out how to explain it; I know the other volunteers in Cape Town will know what I mean, and maybe they can express it better.
Shamil, our driver to volunteer placement and now a friend, has a "grateful rock," a small stone he holds every night before bed and thinks about at least one thing during the day he is grateful for. Well, I have so much to be grateful for and I intend to think about it a lot more than I have in the past. Thanks, Shamil. My fellow volunteer (and friend) Scottie is also reflecting on this incredible experience. He writes in his blog that what is important and what he has learned is how alike we all are--black, white, coloured, South African, American, etc. Scottie is one of the wisest people I know.
I'm still recovering from jet lag, e.g., I woke up at 3:45 this morning and am now exhausted. Tomorrow is back to teaching in my school, with a renewed spirit and new attitude to life and what is important, even if I'm confused about whether to be awake or asleep.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
My Last Weekend in Cape Town
Just a short note to say that my last weekend here was a fitting "ending." Saturday was spent in the largest township, Khayalitsha, working on a Habitat for Humanity house with a very large group from many of the area churches. We started seven houses, and in just about four hours times we dug the foundation, mixed the cement and laid the foundation. It's unbelievable what teamwork can get done!
On Sunday my friends Stacey and Jean and I spent the day with our driver Shamil, who took us about 3 hours outside Cape Town to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of the continent. The rock formations there, though large, look more like huge pieces of driftwood--beautiful. We also waded, despite the cold, in the Indian Ocean near Cape Agulhas. We ate lunch, then drove through farmland and semi-desert to Hermanus, one of the few places in the world where you can stand on shore and see whales come very close. We saw them by the dozen, and I could have stood on that point and watched them all day.
Placement is still wonderful. I've learned so much about education in South Africa and gotten to know some wonderful teachers, staff, and learners. We really have made progress on the library, though I am leaving it with so much still to be done. . .
On Sunday my friends Stacey and Jean and I spent the day with our driver Shamil, who took us about 3 hours outside Cape Town to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of the continent. The rock formations there, though large, look more like huge pieces of driftwood--beautiful. We also waded, despite the cold, in the Indian Ocean near Cape Agulhas. We ate lunch, then drove through farmland and semi-desert to Hermanus, one of the few places in the world where you can stand on shore and see whales come very close. We saw them by the dozen, and I could have stood on that point and watched them all day.
Placement is still wonderful. I've learned so much about education in South Africa and gotten to know some wonderful teachers, staff, and learners. We really have made progress on the library, though I am leaving it with so much still to be done. . .
Friday, August 22, 2008
This Weekend in Cape Town
After a very busy week at placement, spending time with the other volunteers (including a late night yesterday of eating out, partying, and karaoke at the local pub because over half the volunteers are leaving this weekend), and cultural activities, I am looking forward to the weekend. Tomorrow I am working all day on a Habitat for Humanity home in a township. On Sunday three of us have hired a car and driver for the day. We are going the coast to Hermanus to whale-watch and have lunch, then to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost tip of Africa, and back to Cape Town over the mountains. The views are supposed to be spectacular, and Hermanus is one of the few places in the world where the whales come almost up to the shore. This is my last weekend here,and this one is sure to be memorable.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Exotic cultures, exotic cuisines
One of the best things about being here with CCS is conversation with the volunteers. We currently have 16 volunteers living in my homebase (though 5 will leave this weekend), ranging in age from 16 to 59. All have compelling life stories, and all have interesting perspectives. A discussion this afternoon with Kara (an attorney from Portland, Oregon, and Jean, a legislative aid in DC), for example, concerned the belief among Americans that the US is truly multi-cultural, but the realization that multiculturalism in America is minor compared to South Africa. Nowhere is this more evident than in language--SA has eleven official languages, and many more unofficial ones. Nearly everyone we meet is multilingual, usually speaking three or more fluently, and every time we are out we hear at least that many spoken around us within a few minutes' time.
A second way that these (to us) exotic cultures are evident is the food. The variety here is extensive, and I truly believe that if I lived here for decades, I would still have frequent opportunities to try something entirely new and outside my previous food experience. So here I will write about some of the foods I have tried lately.
Last week our placement director Tahira introduced us to Cape Malay culture and cuisine. Let me digress for a brief explanation of Cape Malay history and culture. Shortly after the Dutch East India Company set up a colony at the Cape of Good Hope in the 1650s as a provisioning station for ships sailing between the Netherlands and the East Indies, the governor decided there was a need for slaves to help work the land. Unable to subdue the indigenous Khoi-San (also known by the derogatory names Hottentots and Bushmen) population and deeming a good trade relationship necessary, Governor Riebeeck asked for slaves to be sent here. Some were brought in from other parts of Africa, principally Madagascar and East Africa, but most eventually came from what is now Indonesia. Malay was the lingua franca of trade in southeast Asia and was the predominant language of the slaves. Over time many of these slaves mixed with the local Khoi-San population, who were a "brown," rather than "black" population, and with both the white population and the black population, creating a mixed race known as "coloured." After the English came to the Cape of Good Hope and challenged the Dutch-descended settlers, many Dutch and some coloured moved inland in a migration known as the Great Trek to settle away from the English. Those coloured who remained became known as the Cape coloured. A large segment of the Cape coloured are Muslim, and these are known as the Cape Malay. The so-called coloured population speaks Afrikaans, as distinct language based on 17th century Dutch mixed with elements of African languages, as well as Indian languages and English.
So, last week Tahira spoke to those at our homebase about her culture--the Cape Malay culture, as we were served a lunch of traditional Cape Malay food. Then, on Monday night of this week, six people from our homebase had an oppotunity to eat dinner in a Cape Malay home, in Bo-Kaap, the area of Cape Town that was given to the former slaves when the British governor of the Cape Colony freed the slaves in the 1830s. This opportunity came about because one of our drivers who takes us to placement and on excursions has a sister-in-law who, for a small fee, invites tourist occasionally into her home to learn about Cape Malay cooking and eat a traditional Cape Malay meal. We arrived in time to help make the samoosas and the roti and to learn how she prepared the rest of the meal. We left the table during dinner once during call to prayer and went out into the courtyard behind the house. The house sits among five mosques--the largest concentration of mosques in South Africa--and we could hear the call to prayer coming from all of them. It was beautiful, haunting, and moving, all the more so for me because I had spent all afternoon with two other volunteers at the South African Jewish Museum and Holocaust Center. A multicultural day indeed.
So Cape Malay cuisine is a unique blend of Malay, Indian, and Dutch cuisines. Here are the fabulous Cape Malay foods that I have eaten: samoosas, filled with either a savoury minced beef or a spicy cheese and corn mixture; small meat pies; chevra and slangethies, which I can best describe as a Malay version of party mix; dhaltjies, also called chilli bites, spicy deep-fried puffs of bread; incredible chicken curry; breyani, a kind of curried layered stew; biscuits or cookies, similar to shortbread but spiced with anise or nutmeg; and koeksisters, doughnuts without the holes with cinnamon, cloves, and allspice, dipped in a sticky coating and coconut. It is all fabulous.
I've had two more major eating experiences in the past week. Nineteen of us went to a restaurant called the Africa Cafe, which serves foods from the length of Africa in a family-style setting. Wait staff explained everything we were served, including soup, appetizers, main dishes, starches and vegetables, and dessert. We were seved over 30 different foods and could ask for seconds on anything we wanted. The restaurant is huge (we ate in the Morocco room), and the presentation is perfect. Dinner lasted for nearly 3 hours. In addition to all the food, I had rooisbos tea, a glass of wine, and sparkling water, and my bill incudling tip was about $30. Google the Africa Cafe in Cape Town to see the incredible menu. Second, today the entire group of CCS volunteers went to a shebeen, a traditional restaurant in the township of Guguleto. We ate grilled meats, mealy pap (sort of like grits, but smoother and not gritty) with tomato gravy, African pot bread, and a mess of greens that would not seem unfamiliar to anyone from the South of the US. We ate outside under an awning, with an African band playing, and although all we had to do was look around to know we were right in the township, I never felt uncomfortable. I did notice that we had large male drivers and other CCS staff who seemed to stay on the outskirts of our group.
Just a note: we are having some problems with the internet connection in our homebase and that, along with being busy, has kept me from posting as often as I would like. I'll try to do better in future. Also, there are major email problems, and only last night a bunch of us realized that emails we had sent back home never got through. Some of you may think I haven't been keeping in touch, but I'm trying and it isn't always working. Be patient with me. It will get done, African time. Also, to everyone in CMS, I can't even access CMS email at all, so if you have emailed my CMS address, I won't see it until I am home.
Finally, I've bought the Cape Malay cookbook that was recommended to me, as well as the Africa Cafe cookbook. I hope to cook an African feast when I get home. Y'all come!
A second way that these (to us) exotic cultures are evident is the food. The variety here is extensive, and I truly believe that if I lived here for decades, I would still have frequent opportunities to try something entirely new and outside my previous food experience. So here I will write about some of the foods I have tried lately.
Last week our placement director Tahira introduced us to Cape Malay culture and cuisine. Let me digress for a brief explanation of Cape Malay history and culture. Shortly after the Dutch East India Company set up a colony at the Cape of Good Hope in the 1650s as a provisioning station for ships sailing between the Netherlands and the East Indies, the governor decided there was a need for slaves to help work the land. Unable to subdue the indigenous Khoi-San (also known by the derogatory names Hottentots and Bushmen) population and deeming a good trade relationship necessary, Governor Riebeeck asked for slaves to be sent here. Some were brought in from other parts of Africa, principally Madagascar and East Africa, but most eventually came from what is now Indonesia. Malay was the lingua franca of trade in southeast Asia and was the predominant language of the slaves. Over time many of these slaves mixed with the local Khoi-San population, who were a "brown," rather than "black" population, and with both the white population and the black population, creating a mixed race known as "coloured." After the English came to the Cape of Good Hope and challenged the Dutch-descended settlers, many Dutch and some coloured moved inland in a migration known as the Great Trek to settle away from the English. Those coloured who remained became known as the Cape coloured. A large segment of the Cape coloured are Muslim, and these are known as the Cape Malay. The so-called coloured population speaks Afrikaans, as distinct language based on 17th century Dutch mixed with elements of African languages, as well as Indian languages and English.
So, last week Tahira spoke to those at our homebase about her culture--the Cape Malay culture, as we were served a lunch of traditional Cape Malay food. Then, on Monday night of this week, six people from our homebase had an oppotunity to eat dinner in a Cape Malay home, in Bo-Kaap, the area of Cape Town that was given to the former slaves when the British governor of the Cape Colony freed the slaves in the 1830s. This opportunity came about because one of our drivers who takes us to placement and on excursions has a sister-in-law who, for a small fee, invites tourist occasionally into her home to learn about Cape Malay cooking and eat a traditional Cape Malay meal. We arrived in time to help make the samoosas and the roti and to learn how she prepared the rest of the meal. We left the table during dinner once during call to prayer and went out into the courtyard behind the house. The house sits among five mosques--the largest concentration of mosques in South Africa--and we could hear the call to prayer coming from all of them. It was beautiful, haunting, and moving, all the more so for me because I had spent all afternoon with two other volunteers at the South African Jewish Museum and Holocaust Center. A multicultural day indeed.
So Cape Malay cuisine is a unique blend of Malay, Indian, and Dutch cuisines. Here are the fabulous Cape Malay foods that I have eaten: samoosas, filled with either a savoury minced beef or a spicy cheese and corn mixture; small meat pies; chevra and slangethies, which I can best describe as a Malay version of party mix; dhaltjies, also called chilli bites, spicy deep-fried puffs of bread; incredible chicken curry; breyani, a kind of curried layered stew; biscuits or cookies, similar to shortbread but spiced with anise or nutmeg; and koeksisters, doughnuts without the holes with cinnamon, cloves, and allspice, dipped in a sticky coating and coconut. It is all fabulous.
I've had two more major eating experiences in the past week. Nineteen of us went to a restaurant called the Africa Cafe, which serves foods from the length of Africa in a family-style setting. Wait staff explained everything we were served, including soup, appetizers, main dishes, starches and vegetables, and dessert. We were seved over 30 different foods and could ask for seconds on anything we wanted. The restaurant is huge (we ate in the Morocco room), and the presentation is perfect. Dinner lasted for nearly 3 hours. In addition to all the food, I had rooisbos tea, a glass of wine, and sparkling water, and my bill incudling tip was about $30. Google the Africa Cafe in Cape Town to see the incredible menu. Second, today the entire group of CCS volunteers went to a shebeen, a traditional restaurant in the township of Guguleto. We ate grilled meats, mealy pap (sort of like grits, but smoother and not gritty) with tomato gravy, African pot bread, and a mess of greens that would not seem unfamiliar to anyone from the South of the US. We ate outside under an awning, with an African band playing, and although all we had to do was look around to know we were right in the township, I never felt uncomfortable. I did notice that we had large male drivers and other CCS staff who seemed to stay on the outskirts of our group.
Just a note: we are having some problems with the internet connection in our homebase and that, along with being busy, has kept me from posting as often as I would like. I'll try to do better in future. Also, there are major email problems, and only last night a bunch of us realized that emails we had sent back home never got through. Some of you may think I haven't been keeping in touch, but I'm trying and it isn't always working. Be patient with me. It will get done, African time. Also, to everyone in CMS, I can't even access CMS email at all, so if you have emailed my CMS address, I won't see it until I am home.
Finally, I've bought the Cape Malay cookbook that was recommended to me, as well as the Africa Cafe cookbook. I hope to cook an African feast when I get home. Y'all come!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
