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.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Hi Glenda,
I am a graduate student in Michigan and am going to be traveling to Cape Town in about a month. I actually might also be placed at Blossom. I'm working on my research paper right now so I don't have time to read your whole blog (but I will!), but I would love to hear about your experience in the school. I have so many questions! My email is amandaleppek@gmail.com, if you have any time to write. Thank you!
Post a Comment