Table Mountain

After school on Thursday we went up the cable car to the top of Table Mountain. It was a beautiful sunny day, with no wind. It was great on the senses to get away from the constant poverty all around me. The conditions here are just so bad. Millions of people living in squaller.

It is great to be Friday and know we have the weekend off to recharge, before getting into the classrooms on Monday. The students return next week, so we will be observing the teachers, rather than running workshops.

The teachers are inspiring. They want to learn all they can. Given they have had no formal training, they are a delight to work with.

The teachers I'm here with are a great team (6 of us). We are having lots of fun, but also working really hard.

Many of the teachers are the age of my own girls and their lives are so different. Often they have three children. The teachers with children all live in the one room, and their children must also sleep in their bed. At age seven, the boys are separated from their mothers to live in one dormitory. I see no toys, no books - nothing for the kids to do.

The school is poorly resourced. We have found no instructional reading books for the children to read. Rote learning predominates, but the needs of the children are not met. I've been well received, spending my time on differentiating the curriculum, positive behaviour management, training of teacher aides, and introducing a simple IEP type system. Sixteen year old sit exams, that I would struggle to pass, and of course score zero, as they are only beginning to read and write in English

The children in the Ark School speak many languages (there are 11 official languages in SA). Many are Xhosa- this makes learing English very difficult, especially for untrained young teachers.

I'm loving my time here - it is such a good experience.

Sorry for the few posts, but internet access is very limited.

Cape Town

Finally we are back in Cape Town based in our accomodation where we'll be until we leave. It's OK. Reminds me of Newtown in Wellington - it's just a bit seedier with homeless people standing around in the doorways to the shops. (Not that they can enter, as the shops are all gated, and we need to be let into the shop by the shop assistant and then locked back inside).

It's pouring with rain and my new waterproof shoes, bought for such weather, have not lived up to expectation.

We've had several days with the Ark School Teachers. Everything is all so new to me. The level of poverty is just overwhelming. It is better in the Ark Refuge for the homeless than in the surrounding Townships of squatters living in shacks.

I'm making friends with a young Zulu mother of two girls, Nolundi. She begins teaching our equivalent of Year 9 &10 next week. She has had no teacher training at all, but as a resident of the Ark shelter, has been assigned this teaching position. Naturally I'm finding lots of help her with.

Our two days of PD with the teachers at Betty's Bay beach was interesting. Most unexpectedly the teachers did not like the food we provided (first class food in my opinion) and they complained they wanted fizzy and chips... We sp;otted them down at the shops after we left them buying up lots of carbohydrate... Most teachers had not seen a beach and so it was their first time seeing the outstanding African Penguin colony.

We are building relationships with the teachers and teacher aides (they're called monitors here and teach two subjects each).

This morning we had breakfast with an African freelance reporter. Also very interesting... as she told us the SA teachers in white Cape Town do NOT like what we are doing. However, most South Africans we have met on the Cape Flats are very encouraging of what RATA is trying to do i.e to raise the standard of teaching for untrained teachers and thereby giving the kids an opportunity to matriculate from school - their ticket to employment and a better life.

On Saturday evening we are meeting Tim Barnett and the NZ consul, Fr. Michael Lapsley.

The RATA Ghana team arrived safely this morning. They have had some very hard times. It is great to be altogether as a team again. They will be with us for two days and help us deliver the Conference. They've witnessed much physical abuse of children in the three schools they've been in, and have clearly stated that unless that changes, RATA cannot partner with them.