A couple of weeks ago, there was a white woman at Thandokhulu. This threw me off because normally Erica, Sarah, and I are the only awkward, non-Xhosa people within the premises. It turned out that she was here with the University of Cape Town. Whatever department she works with organizes programs, workshops, and guest teachers for underprivileged schools. She was here to work with the teachers of Thandokhulu, teach some of their classes, and evaluate the school. Additionally, she was starting a book club! This really excited me because, well, I love books. And I love Thandokhulu. So it was the perfect combination! Of course I immediately volunteered to help.
Ever since, Sarah and I have been working at the book club after school on Tuesdays at Thandokhulu. We were quite worried that high school students would not be interested in something sounding as boring as “book club.” We were expecting to be satisfied with three or four students but to our surprise, 100 students showed up! The students are able to rent out books for a week. Then they bring them back and we talk about them or do different activities like learning how to write a book review. Sarah and I put on a slam poetry class in which we showed the kids some slam poetry and then encouraged them to write their own.
Jackie then asked Sarah and I if we could conduct our slam poetry lesson at a high school she visits on Wednesdays, Sophumelela. This high school is in Khayelitsha and is one of the township schools that are completely funded by the government. It is actually so much nicer and better resourced than Thandokhulu. However, Ms. Bopi told me that parents still want to send their children to Thandokhulu because it is in such a safer area: the residential, previously “white-only” Mowbray. If children are attending the schools in the townships, they have to worry about being raped and mugged on the way to school. So even though Thandokhulu is located next to a highway, costs 400R a year, does not supply notebooks or uniforms, and requires about an hour commute, it is still in high demand. It must be hard to put a price on your child’s safety.
The students in the book club at both Thandokhulu and Sophumelela are absolutely amazing. They are so motivated and excited about reading and learning. Some of the books that they are able to borrow at in Xhosa, but most are in English. Even though the students really do appreciate the club so much, I asked kids at each school how we could make the club better and many had only one answer: food. It killed me. At lunch time during Thandokhulu, I stay in my office because so many of the kids have nothing to eat. A student in one of Sarah’s classes invited us one day to watch some music during lunch. We followed her to room 8A. Little did we know, we were entering a church service! These students gather on their own will during their free time at lunch to basically attend a Baptist church. The leader of the Student Christian Organization (SCO), was absolutely amazing! She was a high school student but she sounded like she had been a pastor for years. Even though most of the students were excited and involved in the service, I could not help but wonder when they were going to eat lunch, if ever.
Anyway – I have also been working with Brittany who started an after-school art program for the kids. We have only met once, last Friday, but the students LOVED it! So many kids from my classes came and they really enjoyed it. Basically, Brittany just brings in art supplies, inspires them with some cool activities, and lets them go! Having this time to express themselves in any way always confuses them a bit at first, but then they love it. Even in class the other day I instructed them to free write for ten minutes. They all just stared at me. I explained to them that you can write about whatever you want. Some began writing. Others just put their hands up to ask me to further clarify the assignment. These kids could be so creative if they were not brainwashed into just mechanically spitting back information for their teachers everyday.
Basically, the kids are great. They are excited and we are assisting them in choosing to engage in different activities after school!
No comments:
Post a Comment