With a little less than a week remaining in our tutoring program at the SHAWCO center in Manenberg, it’s interesting to look back on the experience we have had thus far. Initially, I thought the first two weeks of IT Training would be the painful part of the service, but I soon learned that I would miss this part. The IT Training was anything but what I expected. I remembered when I was learning to use a computer and the tedious typing exercises and monotonous projects that we were forced to do. I figured the training program would be similar to what I experienced, but because of the adult’s enthusiasm, the 2 weeks were anything but dull. I worked with two learners, one of which was more experienced than the other, but both were incredibly motivated individuals. They were eager to learn, and even though the simple information I was teaching them was pretty boring, they were just so happy to be learning anything I could teach them. I was impressed when one of my learners asked me to help her make an invitation, and the other asked to learn how to make a pay slip in Excel. These two individuals were clearly going to put their skills to good use, and I was glad that I was able to help them out. At the end of the two weeks, I was sad that I would no longer be spending time with them everyday, as I felt like I had formed a special bond with each of them. It was the best surprise when one of my learners showed up at the SHAWCO center on my birthday. I figured she was there to use the computers, but she told me she had come just to wish me a happy birthday and deliver a present. My other learner sent me an incredibly kind Facebook message, showing off her newly learned skills. The fact that these two ladies went out of their way after only knowing me for a short 2 weeks was heartwarming and made me feel incredibly grateful that I was able to spend time with them and not only be a teacher, but a learner as well.
After having a very positive experience with the IT Program, I was optimistic heading into the 2 weeks of teaching with the kids. I had looked forward to this part of the program from the beginning, as I really enjoy working with children and this was the type of work I was hoping to do. I was assigned to a group of 3 girls, 2 who are 7th graders and 1 who is an 8th grader shadowing me as a tutor. We started the week off with some pretty basic English. We worked on Indirect/Direct Speech, Active/Passive Voice, and then Parts of Speech. The curriculum seemed much too basic for a group of 7th graders, even if English is their second language to Afrikaans. The curriculum was also not sequential, which made it difficult to teach. I was so surprised how much basic English knowledge the children lacked. By teaching such elementary things to a group of teenagers, I felt like I was babying them, but this was the appropriate place for them. After adjusting to teaching the curriculum and age group, I figured it could only get easier the following week, as what we would be teaching couldn’t be any more difficult than the English we had taught them. Math is math across all languages, right? I was very quickly proven wrong. When I told my kids we’d be working on math from now on, their attitudes did a 180 and they were no longer as cooperative or excited. They all told me how they disliked math because “it was hard”, and the struggles began immediately. I was in disbelief when I had to teach the most basic addition and subtraction, let alone multiplication and long division. These skills that I associate with being drilled into your head at such a young age were a challenge to these 7th graders. I figured I would be teaching basic algebra, but I found myself re-teaching myself how to do long division before I could explain it to them. The only way I think I’ll be able to make an impact is by going back to the foundation and basics. Hopefully by solidifying these skills, the kids will be able to move on to where they should be at this stage in school, but we’ll see what happens over the next week.
Teaching has been quite the experience. It’s certainly had its highs, and there have definitely been many lows. It is both frustrating and challenging, but also incredibly rewarding. I’ve learned much about the lives of people in the Manenberg community and surrounding areas from my learners, and I have also learned a lot about the South African education system, or lack there of, from the challenges I have faced with my 7th grade students. This experience has been a new one for me, as I had only previously taught Preschool and Kindergarten age children, but I have thoroughly enjoyed it and learned a lot throughout the process. Two weeks is a short amount of time to impart meaningful amounts of knowledge, but I do hope that the hard work that we’re putting in as volunteers pays off in some form. Whether the kids are actually learning and we’re helping them come closer to being able to pass the Matric exam, or if we’re just keeping them busy and off the streets and out of trouble, I do hope for the best for this community and hope that I’m actually making some sort of impact.
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