We started our day with a walk to the US Consulate in Johannesburg. (There is also an embassy in Pretoria and consulates in Cape Town and Durban.) Security was super tight -- only two of us were allowed through security at once, no personal belongings, metal detectors, etc. I entered with only my passport and enjoyed a session with the Public Affairs Office which has been working to support this program on the South African side. One of the most interesting parts of the discussion for me was centered around the diversity among Blacks in the country and the role of language. During the apartheid era the government strategically separated tribal/language groups; now the average South African speaks five languages, even more in Johannesburg. When groups of South Africans are talking they will seamlessly switch from one language to another, even mid-sentence (which makes it really tough for those of us who do knot speak so many languages). There are eleven official languages in South Africa. My counterpart asked me the other day what is the official day of the United States. She was astounded to find out that the US has no official language at all.
In the afternoon we visited the first of the five South African schools taking part in the pilot. Tandi Eleanor Secondary School will be working with Tim Kelly at Annandale High School. It is an ICT (Information and Communication Technology) school, often referred to as "paperless." It was amazing to see this school in the midst of a very poor township but having so many technological resources. In one classroom we visited they had two SMARTboards and every student has been issued a tablet. All textbooks are online. It was quite impressive in many ways.
When we went to the teacher work room there were several posters from a recent meeting with faculty. One noted that teacher attendance for every class was expected, highlighting and issue that I find fascinating -- many teachers simply do not show up to teach their classes, Weird, huh? And this is not a problem unique to Tandi Eleanor; this came up as a chronic issue in many of the schools in the area.
This evening we all went to a restaurant celebrating African food from across the continent. I went with the Ostrich fillet, samp and beans, and pumpkin with peanut sauce. Yum!
In the afternoon we visited the first of the five South African schools taking part in the pilot. Tandi Eleanor Secondary School will be working with Tim Kelly at Annandale High School. It is an ICT (Information and Communication Technology) school, often referred to as "paperless." It was amazing to see this school in the midst of a very poor township but having so many technological resources. In one classroom we visited they had two SMARTboards and every student has been issued a tablet. All textbooks are online. It was quite impressive in many ways.
When we went to the teacher work room there were several posters from a recent meeting with faculty. One noted that teacher attendance for every class was expected, highlighting and issue that I find fascinating -- many teachers simply do not show up to teach their classes, Weird, huh? And this is not a problem unique to Tandi Eleanor; this came up as a chronic issue in many of the schools in the area.
This evening we all went to a restaurant celebrating African food from across the continent. I went with the Ostrich fillet, samp and beans, and pumpkin with peanut sauce. Yum!