3/8/2018 0 Comments Feeling 50/50As we finish our fourth week of community work, I'm feeling very "fifty-fifty" since at one of my sites we have been able to make rewarding progress where as at the other we are still stuck in square one. At Soshanguve Secondary School, as a result of miscommunication, there has been confusion as to what we are doing there and who is our contact person. We had spent 3 weeks trying clean up the library even though it was obvious that, as space at the school is limited and the library is being used as a staff room, students were not able to access it. After finally talking to the deputy principal last week we learned that a current need of the school was assisting in a grade 8 English class that had been without a teacher for 3 weeks. We decided that this was an area we could help in and, even though we are not certified teachers, we are better than no teacher. After a weekend of brainstorming what we could do to engage 60 eighth graders, we arrived on Tuesday to learn that they had finally found a replacement teacher the day before. Although we are glad that the class now has a permanent teacher, it sent us back to the beginning in regards to planning a meaningful project. This week we talked with the vice principal for the first time who apparently is the usual contact person for Fordham students but we had not been aware of this. She explained that, in the past, Fordham students had designed an informational project to share in life orientation classes. Possibilities for this include health education, career counseling, or university application assistance. After learning this we wished we had been explained this option earlier as we know are pressed to brainstorm, plan, and implement an idea quickly. Obviously that is the frustrating part of my "fifty-fifty" sentiment. On the first day at the aftercare for primary school students, we were given a list of achievable projects: restarting the garden, painting a birthday chart, creating an application form, and helping the students with reading English. So far we have begun working in the garden as this is the most time sensitive project. The students have been amazing to spend time with. When we are working on the garden they are very eager to help with anything from weeding to planting to watering. We have planted carrots and beetroots so far and are hoping that, despite some unfavorable conditions, they sprout soon. Our long term plan is to help the students learn the life skills of planting a garden and leave them with instructions and seeds to start their own. While at the aftercare we also spend a lot of time helping the students with homework and encouraging them to read books. After a frustrating morning at the secondary school, I am always happy to sit with the students who are eager to read to me in English. I also enjoy seeing the older students willingness to help younger students with homework. The aftercare is a strong community with a positive atmosphere that I am grateful to be a part of.
Luckily, we were able to change our schedule to spend more time at the aftercare place and less at the secondary school so we feel that our time is being used better. Although sometimes I would like to drop the secondary school all together, I know that it presents an important learning curve and makes me appreciate my afternoons at the aftercare.
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