Education Stories
TEACH South Africa: Young Educators on Frontline of Change
South Africa
2008 Angel Network grantee TEACH South Africa addresses a critical shortage of teachers in South Africa.
To fill an estimated shortage of 32,000 teachers in South Africa, the nonprofit TEACH South Africa has started calling on recent college graduates to dedicate two years of their lives teaching in disadvantaged or under-served areas of South Africa. A 2009 program participant, Lerato Mokhatla currently teaches math and math literacy for students in grade 8 through 11 outside of Johannesburg at the Tiisetsong Secondary School. Lerato recently reflected on the importance of TSA and the realities of teaching.
TEACH South Africa's Lerato Mokhatla is teaching students in Thokoza near Johannesburg at Tiisetsong Secondary School.
Photo courtesy of TEACH South AfricaReason for joining TSA
Teaching has always been my passion but because of the remuneration of teachers in South Africa I have been running away from it. Now that I am older and wiser I understand and have accepted that teaching is about so much more than the money.
Best way to engage students so they are interested and eager to learn
We always start our lesson with a reading piece because most of my students cannot read properly. We use this exercise to improve their reading skills. Then we are ready to start with our lesson.
Students interest-level in education and their expectations of me
They are hungry for knowledge. They expect me to give them quality content and now and then they ask me general questions about coping skills.
Condition of your classrooms
The state of our classrooms is appalling! There is a lot of graffiti on the walls and the classes are generally dirty and too small for the amount of students they are supposed to accommodate.
Average class size
51
On technology and infrastructure at school
There is a computer room but sometimes the PCs do not work. Maintenance is very poor. Some of the restrooms are functional and some not. There is no gym or cafeteria.
On gender equity at school
Girls and boys are given equal opportunities. Although in my subject, girls tend to want to take the backseat. I do not allow them to. In all of my classes boys are competing with girls and this is encouraging girls to look at themselves differently when it comes to mathematics.
The language barrier
A lot of my students are comfortable communicating in their mother-tongue but I encourage them to use English and this is difficult most of the time. But I let them know the importance of articulating oneself in English because when they get to Grade 12, they write their final exams in English.
On the legacy of Apartheid on an educator in South Africa
I do not concentrate much on the past. What I do is give students the best I have and expose them to as much information as I can about the possibilities that the future holds. I do not want to have students who feel entitled to certain things or who feel betrayed by the previous dispensation. This leads to bitterness.
Future plans after two-year program ends
I am going to continue teaching.
h4. Watch a video about TEACH South Africa:
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Comments from the community
Hello- I sent my resume, you should have received it yesterday. I want nothing more but to help in the schools! I hope to hear from you. Michele Martin (fairyopolis11@yahoo.com)
I should be specific as to where I sent my information....to the Angel Network 110 North Carpenter Chicago address. Thank you, Michele Martin
I am hopeful that we can help fill one of the vacancies with someone from your country - my daughter's wish was to be a teacher and to volunteer in Africa for a year or so - she was taken from me in November at the age of 17. I am continuing Mandy's dream and am working hard to raise the funds for a scholarship in her name to be given to a student from Africa to come to the US to complete 4 years of teaching college - See the rest of my story here on the Angel Network http://oprahsangelnetwork.org/stories/567-a-mother-copes-with-loss and on My Space - look me up Rebecca Renaud. We have also started a website for Mandy (it's a work in progress) http://www.mandyedwardsfoundation.org/
We are so wasteful in the United States - often throwing away things when they become "out dated" I wonder if we could start some way of collecting and then sending old computers to Africa to these schools?
Lerato I must you have made a wise choice. You thought exactly like me. I also have a teaching passion which I have been not considering as my full time career due to remuneration. Now I realised early this year that the learners needs me to add value in their education and I am currently not enjoying my wory. I discovered that Teaching Maths is my passion and will surely enjoy. I realised that me and Mathematics won't split apart. Now I have also applied to Teach South Africa. I am going to attend the interview as I was selected. I want to follow your footsteps. You have inspired me with your testimony. Thanks.
Arts Education for us is a very fundamental ingredient that is lacking in our education system in general. We try and fill that gap by providing the youth with our arts-based festivals and other projects. We are not attempting to encourage the next generation of actors, dancers or arts practitioners in general. Our aim mainly, is to unlock the potential for creative thought and imagination within these learners – whether they become scientists or accountants, we want them to be creative in whatever they do in life and to be confident in their abilities as a human being. Of course we are also interested in encouraging and nurturing an appreciation for the arts as well.
“Studies show that knowledge of dance develops attributes of creative thought, including originality, fluidity and an ability for abstraction. Theatre teaches us how to understand complex situations and incites us to reflect on the motivations of others as well as honing our interpersonal skills. Learning music increases the capacity of reasoning and makes use of the abstract thinking needed in mathematics.” There is a great need for arts-based education, and exposure to the arts for our youth, and all over the country students and dedicated teachers alike recognise this – that is why they come to these festivals. Students register for our festivals through their respective schools. Our objective is to inspire confidence, creativity and use of imagination – landing on the moon stuff, whilst realising that you have to build (and finance) a complicated machine to get there first! Why is it important to have imagination or be creative? Would Einstein still have come up with a theory for relativity if he did not have a creative imagination? Why is the Arts so important for a healthy society? And most importantly, to have fun – not boring “lecture” style speechy stuff.
Neville Engelbrecht -Director Arts Education- Grahamstown Foundation
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For non-South Africans who would also like to make a real difference in the educational life of the children of South Africa, please check out Teach with Africa (www.teachwithafrica.org). We're a nonprofit based in the US that strives to break down social and economic barriers to education in Africa through an international exchange of teaching and learning. Currently, our multidisciplinary educators are working at the LEAP Schools of Science and Maths in Cape Town and Johannesburg, an intervention high school that provides free, high quality education to disadvantaged students from local townships.
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