South Africa - Day 6
Our final full day began with a trip to United Church School. During this visit, each Fellow was assigned a student to take us on a tour of their classroom. My student was Daniel, a sweet third grade boy from France, with 8 siblings, who had his own cell phone, played on his PS3 on Fridays after homework, drew cars in my sketchbook, and loved his classroom job as "monitor." Similarly to the prefects at our first school, the monitor was a head student who had authority to discipline peers. We began the day in a separate church, for announcements. Most memorable: in front of the entire school Grades 1 - 12, the principal was able to speak at a normal volume, with pauses to collect her thoughts or correct herself or fix technology stumbles, and even remind the students that the upcoming talk on menstruation will now include Grade 3 girls, to complete silence. The expectation was that students would wait when they need to wait, listen when it was time to listen, and they did so. It was a silence I cannot recall ever hearing in my 15 years of teaching in American schools. We ended our time in the auditorium with time to interview our students, and lively singing to I Know Who I Am and dancing to There's No One Like Jesus.
Goals Update:
Goal 1: Connecting with Peers from the Program, and in the Field
Evening share out was a Levels of Listening activity amongst all the Fellows. In small groups of four, we rotated through the following roles:
1 - Speaker (sharing a highlight or a stream of consciousness)
2 - Listening for Facts
3 - Listening for Feelings
4 - Listening for Values
During sharing I surprised myself by how often I mentioned feeling guilt for being selected for this trip, the relative wealth of being American, or shame in questioning my safety as a woman. It also conjured up complex memories of working in Chicago schools that were also often on the receiving end of charity. I hadn't realized those emotions were bubbling under the surface. A Fellow reminded me of what was said to us at the Sozo Foundation that we've been given a gift, and to take time to open it and figure out what to do with it. I vow to release the judgement and overanalyzing of emotions and to stay present.
In a big group, we formed a large circle and shared one final thought. While the opportunity to "pass" was offered, amazingly nearly everyone was able to form a neat conclusion sentence. I mustered, "It's okay to take time to process" but my favorites were, "I commit to trying less hard to be seen, and harder to see others." (Aaron Baker) and “I hope it didn’t take coming to South Africa to recognize racism.” (Melissa Collins)
Goal 2: Finding South African Art to Share with Students
I hit the jackpot today! Our visit to Constitution Hill was a feast for the eyes. On the hill is Constitution Court, equivalent to the Supreme Court, and set on the same site as a notorious prison. "It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged on how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones - and South Africa treated its imprisoned African citizens like animals."- Nelson Mandela
The mistreatment of imprisoned Africans was shameful. Amazingly, art was present here. In a room titled "Resistance and Resilience," curators showed how art kept the inmates’ spirits alive. They may have been in horribly overcrowded rooms, filthy with disease, but they took the little materials they had to hold tight to their imagination and humanity.
Goal 3: Making Personal Art Daily
Photographs were not permitted in the school, so I used the opportunity to sketch the space. The primary school was previously a single family home, so my classroom was shockingly small - a former sitting room or living room packed with 31 learners. Just as in the announcements, the students were amazingly respectful. When the students asked a question, 80% of hands went up to answer. When the teacher left the room to get materials (after bodies, chairs, and desks, there was no space for things in the room) no students talked. Our lesson was on how to write a letter. The teacher activated students' background knowledge by asking if anyone had written or received a letter before, together the class walked through the proper formatting, and after determining the subject - their new house - the class brainstormed together possible content to write about. When students began working, and all did, our teacher even managed to circulate the room to check on every individual learner, a feat I assumed physically impossible. Where there is a will, there is a way.
Goals Update:
Goal 1: Connecting with Peers from the Program, and in the Field
Evening share out was a Levels of Listening activity amongst all the Fellows. In small groups of four, we rotated through the following roles:
1 - Speaker (sharing a highlight or a stream of consciousness)
2 - Listening for Facts
3 - Listening for Feelings
4 - Listening for Values
During sharing I surprised myself by how often I mentioned feeling guilt for being selected for this trip, the relative wealth of being American, or shame in questioning my safety as a woman. It also conjured up complex memories of working in Chicago schools that were also often on the receiving end of charity. I hadn't realized those emotions were bubbling under the surface. A Fellow reminded me of what was said to us at the Sozo Foundation that we've been given a gift, and to take time to open it and figure out what to do with it. I vow to release the judgement and overanalyzing of emotions and to stay present.
In a big group, we formed a large circle and shared one final thought. While the opportunity to "pass" was offered, amazingly nearly everyone was able to form a neat conclusion sentence. I mustered, "It's okay to take time to process" but my favorites were, "I commit to trying less hard to be seen, and harder to see others." (Aaron Baker) and “I hope it didn’t take coming to South Africa to recognize racism.” (Melissa Collins)
Goal 2: Finding South African Art to Share with Students
I hit the jackpot today! Our visit to Constitution Hill was a feast for the eyes. On the hill is Constitution Court, equivalent to the Supreme Court, and set on the same site as a notorious prison. "It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged on how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones - and South Africa treated its imprisoned African citizens like animals."- Nelson Mandela
The mistreatment of imprisoned Africans was shameful. Amazingly, art was present here. In a room titled "Resistance and Resilience," curators showed how art kept the inmates’ spirits alive. They may have been in horribly overcrowded rooms, filthy with disease, but they took the little materials they had to hold tight to their imagination and humanity.
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| Imprisoned people made sculptures our of blankets. |
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| Homemade papiér-maché sculptures made from bits of soap, wood, and paper. |
The architecture of Constitutional Court itself was very intentional with its design. A model of UN Sustainable Development Goal 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, every architectural decision was meant to evoke awareness of the country's past mistakes, and future aspirations to be a more just, inclusive, and transparent society.
Additionally, Constitution Hill is a lively venue for concerts and a regular rotation of contemporary African artwork.
At the day's end I was also gifted a recently published 7 volume series of books on African Art by the NEA Foundation. This comprehensive set of resources is an excellent addition to my small library and I was overcome by their generosity.
Goal 3: Making Personal Art Daily
Photographs were not permitted in the school, so I used the opportunity to sketch the space. The primary school was previously a single family home, so my classroom was shockingly small - a former sitting room or living room packed with 31 learners. Just as in the announcements, the students were amazingly respectful. When the students asked a question, 80% of hands went up to answer. When the teacher left the room to get materials (after bodies, chairs, and desks, there was no space for things in the room) no students talked. Our lesson was on how to write a letter. The teacher activated students' background knowledge by asking if anyone had written or received a letter before, together the class walked through the proper formatting, and after determining the subject - their new house - the class brainstormed together possible content to write about. When students began working, and all did, our teacher even managed to circulate the room to check on every individual learner, a feat I assumed physically impossible. Where there is a will, there is a way.
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