One of the ways I'm learning about South Africa is through its authors - or people who have lived and worked there. Mark Mathabane's Kaffir Boy is his autobiography - growing up under apartheid in the 60's and 70's. He writes vividly about his experiences - and I felt as though I was watching a movie - the descriptions of place and feeling were do vivid. He describes his home - 2 rooms shoddily built in the Alexandra section of Johannesburg - and how he and his siblings hid when the police came to search the house. His parents experienced arrests when they didn't have the 'right' papers - and they often stood in lines for hours to get these papers only to be told they were missing a document and to come back the following week. I felt his fear when he heard a knock on the door, his frustration in going to school with no books or uniforms because his parents could not afford them - and to learn of the special curriculum for black students that emphasized obedience to those in authority. Traveling into Johannesburg - the white areas - was dangerous and often resulted in arrests. Mark was fortunate - despite his home situation, lack of access to books, and often being punished by the teachers for not having supplies, he was at the top of his class - and through his skill in tennis as well as high achievement in school was able to earn a scholarship to a college in the US.
My takeaway here is a better understanding of the education experienced by many of today's adults in South Africa - and the role models they had as teachers. Our project - to create a professional development program for preschool teachers as they learn to implement KidSmart - a learning program delivered via specially designed computer 'stations' that engage the children in collaborative learning activities - so very different from what many of the teachers have themselves experienced.
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