Education Without Borders
This Friday I spent the day at Fezeka high school in the Xhosa speaking Gugulethu Township with the organization called Education Without Borders. My friend, Veeral, has told me about this organization before, and he asked me to take photos of a sporting event they were having so that they may use the photos for a fundraiser for their sports program. I was so excited to finally see the school that he has been talking about and to check out what they are doing.
When I arrived at the school I was happy to see older students with smiles on their faces. I am used to volunteering with and teaching younger students who are usually just excited to have any kind of attention, but the joy of working with older students is that they have established passions, motivations, goals, and dreams... The students that Education Without Borders work with are students that chose to be in the after school program, dedicate their time everyday to the program, and show strong potential. Students who do not comply with the rules or lack in attendance may no longer receive the benefits of the program. This ensures that the students keep focused and motivated to continue their journey.
(For more information about Education Without Boarders check out their website: http://www.educationwithoutborders.ca/)
I walked past the students who were leaving their classrooms, taking their after-school snack of an orange, and gossiping in the courtyard, and I came to the office. Veeral first showed me the month's lesson plans that were posted on the wall, and some of the students' work. The few volunteers teach a different topic each day of the week: math, writing, literature. He showed me the dictionaries and novels that were donated to the Education Without Borders (EWB) program. One of the books was written by a local author about a young girl living in a township and dealing with similar issues the students in the program might be dealing with. Some time this week I plan to read this book to gain some insight into these students' lives. After showing me around the office, I was given the lesson plan for the day and asked if I would teach it. So, with no preparation at all, of course I said yes!
The lesson was on goal setting. I had 45 minutes to teach. I was placed in a classroom with 3 students so I excitedly introduced myself and asked their names. I then began to ask them what they already know about goals and the importance of setting them, so that I could have an idea of where to start. Answers I received showed a thorough understanding of what goals are and why we have them. So now, my job was to teach them how to set effective goals, and I did this the only why I know how: SMART goals. Six more students trickled into the classroom. I gave the students 20 minutes to draw pictures of the vision they see in their future on the sheets of the only lined paper I could find. In the class were students who wanted to be architects, doctors, rappers, human resource managers.. some wanted families, some did not. I allowed students to share what they saw in their future. I used those examples to explain SMART goals. SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-appropriate. We reviewed what each part of a SMART goal is, gave some examples with the students' personal goals, and they were all able to tell me what each letter stands for at the end of the class.
After the lesson was over, the students went to the field for the sports program. Students were divided into two soccer teams and four netball teams. In the overgrown weed and grassy field the students improvised a soccer game with plastic overturned chairs as the goals, and boundaries were not made. A EWB volunteer kept score of the game and gave them coaching and reinforcement. All of the students were laughing and running as fast as they could to get the ball. The ball was all that mattered.
The other students who were playing netball were in the netball court. Embarrassingly enough, I didn't know what netball was until I came to South Africa. One of the 6th grade students I tutor on Thursdays had to explain it to me once, and I gathered that it is similar to basketball but with no dribbling. When I saw the court that the students had to play in I became extremely confused. I asked Veeral how they could play without nets. He told me that they have to use cones on the ground to label where the net would be. I understood how it worked for soccer because one can imagine the ball going through the big goal net as long as it is between the two chairs, but with netball, as with basketball, the main skill is to throw the ball with the perfect arch so that is glides straight down through the hanging net. With out this net, I would have assumed there is no game. The students enjoyed themselves in their tiny space with the small cones as the net nevertheless.
http://www.educationwithoutborders.ca/
(For more information about Education Without Boarders check out their website: http://www.educationwithoutborders.ca/)
I walked past the students who were leaving their classrooms, taking their after-school snack of an orange, and gossiping in the courtyard, and I came to the office. Veeral first showed me the month's lesson plans that were posted on the wall, and some of the students' work. The few volunteers teach a different topic each day of the week: math, writing, literature. He showed me the dictionaries and novels that were donated to the Education Without Borders (EWB) program. One of the books was written by a local author about a young girl living in a township and dealing with similar issues the students in the program might be dealing with. Some time this week I plan to read this book to gain some insight into these students' lives. After showing me around the office, I was given the lesson plan for the day and asked if I would teach it. So, with no preparation at all, of course I said yes! The lesson was on goal setting. I had 45 minutes to teach. I was placed in a classroom with 3 students so I excitedly introduced myself and asked their names. I then began to ask them what they already know about goals and the importance of setting them, so that I could have an idea of where to start. Answers I received showed a thorough understanding of what goals are and why we have them. So now, my job was to teach them how to set effective goals, and I did this the only why I know how: SMART goals. Six more students trickled into the classroom. I gave the students 20 minutes to draw pictures of the vision they see in their future on the sheets of the only lined paper I could find. In the class were students who wanted to be architects, doctors, rappers, human resource managers.. some wanted families, some did not. I allowed students to share what they saw in their future. I used those examples to explain SMART goals. SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-appropriate. We reviewed what each part of a SMART goal is, gave some examples with the students' personal goals, and they were all able to tell me what each letter stands for at the end of the class.
After the lesson was over, the students went to the field for the sports program. Students were divided into two soccer teams and four netball teams. In the overgrown weed and grassy field the students improvised a soccer game with plastic overturned chairs as the goals, and boundaries were not made. A EWB volunteer kept score of the game and gave them coaching and reinforcement. All of the students were laughing and running as fast as they could to get the ball. The ball was all that mattered. 
The other students who were playing netball were in the netball court. Embarrassingly enough, I didn't know what netball was until I came to South Africa. One of the 6th grade students I tutor on Thursdays had to explain it to me once, and I gathered that it is similar to basketball but with no dribbling. When I saw the court that the students had to play in I became extremely confused. I asked Veeral how they could play without nets. He told me that they have to use cones on the ground to label where the net would be. I understood how it worked for soccer because one can imagine the ball going through the big goal net as long as it is between the two chairs, but with netball, as with basketball, the main skill is to throw the ball with the perfect arch so that is glides straight down through the hanging net. With out this net, I would have assumed there is no game. The students enjoyed themselves in their tiny space with the small cones as the net nevertheless. 
http://www.educationwithoutborders.ca/
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