2015 Reflection by Andy
After reading the evaluations from the South African and Swaziland teachers last year, I was excited about returning and improving on my curriculum. I was fortunate to be able to return, but my content changed from physics to chemistry. Thanks to the precedence and guidance from last year’s chemistry teachers, Alison and Michael, I put together a plan and got my materials for the booklets and cd’s only a day late.
It was comforting to meet last year’s veterans Brad, Veronica, Nadia and Carl in Johannesburg, after 23 hours of flying. We were also joined by my friend and ‘Iolani School colleague, Paul, on his 6th venture with Tabsa. I started saving water bottles the minute I landed, and did not stop until the end of the workshops. They were invaluable to use as beakers, graduated cylinders, and funnels and for solution storage, as our African counterparts were to find out.
There were several notable differences from last year. First, some of the African teachers we would meet were teaching at a lower grade level. Second, our team was smaller. Brad and I were no longer the new kids on the block and kind of knew what to expect. Third, there were our new math teachers, Aviva and John, with their own unique perspectives. Fourth, Tenzin, Alia, and Laurie were missing (although Laurie joined us a few days before we ended). Fifth, we were going to train teachers in Swaziland to give a workshop to their peers. The constants were Yunus’ driving and Thokozani. Thoko remains virtuous, looked after all of us, and had more luggage than all the other women combined.
I had decided that this year, instead of doing a lot of material preparation for the workshops, the teachers would make their own materials. The South Africa CAPS, or curriculum guidelines, suggested specific solutions and demonstrations for the learning outcomes, but almost none of the teachers had made them or did any of the suggested activities. For example, they did not know that they could make limewater from a small box of calcium hydroxide that they would get in the pharmacy for 8 rand (about 70 cents). The box could last them 10 years. They were delighted to filter the water through coffee filters, using the cut tops of water bottles as funnels, and then blowing bubbles into the clear limewater in the plastic “beaker” (bottom half of the water bottle) and seeing it turn cloudy (indicating the presence of carbon dioxide). They also saw how to make purple cabbage juice indicator for acids and bases, and made various solutions to test the hydrogen ion content. The CAPS actually made my job quite simple but the trick was to find the chemicals, most of which could be bought in well-stocked grocery and hardware stores. Mike and Alison’s list greatly aided in the identification of these chemicals.
One of the highlights of the trip was teaching a class. At first I think our teaching team was caught off-guard due to the sudden and impromptu request, since we thought we were just visiting the high school. The chemistry class I was asked to teach had 37 students of various ages sitting in it. There were two rows across the back of the room of older boys, sitting back and just watching me. The younger ones along the sides of the room took notes on everything. I was asked to teach naming of compounds and molecules. I tried to play a game with them and initially it was awkward, but eventually I got some responses. I did the lesson for 45 minutes, interjecting the game, and the students were cooperative but subdued. It could have been because their teacher was watching from the doorway. When he interjected at one point and came to the board, his friendly persona changed. He became (as Yunus says) “the sage on the stage.” I was ready to leave, and showed him that my piece of chalk was about 1/8 of an inch wide, but he got me a new piece and asked to do balancing equations! When I asked for a student volunteer, one young man got up at the urging of his teacher, and proceeded to also be the stuffy lecturer. Fortunately someone came to get me to look at the garden and I made a hasty retreat. The students politely applauded.
The Swaziland teachers are more easygoing and responsive than their South African counterparts. The first group of teachers that I worked with to prepare them to teach a workshop was solid chemistry teachers who knew their content well. The only problem was that they did not know how to demonstrate or do lab practicals due to the lack of supplies. They too were amazed at how simple it could be with an initial investment of a small sum of money and time. They made the reactants and I only showed them the lesson worksheets. They worked together through each lab. Discussions were lively. One teacher, Azone, talked about extensions to the labs or other things that were occurring during a reaction. He is less concerned about the learner’s test scores than having them truly understand what is happening.
When it came time for the five teachers to do the workshop for their peers, they were brilliant. They helped each other’s presentations by walking around between the lab groups, bringing supplies or talking about the lesson. I felt like a proud parent.
The second group of teachers teaches middle school. One thing I tried to stress was getting the attention of the learners, by doing demonstrations. They were amazed that I could put out a candle flame by “pouring” an invisible gas (carbon dioxide) from a water bottle in which I had combined liquid vinegar and solid baking soda. The group of 6 teachers that did the workshop for their peers also did a bang-up job. Some of them really hammed it up and liked being the center of attention!
One problem I could not address is universal with all of the teachers I have met over the last two years. That is class size. With 37 to 60 or more learners in a classroom, it is difficult to do hands-on activities without chaos. Demonstrations are OK, but young people learn deeper by doing. The only suggestion I could offer is that the teachers stick together and help each other. Perhaps one day they can unionize and have a stronger voice to force the governments to provide relief. I would also offer that they concentrate on having the learners understand several concepts well, so they could pass those questions on the tests. Similar to Azone’s viewpoint. Otherwise, they are doing poorly on every question.
After the third week, I had a wonderful time visiting South Africa with two great travelling companions, Veronica and Paul. Thank you both. Also, thank you Yunus, for another enlightening adventure. Thanks to the South African, Swaziland, and US government agencies who allowed us to do this. I would also like to thank the rest of the team, our families, and supporters for the encouragement and financial aid.
Humbly,
Andy