Reflections 2015 – John Beckler

 

To describe the experience I had during this summer, is nothing short of a lifetime dream. How do you describe going to a far-off country, seeing things you’ve never seen in the wild, and share something I have with people I have never met before, and out of nowhere be given the chance to do it?

The best I can attempt is to call it a blessing. Thanks to Yunus Peer and the TAB-SA organization, I was able to share some of my teaching experiences with teachers in South Africa and Swaziland. It was truly, a humbling experience.

Workshops are suppose to be “battery rechargers” for all those attending. You gain new ideas and ways to keep our students interested and engaged. I have discovered that preparing for three months to actually present at three weeks of

workshops, was nothing short of nerve-racking, but probably the most fun I have had in quite a while. The challenge to energize and motivate 100’s of teachers, who have been given less than minimum training, terrified me. Once we got to know each other, then the action started.

We started in the Northeast province of Mpumalanga. These dedicated teachers took a week of their holiday time to spend a week in workshops without any compensation in return. All they wanted was to learn new things for their learners, and to be better teachers. Their warm hospitality and patience with me, took away the feeling of unworthiness to be in their presence and warmed the chilly winter air. They charged me up!

It’s always a great feeling when a teacher sees the light turn on in a child’s face when they finally understand what it is they are trying to learn. Achievement is exciting, rewarding, and motivates to continue striving to learn more. To see a teacher do the same thing, is priceless.

Brad and Aviva were my “teammates” with Carl acting as dept. head and all-around senior statesman. Brad was the experienced returnee as Aviva and I were the rookies.

He did an incredible job keeping us together and always asking for input on how to handle the ever-changing plans and schedules. Aviva has an energy level and drive I remember having back in my youth. Between the two of them, I didn’t have to think much. Celebrating her birthday while in Swaziland, was a great time! Finally, Laurie came to keep Yunus sane! What a great lady.

As for the science team; I’ve never seen such a dedicated trio of people wanting to give of their skills and knowledge to other teachers, and keep it fun and interesting for all. Thanks to Veronica for keeping us all healthy. Those three worked day and night organizing, prepping, and shopping, to keep up with the demand of the materials needed each day.

The time came and we had to say goodbye to our new friends of South Africa and move on to Swaziland. There, we would be working at the University of Swaziland and managing the training of a new group of local “Trainers” for themselves. These folks would be the first to do what we came to do. These were hand-picked teachers, both secondary and elementary(primary) alike. So what if this was my first time as a presenter? Now I get to train people to do my job. The challenge was scary and exciting at the same time, and turned out to be a blast! I suddenly feel like I have actually contributed something positive to a group of people, to help them better themselves as teachers and improve the future of their children. God, what a rush! I believe I just finished recharging my batteries.

         None of this could have been done without the support of TABSA, UNICEF, MOYA Center, all the administrators from the Ministry of Education from both countries, Yunus Peer, AND Thokozani Mteshane, our associate director. Our quiet giant who continually took care of us and made sure everything was good for us. The man did it all. He is our guardian angel. Thank you so much Thoko! Then, to end it all, a visit from US Ambassador Makila James. Doesn’t get much better than that!

 

 

 

         I guess, I have to wake-up now, my dream summer is over. Back to my own reality of going back to school and doing what I do. To all those teachers I was given the chance of sharing; I hope a little something I did, makes your job better and helps your learners understand more. My African colleagues will forever be a part of me and in my heart. They do so much with so little for so many. God bless them all. To my new TABSA teammates, thank you for becoming a part of my life and making this new adventure such a memorable one. Until next year… John