Summer 2008 Reflection by Jim Metz

"You know what our problem is?  We have too many learners.  I have 124 learners in one class."  "What do you do?," I asked.  "Well, I must teach half the class while the other half waits, then I teach the other half and while the others work on problems that I write for them."  "This is 4^th grade, right?," I inquired.  "Yes, but it is true of all the grades at our school."  Despite all the obstacles and challenges, teachers are willing to work in these demanding situations; learners are coming to school and studying.

Our workshops are well planned but we often need to adjust.  For example, Paul needed cardboard boxes for a house-wiring science project, so we all helped gather boxes from various stores.   At Mthatha, Paul and Ari prepared a class set of “houses”, fixing 2 inserts to make 4 "rooms" and securing the bottom with tape.  They neatly staked the boxes at the back table, ready for the lesson the following morning.  The next morning, they were all gone!  Upon investigating, Paul found a smoldering pile in the back of the school.  A custodian had dutifully cleaned the room and removed the boxes.  Paul just laughed and said, "Well, I guess we need to get more boxes, don't we?" 

At the same workshop we learned that most of the participants were elementary teachers and not middle school teachers as we had expected. We had to immediately change to elementary workshop. There are many more stories of events that do not go "according to plan" but nonetheless work out and more often than not, work out for the better.

On our last day in Port Shepstone, Pauline Duncan took Buffy and me on a tour of Nyandezuluso we could observe authentic village life.  While there certainly was enough poverty to go around, the people we met were kind, friendly and warm.  A wave and a smile were common.  As we rounded a curve Pauline slowed so we could read the small hand-painted sign tacked to a tree by the side of the road:  “Welcome to ABSA Stadium.  This Way,” with an arrow pointing in the direction we were headed.  (ABSA Stadium is a multi-million rand sports arena in Johannesburg.)  We soon saw a small clearing, with 2 soccer goals. ABSA Stadium, indeed.  What imagination!  What hope!  I vividly recall an earlier visit when Jim Clarke admonished the South African teachers to be diligent in their duties because, “You just don’t know whom you are teaching.  You may have the next Nelson Mandela in your class.”   To this point I note that our director, Yunus Peer, and several of the teachers who have been a part of TWBSA teach at Punahou School, the alma mater of the President of the United States, Barack Obama. Teachers do indeed touch the future.

I can truly see the growth of our program.  Last year we added technology and this year we were fortunate to include a leadership component that greatly enhanced our visibility and our influence.  Reaching principals, department heads, and supervisors involved an enormous risk, but Lyla Berg conducted such dynamic workshops that all came away with a new understanding of what we can do in the area of education.  Lyla was simply magnificent!

I want to thank Yunus Peer for his inspiration and for creating many magical experiences for all of us, from the trees in the mist at Hog's Back, the encounter with the lions on the road, the incredible beauty and wonder of Port St. John's, to the wonderful and memorable times with his family and friends. I also want to acknowledge Yunus Chamda and his family, Razvi and Firdoz Ahmed and their family for their continued support, Mrs. Ameena Peer who has adopted every one of us who has come to South Africa (Thanks, Mom!), and Yunus’s brother Gora who opens his heart and home to us every year.  Thanks to Pauline Duncan who has supported us from the start.  Few days pass that I don’t think of her inspiring village tour.    

Each year I come away with a deeper appreciation of the challenges the extraordinary teachers of South Africa face – lack of proper training, lack of facilities, overcrowded classrooms, few materials, and a host of assorted challenges foreign to my experience in education.  They truly inspire me with their dedication, perseverance, incredible optimism, and an absolute love of teaching.  They just want to do their best and Teachers without Borders South Africa is helping them do just that while helping us become better teachers back home.  I am honored to participate in this enormously gratifying project.