It’s been almost two weeks since I returned from South Africa and only in the last few days have I really felt like I’m finally home, rested, and able to think about “what I brought back” from the trip (and I’m not talking about all the shopping I did!)

Although I learned so much that I couldn’t begin to list it all here, there is one learning point that has resonated strongly with me in the days since I returned.  As Americans, we all need to find more ways to expose ourselves to the world around us.  I was struck in South Africa by how little we really know about cultures outside of our own.  While it’s ‘easier’ to live within the confines of our own reality, there is much to be learned by viewing the world through the perspective of another culture. South Africa alone has 11 official languages, but I’m not sure I could have named 11 languages prior to this trip!  (update:  I just tried. . . I was able to name 25 before it started getting really hard.  How did you do? Yeah – not as easy as you thought, is it?)  Whether traveling to another side of the world or just across town, we as educators need to challenge ourselves and our students to learn as much as we can about the cultures, traditions and beliefs of people different from ourselves.  It’s from this exchange of ideas that we will learn and grow as a society and that our students and children will become informed, accepting and productive citizens of the world. 

We constantly hear how much “smaller” the world has become through technology – but have we REALLY taken advantage of that in our schools?  If the world is so small – why aren’t we hosting video chats or online discussions about Current Events with students in schools outside this country – or even outside your town?  How about an International News Podcast created by a team of students from around the world?  Imagine the power of hosting a classroom discussion between students in Iraq and the United States.   By opening ourselves to other cultures, we allow students to overcome fears, dispel myths and eliminate ignorance and build understanding, compassion and respect for their peers. If the world IS so small now – we should be challenging our students to touch all corners of it and I challenge all of you to do so in your classrooms this year.  It will change your perspective of everything you thought you once knew and everything your students are about to learn.     

Thanks again to Discovery. the team at LifeWorks, and the Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership for providing me this once in a lifetime experience -- it was truly life changing:)

THIS POST IS FROM LORI MILLER:

There are 11 official languages in South Africa.  This makes for a very diverse society in which cultures mix freely – it’s not uncommon to hear multiple languages used in the same conversation.  I’ve been trying to catch as much South African television as I can between outings, and the day of our arrival I watched a soccer match that was announced seamlessly in English, Zulu, and French!  This was not a matter of “translating”, just each announcer adding comments as needed.

We visited Lisedi Cultural Village on Wednesday, and while it was definitely geared toward visitors it offered a wealth of knowledge on some of the backgrounds that merged to form South Africa.  The village displays reconstructed living quarters and villages of the Zulu, Xhosa, Lesotho, and Ndebele sects among others and the designs are ingenious in their use of the materials available.

Zulu homes have very low entries, both to deter enemies and so that those entering must bow in respect; their food is kept in miniature raised huts to prevent animal an invasion.  The Xhosa dwellings are made of 9” thick walls of cow dung that create a comfortable interior that is around 20 degrees cooler than the outside air – it also uses a high roof and cross ventilation to regulate temperature when building an interior fire. They always enter the home with women on the right and men on the left because when enemies enter they will encounter the men first, and men give their lives to protect the women – chivalry lives!  (Xhosa is also Nelson Mandela’s heritage.)  The Ndebele exteriors are covered in geometric patterns and are instantly recognizable…the interieors are just as gorgeous with every fixture carefully decorated in beautiful patterns.

Earlier in the week we attended a cultures class at Tshwaragano Primary School.  Discovery Channel has provided TVs, VCRs, a programming library specifically designed for students here, and teacher training on how to use video to make lessons more effective.  In this specific case, the video screened for the lesson was not one provided by us but the same teaching methods were applied including repetition, class discussion, and breaking into smaller groups for creative analysis and later, class presentation.

The series of performances shown were derived from many of the students’ backgrounds – we watched dances and musical performances from Xhosa, Zulu, Pedi, Gospel, Gumboots, Ndebele, and classical African origins.  The students were asked to determine which performances were from which heritage and analyzed them according to costumes, props, instruments used, movement, pace, rhythms and tapping.  It’s clear that they’re all well-versed in the specifics of each and the traditions of their own families and those of their neighbors are ingrained in them from birth.

We were lucky enough to receive live demonstrations of dance and music from several groups of students within the school to reinforce what was just discussed!  It was clear from the dozens of faces pressed against the window outside the classroom that these kids enjoy each other’s talents and customs and they will continue to thrive.

THIS POST IS FROM LIBI ANDERSON:

Happy Women’s Day!  Actually, it was yesterday – but I didn’t get to the computer in time to blog.  National Women’s Day is a national holiday commemorating the 1965 Women’s march against an unjust law that required African women to carry special passes under the Apartheid regime.  Wednesday marked the 50^th anniversary of the historic march, and was celebrated with a re-enactment comprised of 20,000 participants.  This time, the women voiced their concerns over the lack of equal opportunity for women in government, and over the abuse that women still commonly face in South Africa today.

The past couple of days have been absolutely amazing, and filled with mixed emotions.  Our first day in Soweto was such an uplifting experience.  The students at Isu’lihle Primary School truly value their educational experience.  You can see it in the way they respect their teachers, the intensity they exude in the classroom, and the incessant joy in their faces.  It is apparently a common occurrence for students to attend class, and for the teacher to not show up.  Instead of running amuck with no supervision, the kids sit quietly and study their lessons until time for the next class.  So when the teacher didn’t show up for the Grade 5 Zulu language class, guess who got to teach the class?  ME!  Clearly there was no Zulu lesson that day – except when the students taught me how to say “Sakubona Igama lami NgiNgu Libi” or “Hi, my name is Libi” in Zulu.  Instead, we engaged in a Q&A session, trading information about our respective cultures.  I asked them if they knew the name of the President of the United States.  Several students raised their hands and answered “George W. Bush” (yes, they included the W.)  They then asked me if Americans are learning anything about Soweto on our television programs.  Sadly, I had to tell them “No”.  I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them and learning about their culture.

My next stop was Constitution Hill, which was just as enlightening, but much harder to deal with emotionally.  Constitution Hill is the current site of the Constitutional Court – which was established to uphold the Bill of Rights that was created once Nelson Mandela became President.  The court was built on the site of the Old Fort, which was a jail used to hold political prisoners.  Parts of the Old Fort now house a museum, which highlight the cruel treatment of the white prisoners and the inhumane treatment of the “non-white” prisoners.  The exhibit features actual jail cells, recreations of the living conditions, actual replicas of the mechanisms used for punishment, and quotes, narrations and short films about all of the displays.  Some of the abuse was too graphic to even write about.  Never before had I become physically ill from viewing an exhibit.  The experience did an effective job of putting things into perspective.

The next day at Tshwaragano Primary School was just as heart-felt.  I had the opportunity to observe a video lesson.  All of the students wore uniforms, except those who couldn’t afford the $50 cost.  I sat next to a girl whose uniform skirt had large holes in it, whose sweater was visibly tattered and shoes were torn, and whose hair was uncombed.  These students were much more impoverished than the ones from the first school.  Some of them lived in tiny shacks with tin roofs.  For some, school is the only place where they get a meal.  Yet they thanked us profusely for Discovery’s gift of a television and VCR by performing several cultural dances and songs.  Most kids in the US would tell you that a VCR is useless these days.  To these kids, a VCR continues to change their lives.

Overall, this has been a life-changing experience for me.  I am more aware of the things that I take for granted on a daily basis, and of my global responsibility to help level a playing field that is still quite uneven in the 21^st century. 

In the mid-1990s, the township of Thokoza in South Africa was in the news headlines when, during the final throes of Apartheid, civil war broke out between the ANC and the Inkatha parties.  As the township descended into chaos, rather than intercede to stop the fighting, the South African government -- at the time was struggling to maintain what little hold it still held over the country -- began a systematic campaign to encourage the fighting.  At different times, the government actually provided arms to both the ANC and Inkathas; when opportunities arose to mediate the conflict, the government turned a blind eye.  Before the conflict ended, over 2,000 people had died.

This morning, we visited Tshwaragano Primary School in the heart of the Thokoza township two of the teachers spoke to us about life during the war in Thokoza.  The school, it seems, was located right in the heart of the fighting, and frequently became caught in the crossfire.  On those days, students and teachers had to "run for their lives" to dodge the bullets, which lodged themselves into the side of the school.   Despite this, the school remained open.  They ran for their lives one day and returned to school as normal the next.  I asked the teachers why they didn't close the school - they said "because we are teachers.  that is what we do.  They are students.  This is where we belong."

Ten years after the Thokoza conflict, the area of highest violence down the street from the school has been turned into a memorial so that townspeople will never forget the lives lost.  Although the area is still populated by shanties, the school continues to thrive, in part with the support of the Global Education Partnership, but primarily due to the resilience and determination of the teachers and families in the Tshwaragano school community. 

The students continue to amaze me -- everyone was so excited for our visit (as demonstrated by the "top-secret-double-incognito-they'll-never-see-us-here" eyes of two giggling students who couldn't resist peeking through the hole in the partition to see us;)

That's all from here for the day.  Tomorrow we'll have some time to try to make sense of everything we've learned this week as we head to the Ivory Tree Lodge for a game drive.  Yeay safari!!!:)

P.S.  We're having some podcasting difficulty here b/c of transfer rates - you'll have to wait a day or two for our interview with our special guest -- DISCOVERY BOY himself, who is a graduate of Tshwaragano and dropped by to say high during lunch!!

Everyone should start their day being serenaded by 1,000 students:) 

(NOTE:  Check out our first podcast - a quick, compilation of some of the songs the students sang for us as well as our "official welcome" by both Gugu, a 7th grade student, and the assistant principal of the school.)

Thanks for all of your comments about schools in Soweto; we were impressed with the wide range of perspectives on Soweto schools -- hopefully we can confirm some of your thoughts and dispel some myths based on what we saw today.

The school itself is well maintained; they have few supplies, no computers or heat, but each room is well decorated with the things teachers would expect to see in a classroom; procedure charts, learning standards, and exemplary student work.  There are not many textbooks and few of the luxuries such as paint, markers and construction paper.

The first thing you notice about the students at Isu'Lihle is how happy everyone is. We were greeted everywhere with gracious welcomes and throughout the day, students smiled politely and laughed and waved hello.   We began the day with a morning assembly in which all 1000 students of Isu' Lihle enthusiastically sang some traditional African songs and we were greeted 'officially' by school representatives.  We then had the opportunity to observe a number of classes;  in each class, the students were engaged, enthusiastic, and very supportive of each other.  

The second thing you notice is how self-possessed all of the students are. Dressed in pressed uniforms, the students walked calmly and purposely from class to class, greeting each other along the way. 

It's after you realize how happy and confident all of the students you are that the dire circumstances of their lives hits you.  In many areas of Soweto, the HIV/AIDS infection rate has reached 60%, leaving a large percentage of the children of Soweto orphaned and a shocking number living with the responsibility of raising their younger siblings alone.  Poverty is a fact of life and crime is rampant. 

Despite this, the students of Isu' Lihle had absolutely no anger in them.  There was no fighting. There were no apparent discipline issues.  Students were collaborative rather than combative - each taking pride in each others learning successes.  Everyone participated and the students were completely engaged.  With every reason to be full of rage at the cards they'd been dealt, there was not a hint of it in these children.  I attribute this positive hopeful attitude to a lifetime of reinforcement of the importance of education and the positive example set by the teachers and the community. There is an unwaveringly positive attitude at Isu'Lihle  -- and it was great to spend the day there.  

It's clear the DCGEP has had an enormous impact on the school, providing content that gives students a view to a world that they've never seen.  The students we met today have the intelligence and capacity to make an impact on the future of South Africa -- DCGEP is providing these students with the resources they need to envision and realize a life for themselves beyond the walls of their township.

I think our experience at Isu'Lihle can be summed up by a quote from the assistant principal as he spoke to students in this morning's assembly -- "In Africa, we sing!  Despite our circumstances, we sing.  In times of happiness, in times of sadness, we sing.  In peace and in war, we sing."