Empowering the school

Starting the second half of my stay in Hluhluwe, I feel home now. I know enough to feel confident.

Being a child of the sixties – some know what that means – I have the intention of empowering the school. This means I will try to initiate a process of collaboration and discussion, so that the school could grow to self-support, to independency, to self-confidence and pride.

The first step in this process is self-reflection to create awareness. Throughout this process the school will develop its skills. Until they clearly know what their needs are and how they can fulfil them themselves. Future need for charity should be eliminated.

The process of empowering should take place on different levels:

-       The school as an organization // characteristics on a good organization

-       The management of the school // characteristics  of good management

-       The teachers // vision on teaching, pedagogical and didactic principles (contents, methods)

-       The learners // characteristics of a good learner // final goals

-       The parents // mainly support for the learner = motivation to attend the school and fulfil the duties

-       ....

Today we have the opportunity to attend a performance by the children of the school and produced by 'Star for life'. This South African organization works on prevention of aids, still a huge problem in this country. It also provides schools with computers f.e. 
Mainly Swedish firms are sponsoring the project and a Swedish delegation will be present tomorrow. 

I saw the children rehearse and being fond of dancing, I am really eager to see the performance. Moving, dancing, visual and auditive things, they are strong in it, these Zulu-children. We can only look at it with a kind of nostalgia, as many of us have lost this refined use of the senses. 

And we go on working, Melissa, Elton and me. 

Punishment and what to do

Dear reader, 
I hope you're ready for the second and last part concerning punishment. Here we go. 

1.     Report (Unicef – South Africa)

The Statistics SA General Household Survey 2011, which involved 30,000 households between July and September 2011, found that 17% of students in South Africa had experienced corporal punishment at school.

A survey by Statistics SA revealed that the use of corporal punishment in schools declined overall between 2009 and 2010, from 17% of students experiencing corporal punishment in 2009 to 14% in 2010.

The National Schools Violence Study, undertaken by the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention and published in 2008 found that 70.1% of primary school learners reported that they were physically beaten, caned or spanked by an educator or principal when they had done something wrong. Almost half of primary school children (47.3%) reported being spanked, caned or hit at home.

The most severe forms were experienced by children from low income environments, in both the home and school. Schools from high income areas were generally not using corporal punishment.

2.     Opinions

I think it should be used as a form of discipline, just don't overdo it.

.... You should give a few chances and use other forms of correction and if that doesn't work then spanking is fine.  And NO it should not be illegal. Now granted there are always going to be a few idiots who take it to the extreme and actually abuse a child and in that case they should be punished, but your common everyday swat should be allowed.

It should be illegal NOT to discipline your children

I...The ones that spank have good kids - not because they spank specifically, but because they actually tell their kids NO and have a punishnment when the child doesn't listen.
I think there should be clear legislation on when spanking becomes physical abuse, but sometimes a good whack on the butt is a necessary evil.

There are so many alternatives to spanking for misbehavior; there really shouldn’t be a need for it. 

It usually is an expression of the adult’s rage and desire to express that rage, rather than a way to discipline a child.  ... You need to fit the punishment to the "crime" for it to be effective, and to spank a child for everything is useless. It only teaches them more violence.

3.     Why physical punishment is not acceptable (Prevention & Education Manual-Childline SA)

-  It teaches children that hurting others is okay.

-  It breaks down the relationship between parent and child or teacher and child.

- It may damage children physically.

- It opens the door to physical abuse.

- It is not effective in the long term

4.     Alternatives to Corporal Punishment

- Praise also encourages them to learn self-discipline.

- Lead by example.

- Don’t threaten or shout at children.

- Be respectful

- Negotiate a compromise. Children learn by doing

- Help them to set their own ideals and vision.

- Help them gain their self-esteem by acknowledging increased responsibility in behavior and attitude.

-  Identify unacceptable behaviours with teens and ask them to assist in identifying appropriate consequences.

5.     The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

Children have the right to:

- SURVIVAL: the right to life and health.

- PROTECTION: the right to be safe and cared for.

- DEVELOPMENT: the right to an education, recreation, cultural activities, and play.

- PARTICIPATION: the right to participate responsibility in decisions affecting them, according to their age and maturity.

Thanks to Wikipedia.

Punishment

A traditional Zulu saying runs as follows: 'You don’t build a family through a stick.' 

This might open a discussion on punishment, especially corporal punishment, in African culture. 

Many people - everywhere in the world - still approve of it and use it, mostly because everybody did and does it. The belief is strong that it is the only way of teaching discipline to children and other people. 

Staying in the lodge I had the the luxury of watching a recent movie directed by Quinten Tarantino 'Django Unchained'. It deals with slavery in the South of the United States. It shows the oppression and especially the physical pain of slaves. White people were/are different !!! 
By co-incidence Django the slave is freed. He starts looking for his wife, a slave in another place. 
The movie is full of revenge and the story ends with the explosion of the property of the big landowner. Tarantino is specialized in magnifying killing, shooting, exploding, .... and makes his images with a lot of blood, pleasure and humour. At the same time he teaches us a lesson: 
Oppression and pain lead to violence. Violence generates violence. 

Looking up more information on punishemnt in the African culture, I disovered it is a real topic of research and discussion. I will elaborate some ideas in the course of this week. 

To conclude this message, I present part of the Code for Quality Education in Basic Education recently published by the Republic of South Africa: 

As a TEACHER, in line with the Code of Professional Ethics (SACE)

• teach, to advance the education and the development of learners as individuals;

I promise to:

• respect the dignity and rights of all persons without prejudice;

• develop loyalty to, and respect for the profession;

• be punctual, enthusiastic, well prepared for lessons and of sober mind and body;

• improve my own knowledge and skills base to be more effective;

• maintain good communication between teachers and learners; among teachers themselves; and between teachers and parents;

• provide information to parents on their children's progress on a regular basis;

• eliminate unprofessional behaviour, such as teacher-pupil relationships, drunkenness, the use of drugs, assault, sexual harassment and other infringements; and

• to make myself available for extra-mural activities.

Volunteering

The week before my departure and also now I have been wondering about what volunteering could imply. 

Volunteering = taking care of other people's business. 
Volunteering means full commitment, according to the agreement. 

Volunteering seems to make the difference. In Belgium there are a lot of organisations - think of the local soccer club, the cyclists, taking care of disiabled people, nature organisations, .. - existing on volunteers. If there were not there, the activities wouldn't be possible. 
It is also good to think of the numerous mothers and fathers driving their own and other children to music or drawing classes, to the gym, ....

In many cases it is seen as activities for people who have time. It makes us think of pensioners and perhaps also of older people. But there a lot of volunteering is done by people doing their regular job. As you may have understood alfeady. Everybody can find some time to contribute to social life. 

An important element in volunteering is money. Who will pay the transport? Who pays the materials you need? Will I earn something by working for the organization? All this depends on the situation and especially on the agreements that have been made. Most organizations can pay transport and materials. Few of them will pay a kind of wage, but they exist. If you want to volunteer and you like a kind of compensation, you can only be glad if you find an activity you like and an organization who can afford it. 
Some organizations, like Live4Now ask the volunteer to pay for the accommodation, even for transport, for adminstration and for some services like washing the laundry etcetera. You also have to pay for the trip yourself. For some people this is a real obstacle to participate. In this case it is interesting to make a balance of the advantages and the disadvantages. Advantages in this case: you learn to know a part of South Africa, you have close contact with some people, especially school teachers and children, you can enjoy the nice weather and the accommodation. 

What else could volunteering imply? 
I believe it is a unique chance to practise your strengths. Normally you do that all the time in your life, but here you can really choose what you really want. It is interesting to find out what the organization really needs and how your capacities fit in. 

This brings me to a new element: self-determination. In a professional environment you have to do a cluster of tasks that often go together with your position, your function, your title, ....
As a volunteer you can really choose what your activity can be, as long as the organization is good with it. 

Adventure in its most general meaning may also be a motivation. And there is nothing wrong with that. In its general meaning: adventure has to do with the discovery of new territories in the world, but also with the acquaintance of so many nice and less nice people. Difficulties are not excluded. 

As a volunteer you can enter work environments you can never get access to when you had a job and of course also when you had none. This is thrilling: you get free admission to places and people by offering your strengths. Sometimes you learn how things are produced, sometimes what methodologies are used, sometimes how people co-operate. 

All this goes together with joy. If you don't enjoy the activities as a volunteer, you suffer. Volunteering is not equal to sacrifice. This message may also be one for our life in general. We enjoy, everyday. Whenever you get angry, or sad, or scared, the next moment you will be happy and loving again. 

Last but not least: does volunteering change the world? Can you remove the stone in the river? And will it stay there? 
This question keeps me busy all the time. What can I contribute to the South African reality? What can I do in Phumlani school?
It is for sure that the Zulu people here need English to get a job, even if they are keeping the bar in a lodge in the surrounding. So English - as a second language - is useful for them. 

So I keep on finding out why I am here and what I can offer the school, the teachers and the pupils really need. 

Introduction in the Phumlani primary school

This morning - I rose at 6 am - we went to the primary school. My introduction.
It had been raining since early in the morning and it was still pouring. The playground had changed into a mudd pool. But the children were there: uniformed and ready for the new day and week.
My desire was to attend some lessons, no matter what subject, and in several degrees, in order to get an impression of the children, the teachers, the methodology, ... So we did.

In general the lessons are rather traditional, meaning that the teacher gives pieces of information, often presenting the matter as something mysterious you can't easily reach. Though in most of the cases teachers are very clear and have an adequate tempo, things are often explained starting with theoretical concepts. 
Striking is the mix of th use of Zulu and English. Upto the third grade this seems to be allowed, but they also do it in the higher grades. I am wondering what pupils really need. Do they need English? Or is this only for the happy few who once leave this place and try to make their life in the bigger cities?

Very often the pupils have to read texts, words, questions, or even multiplications together and in a loud voice. When this concerns pronounciation of English words, control is impossible. At the other hand it gives a good feeling of togetherness.
They also have some rituals in spoken texts like greeting the teacher, telling her or him that they are all seated. Once pupils had to stand up and do some physical exercises to make them move a bit. Good idea.

So. We got a time table and I will co-operate with the English teacher Imelda. This week we'll try to be together in one lesson, dealing with the same subject, but with our own method. I am eager to know whether this will work.

It may be interesting to know that the project here is called Live4Now, meaning that you must live now and make your dreams come true, and in this case - the dreams of these children. You can find more information on www.live4now.co.uk or www.live4now.co.sa

Also interesting to see could be the place where I live. The project and the people who lead the project, Elton and Melissa, got housing for themselves, for the volunteers and for the project in www.wildebeesecolodge.com  Everybody can come here and find a good accommodation, with swimming pool, restaurant, well-filled bar. An ecolodge is interested in nature and in charity.
Cheers.

Nog 17 dagen

Vandaag is het Driekoningen en het kort af. De kerstboom is afgebroken en alles wat erbij hoort, zit in de kast. Tot december 2014.
Als je naar http://www.amavavzw.be/phumlani-school/ gaat, kan je wat lezen over het project waar ik zal worden ingeschakeld. 
Mocht je willen reageren op de blog, dan denk ik dat je moet klikken op 'Geen opmerkingen'. Misschien verandert dat wel als er voor jou ook al iemand heeft gereageerd. 

Nog 26 dagen

Riet heeft me uitgelegd hoe ik mijn blog verder moet schrijven. Haar uitleg was duidelijk, en ik heb het begrepen. Soms droom ik over de kinderen daar in Zuid-Afrika, Hluhluwe. Ik ben zeer nieuwsgierig. Hoe zullen de kinderen eruit zien? Zal ik snel contact met hen krijgen? Hoe gaat het eraan toe in de school? Hoe warm zal het daar zijn?