Each day at Montevideo Primary School proves to be more
rewarding than the last. Today was another day of ultimate satisfaction!
I awoke at 6:00 a.m. (11:00 p.m. CST) with the hopes of
finally getting to teach a lesson in today’s English class. I was slightly
nervous because I have never presented a lesson before so my nerves were at an
exceptionally high level. I arrived to Montevideo with my three companions. We
were prepared to tackle the new challenges that the day had in store for us.
As the alarm sounded for the start of class, I walked out to
the courtyard with my tie and confidence shining. I had a strong feeling that I
was going to have the opportunity to make a difference today. I walked out to
the Grade 7 line and of course all the teenage eyes were on me. I have been at
Montevideo for over a week and yet, I still walk through like a celebrity.
I was informed that I was going to tag along with 7B today.
Our first stop was Ms. Fischer’s class with her history lecture in the
Colonization of the Cape. The tables were turned during this lecture and I
became one of the students. It was interesting to learn about the Dutch and
their colonization of the tip of Africa. They settled within the Cape in hopes
to establish a refreshment station and find freshwater for the long travel
between Holland in Europe and India in Asia.
After Ms. Fischer’s class, I had the distinct pleasure of
observing in the fourth grade class today. I joined by fellow colleague, Ms.
Miller, where I was able to assist the students in their online mathematics
quiz. It was a nice turn of events but the results that I got to see were no
different than the results that were evident within the seventh grade. The
fourth grade academics are severely poor and their test results are proof of
this claim. The bell for first interval then rang and I headed to the teacher’s
lounge to enjoy a snack and the Wi-Fi the school has to offer.
At the conclusion of first interval, my nerves began racing
once again. My lesson in English was about to be put into action when I joined
Mr. Edross in his classroom. I was surprised though when his plans had change. He
began class like normally, singling out students who have done poorly on their
term exams. This time, however, he wanted to give more reasoning behind their
failures. He first asked me to inform the class of my upbringing; where I went
to school, how the school was organized, my family life, and the structure of
my hometown. I did just that. He then began asking students of their
upbringing. I was entirely shocked. Most of the students had lived in very
small homes, similar in size to a public restroom. Within their home, most of
the students had 7+ other occupants who lived with them. One student had even
25 other occupants of his household. Most of the students had also lived in
townships similar to what I got to see in Imizamo Yethu and Masipumelele. They
lived in shacks with no electricity, no running water, and no toilets/showers.
Collectively, the students experience many tragedies in their lives. From rape
and STD’s to gang violence and shootings, the tragedies never end for the
students at Montevideo Primary School. I finally learned the explanation of
their performance in academics. I may have had to forfeit my English lesson but
I was certainly rewarded with the information that I was provided.
I then joined Ms. Wilcocks for her lecture in algebra,
geometry, and life orientation. I always enjoy observing Ms. Wilcocks because
she has a similar teaching method to what I see in the United States which is
very admirable. The second interval soon began and so did the best part of the
day. One of the students in 7B asked me to join her and the rest of her team in
a table tennis match. I was very honored that they wanted me to participate and
without hesitation I agreed. We headed across the school and headed into an
upstairs room that had two ping-pong tables placed in the middle. The
competition was on. Back and forth we went between players and ping-pong balls.
As the interval concluded, I accepted my loss and congratulated my 7B students.
They were impressively good at table tennis!
I then followed the 7B class to Ms. Fischer once again for a
panel discussion in Afrikaans. Of course, I was unaware of what was going on
but Ms. Fischer gladly assisted me. She informed me that the students were
constructively arguing on the issue of animals in captivity vs. animals living
in the wild. It was extremely interested to hear the Afrikaan dialect of the
students and their beliefs in this issue. Ms. Fischer then stepped out of the
classroom for a brief amount of time. Suddenly, the class became chaotic. Students
left their seats, began engaging in physical contact, and were shouting across
the room. Instinctively, I arose from my seat and once again all eyes were on
me. I spoke with my teacher voice, “SIT DOWN, CLOSE YOUR MOUTHS, AND DO YOUR
WORK!” In a hustle, the students returned to their desks with their eyes widen.
They were shocked at my ability to regain control. I knew I had them right
where I wanted. I finally had the power of being a teacher. It felt truly
amazing. I didn’t hear a peep from the students until the conclusion of the
academic day.
Overall, it was truly a productive day. I am very excited to
return to school tomorrow and rejoin my students in our table tennis match. I
vowed that I wouldn’t fail again but I can’t keep any promises. Until next time
my followers, a warm good night from here in Cape Town, South Africa!
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