Day 2: Monday - 1st Full Day in South Africa

We started our day with a full complimentary breakfast. I have been strongly advised by many to be careful with the water and with the fruits and vegetables that I eat and drink. It’s certainly something I will be observant of and discuss with my group leader and others.
While in the Johannesburg/ Pretoria area our group will be shuttling about with Thoba. This trip (the 7th for Rutgers SAI) our leader has arranged for our can to have a GPS due to the past trips’ roaming experiences.
· 1st official stop: U.S. Embassy briefing in Pretoria (the governmental headquarters for the area).
- The greatest disappointment of this visit was that no cameras were allowed inside or outside of the embassy. Now I can understand why this would be the case, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t try and then also get threatened to lose my camera. Ooops!
Our group meet with different representatives of the Cultural Affairs department. The purpose of the meeting was a combination of US protocol and for our own educational benefit. *Special note to mom and dad: I was impressed to learn that our leader gave the representatives a copy of our itinerary so that if our group needs to be reached by the embassy or if someone from our group needs to reach the embassy due to an emergency. So if anything happened they would know where to find us and how to contact us to help us.
A representative from the educational department shared with us the disparities found in the South African schools amongst the 9 provinces. Each of the 9 provinces has its own department of education (similar to how each of our states has its own). At the national level, one policy (one curriculum) is expected to be implemented by each province, although each province dictates that policy within its own parameters. It is not as federal of a system as it is in the United States; South African education was explained as more utilitarian. In South Africa, each province is not as autonomous as each state in the U.S.
We learned that a lot of the attention in the educational system is to focus on improving in the maths and sciences. Therefore the focus has been to improve the content knowledge, teaching styles, and preconceived conceptions of the teachers towards both subjects. In most black schools, he explained that the teachers tend to shy away from the maths and sciences due to their own personal insecurities and thus this conception and lack of opportunity is passed on to the students. The government is trying to create training programs using technology to better equip the teachers in order to better prepare the students. Another focus is to attempt to make it more gender balanced so that girls can also achieve in these subjects (another connection to America). On a side note: interesting enough, SA has a high percentage of women in politics and so will provide excellent models for girls in various communities. Universities and government agencies try to train a group of teachers who can then be sent out to other districts to provide similar training to other schools. This South African model is actually being used in Kenya.
SA schools have been installing new and higher teacher expectations. Over the past few years, post-apartheid, teachers now have to register with the government and show that they have completed a form of accreditation. Before, anyone could be a teacher.
SA expectations for educational administration have also changed. In terms of accountability, each of the governing bodies in the 9 provinces is now responsible for hiring adequate teachers and firing non-adequate. Although, my concern is that in many rural cases the classrooms are very overpopulated where one class may have 50-80 students! Studies show that one major indicator of a better education is to lower the class size in addition to well trained teachers. This just makes me wonder where they can strike a balance so that the class size goes down and teachers become better trained. The administration is also responsible for allocated resources, which creates many changes for many schools post-apartheid. Now all public schools are supposed to be possible for all students, but due to allocations provided they still need to charge an admittance fee. Therefore, it should not be a great surprise that there is still a great disparity between the predominately white (that charge a higher fee) and predominately black schools.
We also heard from the Deputy Press from the Public Affairs Department and is only advice when asked about safety was to “be alert and aware of your surroundings”. No different from what we do anyway.
Additionally, we heard from another representative about the BIG 5 Health challenges faced in South Africa: pregnancy and childbirth complications, newborn illnesses, childhood illnesses, malnutrition, and HIV/Aids (the biggy). We learned about the 5-year plan called PEPFAR (the US President’s emergency plan for aids relief). South Africa has received a large amount of funding, millions, to work with families and communities on treatment and prevention plans. In this next fiscal year they will be receiving $560 million! About $200 million goes to research. It is now the 5th year of this 5-year plan and their main objective is to create a plan for sustainability and to also get reauthorization, which may be interesting this election year. They divide the resources in order to battle the effects of influenza, TB (the % of the total population in South Africa affected by TB is ranked as 2nd highest in the world!), HIV and chronic diseases such as heart and kidney diseases (which is the #3 killer in SA). Overall 19% of the population has HIV and in some areas as much as 40% are affected. About 50-60% of those that have HIV also have TB (due to their already weakened immune system). The emphasis is on prevention and yet how can they measure this prevention for the necessary statistics? They teach the following ABC’s: Abstinence, Be Faithful, and Consistent use of condoms. One great struggle in reaching out to the affected communities is the question: “What does it mean to be faithful?” The answer varies amongst different people and different cultures. For example, how does an American group of activists try to teach a new way of life to men who have been indoctrinated in a culture that allows them to have multiple external relations outside of their marriage? All in all, this epidemic has completely restructured the family. For instance, in many cases both parents die and the children are left raising themselves. The government has needed to change policy as a response to these great changes. The SA government has now made it legal for a child under the age of 18 to apply for housing and government aids if both parents have passed away. Ultimately, as in other countries, HIV/AIDS still carries a strong social stigma that is difficult to break down.
When we asked what is the general view of Americans by the South Africans we were told that South Africans generally separate the person from the politics of the country. As in the states, the media criticizes American policy. For instance, there is opposition to our use of genetically modified food, Bush is not popular, nor is the war in Iraq, they feel our impact on climate change and the use of fossil fuels, energy, etc. There is a general excitement about Obama’s role as president, with also an idealistic hope that he can change America’s view of Africa.
South Africa’s ANC will be electing their own president in 2009 and it appears that Zuma has a strong chance. Traditionally the ANC president becomes the South African President. Although, there is controversy over Zuma’s election, we were told that America’s stand will go along with the victory as long as the election process is democratic.
Interesting enough, Mandela (‘Madiba’ as he is called here, in reference to his clan name) just celebrated his 90th birthday on Friday, July 18th. He is the most loved person in South Africa and perhaps beyond. There were many parties and celebrations by everyone throughout the country. The media even interviewed the driver that took him to prison, the cook who prepared his first meal in prison, etc. Due to the new policies and integration efforts in the country, its continental peers consider South Africa as the “Africa light”.
Mandela is truly a strong figure of dignity and perseverance. So in many ways I feel that I can make connections between his impact and leadership in South Africa and the impact of Pope John Paul II on Poland post World War II.
· Our next visit was to the University of Pretoria where we met with the Director of Mamelodi Campus, Edwin Smith (a Rutgers’ alum!).
We learned a great deal about the intricate merges of the Universities post-apartheid in order to standardize the degree qualifications and such. SA Universities are modeled after the British Universities. The departments within most universities include: school of education, medicine, business, veterinary sciences, law, social sciences, etc. Before all the merges there were 32 universities and now there are 23 public universities. The policies and rules of the game are always different when it comes to private schools. The At the university level, as on the other levels, education is a contested terrain. It is an area of great transformation and unfortunately also a concern due to the “brain drain” of the nation. As mentioned earlier, there is a great emphasis of increasing science and math scores and abilities, especially amongst the disadvantaged groups. Dr. Smith explains that to improve science achievements the educational system needs to change the mindset of the kids from the K-level all the way up. Kids need to break the negative connotations they carry by seeing that they ‘do science’ on a daily basis (in the kitchen, in their backyards, etc.). Similarly, by looking at the patterns, professors have also noted that black students do not go into accounting (since it is too closely tied to math). Take this as an example of the disparity between the academic levels of different schools in the Pretoria area. Of the 17 black and coloured high schools in the community about 200 students are accepted into the science program in the university; yet, the 1 white high school in the community gives about 200 students to the university. Perhaps not too surprising and yet what is the solution? How can this become more balanced? They need to reach out to the high school teachers, especially, in order be more confident in the content and improve their pedagogy of teaching style to better equip the students for higher learning. So the university needs to reach out more and come out to the high schools with teacher training programs and also provide them with the materials and packets that would make the learning more possible and on target. Additionally, we all know that given the right role models we can be more motivated and receptive to higher possibilities. For instance, the university is renaming its science and reading center as the May Jemeson center in honor of the 1st African American women to reach outer space. Talk about dreaming big. But what is even more powerful is when influential guest speakers come in, like how a well-respected black astronomer from NASA came in to talk to high school students about his achievements and the possibilities of their achievements. Kids automatically become engaged!
All in all,
P.s. every time I say students (in my American mindset still), I mean learners!
Another struggle is that of the disadvantaged students that make it to university level many drop out within or by their first year. How to keep them in and better equipped to handle the higher course load and intensity of the learning expectations? Well it has now become university policy not to allow any student to drop out after their first year. They have engineered programs and support to better ground the students and help them through their 2nd year and so on. They are all given another chance to get better familiar with the notion of being a student (i.e. taking notes, attending classes, etc.) and getting the support to move on.
· E.S.’s remarkable story of perseverance and humility! His stories of imprisonment, abuse, family struggle, struggle for an education nationally and abroad, etc. The institution of apartheid had led him to face suspicions and battle with trust issues in both personal and professional field. He truly has a remarkable personal narrative that rips at the heart and makes you realize what people do when they want the power and control and how extreme and brutal oppression can become. He is an excellent model of a strong human being and a man that truly makes you stop and think about equality, fairness, and the progress you have made in your life. This is a story that would not be fairly shared on line or in the written word and so if you’re interested I would gladly share it with you orally. Interesting side note: Just this year, Mandela has finally been taken off the U.S. terrorist list. That is after being the President of the ANC, SA, and an internationally diplomat.