A short glimpse into daily life at a primary school

Hey guys,

the last two weeks I was at "Ellerton primary school" to assist the teacher in class "R" (-> basically pre-school, aged 5-6). I'm not allowed to put on any pics of the children or of the school but it was a pretty good school with large rooms, a library, a PC room, a swimming pool, a hall and a large outside area for the kids to play. The school even followed a specific feeding scheme, which is not common. Children here could get breakfast and lunch if needed (or wanted) but the food IS very simple and most often rice-based. The staff at "Ellerton" was very friendly and supportive. The school, its rooms and the way of teaching is comparable to teaching at primary school level in Germany. The learners at R-class basically work with forms, colours, numbers, seasons and all that kind of stuff. Training listening, speaking and physical skills is on the curriculum's core. Besides PE they have a compulsary dance class every week. Pretty cool, isn't it? However, music is a big part of the curriculum. Nearly everyone can sing and has a feeling for rhythm. It was lovely to accompany and support the smaller ones on a daily basis, but I have to admit that I feel more comfortable in upper classes. Most often, they worked in open learning arrangements and did pair or group work. If you want to see more of "Ellerton primary school", please look at "ellertonprimaryschool.co.za". ;-)

Just to name a few differences: Primary school contains r-class, as well as grade 1 to 7. Learners at African schools, at least in bigger cities (-> I've not talking about rural or tribal areas), are wearing a school uniform. African schools value good manners and religiousness. Learners have to pray on a daily basis more than once, evry child has its own small bible. For example, they pray "[...] I have food on my table and shoes on my feet. ... Thanks Lord for the presents you give to me." I was very impressed by that and, moreover, by how well-behaved the children here are. During working times it is supposed to be quiet, which most of the times is working pretty well, and you can feel the learners' respect for their teachers. At each interval (-> means: when going to the playground area and back to class at the end of a break) learners need to line up - boys and girls being separated - to avoid chaos. Nearly each kindergarten and school has its own library to support reading skills and literacy, but moreover, to give learners the chance to learn and do research together with their friends in a safe space. There are more learners in one class in comparison to Germany: up to 30/35 students, in Townships 45 up to 65 (and more) students (honestly, I'm not kidding)-. Imagine that...puuuh!

Because I wanted to be with the upper classes and to get another perspective on how school can be here, I decided to change again. Since Monday I'm at "St. Paul primary school", which is located in the arts district "Bo-Kaap." For more information you may have a look at "stpaulsprimary.co.za". I'm together with Ms. Daniels and her 6th graders. Sometimes I also look into the "Afrikaan" lessons of the 7th graders. They're actually reading a book called "Felicia, die Gelukskind". They should draw a charakter sketch. I started reading the first two pages of the book and tried to translate some of the Afrikaan words with the help of recognizing similarities to German words and, above all, with the help of Google translator...haha. The result can be viewed above. I have to admit that it is not so difficult to read Afrikaans if you're German, as Afrikaans is Dutch-based and Dutch in return shows similarities to German. It was very interesting.  As you can see on the class schedule there are a few changes compared to class 1-4. Physical education now plays a minor role. English and Afrikaans are compulsory at every school (-> at least in Cape Town) because these are two of  the 12 original African languages. Most of the Capetonians speak the native language "Khosa" (-> commonly known for its CLICK sounds) besides that. One should assume that nearly all Africans speak Afrikaans but that's not the case. It depends on the region they grew up in. Most commonly, those who settled into Cape Town from another part of (South) Africa might not be able to speak it, but in return may be able to speak another of the 12 original languages (-> as "Zulu" for instance). Besides English and Afrikaans they have Maths, NST (-> sciences), SS (-> social sciences), CA (-> creative arts, basically music) and PSW (-> personal well-being). PSW is teaching them about life skills and is training their social behaviour and manners. Social sciences is comparable to "GK" and "philosophy". The rooms are decorated very frugal and some benches are even to small for the students to sit properly at them. But, the teachers do use blackboards, whiteboards and projectors as supportive tools. In comparison to teaching in Germany, you can with no doubts observe differences in methods as the general conditions here are simple and limited. Front-of-class teaching and choral speaking is on the order of the day. The school year is devided into 4-5 term, the assessment is completely different. Of course, the students are tested on a regularly basis in their subjects but they have to pass some compulsory tests at the end of every term, which will be counted alltogether and culminate in their final grade. 

I really enjoy my time here and I can't believe that next week will be my last one. I'd honestly love to stay. :D I could also teach a bit, prepare some activities at St. Paul. My favourite educational experience here so far.

For more Input: Just have a look at the uploaded pics. 

Talk to you soon again! :)