Dispatch from Teach With Africa & Global Teachers Institute
Math teacher and basketball coach Bob Thayer is working with Teach With Africa & Global Teachers Institute this summer. Continue reading for his reflections.
Molweni (hello in Xhosa) from South Africa!
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I spent a week in Johannesburg (Joburg) where I attended the Global Teachers Institute Summit, a conference of teachers and educators from South Africa and around the world. The experience was amazing and difficult to describe, but I will try.
Teach With Africa is a San Francisco organization that works with the Global Teacher Institute and Leap School South Africa to promote a positive change in post-apartheid South Africa and beyond. Since the transfer of power in 1994, South Africa continues to have challenges with under-resourced and overcrowded schools in the townships. Together, GTI and TWA are working to address these difficult issues with talented teachers and educators from South Africa and abroad.
Joburg is bursting with street art, singing, and politics, and the GTI Summit was no exception. Aspiring educators and experienced teachers attended workshops and worked toward making a positive and real change for a better South Africa. I have been working closely in a fellowship program with educators from Detroit, Atlanta, and Spain. Our discussions and time together have been fascinating, and the professional development from the conference was invaluable.
I just finished my first week at a high school in Langa Township in Cape Town where I've been observing, teaching, and playing chess with the learners (students). I am staying with Sabelo Skanjane, who is the history teacher, and his family. We typically have lengthy conversations after dinner each night about South African history, hip-hop, and world affairs.
Last weekend, I went to a soccer match in the township and was welcomed by the students and families. My host, Sabelo, explained to me when he picked me up from the airport that Africans are welcoming by their very nature. He told me the people will welcome you into their homes and I've found that to be true. I am halfway through my one month stay and I am feeling the time fly by.
I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences with my community at Drew!
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