Obviously coming from the U.S., the idea of passing with a 30% (or 40%, 50%, and 60%) is ludicrous. If you only know 30% of any material, do you actually know it? Learners are happy with passing with their 30%, and why shouldn’t they be? They are lauded as an educational success story, they passed, they can be someone. However, by continuing to maintain this 30% they will, as the article says, continuously be behind in school, university and work. This will create a generation of inept, incompetent and quasi-useless work force.

At school, I have had many discussions with teachers and tutors over this new-ish code system that rewards mediocrity. The big complaint being that the learner’s are not really learning anything, and a 30% pass for a class is almost like saying each grade has an automatic promotion. You really have to actively try to fail a grade to not move on. Within the program we continuously try to make the magic number 60%, always saying that you can’t get into university without those numbers. So we try to deflate the idea that 30% is a successful grade and continue to make them work hard to raise their own levels instead of rest on their laurels.

Yet, I do have one grudge against the article. The way it is written seems to blame students for some of the problems. While I believe that their ineptness is a product of the system, they are just working in what they know. It is the governments responsibility to change the educational system to one that is more representative of the actual situation. On top of that, it is universities responsibility to curb their admission requirements accordingly or they will continue to face high drop out rates and attrition. It is common sense. It is impossible to start a ground-up attitude for ALL learners, it just won’t ever happen. This needs to be one of those rare places where a top-down approach is best used. The biggest reason being, why would a learner actively try to change something that does not benefit them. Why would they support something that no matter what makes them a worse looking student.

However, on top of this Professor Jansen must remember that changing the codes isn’t the only thing that must be done. To create better learners, you need more efficient and effective use of resources, better teachers, computers, incentives, schools, field trips or a myriad of other things that could influence a child to want to be better. Its a problem with no simple solution, but one that needs to be fixed immediately if South Africa wants to take that next step in development.

Grade 8 Learner Quincy Janjies

“My Dream Job”

By: Quincy Janjies

I want to be an archeologist so that I can reunite bones and I can tell what is this, where bones come from and tell which kinds are this bones. If it’s a human bones I can tell if it’s a male or a female.

I can be archeologist by working hard and focusing on my work. When I am in higher grades like grade 11 I will pick these subjects; maths, history and natural science.

My obstacles that can overcome my dream are that it may be hard to get a bursary and people bringing me down saying that “I think that I am perfect” and “I am better than them”.

EwB can help me by teaching me to think about what people think of me and helping me to be good at math’s and English. I can achieve my goals by joining the EwB Company for the year. I will work hard until I get what I want to be in the future. I can also achieve  my dreams by helping others to be what they want to be and in return they can help me too.

Be A Good Student:

By: Ronell Warren Alman

Be a good student
Learn as much as you can
Always be willing to grab education
For the time is at hand
Study your books
And strive to be the best
Focus on your studies
And be a cut above the rest

The very first blog under the “We Are Fezeka” comes from one of our brand new grade 8 learners, who just joined our program this school year. Her name is Dianetsi Mosiuoo, and in an exercise where learners were asked to pick a word from a group and write what it means to them, she chose the word freedom. This is what she wrote.

Dianetsi Mosiuoo: Grade 8

Freedom

Freedom brings peace to our people and our nation. Peace is the first thing that a person should have. Nelson Mandela brought freedom to black people so that they could have peace with white people. Peace make people love you and black people to have peace with white people.

Freedom has bring happiness to black people. Happiness is the joy to black people. Our country has happiness with other countries. Happiness is the joy to white and and black people

Freedom brough respect and peace in our nation to love each other. Respect one another, respect our beliefs and respect our religiouns from our cultures. Respect elders because if we do not respect our elders we will order bad luck for our future and for our nation. Freedom has brought us respect.

Freedom gives us opportunities to have a good education and a opportunity to have good jobs when we group up. Nelson Mandela brought us opportunities to have all things that we want like white people. If Nelson Mandela was not here we should not have the opportunities to have education like white people. Freedom has come with opportunities in our country.

Why do I care about this? Well other than the fact that debate is a highly technical and useful skill to have, and the art of debate is quite fascinating, I am afraid my reason for writing about it is a little bit more selfish. This past Monday, Fezeka High School and EwB were privileged to host a delegation of debaters from four different countries as part of the international competition. These students are the best their respective countries have to offer. Since they choose individuals and not school debate teams, you could say that they are the all-star team of their countries when it comes to debate.

Lusanda Ngqose welcoming the teams

Coming to Fezeka were debaters from Hong Kong, Romania, Philippines, and Bermuda. All the organizers asked from us were three simple things.

1) Make ready four classrooms for preparation, with two of those classrooms set up as debate areas.

2) Have a 30 minute “Welcoming” prepared for the debaters.

3) Try to procure some sort of an audience of learners for the debates themselves.

Well classroom prep was a cinch, and if you follow this blog at all you know the reputation of Fezeka welcomes (I was told by one of the judges that the choir “Sent chills down her spine” and that the welcome “was quite possibly the best of any school hosting”). However, it is this last item that I want to touch on quickly.

One of the things that we at EwB have tried to instill in our learners is confidence when speaking English. It is not always easy. We have started to lean towards using debates as a way to get them to speak English in front of groups of people and to also use critical thinking skills in forming their arguments. It covers facets that they need help in. In this visit was an opportunity for our learners to see the pros in action, and they were hooked. On top of  learning from the actual debaters, the judges were kind enough to run a workshop for our learners while the debate teams were preparing their arguments. Not only was it a great learning experience for them on a purely academic level, but socially they found their curiosity about these debaters and judges to much. Every time I turned around, there were learners crowding around debaters, coaches and judges asking questions. How did you learn to speak English so well? Why did you argue that? Is it hot in Bermuda? What countries border Romania? What kind of phone is that?

Judges working with some of the learners

As you can see, the conversations started out in a more serious nature and quickly became more familiar. It ended exactly how we wanted. They came together as students, they left as friends. It could not have been a more successful day.

Teachers on the first day of school

What this means is that we as an organization have started to put the pieces together in the first, but important, step. That being fostering a communal sense of academic achievement. You cannot teach someone that does not want to be taught. You need to help instill a desire to succeed. Fezeka, especially the learners within our program, have started to create this communal desire to succeed academically. They hang out together, they study together, they are all in the same classes (pure maths and physics for most!) and they cannot wait to continue their successful progress. The light seems to have switched on with these kids. It’s nice to be pestered with “When is the program going to start again Courtney?” instead of the excuses “I don’t think I can go today because I have chores” or “I don’t feel so well” that crops up occasionally. Its palpable excitement, and a great way to start the year.

In South Africa the situation is vastly different. As highlighted in a recent Globe and Mail investigative piece, South Africans face enormous barriers to access affordable public education (1). Waitlists for post-secondary institutions are in the thousands, and all this despite a well document need for a more educated work force.

Education without Borders helps to fill the void for many young South Africans seeking to improve themslves through better education. By providing access to improved education, EwB gives the students we support the tools to be one step ahead in the competitive process to access post-secondary education and rewarding jobs.

(1) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/worldview/in-johannesburg-a-desperate-bid-for-education-turns-deadly/article2297297/

The night includes plenty of beer, refreshments, and prizes. For those who are interested in joining the activities, please contact us at Education without Borders, and we’ll put you onto the mailing list. Activities typically take place at the Shark’s Club in downtown Vancouver.

Participants are not pros, and are out to support a great Canadian-South African charity.

Ruth, Cecil, Marc, apparently there is a CD with some of the students’ work. Do any of you have access to it? If possible I’d like to take a look to see if there is enough material to produce a book.

Thanks,

Glen

My experience in Israel has been an interesting one , learning a new language – as foreign to the one’s I speak as oil is to water – I could not have expected less. It has been an exercise in humility filled with grammatical mistakes, invented words, stutter, and endless bouts of laughter from native Hebrew speakers.

Yet besides now being a better Hebrew speaker, perhaps the most biggest lesson of these couple of months has been the reminder of how important it is to never stop learning, no matter where you are in life, and to not be scared to make mistakes while you are doing it.  One can never stop learning, the key is to keep an open mind and not fear failure.

In South Africa the Matric graduation exams are now well underway, with summer on the doorstep. With the formal school year complete, students should give themselves a good pat on the shoulder for their hard work, no matter the results.

But with the end of a school year, this gift called life continues. Every single day is unique, and each one should be used to keep learning and to continue teaching others, even when the school year is past.

No matter how old you are, whether it be going to college, technical school, trades, high school, or university, or just reading a book; never miss a beat to make yourself better. For it is in becoming more educated that we can better contribute to improving ourselves, our families, our communities, and the world as a whole.