Chaos in Cape Town Classroom!

All it takes is one American teacher to ruin the calm of a South African classroom. These fine students in their sharp uniforms were deeply engaged in a lesson about cells when a bunch of Americans barged in. Chaos ensued.

Most South African kids wear uniforms to school, and most pay some pretty hefty fees for public schools. Maybe that's why these kids appreciate their school so much. Every day starts with a warm "good morning sir," and all rise when the teacher enters the room. These policies will be enforced in my room from now on, so start practicing.

There are some terrible inequities in the relative quality of public schools in South Africa, far beyond anything we have in this country. Schools built for whites during apartheid are typically similar to any public school in America. They are well constructed, and feature most of the things an American would expect to see in a school. This is not the case for schools that once served colored and black South Africans.

It’s hard understand why these inequities exist 17 years after the end of apartheid. In Georgia, certain minimum standards are set for schools, mandating curriculum, class size, teacher qualification, and other routine issues. As things were explained to me in South Africa, public schools receive a base level of government support. This is barely enough to keep the lights on, so schools charge tuition. Consequently, schools in upper income communities charge high tuition, allowing them to hire extra teachers, buy new equipment, and provide a quality education. This is largely only in the white and some colored schools. Due to pervasive poverty, most black schools charge a tiny tuition, which is still too much for some kids, when books and uniforms are added in. We saw schools with 50-60 kids in a class, inadequate desks, and even shortages of running water. But even in those cases, there were teachers doing stunningly good work. Unfortunately, given the huge numbers, kids fall between the cracks. According to one newspaper article, illiteracy rates in some areas run as high as 70%.

Abe
My South African teaching host was Mr. Abrahams, affectionately known as Abe. He says Abe stands for Always Be Enthusiastic. He certainly is. His students love him, and when they rise to see him in the morning their ‘good morning, sir” is full of affection. I should be so lucky. He teaches science, and is an expert on local wildlife and history. People like Abe, the teachers and administrators at his school, and his enthusiastic students are the reason why South Africa’s future looks bright.