First Days at Emafini

I have now spent four days at Emafini Primary School. I have been observing and teaching in seventh grade classes. On Friday and Monday I observed in math. The students were working on place value and expanded notation of decimals to the thousandths place. Students were completing classwork that was written on the chalkboard. As they completed the work they brought it up to the teacher who checked the problems. Students then returned to their seats to make corrections. At times the teacher would model on a student's paper how to correctly solve the problem. The next time the class met the teacher went over the correct answers and the students corrected their papers. Then they completed another classwork assignment from the board. 

On Tuesday I observed a social sciences class, an English class, a technology (science) class, and an isiXhosa class. The students had textbooks for each subject. They choral read a section of the book then completed an activity in their notebook. The textbooks for technology and social sciences were in English. After the students read, the teacher would clarify or explain the concepts in the students native language, isiXhosa.  

Wednesday I had the opportunity to teach the English lesson and the social sciences lesson. In English I had the students change direct dialogue to indirect dialogue. The sentences in the book were too difficult for the students so I generated simpler sentences and we completed the first half together. In social sciences I modeled how to use a chart to take notes on what they were reading. We focused on only writing down the most important facts. 

Observations and Reflections 

I was taken aback by how crowded the classes were. All of the classes I observed had 40 plus students. The classrooms were small and the students were packed in very close. Each class had a very worn chalkboard. Many of the students chairs were missing backs. The students kept the classrooms clean. 

The students wear uniforms. Some of the uniforms were very worn and had holes in the sweaters. However, all of the students I observed were well groomed and their uniforms were clean. The students were well mannered and respectful. 

I observed very little interaction between the student and teachers. The learning I observed was surface learning and there was not much focus on higher order thinking. Students who did not understand the work did not receive remediation or extra help. I did not observe students raising their hands and asking questions.  

Despite all the obstacles, the students worked hard and took pride in their work. They freely shared their supplies with each other and were quick to help each other. They had a great desire to complete their work correctly. 

When I first entered the school I immediately noticed what the facility lacked and the shortage of staff. However, I quickly felt the joy and excitement that radiates from the students and fills the classrooms.  

Quote of the Day: "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world" - Nelson Mandela