Spotlight: Education Internships

We've spend the majority of the last few days traveling around Cape Town visiting everyone's  internship placements. It's been exhausting but also really exciting to put a face to a name and to hear from directors and educators about their organizations and work. The warm welcomes we received at each place made us all feel at home right away and even more ready to get started. Each place we left, nobody could stop talking about how amazing each organization was. I would say "that's so awesome I wish I was working there"! It was probably just because I had not seen my own placement yet. I was thoroughly impressed by each placement but most pleased and inspired by my own placement at City Mission Educational Services (CMES). CMES is an independent Christian school for at risk and disadvantaged youth. The school combines mainstream education with therapeutic interventions to provide students with the resources they need to be successful. CMES is located in a township called Bridgetown reaches out to approximately 85 students from surrounding townships who have been expelled from public school, suffered from drugs and alcohol abuse, been left homeless or abandoned, or suffered from mental illness and poverty. When we arrived we were so excited to see the kids!  You couldn't even tell that some of these kids have had so many difficulties. On the surface, they were talkative, funny and enthusiastic. I cannot wait to create strong relationships and learn about their lives because I believe that building trust is really important if you want to make a real difference. The school is small but it has a nice sense of community and the welcoming mindset that we've heard exists everywhere in South Africa. CMES felt comfortable right away and I knew that this was the right placement for me. I am excited to be a part of a team that offers opportunity to kids that have been shut out by many schools. It is a blessing that a school like CMES exists because education is so important and no matter how difficult it may be no child deserves to miss out on their shot at success. I  would like to focus this post on the four different education related placements that we have visited and my initial thoughts. I am so excited to compare experiences and learn from my peers who will be teaching in other areas of Cape Town. We visited the  following schools this past week: Christel House, City Mission Educational Services, Thondakulu High School, and Eros School. 

Christel House is a beautiful facility that caters to the poorest students in Cape Town.  The school provides them with the resources to be leaders and learners with the goal of breaking the cycle of poverty and helping kids to realize their hopes and dreams to become self-sufficient, contributing members of society. As we toured this beautiful school, we realized that these students have an amazing opportunity to learn and grow in their school. Students are served healthy meals and snacks to ensure that they have the right mindset for learning each and every day. The school offers music, arts, and sports program for the students to get involved in and also counseling and mental health resources for those who require additional accommodations. It was exciting to see the learners so enthusiastic but when we learned only 60 students a year get accepted I was disappointed.  I wanted  to see all the students from nearby townships having that same experience. I knew that I would not want to be the person making the admissions decisions for this school. It would be so difficult to choose who gets this beautiful education and who has to stay back in their public schools. I cant think of a solution to this issue because it is larger than myself. On the one hand I think that all the children should have the opportunity to go to a state of the art school but then I would wonder if that would make the school something that wasn't so special anymore. It's an interesting situation because we are all searching for the best education and opportunity to learn and in that regard I just can’t say I would ever be able to choose who deserves the better teachers, computers, uniforms, meals, etc. Christel House is an amazing resource in this community and it provides opportunities to Cape Town's youth that might not have otherwise been possible. It really is remarkable.

Our first exposure to educational programs in Cape Town was in Mowbray. We visited Thandokulu High School which is similar to a charter school in the United States. This quartile four (out of five) school is a public school that charges  R 600 for school fees each year. The school has comparable resources to a quartile one school but because of its location in a suburb. Schools classified as quartile four or higher must charge school fees even if it is a public institution. Thandokulu is a school that appeals to over 1000 students from townships and focuses on math and sciences.  It is such a popular school that the class sizes range from thirty  to forty three learners in one class. There is very little support for teachers as most run their classrooms on their own.  I learned that teachers in Cape Town are required to attend eighty hours of workshops given by the state each year but unfortunately for many teachers this is not the case. Economic restrictions keep them from being able to pay the cost of these programs. That is one way that even teachers suffer from the education inequalities that our entire world, it seems, is facing. Students who attend this high school must be very diligent as some students have to travel hours on pubic transportation and pay a variety of fees to access their desired education each day. The school expects high marks and good attendance from their students and prides themselves on it.  At the end of the last school year, twenty seven percent of the graduating (Matric) class was eligible to apply for university.  In order to graduate, a student must pass the Matric exam in their grade 12 year.With that being said, only six percent of the graduates from Thandokulu actually attend university.  This is a huge reflection on available resources, specifically money but also familial structure. For many students attending  university will never be an expectation and often times nobody in their family has ever gone to college. I was surprised to discover the lack of support from the government that Thandokulu receives. The school is not equip for handicap students and does not have funding for resource teachers for students with special needs or psychologists. Students requiring these services have to attend different schools to have their needs met.  For as little as this school has, great things are happening. We saw high school students who possess the drive and motivation to earn a better education have the means to do their best.

The final school we saw was Eros school which is in the same township as CMES, Bridgetown.  Eros school was originally built to accommodate students Cerebral Palsy. Today, it reaches out to almost 700 children living with a variety of struggles such as ADHD, depression and mental illness, physical limitations, etc. The school was beautiful but not so much as in appearance more so with regards to its spirit. The children have their needs covered and because of that they can focus on their schooling instead of their challenges.  When we spoke to the teachers their passion was immense. They were so excited to share their knowledge and even their dreams. They wanted to introduce technology in their classrooms and utilize skype to show their students other kids around the world. It was a beautiful compromise and when the kids were at the school you couldn't even tell they were sick because they were smiling and their teachers were just showing love and compassion as much as they could.  I think that more schools like this should exist to provide necessary services to students in the area. Education is so important and having the best opportunity for your academic and personal needs is one of the most important parts of life.

As an outsider it would seem like each of these schools has a different focus but, after learning and hearing from many educators I have discovered that the common goal is providing a solid education and a venue for students to be leaders as well as learners and that's what really matters. :)