Education comes first!

                 The Reservation of Separate Amenities Act (1953) enforced social segregation in all public amenities, such as transport, cinemas, restaurants and sports facilities (Wooden, 2012).  Still evident of the Act were communities of Black South Africans struggling in a new economy and exposed to new requirement either without or with limited resources for sustainability.  There were pockets of poverty scattered around Port Elizabeth as we drove to our destinations.  Every morning we would look out of the window of the van at houses made of containers and other sheet metal with no plumbing or running water.  Food and other resources were also very scarce. 

                  A beautiful site every morning was watching the many learners walk to school dressed in their uniforms.  I reflected upon American students who complain about riding the school bus everyday and question their dedication to education.  Our South African learner at Emafini never complained about the travel to and from school.  They valued being at school to receive and education as well as some food and adequate shelter.  Educational apartheid was enforced in schools (1953), technical colleges (1955), and universities (1959) (Wooden, 2012).   Many of the schools that we visited were segregated.  This was very reminiscent of the time period when US schools were undergoing desegregation.  Many schools and school districts were resistant to the changes and prolonged the process.  Just like apartheid, South African schools continue to be segregated, separate and not equal.  Educational provisions for Africans have been unequal and most government schools separated white and African pupils (Wooden, 2012).  

                However at Cape Recife learners are able to co-exist within the same school environment without the racial barriers that are still holding some back and helping others to be successful.  All learners at Cape Recife are facing another challenge that has everything to do with education and learning.  They all have some type of disability that prevents them from accessing regular education.  The school provides academic, physical, and social/emotional supports to help conquer some these challenges for their learners.  It was evident in our visit that it is about need...for eduction and that's what schools are made for!

(Schools shown below are: The Gray, Cape Recife, and Emafini)

The New South Africa...still a struggle.

               The New South Africa continues to evolve and is a thriving country.  Many South Africans have recovered from the effects and challenges of apartheid, but many have not.  As we lived with in the community of Port Elizabeth, we witnessed the effects of poverty, homelessness, unemployment, and chronic health issues.  Elements of survival were seen in prostitution, bartering, and selling hand-made goods for profit.   Many of the black South Africans are still feeling the real economic effects of poverty, lack of education and the separation from the larger society.     There is a very definitive separation between black, colored, white, and Indians in South Africa. “The cornerstone of apartheid was the division of all South Africans by race”(Wooden, 2012).

                  This divide was seen in housing communities, work environments, and in the school sector.  Many colored inhabitants of Cape Town suburbs were relocated in segregated areas on the fringes of the city: plans for the demolition of the central District Six area had in fact been formulated before the Second World War (Wooden, 2012).  Much like the housing projects in the US, many poverty-stricken people resort to low income housing areas.  Many are subjected to substandard conditions of living but require immediate refuge or homelessness would be imminent. 

The impact of economic disparity on education- the haves and the have nots

 The Freedom Charter of the ANC was grounded by the clause that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of the people… the rights of the people shall be the same regardless of race, color or sex. (Wooden, p. 115). 

A common theme that I observed in working at Emafini and then visiting other schools is the great disparity within the same system.  In the US we also experience this dynamic and the consequences of how it impacts student learning and achievement. I can’t help but to reflect on this everyday as we work with the learners at Emafini.  There reality is drastically different than the learners attending The Gray.  Access to resources and instructional technology are practically non-existent at Emafini.  At The Gray, learners have access to a full library filled with books, parent volunteers, and computer labs with access for each learner, and classrooms with whiteboards.  At Emafini the learning experience is consumed with a make-shifted library with limited texts for students, classrooms with blackboards that need to be replaced, no instructional resources available for teaching and learning, and classrooms with poor lighting and unclean. 

The ANC demanded that all apartheid laws and practices shall be set aside and called for equal access to health, education, and legal rights.  The vision of future South Africa as strongly rooted in democracy and multiculturalism, but the commitment to social and economic transformation had less clear directives (Wooden, p. 116)

I have never believed that educators had to have the newest instructional technology supports or newest resources in order to teach effectively and demonstrate positive student progress.  However, I will say that when basic educational resources are not equitably provided for all students it is very discouraging.   The learners at Emafini are not afforded an equitable education as their Gray counterparts.  Much like the US, learners are expected to demonstrate the same level of competency as their peers regardless of the access to instructional resources, which support student learning.   We know that student exposure and experiences play a huge factor in their learning.  The learners of Emafini have limited opportunities outside of their school community to develop some of the skills that other students from more affluent communities would be afforded.  We experience the same dynamic in the US and try to address this though school trips, exhibits, events, and create options for students to level the learning experience for all students.  Although this is a constant challenge for many schools, we recognize the importance of student’s prior experiences and background knowledge are in helping them build on new learning. 

Despite diversity, most viewed South Africa as a dual economy with two distinct societies: a white urban and capitalist agrarian system on one hand and a rural impoverished and stagnating African sector on the other.” (Wooden, p. 2)

The learners at Emafini are challenged with lack of funding for resources, equipment, and facilities maintenance.  The learning atmosphere is almost the polar opposite of The Gray.  The teaching expectations for student learning are the same.  It is very reminiscent of the US time period of integration after de-segregation.  Many school districts were charged with creating “separate, but equal” educational institutions.  However, many faced some of the same perils as Emafini…separate but NOT equal.  Emafini is a predominately black school that now has a colored Principal. At The Gray, the majority of the student body consists of white students.  Parent support included volunteering and financial donations.  Students are expected to pay tuition to attend which also supplements the limited government funding that is received by all schools.  The detriment for Emafini is that it still suffers from the effects of apartheid.  Parents are not financially able to pay tuition to help supplement the school’s limited funding.  Parent support at Emafini is seen in forms of volunteering in various unpaid positions within the school building.  The governmental agencies are aware of these discrepancies but do not make previsions to accommodate the differences between schools.  

After 1945 white supremacism began to wane as many colonies began the move towards independence, but in South Africa discrimination became even more entrenched. (Wooden, p. 73).  South Africa developed into a systematic and legalized discrimination shaping the economic, social and political structure of the whole country in a more pervasive way than anywhere else. (Wooden, p. 73)