Yesterday we went to a school for the deaf. South Africa doesn't practice inclusion like America does, so I'll never see a disabled person in a regular school here. The classes were really small, like 7 or 8 kids, and they had boarding for kids from far away. They used to teach American Sign Language but switched to South African Sign Language, I didn't even know there were different ones! The teachers don't like it though because they don't know South African Sign Language as well as they know American. But the school was interesting to see. After that we had a lecture on special education in SA, I could barely stay awake.
Last night I went out with some girls to a Cuban bar and restaurant. It was alright but too expensive for me and there wasn't really anyone there since it was Monday, so we made it an early night.
Today we went to a township school, which is a really poor school that basically only black kids go to because it is determined by where you live. It was a high school, and it averages around 50 kids per class! The school doesn't have enough books for that so all the kids have to share. Teacher absenteeism is a big problem here, I passed 4 or 5 classes out of 30 that didn't have a teacher. There is no program for subs in SA so the students are stuck doing nothing in the room until the bell rings. The kids were all really friendly and wanted know a lot about America. They asked me things like if I knew Beyonce or Obama, they think celebrities are everywhere in America. I had a good time at the school and our 2 lectures afterward weren't too bad, the days are just so long. We started at 8 and finished our debriefing at 6!
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| South African township school classroom |
11 days down! Love and miss everyone!
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