Hello all,
My name is Andrea Rose and Ms. Rose is my sister. Currently I am in South Africa right now teaching at a local high school. I am teaching 8th, 9th and 10th grade classes for math and science. So far right now the school is very different than an American Middle School or High School. I am teaching 11 different classes right now and they are all on different days and not at the same time everyday either. The students here do not take there main core content classes everyday as well. So for example they only have six days out of a ten day schedule that they have a science class. The school I am at is a public school and all students must take a Christianity class no matter what there religion is. Sports is very important to the school over here as well. For three weeks now there has been a school track meet once a week. This means that all classes are cancelled and they have a track meet instead. The school does not have a mascot but does have houses and prefects like Harry Potter. the house names are Deary, Ffolliott and Dupea. The school I am at which is called Pearson High School is one of the first schools to have both genders in the same classroom. The individuals who opened the school are the house names. Three times a week the school gets together in the morning to hold scripture and to sing the school song. At my school there are two major languages which are English and Afrikaans. So half of the classes are taught in Afrikaans and the other half are taught in English. Ever students is bilingual and a lot are actually trilingual. This is because in my area as well there are a lot of bushman tribes. Three main ones to be more specific. Each of these tribes have their own language which consists of clicking noises and cues. One thing I forgot to mention about the school is that there is no air conditioning and there is no technology. So in my apartment, in the schools and so on has no air units at all. It is hard to get use to the heat at first.
I have no idea what you may have heard about South Africa so far but there are some poor areas. There are people living in shacks all over but there are also very rich areas as well. The part of town I am staying in does not have a lot of technology but it is high class compared to some areas. I live right across from the beach and surfing is a huge sport here. I just went skydiving the other day and you could see the whole coastline with all of the rivers and mountains. My skydiving instructor use to actually work for MTV and the beach where I landed is actually where Billa Bong has a lot of surfing competitions. The point I am trying to make is that the kids here are very similar to the kids in America.
In case you do not know the American dollar goes to 7.8 Rands which is the South African currency here. The food is a lot cheaper as is most things but the clothes are typical the same price as it would be in the Unites States. On the streets there are always people selling items on the side of the roads. You will see a lot of wooden carvings, jewelry, bags and so much more.
Out here they also have a lot of tourist places where you can see and interact with elephants, lions and any type of wildlife that you can imagine. I have met a lot of interesting people from all over the world here and will keep you updated. Thanks for reading and enjoy!
those elephants look great. Good luck in Africa!
ReplyDeletethat is so cool. did you ride the elaphants?
Deleterachiim clarke
That sounds very interesting! I wonder if that is where J.K. Rowling got the idea for the houses in Harry Potter. How did you learn to deal with the heat? Do you know any of the other languages that they speak? Mrs. Rose told me that you saw baby lions. Were they extremely cute?
ReplyDelete-Hayley
Hello Hayley,
ReplyDeleteActually a lot of schools around the world have prefects, headmasters and houses. In the United States though it is not as common. But like in the movies the students must stand up and great the teacher as they enter the room. As for learning to deal with the heat you adapt to the climate over time. There are two main languages over here and they are English and Afrikaans. Then there are 10 other languages that are not as prominent. Most of those languages are tribal languages and they are spoken with clicking noises. I have learned a couple words in Afrikaans and hope to learn a few. I have seen and held baby lions twice now and they were very cute. The first four that I saw were around 5 months old and the ones that I played with this weekend were 4 weeks old. A baby lion will actually double its size every month so they get big fast. Along with playing with the lions this week I also got to pet a 5 year old full grown female cheetah.
Andrea
I thinks it's amazing and totally unselfish how you notice the less fortunate in the world and decide that they are the ones that you want to help. You truly have a kind heart.
ReplyDeletewon't the elephant run you over:)
ReplyDeletethat looks fun
from Michael Scenock
This is really cool. Is it really hot over there? Could you ride those elephents. Is there a safari tour over there? I have so many question.
ReplyDeletethat sounds very interesting
ReplyDeleteHow do you undstand what the students or people are saying sometimes? When you do not understand the launages they are speaking.
ReplyDeleteAshleigh Lyons :)
Wow. That is really cool. Does it rain very often where you are? Are the people nice?
ReplyDeleteAnya Castle
did you ride the eleaphants?
ReplyDeleterachiim clarke
Hello,
ReplyDeleteIt is so nice of you to be helping out in Africa!!! After seeing the movie: The Lost Boys of Sudan in social studies, it really made me think of how fortunate I am to have so many things. Also, it really got me thinking about starting a fundraiser to help the poor families in Africa. Do you have any suggestions on what I could?
Thank you SOOOOOOO much! You really are amazing for doing this!
-Jordan Benzaken
P.S. Lions are my favorite animals!!! HAKUNA MATATA!!!!
Is gender very important in schools? Do a lot of students get separated into different schools? It sounds like you are working very hard in South Africa since education is not as important or doesn't have as many resources. How could we help the schools there?
ReplyDeleteit is pretty cool you get to do all those things but when it comes to the heat that's a different story
ReplyDeleteRazi
1) Michael Scenock:
ReplyDeleteI am sure that if you would just stand there the elephants would at least step on you. They are very gentle though and you are able to pet and ride them. It is pretty neat to feed them as well. There trunk acts like a vacuum and grabs the food and then they will eat it. They love pineapple, melons and carrots.
Jose Cevallos:
The weather is actually cool right now for this time of year. It has been consistently in the 80s for now. You have to remember that this is their summer but during their winter it can get to be around 40 degrees here. There have been times though when it has gotten into the mid thirties but they have not seen snow here before. The students here do not even know what a snow day is. You can ride the elephants and actually go on an elephant back safari. This is when the elephant would take you around and you would look for the big 5 game animals. Feel free to ask as many questions as you like.
Ashleigh Lyons:
At first it is difficult to understand what the people are saying here because they have really thick accents. If you do not understand what they are saying you just say, “Sorry can you please repeat that.” They are very understanding. When they speak Afrikaans you can make out a few words after awhile but you just listen and then they will talk in English. The biggest thing I have to remember is I have to speak slowly and clear because I have a very thick accent to them. Plus we pronounce many words different and even spell things differently.
Anya Castle:
I have been here for a month now and it has only rained three times here. They do not get rain that often and right now is considered the rainy season from what I have been told. It is very windy here though and Port Elizabeth is nicknamed “the windy city” because of the strong wind. The people here are nice but just like in any part of the world you have to be careful though. I have met a lot of people from around the world here through trips and organizations I have been to or gone on. There is a lot of crime here though and you definitely cannot trust random individuals.
Jordan:
Something that a lot of students here need is school supplies in the Township schools. They do not have pencils, paper, markers, and crayons. There are organizations that you can get involved in that can help you achieve your goal with fundraising. You can go to freewalker.co.za and they actually sponsor a local Township school. Another thing you could always do is just get a group of people to write letters out here to students in South Africa. You can pare up with a school and become pen pals. The students out here want to know as much about the United States as you do about South Africa.
Michael Hernandez:
Gender is important here. At my school there are three assemblies a week. At the assemblies the boys will sit on one side of the room and girls will sit on the other side. Pearson High School is actually one of the first schools in South Africa to let both boys and girls go to the same school. Since then more schools are following that trend. As for your second question read my response to Jordan and that will answer your question about helping the students. Have a great day!
If you have any more questions feel free to ask :) Have a great day everyone!
Sincerely,
Andrea
Do have to speak diffrent languages with African students?
ReplyDeleteEnrico Dunmore
What I read about is how the schools usually have different gender classes.
ReplyDeleteJulie Rozin
What is it like teaching eighth grade in africa?
ReplyDeleteCandyce Spearman
Is it diffficult to learn all of those languages in such a short period of time?
ReplyDeleteRyan Holbrook
What is the class sytem in africa?
ReplyDeleteChristine Rodriguez
Hi, I really found it interesting how the schools are different and the same from here in America.
ReplyDeleteWhat languages do you speak?
please Reply :)
-Britney
That is amazing that you get to teach in Africa. Do you think that teaching in Africa is different then teaching in the U.S.?
ReplyDelete-Breena Toussaint
Wow, amazing! How big is the school that you teach at? When does class begin and when does it end? Can you take pictures of the wildlife and of the school itself? Is The Lion King really popular over there? There's so much to ask!
ReplyDelete<|Michou Anilus|>
Hi, When you are teaching students in Africa do they need more or less attention or help learning as if you were in america?
ReplyDelete-Jordan G.
Hello. As a person who isn't very organized in keeping things from different classes out of different binders, how do you keep up with the stuff for 11 different classes?
ReplyDelete-Michael Abreu
It's great what your doing! I hope some day I will make a difference in the world as well. What is your favorite part about South Africa? What do you think the kids in South Africa would do if they saw snow? I was thinking about what you siad earlier about writting letters to schools in South Africa, and it sounds like a great idea! I think I'll ask a few of my friends to join as well! Have a great time in South Africa!!! :)
ReplyDeleteJenny Gorski
Hey! I think it's really great that you've taught in an area that really needs your help. I've always dreamed about teaching in Africa. I would love to go over and teach or help out in some way when I'm old enough. What is the name of your village? You mentioned earlier that pen paling would be cool. I think we should do that!!! It would be a great way for us to interact with real kids living in your village. We sould really set that up!!! Good luck!
ReplyDeleteMelanie Gorski
Hi, would you say it is hard to teach in south africa than america because you have 11 differnt classes a day? Also is now easy to speak the langauge that is spoken there, did it become something you can fluently speak. And are the kids learning the same thing we would here in america .
ReplyDeleteNicole Jones
It is really cool that you teach. Where do you teach? What type of school? Where in Africa? I really want to meet you in person.
ReplyDeleteJack Reggie Alday Espinoza
How different is it teaching kids there than here? How much harder is it teaching without technology? How long have you been teaching in Africa?
ReplyDelete- Christian Compolattaro
Is it hard to sometimes understand them? Do they know much English??
ReplyDeleteWhat are the classrooms like in there? How big are the classes? I really want to get in touch with one of the students just to see how their everyday lives are. Do you think it's fair that kids MUST take a Christianity class? Hope to hear from you soon!
ReplyDelete- ♥Sheryll Enriquez!♥ ♪♫♪♫
What are the schools like there? are they almost like ours? i would love to meet one of the students to see how they live over there in Africa
ReplyDeletePlease reply
- Carla Valdez
What is it like being in a village in Africa?
ReplyDeleteDo you know any organizations that we can donate school suplies to? I am in Builder's Club, a club that organizes fundraisers to help people in need. Since we started our Africa unit in Social Studies, I have been fascinated with the continent's issues with water and school suplies. I recently came up with an idea to help with the water problem. My idea is to sell blue rubber bands to students in my school for $1. The blue rubber band means that you just gave water to a person in Africa water for the next 20 days. I want to do this fundraiser but can't find enough resources to raise enough money. I have heard a simple water project costs about$5000 and serves 500 people. Do you know how much a water pump costs? We would either like to help South Africa or the village Ms.Struble is in. Do you know any place where we could donate the money to? I will try to send you my presentation so you can see my ideas better. Thank you, Ms.Andrea Rose
ReplyDeletehow are the schools there are they ig small or big? Also is is hard to understand them? Lastly do they teach more then gust american like spanish or somthng eales?
ReplyDeleteFrom Arthur Yaniv
Please Reply
Wow, it sounds like your SUPER busy over there in Africa! It sounds like a fantastic adventure and i have so many questions! Where were you in that picture with the elephants? Also, we did a newsletter on south Africa and Egypt and I chose South Africa!! I've learned a lot an by reading this I've learned even more. Thanks and good luck!
ReplyDelete-Jason Palmer
Why are sports so important to them, that they even cancel school for it? Do all the students speak English fluently or just know enough understand it?
ReplyDeleteShannon
How big are the class sizes there and do they affect the learning?
ReplyDeleteOwen Kilian
Why is it that Christianity is the only religon studied? Why that religon?
ReplyDeleteLisa
Is there a diversity in ethnicity and religion?How does your ethnicity make you equal,inferior,or siperior? Is diversity an issue, for example, segregation.
ReplyDeleteHey Michael,
DeleteThis is Angie (from the other blog), yes there is segregation. In South Africa racial tension used to be much worse than what it is today. It's a strange mix as 80-90% of the population is black and 10-20% is white. The whites are of Dutch decent (The Netherlands). While the whites are the minority they still represent majority of the wealth. Where there is wealth there is opportunity (education and business commerce)and power, so the whites were in control for many years, and not always fair, which of course caused animosity by the black majority. This tension results in violent retaliation, which was a major problem for South Africa for many years. When Nelson Mandela was freed and elected president their was a cultural shift in the racial tension. Now today it's not perfect but it's much better than it used to be. More opportunity is being created for the more poor black communities but a lot more needs to happen.
On our blog we wrote about tribal segregation which is interesting. Take a look at that and that will shed light on their unique situations.
Dear,Ms.Rose, I have some questions about manners in south Africa. How do people greet each other(men and women)? Is it OK to point? Does it matter if keep the American customs? Was it hard for you to get used to the new manners there? Do people in schools greet different. Can students talk to the teacher face to face? How do students address the teacher(first name,Mrs, etc)?
ReplyDeleteDear Ms. Rose,
ReplyDeleteMan thats so cool!!! HOw do the animals feel? Are their skin Smooth or rough? what day did you go to africa? is there not alot of water? Food?
Your sister is a really cool science teacher
are the safari fun?
does it smell bad?
WHat part of africa are you in?
reply
anps if you do reply... thank you for using your time to read this.
-Jose Cevallos- :)