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Teaching Design Technology Project in Knysna

TEACH DESIGN TECHNOLOGY IN SOUTH AFRICA AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO THE CHILDREN

Design Technology has always been an important part of development and learning for children in the United Kingdom. It enables children to become free thinking, creative and helps children to actively use their imagination. Design Technology, in other aspects, also enables children to break away from the usual text book rituals which dominate so many classes in Africa.

This teaching programme is located in the town of Knysna  in the Cape Province, on the Indian Ocean coast and within easy reach of the beautiful capital city of Cape Town (see photo at bottom of page). The seaside resort of Plettenberg Bay is about 20-30 mins away from Knysna. Both places are extremely beautiful and are favourite holiday resorts for South Africans.

The schools you'll work in are mainly for the poorer sections of the local community - your help and support are appreciated by everyone, but mostly by the children! You don't need any qualifications to do this project.

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About your Work

Walk around the streets anywhere in Africa, but especially in the townships, and you'll be overwhelmed by the creative talent in the communities. From the Craftsmen who make cooking pots from discarded oil drums on the road side, to souvenirs. If you look at the shanty houses, you’ll be impressed by the initiative used in putting them together.

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Design Technology was introduced into the school curriculum in South Africa back in 2000. It has proven to be extremely popular amongst the children. The problem is that many of the poorer township schools know little about the subject and are in desperate need for people with design experience to come to their schools, bringing with them their own ideas and hopefully help to nurture a new generation of design thinkers in South Africa.

You will probably be based at two schools - Percy Mdala and Knysna High School. Knysna High has similar standards to those in Western countries and you will work alongside the teachers at the school.

Working here is a good opportunity to gain a feel for the subject and at the same time you will find the school extremely keen to learn as much as possible about Design Technology as it is in the UK or your home country.

For the second part of the placement you will spend your time at the secondary school, Percy Mdala. Percy Mdala is a Black Xhosa Township School. It is a lot poorer than Knysna high and lacks many of the facilities and resources. Although you will have plenty of help and support at the school, you will have to be a lot more independent and use your own initiative and many of your ideas. Hopefully you will be able transmit some ideas from Knysna High to Percy Mdala.

This is an excellent placement for anyone studying or has good knowledge of Design Technology. By helping the children have a greater knowledge of the subject, you will find that the teachers will be extremely grateful for the support and knowledge as, for them, this is a subject the schools are still learning about.

About the Schools:
The schools are mainly for the poorer African and Coloured children in the local community. General facilities at the schools are somewhat limited although two of the schools have computer facilities and one school in particular would appreciate the help of volunteers with computer experience!

Average class size is between 15 and 40. Standards are generally very high, but in most of the schools we work with, materials and resources may be scarce; however, working conditions are very good. The enthusiasm of the students and colleagues more than makes up for any hardships they may experience.

On your first day of teaching you will be taken to one of the schools that we help and introduced to the Principal, the teaching staff and pupils. You will be made very welcome by all!

Your key immediate contact will be the School Principal who may deal with your specific programme personally.  He or she will have been fully briefed by our staff but will want to discuss your programme with you before any final decisions are made.  Some principals may also wish to discuss with you the possibility of using any of your other interests or skills which may be fun or useful for the children, and here your degree subject might well be helpful and any interests, from hiking and wildlife to football, chess and Western music, may be of great interest.

The Principal and/or relevant teachers at the school will liase with you about your teaching assignments. South Africans generally are very friendly, approachable and helpful and they will be delighted in your interest and your enthusiasm.

You may find while teaching that you will also be asked to help with English, especially with the poorer schools. You will normally be asked to stand up in front of a class and teach conversational English - you are not expected to be an expert on grammar or literature. The important thing is to help people speak English. You may also be asked to help with other subjects but this is optional and it is only if you feel confident. What you are out there for, most importantly, is to help with Design.

If you are asked to help with teaching English, the Teaching Suggestions Booklet which we provide you with has ideas for teaching English and will also help structuring lessons in other subjects. Video facilities are available in some schools and audio equipment is quite commonplace. 

You will most likely teach in more than one school. Most of the schools are State schools, both secondary and primary. You will generally be asked to help out with any age groups. You are, in fact, very likely to be in popular demand everywhere - in and out of the classroom. 

You will have weekends free and this will also allow some time for travelling and sight seeing.

You do not require any qualifications to do a teaching placement in South Africa.

"I'm absolutely loving South Africa. Knysna is much bigger and much more lively than I ever imagined, and the schools are much more friendly and receptive than I dreamed possible. I couldn't have asked for more support or a more beautiful place to live in." Gill Taylor, teaching in Knysna

Claire Baker taught at Sunridge Primary in Knysna, and this is how she describes a typical day on her project (but please note that this is only one school and that work in other schools may vary): "A typical day on a teaching placement in Knsyna, SA., starts at around 7.00 am. After my first week it was established that in a house shared with 3 other girls, the earlier you get up, the more likely it is you will get in the shower! At 8am we are picked up by Stan, who drove us to and from school every day.

Within the school the volunteers do different things in different year groups, from children aged around 6 to children aged 14 and it is up to you whether you wish to take a whole class (of around 45 children) on your own, or to work in the class with the teacher as more of an assistant, or to take small groups of children. I chose to take groups of children to work on the computers.

Lessons run from 8.15 in 45-minute lessons up till 2.00 pm with 2 breaks in between.

Break: every break we have a group of children who come to see us, some are practicing dances and songs for a performance two of the volunteers have organised, some are playing on the computers, others just come for a big hug from all of the volunteers. Expect to get hugs from just about every child you pass.

Volunteers have 3 breaks, really, as there is a dedicated reading lesson lasting around 20 minutes during which we are free to eat our lunch early (by 11am we were usually very hungry). There is a tuck shop but taking your own food is recommended as the sweets and crisps on sale are not very nutritious – or tasty!

12.00 is lunch break: the children are provided with a peanut butter sandwich. 12.45 to 2.00 pm: lessons continue until 2.00 pm but school often closes early for staff meetings and training.

When I left school [at the end of the day, 2.00 p.m.] it was always through a huge crowd of children all giving us huge hugs. The children are all very loving and you get hundreds of hugs each day!


Volunteer Rachel Ley getting a hug

 

SUNRIDGE SCHOOL (mural painted by one of Travellers' volunteers)

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS 2008 IN SOUTH AFRICA:
Dates for the 2008 school terms (semesters) are given below.

  • 1st Term 11 January to 20 March

  • 2nd Term 14 April to 27 June

  • 3rd Term 16 July to 21 September

  • 4th Term 1 October to 30 November

Teaching is not available during school holidays, so if you're planning to participate in a placement, please take the above school term dates into account when planning the timing of your project. On the other hand, if a holiday falls during your proposed placement, you could use this time to do any independent travelling and sightseeing.

If you're a little unsure about the idea of standing in front of a class and teaching, you can, before you leave, enroll in a 1-day intensive open teacher training course (optional) to help you teach if you have no previous experience and would like to gain a little teaching knowledge.

MINI PROJECTS AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Bush Survival 5-day Course
Surfing 7-day Course
Paragliding 7-day Course
Extras Application Form
Photo Galleries
Volunteer Feedback
South Africa News

Nervous about going somewhere new?
Or about teaching? Read
Adrian Tate's description of his arrival in South Africa to teach Sports

EXTRA ACTIVITIES AVAILABLE
As an added bonus to your project you will also have the opportunity to provide help and support to the local community through the various afternoon activities we have to offer. This is an excellent way to emmerse yourself into the African culture, but most importantly to give a caring hand to the local community. The activities could range from helping out at;
  • The local orphanage  - Make the afternoons fun and exciting for these lovely children by playing games, helping them with home work and just being there to give them the attention that they so crave.
  • The art centre for children - You could make a great impact in their lives by helping them to express their creative side and enjoying an afternoon full of art and crafts. This is such an exciting opportunity for children, so why not be a part of it too!
  • The soup kitchen - Soup kitchens have been set up to provide a meal for the poorer children in the community and often this will be the only decent meal a child has during the day -  any support given is greatly appreciated by all.
  • After school drama or sports - Take some time out after school to set up after school sports or drama clubs, the children love it and it's a great way to get to know them better in a relaxed and fun environment (If you'd like to set up a drama or sports club, please let us know when you apply so that we can arrange it with the school before you arrive.)
  • Other community projects  - In the past volunteers have helped to paint the outside of a crèche that was in desperate need of a lift, the crèche is now looking very cheerful with brightly coloured walls. A jungle gym was donated to this orphanage and volunteers also helped to put it together for the crèche too!
You could be part of these excellent and worthwhile projects so why not volunteer in Knysna!
Accommodation and Living in South Africa
Knysna: You will more than likely live in one of our volunteer houses with other Travellers volunteers. You will either have your own room or will share a room with one or more other Travellers volunteers. It will depend on how many people are there at the same time that you are. These are comfortable houses with good facilities and most have a beautiful view of Knysna Lagoon. Your meals are all provided.

Plettenberg Bay: You will more than likely live in a house with other Travellers volunteers. You will either have your own room or will share a room with one or more other Travellers volunteers. It will depend on how many people are there at the same time that you are. The house is close to the beach with good facilities, including a barbecue in the lovely garden. Your meals are prepared for you during the week, with "cook-for-yourself" on one or two days during the week.

George: Here you have the opportunity to live with a local family and truly immerse yourself in the local culture. Many volunteers prefer this option because it enables them to 'become one of the family'. Most of our volunteers remain good friends with their families long after they've returned home.

When accommodation is limited, we occasionally place volunteers in a local Guest House which is very comfortable and convenient for access into town.
** Please note that occasionally the houses that we use may change owing to availability, so the facilities you can expect may change accordingly.

There are several good, inexpensive steak houses (a 400g T-bone steak costs about £4.50 including all the trimmings! - US $5.50) and lots of good Chinese, Italian and other ethnic restaurants. With local beer costing only 50p and coca cola 30p a good night out is cheap (at time of writing). With the current favourable exchange rate of about 12 Rands (R12) to the pound, your spending money goes a long way! (Prices and exchange rates are current at time of writing, but please check rates regularly because they do fluctuate.)

"Thank you so much for all the time and effort you have put into making this a fantastic stay for us. We will never forget this experience!" Cat Dunlop and Liz Lunn

To read about the extensive Support & Backup we provide in our countries, please click here.


One of the volunteer houses in Knysna


Monkeys in the garden of one of the volunteer houses in Knysna

Travel:
You have the option to arrange your own flights or we can assist you with your flight arrangements. If you would like us to do this for you, we will liaise with you regarding available flights and dates to suit you. All arrangements for your flight bookings/payments will be fulfilled by Murray Rogers Travel Ltd., ATOL No. 6856. (Read more about Murray Rogers Travel Ltd.) Where possible, we arrange for two or more people to travel on the same flight and we will let you have the names and telephone numbers of other volunteers on your flight, so that you can chat to each other or even meet up before leaving for your placement.

We can also arrange your flight dates to give you additional time at the end of your project for travelling around and sightseeing - this is a fascinating and wondrous country!

Where possible, all flights we arrange for you have changeable return tickets because many of our volunteers choose to extend their stay once they are in their destination country. Changeable return tickets enable you to do so, within the limits of your visa and the level of your air ticket, of course. If you choose to book your own flights, you should endeavour to get a changeable ticket. We meet you at the airport regardless of whether you make your own travel arrangements or not.

VISAS:. In countries where visas or immigration documents are required, we'll send you all the necessary forms and information and make the process very easy for you.

You will fly into the Airport in Johannesburg where, time permitting, you will be welcomed by Jan, our Travellers representative. She will ensure that your transfer to a flight taking you to George, near Cape Town, is smooth and hassle-free.

In George you will be met by our Manager, Bill Fussel, or a member of his staff. Bill was born in England and emigrated to South Africa many years ago, so he'll probably interrogate you on English prices, latest UK weather - and Chelsea Football team!

PRICES:

To see the Prices of this project and all our other projects in South Africa, please click here

Prices include
  • Food & accommodation while on your project, unless otherwise stated,
  • 2 T-shirts, if required for your project
  • All support and backup during your programme
  • Meeting you at the nearest airport, where appropriate, but exclude international travel.

Return to the South Africa Home Page and
the list of all our projects in South Africa

TO APPLY FOR THIS PROJECT, PLEASE CLICK HERE

   

 

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Last modified: April 24, 2008