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| TEACH DESIGN TECHNOLOGY TO CHILDREN IN KNYSNA |
SOUTH AFRICA |
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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
them 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.
Also on this page: PROJECT OVERVIEW 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.
WHAT YOU'LL GAIN FROM DOING THIS PROJECT:
An exciting, never-to-be-forgotten adventure into
Africa and the many diverse cultures in South Africa
The enormous satisfaction of helping disadvantaged children and
knowing that you made a difference to them.
New skills, more confidence, a greater understanding
of a different culture, invaluable personal and professional
development.
An entry on your CV or résumé that will put you head
and shoulders above most others in the job market
And best of all ... an unforgettable experience!
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.
LOCATION: ABOUT THE
SCHOOLS: 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. 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! |
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 Enhance your Programme with some exciting activities:              
Read our What's Happening in
Knysna Diary
Return to the Teaching Home Page
Got any questions? Please email us:
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SUNRIDGE SCHOOL
(mural painted by one of Travellers' volunteers) |
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SCHOOL TERMS IN SOUTH AFRICA:
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. OPTIONAL ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES YOU CAN DO WHILE ON THIS PROJECT:
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Nervous about going somewhere new?
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| EXTRA ACTIVITIES YOU CAN INCORPORATE INTO YOUR WORK | |
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As an added bonus and extra activity during your project, you may 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 immerse yourself in the African culture, but most importantly to give a caring hand to the local community. The activities could range from helping out at;
You could be
part of these excellent and worthwhile projects ... so why not volunteer in Knysna!
Got any questions? Please email us:
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| ACCOMMODATION AND LIVING IN SOUTH AFRICA | |
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Knysna: For this project you will live in our volunteer house with other
Travellers volunteers. You may 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. This is a comfortable house with good
facilities and a beautiful view of Knysna Lagoon. You will be provided with a
food budget, so that you can buy your own groceries and cook and prepare your
own meals at the house, this makes for a great social event. 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 house that we use may change owing to availability. There are several good, inexpensive steak houses and lots of good Chinese, Italian and other ethnic restaurants all over South Africa. Seafood, of course, is often fresh and plentiful.
"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
TRAVEL:
Support & Backup:
To read about the excellent Support
& Backup we provide before you leave and during
your programme,
please click here.
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TEACH UNDERPRIVILEGED CHILDREN IN
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Suite 2A, Caravelle House, 17/19 Goring Road,
Worthing, |
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