Tutoring
by Phillip Mcelu
This was the best holiday programme IkamvaYouth has ever had from how everything was organized to how the tutors managed their time. With the holiday programme we are able to perform the IkamvaYouth principles the learners ratio to tutors, because these kids in their schools the is one teacher with 40 to 50 learners in the class and due to that many learners get left behind; the thing that I found within many subject each chapter is a link to the next one therefore if they don’t get to understand the basics they are lost throughout the curriculum. We as the tutors of IkamvaYouth we try by all means to close that gap.
The first thing that we do is shrink the ratio into 5-6 learners per tutor. This allows the learner to be free to ask question to the tutors. In the holiday programme we had good number of tutors that were keen and hard working. What I found and works really well for IkamvaYouth tutors is that tutors get to tutor what they are knowledgeable in and that make it easier for a tutor to come up with better analogies and examples to explain complex problems.
During the holiday programme we were able to cover most of the subjects (Maths, Physical Science, Life Science, Geography, English, Accounting, Economics, business Studies and history) with grades 10 through 12; with grade 9, we came up with the idea to cover Maths, English, and Computer. We chose these subjects because they are the core foundation of the entire curriculum they do in school. English is the sole language that these learner get tested on, and we saw that most of the learners who do not understand their work is due to the fact they do not understand English entirely. Mathematics is one of the subjects that are compulsory for them to do until grade 12.
With the other grades (10 -12), we use the national curriculum from the South African Department of Education. We downloaded previous papers, worksheets, and exams for them to work through with the tutors. On the holiday programme, exceptional rooms were provided to tutors by TSiBA education who also allowed us to do some teaching on subjects where we saw the need (i.e. re-teaching a chapter that you see that the whole class does not understand).
Internship Profiles
Christopher Fan is a recent university graduate from Michigan State University. Christopher has a Bachelor’s of Arts (B.A.) degree in Comparative Cultures & Politics with a Specialization in Asian Studies and a Minor in Chinese. Christopher’s interests include identity studies, youth development, social justice, gender studies, and sexual politics. By being a part of IkamvaYouth Makhaza, Christopher hopes to challenge and support learners and tutors to believe in the power of the individual and of a community. Christopher believes that individuals have the ability to make a profound change in themselves as well as their communities at large. An individual, much like a singular community, must have the confidence that it is he/she who is the master of his/her life. He believes that everyone, especially youth, needs to have a personal drive and a person confidence to go get what their heart desires, whether it’s education, employment, equality, civil rights, etc. Christopher wishes to either pursue a dual master’s programme in Social Work, Criminal Justice, and/or Public Health or enlist in the United States Military. His end goal is to work with the government to better assess social welfare, social justice, and initiatives focused on youth. Christopher has grown and benefited from IkamvaYouth just as much as the learners and tutors have from him. We write our own destinies.
“Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself” – Harvey Fierstein
Ginia O’Neil is a recent college graduate from Michigan State University. Ginia has a Bachelor of Arts in Family Child Ecology and intends to attend graduate school top pursue a Masters degree in Social Work. She traveled from The United States to work at IkamvaYouthYouth because she has always had an interest in working with youth and guiding them to a bright and happy future. Ginia has thoroughly enjoyed working at IkamvaYouthYouth and looks forward to spending the rest of the winter there.
“You only live once, but if you do it right… once is enough.”
Miriam Rodriguez is going into her senior year at Santa Clara University studying Mechanical Engineering and Spanish. Miriam is originally from Philadelphia. She plays Field Hockey, and loves acting and dancing. Miriam also love to travel and learn about the communities and people that live in each of the different places she has traveled. She decided to come to South Africa because she wanted to experience Cape Town a town she has only heard good things about. Miriam wanted to come and help at IkamvaYouth Youth because she loves to teach and be around kids. She loves math and science and is always excited to share her knowledge and love for the subjects to those wanting to learn. Miriam hopes to one day live in South America owning her own business of some kind.
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” – Thoreau
Sarah Brunner just finished her third year at the University of Portland studying Sociology and Social Justice and will be completing her final year this year. She is originally from Los Angeles but hopes to continue travelling all over the world after completing university. In Grade 5 she travelled to Southeast Asia for her uncle’s wedding and has had a great desire explore other cultures ever since then. She discovered a profound interest in human rights while at university and decided to find a way to put into action by combining it with her other passion, travelling. Through extensive research, she found a program that would satisfy this goal, which set her up with Ikamva Youth. Working for Ikamva has been a very fulfilling experience for her, learning not only about the incredible culture but also what she wants to do in her future. She sees how imperative education is for this great country’s future and hopes to continue to help it achieve its one goal.
“The reward for conformity was that everyone liked you except yourself” –Rita Mae Brown
Hobie King is a senior Math and Physics Major at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. He is originally from Birmingham, AL. He plays rugby for his University, is an active member of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity, and plays the saxophone for the University jazz ensemble. He enjoys outdoor activities such as fly fishing, camping, kayaking, and climbing. Hobie became interested in South Africa after reading The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay several years ago. After communicating with IkamvaYouth for several months, he decided to spend the summer in South Africa to help with the program and to experience South African culture. He strongly believes that individual choices and decisions are greatly significant and we must each take responsibility for the type of person we become. After graduation, Hobie plans to spend time abroad doing service before going to graduate school in mathematics.
“The Great Architect of the Universe never created a substitute for results”—Hobart Amory McWhorter
Learners from IkamvaYouth Nyanga recently had the opportunity to visit various locations around Cape Town. The first stop was the Iziko Museum where the students viewed and learned about the artwork in the gallery. They then went to the Iziko Annexe where art work created by learners from schools around Cape Town is on display and were given a basic lesson in art. Then using basic materials such as cardboard, markers, crayons, and paint, the learners created their own pieces of art. Many of their creations touched on peace, happiness, and unity. The next destination was Kirstenbosch gardens where the students learned about the ecology and biodiversity of South Africa. Although the rain prevented the learners from experiencing the beautiful gardens, they enjoyed learning about the different South African biomes and the process of photosynthesis. We also viewed and studied several specimens of plants. The last stop was the Two Oceans Aquarium on the Waterfront. The Nyanga learners were able to view a vast array of aquatic life including penguins, frogs, sharks, and the poisonous puffer fish. They all enjoyed learning about each of the animals and watching them in their respective environment. Overall, the learners and the volunteers alike had a wonderful time on these excursions and would like to thank each of the venues for their generous hospitality.
Two Oceans Aquarium: http://www.aquarium.co.za/
Iziko Museum: http://www.iziko.org.za/sam/
Kirstenbosch Gardens: http://www.sanbi.org/frames/kirstfram.htm
On the last day of the Nyanga Winter Programme, the learners had a chance to showcase their many talents. And they did not hold out! The volunteers and tutors were able to watch the 78 learners perform in any which way they wanted! Some read powerful and moving poems that they had written, others danced, a few learners showed off their vocals in songs, a few showed off their creative minds in raps and there was also a play!
playtime
All of the acts were creative, innovative and well thought out. Very impressive!
This year’s winter school was a success! We had 55 Nyanga learners and 23 Ikanyezi learners join us for two weeks at the University of the Western Cape.
Inkanyezi Learners
During the morning sessions, the programme offered learners the chance to get extra tutoring on subjects they were having a difficult time with. We were fortunate to have anywhere from 7 to 15 tutors a day to help all the learners.
After lunch the learners had a great opportunity to participate in a wide variety of workshops that were focused on educating and the learners on different things outside of their school subjects. We had everything from Acting to Team Skills Workshops. Workshops included: Art, Drumming, Acting, Team Skills, South African History, Point of View Improv and Drug Awareness
Learners show us their moves during the drumming workshop
In the Point of View workshop learners had the great opportunity to learn more about sexual health and stigma’s associated with HIV by using innovative activities that engaged the learners and made them more comfortable to share their thoughts.
Molly Blank came in to show the learners her new documentary film all about the xenophobic attacks that happened in South Africa in 2008. The learners watched the film and were able to have a question and answer session with the director herself afterwards. See some of their responses here.
Some learners who showed interest participated in a photography workshop which allowed the learners to take home cameras to take shots of the world cup mania in their area.
Sive Bushla, 11th grade ‘Big Vuvuzela’
New Start was also kind enough to come in to offer testing and counsel any learner or volunteer in the programme who wanted to get tested.
One of the opportunities the learners really enjoyed was the access to the computer labs that were made available to them for the whole of the programme. The learners were able to learn the key elements of Microsoft Word and Excel, how to send attachments in emails and basic computer literacy issues. They were really happy to be able to work on their typing skills as well.
We had a number of sponsors that made planning the programme much easier. PicknPay gave us enough to buy everything we needed for tea and snack breaks while Red Hot Catering & Events provided the lunches for all learners and volunteers at a convenient cost. Fedics sponsored one day’s lunches for all involved in the programme. And of course, UWC offered the space to make all of this possible.
Learners, for the most part, only had good things to say about the programme. There were some ideas that would make next year’s programme better. Mostly, learners wanted to see more tutoring subjects available. We would have loved to see this too, but unfortunately we didn’t have enough tutors comfortable teaching all the subjects. Hopefully next year, that’ll be different!
Lloyd Lungu