|
|
|
|
|
TWB - South Africa Math, Science, IT, and Leadership Projects 2001 – 2010 and TWB-China 2006 – 2008 The Republic of South Africa is at a critical juncture in its history. The national government has identified the teaching and learning of math and science as priorities in the educational needs of the country. While millions are no longer legally marginalized by the educational system, a massive infusion of material support and professional training of teachers and administrators is required, quickly, efficiently, and effectively to appropriately serve the long-neglected majority population of school children. Teachers Without Borders – (South Africa) has conducted 33 workshops in three provinces with 2250 South African educators, and 2900 senior students in the past nine years. By conservative estimates, more than a half million students are benefiting from their teacher's and administrator’s upgraded skills. This international grass-roots effort has also provided the opportunity both for professional development and public service to more than 45 U.S. teachers - a life-changing experience, and ultimately one which benefits students in U.S classrooms. The focus of the program is to improve the learning and teaching of mathematics and science at the secondary school level, IT integration, and Leadership skills for principals and administrators .Workshop content is based on the South African National Curriculum Standards.Without upgrading the skills of educators in rural schools in South Africa, students have little hope of getting a chance at higher education. In the words of Mr. Chamda, one of the South African administrators of the program, "… to see colleagues from opposite ends of the earth share knowledge and culture with such great warmth and caring, is a sight to behold. This is an example of international cooperation and global understanding at its best." Founder, Director, Yunus Peer - UWC Profile.
During June and July 2009, TWBSA conducted 3 week-long workshops at TRINSET (Eastern Cape Leadership Institute) with 700 teachers from 16 of the 23 Eastern Cape school districts. We are grateful to Duma, Fuzile, and Johan from the EC DoE for their tireless efforts in coordinating the logistics of transporting and housing 700 educators, and hosting the TWBSA team. Even at maximum capacity, the TRINSET kitchen staff were outstanding! Our thanks also to the various donors, family and friends who made these largest-ever workshops such a success. TWBSA also dedicated its 7th computer lab at a rural school in South Africa. In a partnership with Cornell University, TWBSA's 7 computer labs serve more than 4000 rural school learners in 3 provinces.
We are currently raising funds for our 2010 team. Please consider supporting TWBSA. We are a grassroots, all-volunteer organization with an established network. The structural and logistical commitment of our South African partners, and the enormous impact on rural school education, makes this an excellent project for effective sponsorship. The aid is efficient, specific, targeted, and relevant. Donations: Online @ : Teachers Without Borders International
TWBSA - 2008 Team: Paul Heimerdinger, Ari Patz, Buffy Cushman-Patz, Jim Metz, Carl Wheeler, Lyla Berg, Yunus Peer. In 2008, TWBSA 230 Middle
school math and science teachers and 110 principals and administrators attended the workshops held in Gauteng,
Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu.
In 2007, TWBSA featured 3 Canadians; Noble
Kelly (IT and Director of TWB-Canada), Elspeth Anderson & Lily Vu
(Vancouver School District); from Hawaii, Lynn Imai (Mid-Pacific Academy),
Jim Metz (UH-KCC), Carl Wheeler (Ret. Mid-Pacific Academy) and Jennifer Hong
(Punahou School) – the team worked with 118 South African teachers in the
Senior Phase (Grades 7,8,9) Mathematics, Natural Science and a computer
workshop designed for teachers in these subjects. TWB-SA also set up the 4th computer lab in a
rural school – a TWB cooperative effort involving teachers in PUNAHOU SCHOOL BULLETIN - Summer Issue 2007 - Lessons of South Africa The success of TWB-SA has led to the creation of TWB-China. For the 2nd consecutive year, workshops
with Middle and primary school teachers of Science and English teachers were held in Dujiangyan and Chengdu,
Sichuan Province, in July/August 2007. The Agilent-TWB-China team: Science - Harold Lee (
Honolulu
StarBulletin - TWB-SA & TWB-China 2006 W.H. Auden wrote a line in a poem titled September 1, 1939: "We must love one another or die." TWB-SA provides the world's biggest stage for a Hawaiian teacher like me to show that I care about others. South Africa is almost the antipode of Hawaii, about as far away as you can get from Hawaii on earth. It took native South African teachers who taught six and seven classes of 50 students each all the physical sciences every day to reteach me the humility that Harvard had distilled from my soul. I benefited because I will never again say "I can't do it" in Hawaii. If South African teachers can do it with miniscule resources, I should be able to do anything with the plethora of resources at my disposal. TWB-SA etched these words in my soul: “no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” - Mike Hu - Punahou School. The first thing that came to mind when thinking about why the TWB-SA project benefits teachers was exactly what Jim Metz alluded to, that in order for us to be good teachers, we have to be learners. That is one of the most exciting things about teaching anyway, learning from my colleagues and my students alike. I learned a lot from my South African counterparts, from different approaches to a problem or lesson to classroom management issues. I taught a little math, but they taught me a lot of teaching. - Mike Vogel
2005 Project Links: TWB-SA
2004 Project Links: TWB-SA
2003 Project Links: TWB-SA
2002 Project Links: TWB-SA
2001 Project Links:
Punahou-South
Director: Yunus C. Peer Academy Faculty Email: ypeer@punahou.edu
May God deny you an easy peace and grant you instead passion; a revolutionary passion that spills over into the world in acts of compassion, love, justice and integrity - Carol Wise
|
