CWP Consultants in South Africa -- June 2006 |
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CWP Director, Karen Hartman, and consultants Sheila Kaehny and Stevi Quate spent 2 weeks in Dundee, South Africa, at the invitation of the South African Writing Project, working with teachers in the township schools there. They worked at a high school in the township with about 35 teachers over 10 days. CWP had sponsored two teachers from Dundee the previous summer, Sizwe and Mpume Mchunu, to come to Colorado and participate in the summer CWP I wowrkshop. They each spent an additional two weeks helping two of our consultants teach CWP I, so that they experienced the course both as student and teacher.
Among the many highlights of the experience was the local tradition of starting each day with song. Karen noted in her journal, " I had to pinch myself when I heard my students' beautiful voices singing in Zulu . . . My class were singers and dancers - they broke into song off and on during the day. While Sheila and Karen taught a CWP workshop, Stevi worked with teachers who were in graduate school and wanted support with their academic writing. |
Again from Karen's journal, " Their research topics were fascinating. One man, Sfiso, plans to research the realities of corporal punishment in rural schools. This was a hot issue since corporal punishment has only recently been banned, and many teachers (and students) are struggling with other means of discipline. Gugu plans to look at gender equity. Worried about the plight of girls as young as 12 who are being forced by their families into arranged marriages, she wanted to look at how schools could make a difference." Teachers worked hard to complete course requirements -- a portfolio of work, which included 2 pieces of writing with writer's memos and an action plan. As Karen observed, "I was so proud of them, and they were so proud of themselves. They also had a surprise for us - each group had a representative who gave a short speech about their teacher, then they sang, as one person drew us into the circle, and we danced as they sang. Finally they presented us with a gift - it was very touching."
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The South African North Star Writing Project helped arrange for CWP to come to Dundee in 2006 to work directly with a larger group of teachers.
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