Two Schools in Two Days and Happy Birthday

Principal Ray and me

Students at Mdlangaswa High School

The past two days the team conducted workshops at Siyapambili and Mdlangaswa high schools. Both are extremely poor but have a remarkable dedicated staff and each has a charismatic leader who is committed to improving the schools.

Our science and math teams worked directly with the teachers, conducting mini workshops that lasted about three hours each while the IT team of one did what he could to get their computer labs working. I am very impressed with the professionalism of the teams. Jim Metz, on his 7th or 8th trip to South Africa, heads the math team. I know what a wonderful teacher he is from how he inspired my own daughter when she was his student. The other two members of the math team are just as dedicated and each bring a special quality. Mark’s “finger calculator” serves double duty as a math activity and an ice- breaker while Amy brings a remarkable ability to connect with the teachers that belies her limited experience. Mark and Jim may each have started teaching before she was born, but it is inspiring to see them all work together with the teachers.

The science team is a sight to behold. Barbara recreates the solar system in those dark and tiny classrooms with teachers revolving around the sun or duplicating the rotation of the earth while Robin blows things up and conjures up multi-colored solutions to allow the teachers to test hypotheses. There is an amazing patience in both groups as they focus on teachers who are so eager to become better for their “learners” as they call their students.

My job was to sit with the principals and learn about their triumphs and their challenges. Yesterday, at Siyapambili, Cecil was a very committed manager of resources but not the inspirational educational leader. That role was filled by Tokusan, a gregarious young man who seemed able to motivate the teachers while sharing an vision for improving the experiences for the learners through teacher workshops and training while Cecil focused on managing his very resources to support the learners and the “educators” (teachers). Their skills compliment each other beautifully. Today, at Mdlangaswa, Principal Ray Cele turned out to be one of the most inspirational principals I have ever met. While Siyapambili faced a dropout rate of well over 50%, Ray is committed to every student who comes to his school making it through 12th grade. When he arrived a decade ago, the school had only 140 students. Enrollment has grown to 830 even though population patterns have remained the same. He talked of teachers and parents, being a part of the community and attending all funerals and weddings. Our meeting was delayed for two hours because parents needed his attention and throughout our meeting he would call our to teachers and students when he saw something happening through the windows in his office or out the door. He is the heart and soul of the school. His picture with me is on this blog post.

It is hard to fit in the contributions of Lyla, who is my mentor and friend in the leadership workshop, Aaron who faces constant struggles working with IT staff who have few resources and often no experience, driven mostly by commitment and desire to learn, Fred, the leader of TWB and its driving force, Gora who loans his home and a gentle patience, and, of course, Yunus.

Today was Yunus’ birthday. We celebrated with a wonderful dinner prepared by his mom and he celebrated with flowers to his mom on the birth of her son so many years ago. Without Yunus none of this would happen. The rest of us play our roles. Some, like Fred or Jim, essential, while others are bit players with important parts to play, but all brought together and orchestrated by Yunus. Happy Birthday Yunus, and thanks to Mrs. Peer for the gift of your son long ago.