Education has been an overpowering theme throughout our journey in South Africa. I was looking forward to this aspect of the trip because education in America is such a large part of our lives, especially as college students. We are privileged to have an exceptional education, so it was interesting to learn about what others experience, especially those less privileged. Our first exploration of education in South Africa was in the township of Langa.
Many areas that we have traveled in South Africa have emphasized the importance of education, even when we went to townships like Langa education was emphasized. The first thing we did when we got to Langa is visit two different types of churches. While I did not immediately think of education at the churches, I realized later that part of education in South Africa is teaching history and tradition. Because of this, I believe that bringing children to church, which many parents did, is a form of educating them. We talked to our guide about how many parents would be give up basic needs so that their child could go to school. We also studied what kind of role religion plays in this township, and how in both the Methodist and Baptist churches the idea of including children in the services was emphasized.
When we visited Robben Island, we were toured the island by an ex-prisoner named Lionel Davis. Lionel made a point to emphasize the importance of education and the desire of most prisoners to acquire education while restrained on Robben Island. Although the Island was completely secluded, many prisoners managed to gain education through doing work for university courses. Some did not even have high school education, and they worked to get this while on while trapped on Robben Island. Because many of the political prisoners were experts in different fields, they were able to train one another in fields that interested them.
We saw education mentioned again when we visited the slave lodge. It was interesting to know how important it was to them because it connects the current and past cultures in a way. We visited the Slave Museum and learned about how slaves were treated in Cape Town. From what we gathered, it seemed as though slavery was much worse in other areas of South Africa. Where the slaves were kept, in the building that is now used as the Slave Lodge, there was actually a classroom area. Slaves were schooled there until the age of twelve, although many tried to continue to learn far afterward.
While on Robben Island our class was addressed by a man named Zenzile, who is currently a researcher and investigator. He conversed with the class on the importance of the younger generation knowing the history of their country. The idea of history repeating itself was a very important concept according to Zenzile, and he wanted to make it clear that South Africa was not doing enough to educate its people on their history or the concept of “black is beautiful.” There are still parts of history that natives do not know about and need to continue to be educated to on so that they can both avoid problems in the future and know how to deal with them when they do come.
Finally, we were also privileged to visit the township of Khayelitsha. This is where we got to see where children begin their education. We visited a daycare that was run by a woman named Gloria. She certainly utilized the concept of “get up and do something for yourself” that we learned when we visited Langa. She converted her home to a daycare, which later burnt down. She had to close for about a month, and the government built her a new building, where she was able to take on more students. She allows one hundred students between the ages of zero and six. There she talks to them and teaches them in both English and Xhosa. I thought that this was an interesting idea because we have noticed more and more people talking in English as we travel. At her school, she is able to educate children based on their age and class. She feels that they are better prepared for the next level of schooling after she teaches them, and enjoys following her children after they move on.
Education is a constantly growing phenomenon in South Africa. From what we have seen it seems that teachers and students alike are working to further their education both in their chosen trade and the history of the country. It makes me wonder why we are not so desperate for education in the United States. Their education system, though not as advanced as that in the United States, is growing as people continue to fight for the education of the next generation. They are working to incorporate unique ways of teaching, such as poetry and music. These techniques also help emphasize the history of the country.
Tweet: The theme of education is everywhere in South Africa. The history of the country will live on and grow in future generations.
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