Week 11: Team Building and Empowerment

At Lego's Educare, my team will help to develop a workplace in which cultural differences are respected and explored. We will bring differences to the forefront in order to celebrate them and to analyze how these differences result in a collective group of strengths that allow them to work together for their children's best interests. We must first begin by challenging the staff to explore their own differences so that each member will understand the ways in which they bring valuable attributes to the work environment. After we learn to appreciate ourselves and foster a sense of cultural awareness, we can learn to appreciate others in the same way. Through various team building activities, we will learn about each other and grow relationships. This inclusive atmosphere will certainly influence their skills pertaining to childcare and will model supportive collaboration for the children.

Team Building Activities for Daycare Teachers
This is a short and sweet article that includes some great ideas including a staff bulletin board in which everyone posts their picture, a short essay of what they like best about working with children, a fact sheet (birthday, hobbies, favorite food and color, etc.), and kindness notes that the staff write for one another. I love this idea because it suggests a team environment where everyone is viewed as a valuable and important member of the group.

Empowering Your Staff
This article talks about the importance of creating an empowering learning environment. It requires building skills to resolve problems as well as allowing everyone to share their ideas/opinions in a safe place free of judgement. Constructive communication between staff is crucial to build trust and confidence in their own abilities to play a part in the success of their children.

Additionally, we will be assisting with general maintenance in and around the center, helping update their website, and creating excitement around Diversity: The Daily Program.
I am so excited to learn more about our cite during our time in South Africa! I can't wait to play a part in their development as a successful childcare center!

Week 10: Lego's Educare

I am so overwhelmed with appreciation and excitement to be placed at Lego's Educare, a black owned daycare serving colored children ages 0-6, for my service learning project. The business is profitable and possesses a diverse, talented staff. Some challenges include: a lack of staff training in team building, personal development, and cultural awareness/cohesiveness, the need for a website, and a shortage of developmental resources for older children. During my research, I discovered 3 articles that were useful in learning about the economic affects on children in South Africa.

Child and Youth Care Workers in South Africa

Political Systems and Health Inequity: Connecting Apartheid Policies to the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in South Africa

HIV/AIDS and the South African State: Sovereignty and the Responsibility to Respond

Additionally, here are two articles discussing specifically the need for palliative care in South Africa:

Assessment of the Need for Palliative Care for Children: Three Country Report: South Africa, Kenya, and Zimbabwe

Children's Palliative Care in South Africa: The Facts

South Africa's current economic situation, especially concerning the young and upcoming generations, is inevitably tied to the outbreak of HIV/AIDS during apartheid. It is not only an individual and medical disease, it is a social, economic, and political dilemma at the same time. 280,000 children under the age of 14 and 17.8% of South African adults aged 15-49 are living with HIV, and there are almost 2 million South African children under age 17 who have been orphaned due to HIV/AIDS (Scrubb). Efforts to care for the growing population of highly vulnerable children affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic and other risk factors have led to an increasing demand for social service programs, such as Lego's Educare. These programs are designed to meet and protect children's physical, emotional, spiritual, cognitive, and social needs, but there is a huge gap that still needs filling.

Informing ourselves about our placements and the causes behind the need prepares us to join in and work with professionals in this new environment. I have much more to learn about my placement specifically, as it has been difficult to find articles that pertain to information about day care facilities (without pulling up countless sites about volunteering). I am most definitely looking forward to the opportunity to work toward a solution for under-served families and children in townships, to collaborate with experienced individuals who will no doubt teach me and open my eyes to unknown disparities in communities, and to pour my heart into these little children, my passion.

Week 9: Top of the Top Ten

Power and Privilege Definitions
Apartheid Timeline
Not White Enough, Not Black Enough
South Africa Progressive on LGBT Rights but Gays Still Battle for Social Reform
Cape Town: Gangs, Race and Poverty 20 Years After Apartheid
Realizing Women's Rights in South Africa
Here's How South African Students Talk About Race and Gender
'Winnie' Fails to Capture the essence of Mrs. Mandela
Bucket List to Visiting South Africa
Culture in South Africa

           Our exploration of these articles has opened my eyes to the complexities of South Africa. After viewing our collection of research, I have formed and reformed my opinions and knowledge on a range of topics, from race to culture to gender to sexuality to political influence. This information is extremely useful in that it prepares us to step into South Africa for an entire month in various ways. We are about to immerse ourselves in a rich culture, and these pieces of research, in my opinion, are a prerequisite for our arrival. We dug deeper and discovered how the issues occurring in South Africa compare and contrast to those in the United States, and this is important because it reveals the ways in which we can personally relate to South Africans. Through our study of South Africa, we have gained a sense of empathy and we have also learned more about our own personal identities. It has helped me grow into the person I hope to be; one who not only believes in equality, but fights for it and calls for the justice of the oppressed. I am anxious to see how what we've learned plays out once we are in South Africa. I am looking forward to learning and growing alongside my eager classmates. It's going to be the experience of a lifetime!

Week 8: Top 10 "Need to Read"

After reading my peers' research from the past two weeks, here is my top 10 'Need to Read' list in no particular order:

• Here's How South African Students Talk About Race and Gender posted by Maria: insight into the opinions of students on race and gender and its oppressive effects.
• Cape Town: Gangs, Race, and Poverty 20 Years After Apartheid posted by Denise: a video about township residents living in a country that still struggles with inequality.
• Not White Enough, Not Black Enough posted by Elisa: offers a new perspective from the coloured community.
• South Africa's Ticking Time Bomb posted by Nestor: discusses the dangers of youth unemployment and economic inequality that South Africa is currently experiencing.
• Rachel Maddow: History of Apartheid in South Africa posted by Josh: From the Population Registration Act and passbook laws for blacks, to the Immorality Act, to the Reservation of Separate Amenities Act, to the massacre at Sharpeville, to the role of Nelson Mandela, Maddow offers a brief history of apartheid. 
• The Sharpeville Massacre posted by Larisa: the impact on apartheid and lasting effects of the event on South Africans.
• Why is Crime and Violence so High in South Africa? posted by Tiasha: discusses the inequality shown to those who do not have the advantages of wealth or class to bring their case to court.
• Apartheid in South Africa posted by Faith: an interview of Black, Coloured, and Asian South Africans about their views on aparthied.
• South Africa's Post Apartheid Generation posted by Connie: video about being born into a "free" South Africa.
• South Africa Progressive on LGBT Rights but Gays Still Battle for Social Reform posted by Ignacio: discusses the slow transition from discrimination against the LGBT community, especially in townships.
• Additionally, I would like to re-suggest two of my articles about education: The Complexity of Human Rights in Global Times: The Case of the Right to Education in South Africa and also Race Differences in Educational Attainment of Youth aged 7-18 in Post-Apartheid South Africa: The Role of Family Structure, Resources, and School Quality

Week 7: Peer Review

This week I reviewed my peer's research and decided that this assignment has been my favorite thus far. I loved how different everyone's findings were, because we found topics that were closely related to our interests. With each piece I read/watched, I learned something completely new and incredibly useful about South Africa as well as my own classmates. At some point in time, I hope to look into every bit of research our class posted, but for now, I have reviewed pieces by Joanna, Elisa, Nestor, and Joshua.

Joanna's research: 
Grassroots and Intersectionality: the Foundations of the New Civil Rights Movement. This article discusses the acceleration of a new civil rights movement by younger generations and social media after several police-involved killings such as Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown.
http://www.afropunk.com/profiles/blogs/feature-grassroots-and-intersectionality-the-foundations-of-the


Elisa's research: 
Orania: South Africa's Whites Only Town. This video shows a town founded by Afrikaners for Africaners in 1991, just after the release of Mandela. Although appearing to be a racial construct, Orania's population is growing at 9% annually, and the town is protected by South Africa's constitution.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYbRZhymD5A

Not White Enough, Not Black Enough. This article offers a new perspective from the colored community, which makes up 9% of the country's population of 50.6 million. "18 years into democracy, many colored people feel that they benefit less from policies designed to redress past discrimination than black Africans." I enjoyed this article because it reminded me of the complexities of race in South Africa and I saw a glimpse from the perspective of the colored community rather than just black or white.
http://latitude.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/15/in-south-africa-after-apartheid-colored-community-is-the-big-loser/?_r=0

Nestor's research: 
South Africa's Ticking Time Bomb. This article discusses the dangers of youth unemployment and economic inequality that South Africa is currently experiencing.
"The African National Congress, once the glue that held the nation together, is at war with itself. The labor unions have become stronger and more militant, particularly in the face of workers gunned down in a strike that shut down the platinum mines, the source of much of South Africa's wealth. The Youth League and the Communist Party have also railed against the division of rich and poor, and of the hopelessness of the young people."
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/world-report/2014/07/02/south-africas-major-problems-youth-unemployment-and-economic-inequality

Josh's research: 
Rachel Maddow talks about the history of apartheid in South Africa. I would recommend that everyone in the class watches this video.It is a huge recap of what we have learned about apartheid; I learned new pieces of information and the use of home footage is extremely powerful. From the Population Registration Act and passbook laws for blacks, to the Immorality Act, to the Reservation of Separate Amenities Act, to the massacre at Sharpeville, to the role of Nelson Mandela, Maddow offers a brief history of apartheid. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqCKIUogn6E&feature=youtu.be

Week 6: Research

Because education is such a passion of mine, I chose to research about the effects of apartheid in the school system. Stark differences in educational resources, practices and outcomes across wealthier and poorer schools remain common. Here are the two articles that analyze the right to education in South Africa (both long but worth the read!)

Race differences in educational attainment of youth aged 7–18 in post-apartheid South Africa: The role of family structure, resources and school quality
"Even though the democratic government has persistently pursued policies to ensure educational access and equality, the apartheid legacy remains in areas such as educational financing, administration and the delivery of services."

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/21528586.2014.887917


The complexity of human rights in global times: The case of the right to education in South Africa
"It is ironic that this plethora of declarations signals that the right to education, re-framed as ‘education for all’, remains to be achieved...The problems of inequality and poor quality in the South African education system may similarly be used to contribute to an agenda for change."

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738059309000935


Another article I found analyzes the rise and fall of income poverty, high (and worsening) inequality, the Human Development Index, unemployment and a strong demand for skilled labor, an unequal education system, and pro-poor social policies. It is very long and dense but provides incredible detail and insight into the specifics of the Democratic South Africa.

Poverty and Inequality After Apartheid
"The effects of unemployment on poverty are accentuated by the growth of an ‘underclass’ of people who suffer systematic disadvantage in the labor market with the result that they face no real possibility of escaping from poverty."

http://www.sarpn.org/documents/d0003024/Poverty_inequality_Seekings_Sep2007.pdf

Week 5: Comparative Analysis

The beginnings of apartheid in South Africa were very different than the beginnings of the slavery in the US, but the treatment of the oppressed peoples by the white populations are very similar. South Africans were fighting for equality in their own homeland where they were the majority, whereas blacks in America were fighting for equality in a [once] foreign land where they were the minority. South Africans and Americans alike were denied a voice through their inability to vote, and both parties were assaulted violently. Sadly, although not surprisingly, the white leaders of these regions refused to lend a helping hand in the fight to end segregation.
I watched Selma on Monday and Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom last night. Both of these movies were incredibly powerful, but struck different chords with me. Selma's focus on voting rights was enlightening, and I learned about the peace march from Selma to Montgomery. The film showed how King made all efforts to retaliate peacefully, and the attacks of innocent people eventually softened the hearts of the white populations. However, I would have liked to learn about more influential leaders, especially women, that helped fight for King's cause. I really had no idea that Lyndon Johnson waited so long to sign the Voting Rights Act. It makes me so sad that people in positions of power look out for their own best interest instead of the best interest of others, such as the blacks suffering from discrimination in the South. I did not know much about the life of Mandela before watching the movie, so to say the least, it was a very emotional experience. I had not known about Winnie until I watched this, which is shocking because she obviously played a big part in the movement to end apartheid. This film really demonstrated the destruction brought upon Mandela, his wives, and his children due to his leadership in the anti-apartheid movement. To be released from a 27 year imprisonment and to encourage the oppressed to take up their weapons of peace shows Mandela's true character and passion for equality of all peoples. The violence that once prevailed reveals the magnitude of the end of apartheid.
To be completely honest, it is very hard for me to watch movies such as these because I am ashamed and embarrassed of the ignorance, hatred, and abusive power of the white majority in the US and white minority in South Africa. It infuriates me not only to hear, but to visually see how blacks were treated on opposite sides of the world. I know we absolutely needed to watch these before we leave for Cape Town because we need to understand the why's of the treatment we might possibly receive from those in South Africa while we are there. We must be educated in the racial tensions that still linger so that we will be able to influence the lives of those in townships effectively.

Week 4: King vs. Mandela

The significant difference in American and African culture is immediately revealed when reading about the early lives of Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. King was born 11 years later than Mandela, yet the Civil Rights Act banning segregation and discrimination passed in 1964, and the period of apartheid ended when ANC under Mandela won the election in 1994. Although this 30 year gap may be partly attributed to Mandela's imprisonment, it also reveals a lack of development in South Africa. I find it interesting that Mandela, born the son of chief Mphakanyiswa of the Thembu tribe, was the first in his family to receive formal education. King was born into a family with a history of education and at 25 years of age became the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, where he came to national prominence in the US after Park's arrest. They both received a Nobel Peace Prize in their lifetimes. Although they played a role in completely different scenarios in different countries, Mandela and King both fought for a common cause: racial harmony and equal opportunity for all.
"People respond in accordance to how you relate to them. If you approach them on the basis of violence, that's how they'll react. But if you say, 'We want peace, we want stability,' we can then do a lot of things that will contribute towards the progress of our society." -Nelson Mandela
“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” -MLK Jr.
It is clear that these men were willing to sacrifice everything they had for the freedom of their people. They passionately and peacefully fought for equality, and I think this is what made their efforts so influential; their focus on peace. These quotes speak volumes to me because it takes great character to be so forgiving of those who do us wrong and seek peace even when confronted with violence. Both men saw that love, forgiveness, and peace were the only routes to change, to success, to equality.

Week 3: Overall Impressions

After reading a bit about the history of South Africa, I was surprised to find that the Xhosa, or native peoples were treated much like the Native Americans were treated here in the U.S. - stripped of everything they had and kept away in reservations. The discrimination they faced also made me think of the Civil Rights movement - the inability to vote and have political influence, and racial segregation in all public institutions to name a few. The Bantu education that tried to keep the black children at a very low standard is especially appalling to me. (Sidenote: While reading these passages, I came to the realization that African history/current events unfortunately was not something I was taught in high school. Texas history, American history, and sometimes World history (which usually ends up just being European history if that) are the only histories offered, and for someone who never has the chance to go to college, are the only histories they may ever be exposed to. I am a junior in college and this is the first time I have studied African history, a history that even parallels with that of the United States. This is SUCH a problem!) A current event that stuck out to me: on the 24th of January, African leaders met for the African Union summit in Ethiopia to "come up with a clear road map for the development and empowerment of women on the continent as well as a plan to end child marriages." When we here in the U.S. have the luxury of choice concerning marriage, we tend to forget that others are not guaranteed the same luxury. So often, we only pay attention to an important issue that is repeated on the news, and only until another issue arises. We are not pressed to remember that young girls in other countries like South Africa have no say in their futures like we do. One target of this meeting was to ensure that girls remain in school. "We want our girls to get education where they can compete on the international labour market and where they can be entrepreneurs and where they can have choices." Because we will have the opportunity to immerse ourselves in South African culture for a month soon, we must be up to date on current events. One challenge for South Africa in their fight for social justice is the fact that it hasn't been that long since apartheid ended. Social injustice is still fresh and very much alive for this developing country. However, this challenge could also become South Africa's strength because there are great efforts being made towards change. I like how one of our readings mentions a mandate to "uncover the crimes of apartheid, let them be publicly confessed with the aim of forgiveness." The struggle for racial equality is a non-stop source of motivation for philanthropists. The passion is still alive; passion that ignites a fire in the depths of souls.
My question for Mr. Gilmour: What are specific actions that the government is currently taking toward social equality? How does Zuma influence social equality in South Africa?

Week 2: White Privilege

"White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" by Peggy McIntosh and "The Complexity of Identity: Who Am I?" by Beverly Daniel Tatum led me to take a much deeper look into my own identity and analyze the privileges I personally take for granted every day. I, being a white female, agree with McIntosh when she says, "whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege." This implicit instruction conditions us into oblivion about the existence of oppressiveness, which is completely terrifying, infuriating, and inequitable. It is difficult to call myself an oppressor, but if I have been taught to view my life as ideal (which I have), I ultimately place myself in the dominant group and "others" in the subordinate group (or rather, society has done it for me). There were several privileges McIntosh listed that I can relate to and I listed a few of my own. Tatum's piece made me reflect further on the seven categories of "otherness": "race or ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, age, and physical or mental ability." It was interesting to connect with my multiple identities and the ways in which I am both dominant and targeted at the same time. When Tatum began to talk about how dominants do not really know what the experiences of the subordinate is, it made me think of the media and how often targeted groups are portrayed with stereotypical depictions in order to reinforce to the dominants that "everything is as it should be." This problem desperately needs solving. There was much I took away from both articles, and I am eager to further expose my blind ignorance and learn how to give up some of my unearned privileges to the oppressed.

1 fact that really stood out to me and I consider to be a real problem in society is this: Colorblindness will NOT end racism. "Pretending racism doesn't exist is not the same as creating equality. Race is more than stereotypes and individual prejudice. To combat racism, we need to identify and remedy social policies that advantage some groups at the expense of others."
Dominant groups generally do not like to think about or identify with inequality. However, ignoring the fact that white privilege puts others at a disadvantage will only make matter worse. Change can only occur when we, including myself, can recognize and own up to having unearned privileges that keep dominants in a position of power, therefore exhausting the opportunities of those that need them. Then we must take responsibility of "acknowledging our complicity in the oppression of others" and take steps toward healing by offering up our privileges.

Week 1: Who Am I?

My name is Sarah Fisher. I was born and raised in the Beaumont area of Southeast Texas. I come from a family of 6, and I am the only girl with my three brothers and my mom and dad. I love dancing, drawing, shopping, reading, and spending time with my family and friends. I am a junior here at UT pursuing a degree in elementary education. This semester I am beginning my Professional Development Sequence in which I intern at Mills Elementary alongside an experienced teacher. In Cape Town, I would love to have the opportunity to do my service learning in a school district or to be working with children. Teaching is my passion, and I am so excited to gain entrepreneurial skills while I learn about the culture of South Africa. I am looking forward to this new experience and to getting to know you guys better!