Boitshoko High, Potchefstroom, 08 May 2018

(390 Learners)
An early start before 07:00 on a cool morning in Potchefstroom. Though a little uncertain of where the schools were, familiar landmarks appeared and I was soon heading in the right direction. After a wrong turn and ignoring the directions of the GPS I arrived by 07:10 and enjoyed observing the learners arriving at school. I had to laugh at how many of the boy’s grey longs seem to shrink as they hit the growth spurt leaving the ankles exposed. I do, however, feel for the girls with their bare legs and short socks especially on the cold winter mornings.
After meeting with the Deputy Principal I was informed that the bus strike had shut down the school completely the day before and no teaching had taken place. I was in luck as soon after the bell had rung for the start of the day a large group of learners appeared. It was a challenge but I am confident that the vast majority engaged in the content and responded well. There would appear to be a limit to the size of the group which may appear to be round the 300 mark but it also depends of the dynamics of the group and the time of the day.
It must be the season for solving challenges as two learners came up with the wind turbine challenge immediately. It was almost a continuation of what happened at the Trinityhouse schools in Johannesburg.
Many learners when asked afterwards recalled how they are now able to see the relationship of what was discussed in the demonstrations with the work that the teachers have been discussing in class. There were also some who went on to describe their feelings of how the sessions had opened their eyes to career opportunities especially around STEM related careers. This was a common trend throughout all the schools visited so far.