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Celebrating South African Teachers

by Nonikiwe - Editor on 10 Oct 2011   |   

The little girl knew something was wrong. As she came home from school, the sight of police cars around the house alarmed her. The intense voices of her parents arguing frightened her.

The truth would scar her for life. Her father was a paedophile.

Enter a teacher, who took the hand of this young soul and patiently walked her through the trauma, leading her to healing and wholeness. That girl, now a young woman, found the strength to submit her story, in honour of that teacher-healer, for the Great South African Teachers book.

This is not a book about failing schools, troubled children or bad teachers. It is a collection of stories from current and former school children who celebrate the outstanding South African teachers who transformed their lives. From affluent schools and poor, from former-white schools and still-black schools, from the big cities and the small villages, come powerful stories about great educators.

They are great in different ways. There are the subject artists who dazzle young minds with their teaching craft. There are the life performers who help children make the connection between classroom learning and preparation for life. There are the extended parents who care not only for the minds of children but for their hearts as well – these are the “extra-mile” teachers who take on pastoral duties of care beyond their job descriptions. The courageous activist stories tell of teachers who risked their jobs to teach outside the official curriculum during the years of apartheid education. The words and actions of the inspiring mentors have remained with their students long after they left school.

Great teachers have one thing in common: they leave an indelible imprint on the lives of young people.

The book started with a simple invitation in the Sunday Times: “Submit a story about the teacher who made the greatest impact on your life.” Within days, scores of stories flooded in – it seemed people had been waiting a long time for the chance to share their memories of educators who changed their lives. This was an idea whose time had come. The stories came from every province: about young teachers and older teachers; from the World War2 era to recent months; from children still in school to octogenarians; about tough-love teachers and gentle, gracious teachers; about teachers of subjects inside school and teachers of life outside school. The rich mix of class, colour and creed in the stories entranced the review panel and the editorial team.

• Read complete article at Timeslive

National Book Week to Mark a New Culture of Reading in SA

by Nonikiwe - Editor on 08 Sep 2011   |   

January 8 2012, the beginning of the year-long celebrations of the centenary of the ANC, is around the proverbial corner. In spite of what agenda might be brewing in some hideous crucible to attempt to destroy the ANC or besmirch its image, Africa, the diaspora and the rest of the international community are busy with preparations to celebrate the centenary in solidarity with the ANC and South Africa.

What does our National Book Week have to do with the above? It is worth noting that the first secretary-general of the ANC, Solomon T Plaatje, was a major literary figure, a prominent translator and an outstanding publicist, to name just a few of his contributions to the development of our culture. And that is an integral part of our heritage.

But even before the existence of the book, storytellers were the custodians of a people’s collective experience and memory, which informed and influenced their cultural values. In short, even before the book, literature was, and remains, a major repository of a people’s memory and cultural values, one of the most important components of a people’s heritage.

So at what point are we today in relation to literacy and the reading habits required to open “the doors of learning and culture”?

It is not a secret that reading is not anywhere near being one of our favourite national pastimes. For instance, in Soweto, the largest township in the land, there are more spots where people spend many hours and a lot of money drinking than there are libraries where people could spend time developing and recreating themselves to be more productive members of society.

Alcohol abuse is a national problem and concern for those who care about the health of the nation.

The young, and others not so young, are more familiar with, and more readily excited by, trends in fashion and the whims of celebrities than they are with books and writers. They consume more fashion than knowledge and culture, a friend and colleague of mine observes.

One of the shops selling designer clothes at Maponya Mall, in Soweto, is among the more profitable ones in Gauteng, I’m told. Yet (it makes you want to holler from the rooftops), the first shop to shut down at that mall was a bookstore!

• Read Complete Article at Timeslive

Zambian Lubuto Library Project Realises Education Vision

by Nonikiwe - Editor on 20 Jun 2011   |   

SUB-SAHARAN Africa faces serious social and economic challenges, yet none is greater than the devastation that the HIV/AIDS pandemic brings to the continent’s children.

As adults become sick and many die, vast numbers of young people are left without able caretakers, resources and without hope.

But in the heart of Lusaka is the Fountain of Hope where the Lubuto Library projects are providing safe and beautiful refuge that opens the world of learning to Africa and to some of Zambia’s vulnerable yet valuable children.

In buildings that faithfully reflect indigenous design, the Lubuto Library is a refuge of literacy, learning, self-expression and cultural enlightenment for the orphans and vulnerable children left out of schools.

June 2, will forever be remembered with fond memories by the less privileged lads at Lusaka’s Fountain of Hope, as the day was significant to them because the Lubuto Library project president Jane Meyers launched the ‘New literacy Tools for Zambia’ at the centre.

The project would definitely open many doors for the orphans and other vulnerable children whose single door was closed.

Located in Kamwala Township, Lubuto Libraries offers young people educational opportunities, fostering their intellectual and emotional development and participation in society.

At the first library opening ceremony in Lusaka, first republican president Kenneth Kaunda declared the initiative as “a brilliant idea,” a place to help vulnerable children “grow in knowledge and power.”

He described the library as a place where “we are still holding on to humanity.” Lubuto made significant progress in 2009 towards realising its vision for the libraries projects as centres for a range of educational enrichment opportunities for vulnerable children and youths in sub Saharan Africa, in enhancing knowledge.

The first library was opened at the Kamwala Fountain of Hope Foundation while construction of the second facility at the Ngwerere School in Lusaka’s Garden Township was completed in November 2010.

• Read complete article

Recipients of the 2011 Astrid-Lindgren Award to be Announced this week

by Nonikiwe - Editor on 28 Mar 2011   |   

– To be awarded the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is such a tremendous experience, says the Belgian illustrator Kitty Crowther, the 2010 recipient. On March 29th the recipient or recipients of the world’s largest prize for children’s and young adult literature 2011 will be announced.

The nomination list for the 2011 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is the longest ever and is made up of 175 candidates from 62 countries. Previous recipients are eligible to nominate candidates, and in the nomination process this year three previous recipients have proposed candidates; Banco del Libro (recipients of 2007), Katherine Paterson (2006) and Kitty Crowther (2010).

It has been a turbulent year for Kitty Crowther. Receiving the award led to her books being published in new editions all around the world. She has received numerous invitations to public events, and a lot of attention from international media.

– An amazing thing about the award is that when it comes to literary festivals and book fairs everyone knows who you are. I don’t have to do anything! People want to meet me anyway. Everywhere I meet people who are passionate about children’s literature.

The recipient of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2011 will be announced on March 29th at 13:00 CET.

– There are so many worthy winners, Kitty Crowther says. I hope for a recipient who loves life, a true humanitarian like Astrid Lindgren was.

• Read complete article at Schoollibraryjournal

Hope Through Books for Children

by Nonikiwe - Editor on 23 Mar 2011   |   

While working with an international children’s organization struggling with the HIV/AIDS pandemic, I recently spent a month in Zambia, Swaziland, and South Africa. I visited homes, outreach centers, hospitals, and hospices. I heard hungry orphans laugh and saw the dying smile. I held the hands of ten-year-olds who, as heads of household, care for their younger siblings. I watched children without enough food for themselves share with each other and wait patiently in line for their bit of warm milk. I met many children, but I did not see one children’s book.

The presence of a book may seem insignificant compared to the overwhelming infection rates, the starvation, the death. In many countries, one out of four adults is infected with HIV or AIDS, and most are heterosexuals between the ages of 15 and 49. Few have access to, or money for, decent food or health care, let alone the ARV’s (antiretroviral medications). Seventy percent of all new HIV/AIDS infections and deaths in the world are now occurring in sub-Saharan Africa.

As the parents die, the children are left behind. Over 11 million children have become orphaned due to HIV/AIDS in this region, and their numbers keep growing. Stigmatized and forgotten, many are already infected. With little time left on this earth, quality of life is measured in small joys, like jumping rope, singing an ancestral song, or learning how to read.

Before my trip, I asked two of my publishers to donate a few boxes of my books to the orphans of Africa. I imagined reenacting my school and library presentation that I’ve been sharing with American kids for the past ten years. I would encourage the children in Africa as I had encouraged those in the States to read everything they could get their hands on. Write your own stories, I would tell them. Write about things that excite you, things you are passionate about. Use words to find out about the world, to explain your world to others. I didn’t realize that books were a luxury only the most affluent could afford.

Neither publisher sent books due to cost and bad timing. So when I returned home, I mailed a box of my books, along with other children’s books I was privileged to have on my shelves. The cost was incredibly reasonable using the U.S. Post Office’s media mail.

Yes, these kids need food. They need clothes. They need health care. They also need art. They need our books. A book in a child’s hands gives him/her access to the world, and perhaps, hope. If you would like to donate your books or help in other ways, please contact me at my website, sharonsharth.com. We can make a difference.

• Read complete article at Sharonsharth

Literacy Plans for South Africa Still on Track

by Nonikiwe - Editor on 09 Mar 2011   |   

The South African Literacy Campaign launched by Minister Naledi Pandor, is intended to enable 4,7 million adults to become literate between the 14 April 2008 and the end of 2012. It is through this campaign that the developmental state welcomes new learners to the portals of learning.

Kha ri gude, Tshivenda for let us learn, invites those adults who missed out on their schooling and who cannot read or write, to join one of about 20 000 literacy classes that will be held all over South Africa and which will start opening their doors on the 14 April.

The Kha ri Gude literacy campaign is a response to the call for a national campaign to end illiteracy among South African adults. As a programme of government, and as one of the Apex programmes announced by President Mbeki in his 2008 State of the Nation address, the Campaign can be seen as one of the important ways in which the developmental state prioritises the needs of the poor and addresses the right of all citizens to basic education in the official language/s of their choice.

The campaign, resulted from the recommendations of the Ministerial Committee on Literacy and is intended to provide the opportunity for 4,7 million South Africans to become literate. Achieving this target would also mean that South Africa will have fulfilled its 2000 Dakar commitment — that of reducing illiteracy by 50% by 2015.

In order for a national programme of this magnitude to reach its target, the Campaign requires voluntary support from a wide range of people and organisations drawn from all sectors of society and across all provinces, who will assist in establishing learning sites around the country, help to recruit literacy volunteer educators and work with them to recruit learners

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Every Book Within Walking Distance of Every Home Within 5 Years

by Nonikiwe - Editor on 02 Mar 2011   |   

Arthur Attwell talks about the future of books in Africa in his presentation titled ‘Every Book Within Walking Distance of Every Home Within 5 Year’. Read here.

Last night I attended Talking Heads at the Africa Centre, and it was fantastic. One participant described it like speed-dating for the mind: four twenty-minute conversations, each with three other people, each led by an expert in their area. Each table’s participants are randomly selected, so you have no idea beforehand who you’ll be speaking to. I was there as an ‘expert’ to talk about the future of books in Africa, and I called my presentation “Every book within walking distance of every home within 5 years”. I prepared notes, but only as a guide to the conversation, each of which was completely different. This is what I prepared.

Did you have books in your home as children?

Have you ever thought you couldn’t read a book on a small screen?

Would you read a book on a small screen if that was the only way you could read books at all?

I lived in a house filled with books. I still remember some very clearly. And even though I didn’t read most of them, their being there every day opened my mind to the notion that the world was full of old and new ideas and stories and fields of knowledge. I can’t even begin to imagine what it must be like to not have that. So I’m passionate about being part of this enterprise:

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Dancing Pencils Creates More Young Authors

by Nonikiwe - Editor on 03 Feb 2011   |   

Many young writers are seeing their dreams of being published become reality thanks to a national literacy project called Dancing Pencils – and founder Felicity Keats Morrison says a Daily News article was a springboard for the project.

In 1996, the Daily News carried a story about a group of Grade 3 Manor Gardens Primary pupils who had had stories published by umSinsi Press, Keats Morrison’s publishing house.

“That article sparked huge interest in children’s writing and I started to teach children the right-brained method of writing,” said Keats Morrison. “Schools then invited me to do workshops for pupils and teachers and in 1998, Engen commissioned me to teach all the pupils and teachers in 13 primary schools on the Bluff and to publish 89 books of children’s writing. Books were donated to disadvantaged schools in rural areas.”

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Book Delays Cause Setback for Literacy and Numeracy Drive

by Nonikiwe - Editor on 26 Jan 2011   |   

Millions of primary school pupils have still not received their basic literacy and numeracy workbooks – despite the books being described as the most effective tool for teaching by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga.

The delays in supplying the essential teaching aids are causing panic among some school principals, particularly in rural areas, who say that crucial teaching time is being lost.

Granville Whittle, the basic education spokesman, said that about 37% of the 11.8million workbooks had not been delivered to 19000 schools by Friday, almost two weeks into the school term for inland schools.

The first batch of basic literacy and numeracy workbooks, with an average of 155 pages for Grade 1 to 6 pupils, was to have been delivered to schools by January 5, a week before the school year started.

• Read complete article at Timeslive

Call for Papers for 1st Biennial IBBY Africa Conference

by Nonikiwe - Editor on 26 Jan 2011   |   

The travelling of stories: children’s literature and reading in and of Africa

Call for Papers

1st Biennial IBBY Africa Conference

21-23 September 2011

Venue: Pigg’s Peak Hotel, Swaziland

Organised by the Children’s Literature Research Unit, University of South Africa on
behalf of the IBBY Branches of Africa

Abstracts of not more than 250 words that address particular issues regarding reading
and children’s literature related to Africa and the developing world are welcomed.

The following topics serve as suggestions:

The travelling of stories across borders and cultures
Children’s literature in translation
Folktales and imagination
Writing in indigenous/colonial/minority languages
Colonialism and post-colonialism in children’s literature
Traditional folktales and the modern tale
Cultural relevance of children’s books
The distinction between African children’s and adult books
Oral narratives and literary research
Converting oral literature into written literature
Literature for didactic purposes
The African diaspora and children’s literature
Reading across cultures
Library services for children
Reading in the information age
Comparative research in children’s literature and reading
Depicting reality in children’s books
Reading preferences of African children
Teaching children’s literature
Storytelling for young people
Publishing for children in the 2rd World

Closing date for submissions: 15 June 2011

Mail abstracts and direct enquiries to:

Prof Thomas van der Walt, CLRU, Department of Information Science, University of
South Africa, PO Box 392, 0003 Pretoria, South Africa

Fax: +27 12 4293792

e-mail: vdwaltb@unisa.ac.za