South Africa (MNN) – South Africa has a high level of literacy among adults, but the picture for children is very different. They desperately need a better approach to education that will prepare them to enter adulthood ready.
South Africa faces a severe literacy crisis among children, with most grade four learners unable to read for meaning. David Durance from TeachBeyond says:
“When children are not provided that opportunity to break out, to have an opportunity to learn, and even the basic things, like literacy, when that’s missed, suddenly we recognize the last impact it is for this generation and for the next generation.”
The challenges don’t stop with reading.
Rural schools often lack reliable electricity and internet, leaving students behind in technology. Hundreds of public schools no longer offer mathematics. And overcrowded classes of forty to fifty-plus learners push teachers into crowd control instead of inspiring learning.
Clothes hanging out to dry in Phuthaditjhaba, South Africa (Photo courtesy of Satish Ajodha via Unsplash)
Durance explains, “We have to recognize that from an educational environment there’s a lasting impact on how these children will learn.”
TeachBeyond is finding creative ways to build healthy learning spaces. Durance points to an approach in their open schools project in South Africa that helps children shift into a learning mindset.
“You walk into that classroom and the way they introduce themselves to each other is about play. It’s not writing your name on some name tag and slapping it on your desk,” he says.
This playful kind of approach creates space for teachers to address serious topics and for children to engage more fully in the classroom. It also helps them understand, in their own language and way, who God is as the Author of their lives and even the Author of their play.
Walk alongside educators from TeachBeyond with prayer, action, and contribution. To learn about their trauma-informed education approach, visit this link.
“We think God’s prepared us for this moment to provide not only just any education, but transformational education, education that introduces the Gospel to the communities that most need it, because for many of them, they’ve never heard the good news,” says Durance.
Header photo: Kid in Bo Kaap, South Africa (Photo courtesy of Savannah Koomen via Unsplash).
