Chidren need roots and wings to grow

Ms. Wilkinson took us to Hector Pieterson Museum. There were more students in neat school uniforms. She then took us to Regina Mundi Church. Thabile and Nqobile counted more than thirty bullet holes in the walls and ceilings inside the church. They were from the police that were sent to have control over the uprising of the university students who ran into the church. The violent time was shortly after the uprising of high school students on June 16, 1976. During the tour Ms. Wilkinson quietly told her students the historical background of Soweto Uprising and the significance of education in South Africa. The following is what I learned from her.

Before the territorial ambitions of European powers, native people of South Africa were mostly farmers on their ancestral land. They followed their tradition in their extended family and community and practiced their native religion of ancestral worship. When native people lost their land in 1832, they lost everything: their community, tradition and human dignity. They were forced to move in segregation yo serve white people as laborers. When gold was found in 1886 Soweto was where black people had to move into as laborers in the mines. The area used be a wetland with rich lives. It was turned into miles of dry land with no life. Immigrants made temporary housing and worked in the mines. The name Soweto is not a geographical or native name but it came from the first two letters of the three words, South Western Township, S0-we-to.

The 1953 Education Act forced al black children to be educated in Africaan (considered to be one of the many native languages) for the first four years and then from the fifth year, they were given choices between English and Africaans. However, the system had four segregated layers, which did not give black students freedom of language choice to learn and chances to succeed. In the Parliament, Hendrik Vermoerd introduced a new school system in the north for both white and black students to study, which was called 'Model C Schools', only to fail black students academically. Those schools were originally for white students and the language of instruction was English. They welcomed black students up to 20 % of the student body, but no black student survived or succeeded, as it was cleverly planned. Not because they were not capable of it but because the language and the system were so difficult for them to achieve. Failure in education meant failure in the job market. More young people were left on the streets with no jobs. The new education policies produced more sadness and anger among the native black people.

Bantu Steve Biko was a native political activist and a fine educator who taught students self-worth in those difficult times. He was convinced that black African students should have the right to be educated in any language of their choice so that they could achieve better in school. Young black teachers were inspired by him and formed an organization called SASO and tried to fight for no choice. In 953 Bantu Education was founded by young black teachers in Soweto. In 1968 the South African Student Movement, SASM, was founded. Young teachers worked under pressure for years. This is exactly when the Soweto Uprising occurred on June 16, 1976. After Biko's arrest and death in the prison in September 1977, SASM ceased the activity in October 1977. According to the report, 575 people died in the end, followed by Hector Pieterson.

These are exactly the reasons why black students in South Africa took pride in their school uniform and showed appreciation in educational opportunities. They do not take education for granted. Children need rots and wings to grow. They are certainly working towards their purpose in education. The DNA testing result made me feel that I am small, but I am a world. As Lord Alfred Tennyson said, "I am a part of all that I met". What happens in the world is my concern and my joy. I will keep my eyes and ears open to understand the world around me. I will try to reach out when I can. Although small, I will try in my way. My stay in South Africa was a new learning experience for me and I was more than willing to share it with my students back in Tokyo.

I am happy that South Africa is hosting the World Cup in 2010. South Africa has come a long way but will certainly continue with their roots and wings. There was a poster at school that said, "Children need roots and wings to grow". The Soccer City Stadium where the World Cut final game will take place is in Orlando, not far from Soweto. I hope that my report will become an interest to students in Tokyo, who watch the World Cup 2010. At the same time I hope there are students in South Africa who remember a Japanese teacher in kimono and her talk about Japan as well as the Japanese soccer team and the way they showed their team spirit and never gave up. Africa and Japan are far from each other but actually related.

Dumazweni School in Soweto

On June 19, 2009, I enjoyed my visit at Dumazweni School in Soweto, Johannesburg. Ms. Wilkinson is the director of Social Services at Kingsmead College High School in Rose Bank. She runs the Life Orientation Program. We were bonded at the first sight because her Life Orientation Program and my Values program were similar in content. She kindly included me in her educational tour with two black students to Dumazweni School. The teachers at school were also in school uniforms of their Alma mater. They were remembering the Soweto Uprising in 1976 - the time which helped to change the country, although a violent time. On the day I was there, they were going to have a special assembly commemorating Youth Day or June 16. Many of the blazers which they were wearing were from the school they were attending when young. They looked very proud. I suppose it was a way of linking the past with the present.

Thabile and Nqobile were the name of the students who were expected to do a teaching practice in different classrooms. While they were teaching, I had the pleasure of teaching an Art class. I introduced my country Japan, myself as a Japanese school teacher, my national costume of kimono and the paper-folding art of origami. The students were fascinated by the fact that a simple square paper could turn into all different shapes and 3D objects. I showed them how they could cut a perfect square paper from an old newspaper. I helped them make a box without a lid. I suggested different ways to use boxes so that they can reuse old newspaper. I showed the value of reusing and recycling in Japan, just like the way I wore my parents' old kimono. I added the value of respecting life in Japan because the kimono fabric had come from life, silkworms.

School visits in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa

I visited créches in Soweto, where many poor black people live. The creches were educational and social organization to support preschool age children during the day. The buildings were made out of used cargo containers and stand out in the squatter camps because of the colorful design and joyful voices of young children. The creche leaders gave children what their family could not give. They patiently looked after young children with their basic needs, taught them life skills and helped them become a happy member of the community. I was impressed by the neat way they line their shoes at the entrance in order to keep the floor clean. I felt at home. I spoke in English about my country Japan, explained my national costume. I dressed some children up in child's kimono. They sang an animal song that had rhythmical phrases. I introduced a Japanese song of horses in both English and Japanese and they learned it very quickly with action. Mr. Creighton, my host family, delivered blankets to creches so that each child had a warm blanket to take home for themselves to keep warm at home through the winter holiday. It got quite cold at night. The sky in Johannesburg was big and blue. The sun was quite strong. Those blankets, some hand knitted, were donated by people from churches and schools. Due to the blanket delivery service, I was fortunate to be able to see schools in rich area and creches in the poor area. There was a big difference between the way people live in South Africa.

KYP

At KYP, Kliptown Youth Program, a group of high school students from Massachusetts were visiting. They were pen pals. A wealthy American had donated a hundred small computers to KYP children to work on. As they learned English, they wrote to their pen pals in the USA. It was exciting to watch them share each other, sing songs and play games together. The KYP boys, big and small, in their rubber boots, gathered at the center and performed the Gum Boot Dance. The Gum Boot Dance goes back to the old mining time. It was an amazing dance in unison with joyful voices and rhythm. They tapped their knees and the front and backs of the boots, while clapping hands in between in a fast mode. It went very fast. I could never catch up, especially in my kimono. The first picture shows the Gum Boot Dance performance. There are office and library cabins in the background. The second picture shows the open area of the KYP ground with a couple of log cabins. The blue one on the right is the kitchen.

Kliptown Youth Program

My next visit was to KYP, Kliptown Youth Program, in Soweto. I chose KYP because students at the school I taught in Tokyo had sent KYP some used books as one of the Values education projects, thanks to Mr. Creighton. KYP is an educational and social organization, which was started by Thulani and a group of young black people from Kliptown squatter camp about three years ago. It was financially supported by white people within and outside of the country but was run by ten young black leaders. Most of the neighboring people lived in shacks without water and electricity. The young leaders took leadership and offered the children chances to learn, share and grow in a healthy manner otherwise they spend time on the street and get into trouble. KYP offered a home environment between school and home. When the children came to KYP after school, they got what their family could not give. Besides reading, writing and mathematics, the children were looked after with their homework from school, with play and games with children of all ages, with higher education guidance counseling, and with a substantial meal before going home.

At KYP I had a pleasure of speaking about my country, Japan, the concept of reuse and recycle, and introduced a Japanese paper folding craft, Origami. I used old newspaper so that they could learn the basics of paper folding and could make a container to pick up litter. Then we used origami paper to make simple toy animals using English words. It turned out to be a cross-curricular activity. I am a school teacher and this is what I can share.

At KYP, a group of high school students from Massachusetts were visiting. They were pen pals. A wealthy American had donated a hundred small computers to children to work on. As they learned English, they wrote to their pen pals in the USA. It was exciting to watch them share each other, sing songs and play games together. The KYP boys, big and small, in their rubber boots, gathered at the center and performed the Gum Boot Dance. The Gum Boot Dance went back to the old mining time. It was an amazing dance in unison with joyful voices and rhythm. They tapped their knees and the front and backs of the boots, while clapping hands in between in a fast mode. It went very fast. I could never catch up, especially in my national costume!

Soweto

My first stop in South Africa was Soweto on June 16, 2009. I passed the Soccer City Stadium which was under construction. Soweto is where black people live. The name came from the first two letters of the "South West of Town" from the time in 1886 when black people were forced to move into the marsh land to live in shacks and work as miners. I went straight to the open area, Freedom Square, in front of the Hector Pieterson Memorial Museum and the national heritage site intrinsically linked to the origins of the Soweto Uprising and its aftermath in 1976. The area and streets were packed with thousands of black people who were commemorating the Soweto Uprising of students on the same day in 1976. There were walls symbolizing the hardship with a photograph of a boy carrying a young boy, Hector Pieterson, who was shot by the police, and running to a hospital with his sister. I have never seen so many black students. I have never met so many students in perfect uniform in my life. School uniform showed their love for learning with choices. I was impressed by their pride. They were queuing up with their teachers in orderly manner to visit the museum in order to learn about where they came from and where they were going to. Education was a key. I saw posters that said, "Children needs roots and wings to grow". The museum was a symbol of hardship of the past and hope for the future. The picture is a newspaper article from The Star on June 17, 2009.

Africa, Cradle of Mankind

The summer of 2009 took me to the Origins Center and schools in Johannesburg, South Africa. At the origins Center (National Health Lab Service) I submitted my DNA sample for genetic ancestry testing. They reported to me later that I was one of the descendants of "Mitochondrial Eve." When they compared my mt DNA profile to two international databases with about 10,600 mt DNA haplotypes, they found 64 identical matches in Chinese, Indians, Thai, Mongolians, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Turkish as well as one South African white individual. My mt DNA did not match with the Japanese samples that they had. My guess was that the long history of the settlement of the complicated mixture of peoples at the tip of the Asian continent made the Japanese mt DNA samples very diverse. I was happy to know that I am small but truly a mix of the genes of the earth. No doubt I shared my new information with my students back in Tokyo. I also showed an image of Motochondrial Eve that is presented in Stephen Oppenheimer's book, "Out of Africa's Eden"(Jonathan Ball Publishers, Johannesburg, 2003).