Today we met our South African counterparts and had a full day of professional development. I will be working with Lebagong Serwale, a teacher at Tandi Eleanor Sibeko Secondary School in the East Rand, which is part of the Greater Johannesburg metropolitan area. It is located in Nigel, a small town in the Guateng province, which began as a gold mining center and now is home to both heavy industry and agriculture. Tandi Eleanor Sibeko Secondary School is part of a "paperless school" initiative in the province and Lebagong plays a significant role as a member of the school's ICT (Information and Communications Technology) team. She teaches Life Orientation to 8th and 9th graders and we are looking forward to collaborating on learning projects centered on human rights and world religions.
Below is a gallery of pictures from our workshop. We did identity mapping and personality compass exercises, discussed the importance of "21st century skills," and explored many of the issues and challenges facing teachers and students in the D.C. area and in Johannesburg/Pretoria schools.