Call: +44 (0) 207 193 7819
Email: info@gapafricaprojects.com
Call: +44 (0) 207 193 7819
Email: info@gapafricaprojects.com
The Teachers teaching Teachers (TtT) project aims to bridge the skills gap currently occuring between schools in the western world and developing countries.
The project exposes teachers to new ideas, techniques and approaches enabling them to then bring these with them into the classroom. Developing teaching standards and strategies to align more closely with those used across the world, will enable children to benefit from a higher standard of teaching. In turn this will make them more able to compete as global citizens with their international peers in the business and education world.
Project Type: Education
Location: Cape Town, Western Cape
Duration: 2 weeks
Price: £900
Start Dates: flexible / ongoing
Accommodation: Clean basic accommodation in shared rooms in a well run hostel with communal bathrooms and kitchens as well as a bar and pool.
Meals: Three basic meals a day will be provided Monday – Friday (including a packed lunch). Continental breakfast will be provided at weekends.
Please note although we try to cater for dietary requirements, being in rural South Africa can make this difficult. Please let us know prior to booking should you have specific dietary requirements.
Age Range: N/A
“Education is neither eastern or western. Education is education and it’s the right of every human being.” Malala Yousafzai.
Global Handprints believes that children all around the world should not only have access to education but that it should be an education in which the teaching competes at an international level. Currently there’s a great deal of information in the media about global citizenship; a curriculum to promote it and it’s importance in schools. An emphasis is being placed on making children aware of other, different cultures, countries and customs using the internet, pen pal links and Skype conversations. However, Global Handprints believes children first need to be global learners, being taught by teachers who share skills and experience with their international colleagues, in order for them to truly become global citizens.
The Teachers teaching Teachers (TtT) project aims to bridge the skills gap currently occuring between schools in the western world and developing countries. The project exposes teachers to new ideas, techniques and approaches enabling them to then bring these with them into the classroom. Developing teaching standards and strategies to align more closely with those used across the world, will enable children to benefit from a higher standard of teaching. In turn this will make them more able to compete as global citizens with their international peers in the business and education world.
Volunteer Teachers spend time working alongside locally trained teachers in rural schools running workshops, observing lessons, modeling methods and strategies and sharing their skills. All teachers are encouraged to identify their own strengths as well as areas that need developing. The TtT project enables volunteer teachers to undertake volunteer placements that make use of their specific experience and training, making a long lasting impact on what happens in the classroom.
Example Itinerary
Any time before 8:00 am: Wake up and organize your own breakfast from the continental breakfast
bar
8:00am: Meeting with Volunteer Coordinator and all Volunteer Teachers to discuss any issues that may have arisen, share ideas and prepare for the day ahead
8:15 am: Volunteer Teachers collected from backpacker hostel and driven to their placement school
8:45 am: Arrive at school and meet with your Buddy Teacher to discuss the day and ensure all resources you may need are ready and prepared
9:00 – lunchtime: Morning Session (this may consist of a workshop, lesson observation, modeling a lesson, group discussion, one to one skills sharing session)
Lunchtime: Packed lunch and a chance to communicate with other Volunteer and local Teachers
Lunchtime – 3:00pm: Afternoon Session (this may consist of a workshop, lesson observation, modeling a lesson, group discussion, one to one skills sharing session)
3:00pm: Volunteer Teachers are driven back to the backpacker hostel
3:30pm: Meeting with fellow Volunteer Teachers and Volunteer Coordinator to discuss the day, share ideas, make plans and prepare resources for the following day
5:00pm onwards: Free time for activities / relaxing / dinner
Volunteer Teachers will have time on their first day to sit down with their Buddy Teacher and discuss strengths, areas to develop, strategies and ideas of how the next few weeks will be structured. In this session teachers will come up with tangible, measureable goals. Volunteer Teachers will have ongoing opportunities to discuss these with the Coordinators back at the hostel and will be given ongoing support to ensure they are being measured, and ultimately, met.
Volunteers are free to spend their weekends and evenings as they wish. We encourage you to socialise with your peers and work together to organize events such as social braais, hikes, sports games and sundowners. You will be able to organize your own activities however we can offer advice and guidance and make bookings on your behalf.
The TtT projects are unusually located in close proximity to Cape Town, South Africa’s most dynamic city. Within a short drive volunteers can climb Table Mountain, go sand boarding on South Africa’s highest dune, see Africa’s Big 5, snorkel with seals, drive the most scenic coastal road, dive with sharks, watch whales, surf, horse ride, go wine tasting and, of course, venture in to the city to experience all it has to offer.
In addition to your time on placement, there will be opportunities to get involved with other, local initiatives for example beach cleaning with children from local primary schools or volunteering at an animal shelter.
Eligibility:
Due to the concept of this project, in order to take part, volunteers must be either a fully qualified teacher or in the process of completing teacher training. The placement is also open to trainee teachers who are required to undertake an alternative placement during their training and we are more than happy to work with you and your University to complete any necessary paperwork and assessments.
Clean, basic accommodation in shared rooms in a well run hostel with communal bathrooms and kitchens as well as a bar and pool. Access to internet is sometimes available in town but is not guaranteed. Volunteers will be sharing bedroom and bedding will be provided.
You will be provided three basic meals a day Monday – Friday (including a packed lunch). Continental breakfast will be provided at weekends.
Please note although we try to cater for dietary requirements, being in rural South Africa can make this difficult. Please let us know prior to booking should you have specific dietary requirements.
Today in South Africa, following 40 years of apartheid in which only white South African children received quality education for free, there is a huge backlog in education. National illiteracy rates currently stand at around 9-million adults, over 15 years old, not being functionally literate (having either no education or a highest level of education less than grade seven). Although this has dropped by almost 50% in 1996, there is still work to be done in schools.
The TtT project offers placements in schools across the Western Cape Education District, primarily in the Cape Winelands and Eastern Metro municipalities, both close to the city of Cape Town. This district has been chosen because of it’s proactive and dynamic Integrated Development Plan with links to the larger National Development Plan. South Africa’s vision for 2030 is in alignment with the MDGs, aiming to change the life of millions of people in South Africa by eliminating poverty and reducing inequality. The Government targets for education and training include improving quality of basic education and creating decent employment opportunities through inclusive growth. The Western Cape is working towards ensuring every person will have access to a good education that will ensure he or she is appropriately skilled for work.
In the Western Cape there are over 1 million children in almost 1,500 public schools being taught by over 32,000 teachers. As a start, the government has recently invested in the training of Early Childhood Development centre staff, believing that quality early childhood development services make a difference in the child’s life, and to society. However there is not yet, a government initiative to increase professional development for primary or high school teachers. That’s where the TtT project comes in, impacting the standard of teaching children go on to experience in their school careers.
Not only do Teachers taking part in the TtT project have an impact on the standards of teaching but this impact will also make a different to the next adult generation’s level of employment. Having been taught at a higher standard with teachers using more up to date strategies and methods, children will leave school with a higher literacy skills, making them not only more employable but also more able to compete with their international peers in the education and business worlds.
We understand that volunteering is often a life long dream for people but that the price can sometimes mean that’s how it stays. We have worked hard to establish a project in which costs are covered and the community is supported but where people of all ages and backgrounds, are able to take part and change their lives.
Two week Teachers teaching Teachers (TtT) placements cost £900 per person. These placements can be booked in multiples however each two-week block will be completed in a different school. Volunteer Teachers are also welcome to join us before or after their placement on our Volunteer Road Trips.
– Transport to and from Durban airport to your accommodation at the start and end of your placement
– Transport to and from your placement on a daily basis
– Accommodation (twin or dorm style)
– 3 meals Monday – Friday (continental breakfast and packed lunch)
– 1 meal a day at weekends (continental breakfast)
– Bottled water while on project
– Advice on the local area and support booking activities
– South African Visas
– Passport fees
– Vaccinations
– Lunch and Dinner at weekends
– Drinks (other than bottled water while on project)
– Activities in the evenings or at weekends
– Transport to / from activities arranged during your free time
Volunteer Teachers are required to arrange their own South African Visa prior to departure and are responsible for applying for this, as well as a passport, with enough time for it to arrive prior to departure. They will also need to check with their Doctor or GP to ensure they have had the most up to date travel vaccinations required. Global Handprints is responsible for ensuring your safety and wellbeing at all times however, you will need to purchase travel insurance from home. We will ask for your policy details prior to arrival and ask that you have the information on hand at all times while you’re with us.
If you have any questions, or if you’d like to find out more about this incredible adventure and create some unforgettable memories, just fill in the form below and one of our team will be in touch as soon as possible.