Anticipating the Unknown

We have the visas, we have the air tickets, we have homes for our guests to stay in, we have “buddies” set up for the visiting teachers and students, we have transportation and entertainment scheduled, we have workshops and meetings arranged, and we even have some hard-to-get indigenous staple foods purchased so that our guests will feel comfortable.

Still, my mind goes round and round at night: What have we forgotten? What still needs to be done? What more can we do to ensure that the upcoming two-week-long visit is not only a success but also takes the fullest possible advantage of the opportunity to physically bring together these two communities that have worked and dreamed together for the past 10 years.

Four delegations from Saint Mark’s to eSiboniswseni have done much to consolidate our relationship, but those visits each involved only a small (while committed) representation of our extended school community. The upcoming visit by five teachers and six students from eSibonisweni finally offers the opportunity for everyone at Saint Mark’s to engage in a partnership that lies at the heart of Saint Mark’s commitment to global education.

What will be the results of the coming together of these two communities? We can anticipate the class-to-class projects that our teachers will plan together, we can anticipate the discussions and learning that will occur in both directions, we can anticipate that many members of our local community who were not engaged in the past will become interested and committed to this partnership; what we cannot know is the personal impact, both short- and long-term, that this visit will have on both the schools involved and on many individuals within each community.

I can’t wait to read the blogs of students, teachers, staff and families as they first encounter and then get to know each other, because until now there has been much imagining, but I am certain that imagination cannot possibly live up to the reality.

So today is Friday – one week to go and counting. - Jennifer Getz

I Am Because Others Are

Or, put a bit less succintly, “umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu” (Zulu) or “a person is a person through other persons.” Although the concept of Ubuntu, encountered in many parts of Africa, is translated in a few ways, it generally boils down to the above. For me, it goes beyond the “No man is an island” aphorism. The latter suggests our interdepence; the former addresses our relationships. Nelson Mandela’s example from his youth is that when a traveler came through the village, that person didn’t need to ask for food—the food was offered.

The concept has had a lot of play in popular and political culture in the past five years, but I still think it’s a useful lens through which to examine ourselves and our actions every day. Who are we when that traveler comes to our village? As we take this next step in our partnership with eSibonisweni, I’m looking forward to seeing who we all are in this new context. —Jennifer Wolfe

Preparing the Seventh Grade for a Partnership Activity

Over the past few weeks the seventh-grade has been preparing to learn from and with Saint Mark's special guests from eSibonisweni Primary School in South Africa.  For my English class this means reading South African literature (My Children, My Africa by Athol Fugard), watching Molly Blank's documentary Where Do I Stand? on xenophobia in South African townships, brainstorming about the "unexpected surprises" about which they needed to warn guests from a very rural community, and preparing giant rain barrels for a joint art project that they will make in conjunction with the guests to our classroom.  This art project will be part of a greater project to decorate for Passport Day to South Africa, but it will also serve as a platform for the students to all discuss a theme that pervades the text of My Children, My Africa and our social and emotional learning class.  Despite being set in the violent upheaval of South Africa under apartheid, one of the simplest themes in the play to identify is one that middle schoolers can easily embrace: young adults with big dreams must often overcome odds to make those dreams occur.  I cannot wait to hear my students and our guests discuss their dreams and how they plan to reach them. —Stacey Kertsman

PREPARING RAIN BARRELS: 

Sand, prime, design Ndebele-inspired decorations