This time in a primary school, again on the north east side of Johannesburg (about an hour from where we live). We visited a few grade 3-4 classes that are involved in a literacy program - which is what I was there photographing for. There were 3 sometimes 4 children sitting at each double desk - often sharing one notebook. Two of the classes we went into had no teacher for the day, only a 7th grade student babysitting.
The literacy program I was visiting is a Non Government Orginization that has chosen specific schools in targeted areas to work with. Many of these 8-10 year old students will be struggling with basic sight words... cat, is, am, was, it, are. Partially because english is a second language for nearly all of them - partially due to overcrowding, lack of resources, lack of nutrution and safety at home, sometimes even lack of healthy, providing parents. It's not an easy thing to have the freedom to stay a child in a poor community in Johannesburg.
I'm copying this and dropping it in the teachers' workroom. Lest we forget.
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