Josh Elder, 2010 Teach with Africa fellow, is a 7th and 8th grade teacher of Life Sciences at KIPP Philadelphia Charter School. For more updates on his experience as a Teach with Africa fellow, you can follow his blog.

Yesterday was my first day of teaching in South Africa. I woke up in the middle of the night with feelings of anxiety and anxiousness. I had been waiting for the moment to enter into the classroom and do what I love so much. On the outside I tried to remain calm but on the inside I was a complete wreck.

I was finally able to fall back to sleep, but it seemed as soon as I did my alarm was ringing and it was time for me to get up. I was able to have breakfast and then started my walk to school. The entire way I tried to remain calm and confident but again I was nervous on the inside.

This week we are doing workshops for Grade 7 and Grade 8 students who live in the different townships. These students have been working on math and science for the last couple of weeks while the schools here in South Africa are on holiday break and World Cup break. The tutors that are running the program wanted Teach with Africa to run workshops on different life skills. There are workshops being held on Study Skills, Writing, Leadership, and Journalism. I decided that I wanted to do a workshop on leadership. I feel like developing leaders in middle school is such a huge need that both the South African and American society need to tap into.

Once I was assigned a class to enter, I started feeling extremely nervous. However, as soon as I saw the 20+ students and I was in the class, all of those nerves just went away. It felt as if I had already met and taught these students before. I couldn’t believe how at ease I was. In hindsight, I realized that this is the same feeling I had on my first day of teaching and the same feeling I get on the first day of school every year. However, once I heard the kids say their name and then they said my name it was like I had never left my class. When my time was up with the first class I didn’t want it to be over.

As I was leaving and walking back to the house I just had such a profound realization.

There are many days that I complain about life and complain about my job, but I know that I do what I do for a reason. I am a teacher for a reason. I love what I do.

Something about working with students who are the future is very invigorating. There are some amazing days in the classroom and there are some days that just go horribly wrong in the classroom, but that is part of teaching. I know that my calling is in education.

During their time in South Africa, Teach with Africa fellows will be providing field notes on their experiences. Keep up with us on Facebook, Twitter, and get our email updates for the latest.

Steve Le, 2010 Teach with Africa fellow, is an English teacher and the co-director of the Service Learning program at Pacific Ridge School, in Carlsbad, CA. For more updates on his experience as a Teach with Africa fellow, you can follow his blog.

The LEAP Schools embrace community outreach as a part of the students’ development.

Each campus has developed an on-going relationship with a handful of grassroots organizations in the townships where the students live. Recognizing that the education they are receiving is a privilege, LEAP students learn to serve their local communities.

Let’s pause to consider that for a minute.

Students who live in homes without electricity and often go to bed without dinner volunteer their time to give comfort to others in their own community. Not to people whom they consider to be in a different social class, but to their neighbors. Wow.

Our first stop was a community center called the Etafeni Project, a multi-purpose center for children with AIDS. Over time, the reach of the project extended to those infected by, affected by, or vulnerable to AIDS. LEAP students come to Etafeni throughout the year to play with the kids in the day care center, to teach music and singing, and to do various chores for the staff.

John Gilmour, the founder of LEAP, has a vision that LEAP will serve to empower students not just with an education, but also with a purpose to give meaning to that education.

During their time in South Africa, Teach with Africa fellows will be providing field notes on their experiences. Keep up with us on Facebook, Twitter, and get our email updates for the latest.

Today is wildly exciting for all of us at Teach with Africa. While many challenges facing South African schools remain, we’re particularly enthusiastic about the progress being made by the students at our host organization, the LEAP Science and Maths Schools.

Through your help, Teach with Africa has funded 22 fellows to participate in the 2010 program, impacting the lives of hundreds students at LEAP. Our goal remains the same: to break economic and social barriers to education in South Africa through an exchange of teaching and learning.

Our team of 2010 TwA fellows depart the U.S. today for Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa, to start teaching classes, implementing projects and running professional development seminars to deepen the two-way conversation on improving education.

By integrating these experiences into their teaching after they return, TwA fellows will enhance opportunities for African and U.S. students to identify themselves as global citizens through authentic connections and shared learning. Teach with Africa is able to send our 2010 TwA fellows in response to the dire teacher shortage and educational crisis facing South Africa because of your support.

On behalf of everyone at TwA, a big and heartfelt thank you. We cannot begin to show our gratitude to you for making this educational exchange possible.

During their summer in South Africa, TwA fellows will be posting stories on this blog about their teaching and learning experiences at the LEAP schools. Keep up with us on Facebook, Twitter, and get our email updates for the latest.

Live in the Bay Area? Join Us!
We’re working here in San Francisco—using every creative solution we can find—to raise money to send teachers to South Africa. Teach with Africa events are not only great fun, but they can change the world for very deserving students. If you live in San Francisco, we’d love for you to come join us!

http://teachwithafrica.org/eventSpecial.html

Island Tennis Party
Saturday June 26th, 2010
5-10pm at San Francisco Tennis Club
Join us for an evening of tennis, dinner, dancing and silent auction. Non-players welcome. Sign up via email to tennis@sftennis.com or call (415) 777-9000.

5K Run for Teachers
Sunday, July 18, 2010
The second annual Run for Teachers 5K, at St. Francis Yacht Club Parking Lot, in honor of Tracey Lurie-Sklar—a teacher, mother, daughter, sister and community leader.
www.runforteachers.org