This Week In Tech (TWIT)
I knew I called Tiro, “Tech Boy,” for a reason! Ben continued working on the computers at Jacob Langa Primary, last week, and on Wednesday, I joined him at school to help clean and reorganize the computer lab/staff lounge to make it more usable. After we had carefully rearranged all of the tables and chairs, alongside the windows, placing the computers neatly on top of the tables, the principle informed us that we would have to move everything to a different wall, because having the computers so close to the windows would “make people jealous.” Slightly disappointed, but recognizing the significance of his comment, we then proceeded to move everything to the back wall. First, however, we had to remove the 20 stacks of books that were already on the back wall, so the principle sent in “reinforcements” (students) to help with the task. While we were moving books, Tiro found a rather decrepit old box that, in his words, seemed, “more alive than dead.” No sooner had the Deputy (Vice) Principal warned us to watch out for black scorpions, than we saw the very critter she described scurry out from under the box, about 3 cm in length. Principal Mongwe calmly terminated its life and we continued moving the rest of the books, cleaned the floor (again, with the help of our reinforcements), and repositioned all of the tables/chairs and computers so that they were in the appropriate location. We were exhausted by the time we had finished, but the room looks 10 times better and two of the computers are now completely usable, plus a third Ben fixed up for the office! (Five more computers will be ready to go, as soon as the school purchases power cords, and possibly an additional two if the hardware can be repaired). Way to go, Tech Boy!
Tiro with the faculty and staff at Jacob Langa Lower Primary School.
At Abbot’s Poort Primary, Tiro was hoping to observe classes, last week, but neither of us expected the teachers to feel so caught off-guard by this request. Only one educator felt comfortable with him visiting her class and the rest said, “next week would be better.” So, Tiro continued taking photos of the teachers during breaks and designed a complete classroom observation schedule for next week, allowing him to visit every teacher and every class of students. After mastering the schedule puzzle, he was given the task of “fixing the TV.” We had plugged-in the TV, VCR, and satellite decoder, the week prior, but not all of the channels were working, so Tiro spent a fair bit of time studying the manual and calling the service provider to get things sorted out. End outcome? Abbot’s Poort Primary now has a fully-functional television; Tech Boy reigns, again!
One cute school-related story from our friend, Paul, in Ga-Seleka: Paul asked one of the teachers at his school if he could observe a Grade R (Kindergarten) class, next week, knowing that it might be a bit chaotic, since there is only one educator for over 100 learners. Only about 2/3 of the students seem to be in class at any given time; the other third can be found in the playing area, outside, or running around somewhere between the classroom and the playing area. To Paul’s request to visit the class, the teacher responded, “Yes, but one day, next week, I will be marking papers, and not teaching.” This raised the question of what the Grade R students would be doing on that day, and the teacher replied that it was their “reflection time.”
Filed under: School
