Spring Break

Gearing up for safari in Addo elephant park.

It's spring now, and a recent spring break for the boys was a welcome, if slightly awkward surprise. Awkward in the sense that up until then, we had spent what I thought was a fair amount of time getting settled, and the regular rhythm of life was feeling good. We made the best of it and set out for Addo elephant park, home to the highest density of elephants in the world.

'Brenton on the sea' was the name of this beach.

The park is some ways away, and while I love the Tazz, it's not much of a highway cruiser. Big cars, like the van we had in the US, diffuse sibling conflict. Small cars concentrate it. Add the lack of cruise control, and the constant shifting of gears to get up hills, and I was only up for about 5 hours of driving a day. So, we stopped and camped at a place called Lake Pleasant. It was plenty pleasant, and our first camping experience here. Easy car camping, but lacking the familiar picnic table, we had a hard time managing our cooking. Lake Pleasant is near the beach, which is always nice to visit.

Poolside at the Avaco farm stay.

The next day we drove on to Addo, where we stayed on a citrus farm. I suppose I should come to the point: It was wonderful. First, the weather was enjoyable; hot days, and cold nights, the area is arid and low latitude. This could be uncomfortable, but when managed with appropriate technology, it's very fine indeed. A pool and a pond to while away the warm afternoons. A light sweater and a roaring fire for the cool evenings.

High risk, high reward behavior. Exhibit one: no life jackets!

I appreciated several things about the citrus farm.  First, there were kayaks and canoes to navigate the river with.

Exhibit two: the trampoline.

Second, there were two trampolines for the boys to jump on. Hours upon hours were spent jumping.

Exhibit three: the zip line.

 Third, there was a zip line for the kids to whiz down.

At some point it occurred to me that the whole affair was unsafe, and would never be
acceptable in the United States. This made it all the sweeter, as fun seems to have been a casualty of the American campaign for safety. A campaign that recognizes that broken arms can be monetized, but 'fun' can not.

I'm going speculate that South Africans have a different attitude about safety because they are more familiar with genuine risk; like life threatening crime.

A long evening of braai nearing completion.

Finally, I love braai. This is the South African way of barbecuing. An open flame is required, and a braai area consists of a wide circle of concrete on which to burn wood, with seats arranged around the fire. Wonderful ambiance, and a hearty roasted meat conclusion. Add bright Southern constellations, a glass of wine, and cool air, and you've really got something. "All units at the Avaco farm stay have Braai facilities." This is typical SA marketing language.

Our cottage.

Moreover, there were birds to look at, and trails to walk. The breakfasts were delicious, the locals were friendly, and the surroundings were foreign enough to be interesting.  Spring time is when citrus are blooming, and rich sweet smells permeated the cool morning air that clings to the ground. The cabins were clean with a well thought out floor plan. A small orchard was reserved for guests and lemonade or fresh squeezed orange juice was served constantly.  I sometimes feel like a travel failure, when I find a nice place and settle in for a week. Looking at the travel guide,  there are a half dozen 'must do' things in the area and I'm quietly missing them all. Oh well, I thought being a slacker was the point of holidays, honestly, seeing everything in the travel guide is just too much trouble.

Cape Buffalo.

Incidental to the time we had staying at the citrus farm, we went out on safari in the elephant park. Not surprisingly, we saw elephants. We also saw a buffalo, ostrich, wart hogs,  foxes, and a dung beetle. Not a bad couple days viewing. It is nice to do, but its relevance decreased as the days went by, and we enjoyed our stay on the farm more and more.

Abe holding a baby lion.

Finally, there was a cat breeding farm that we visited. I think the picture tells you what you need to know. It was as fun as it looks, maybe more. You wouldn't believe the sounds baby lions make.

A final note: I managed to find a good book to read while there. Have a look at Freedom, by Johnathan Franzen. There's plenty to think about in that book.

The Grove Primary School

The Grove Primary School

In South Africa, publicly funded schools can charge fees. The public money means that they are able to charge less than a completely private school, but the fees enable them to offer more than a completely public school. For instance, our school has 50% of the funding coming from the government, and 50% from fees. Schools such as this are designated as 'class C schools' in South Africa.

In the American system, I think that a similar idea was discussed under the moniker 'school vouchers'. So far as I know, the proposed voucher systems did not allow as much curriculum standardization as the South African model, where in order to receive public funds schools must include things like some instruction in indigenous African languages (Xhosa in the Western Cape) and Afrikaans, a Dutch derived language spoken by the descendants of the earliest white settlers. Students are also getting a balanced introduction to religious beliefs including; Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, and African animist beliefs. Contrast that to the voucher system proposed in the United States, where the purpose was often, in my view, religious indoctrination.

For that reason, and others, I never really supported the voucher concept.  I guess I also believed it would lead to deeper inequities, as the people that could afford to pay more would, and leave others behind.

But those were the thoughts of a younger man, one that didn't actually have children to put his theories to test on. Now, as I participate in a system where I can use financial resources to provide my children  an advantage, I have to ask myself, "am I getting $2000 a year back in terms of each child's education?"  Sadly, the answer is, "YES". I wish that weren't the case. I wish that our public education system were this good and better, I'll be returning to it soon enough. But I don't think it is. Let me try and explain why.

Student art. Good colors make all the difference.

First, there is an art program. We don't have one in the Montana, programs have been cut to provide more funding for the basics; reading, writing and arithmetic.  Here, there is a dedicated art teacher, an art room, and the a culture that strongly supports the arts in school. Students spend at least one hour a week working on art projects with the teacher. She's talented. I have to admit, I'm not sure the experience would be universal without such a good teacher. She's a strong personality and tolerates no nonsense from the students. She has managed to create a culture at the Grove where students are serious about doing a good job on art projects. They work in after hours art clubs, and our boys continue many of the projects at home.

Recently, there was an art auction fundraiser at the school. Wine was served, and we were all asked to bring a plate of hors d'oeuvres. Smartly dressed seventh graders served the food, while we bid on art, looked at art, drank wine, and talked to parents.

Art auction

There is a technology class where students work with light tools to create metal and wood works. I suppose we called this 'shop', but didn't get to it until seventh grade. I think it is another creative outlet for students. Maybe more appealing to students that aren't artistically inclined? Abe's been really interested in 'French Knitting'.

I like the math curriculum.  For instance, students are asked to find a way to combine 2, 5, 3 and 7  with multiplication, division, addition and subtraction to be 24 (3 x 7 + 5 - 2 works). The emphasis is on numeracy rather than memorization. There are also a lot of nice exercises based on estimation, and orders of magnitude. Very good!

In spite of uniforms, these kids look like punks.

Uniforms are undeniably cute. And maybe serve a purpose. The boys like to wear them, I think because they think they look good in them. At the end of the day, I think it's nice to have that stress off the table. There's plenty enough to worry about at school, without getting into football jerseys or rock band tee-shirts.

Music is a positive experience at the Grove. Many opportunities exist for lessons in piano, violin, recorder, etc. right in school. And a regular program for music that has our kids interested in singing and playing instruments. Somehow this never happened in the States, the program there turned our kids off to music. I always thought that was weird, a music program that kids don't like. Kids seem to naturally love music.

Zach in front of a grizzly dino scene.

Among other things, students get a grade for 'hygiene'. I've got the boys brushing their teeth every morning and getting regular haircuts with simple threats about hygiene grades. Sadly I'm still very much in the "threats" school of parenting. But, guess what? They are having a workshop at the Grove to help us with that. Not sure I'll make it, but hopefully there's a synopsis in the newsletter.

The emphasis on handwriting turned me off at first but I've come around. It's helped Zach stop reversing 'b' and 'd's, 'p's and 'q's, and as a result (maybe?) his reading has improved. His reading has definitely taken off, but its hard to attribute it to any one thing. There are educational benefits to being a foreigner, not wanting to embarrass yourself in a new culture, that's sure to play a role too. OK, I'm in the "humiliation" school of parenting too. Threats and humiliation.

The obelisk marks the location where Hershel observed the southern skies.

The school grounds are spectacular. Mostly open space for playing. The school sits on the site where Hershel came to observe stars in the Southern Hemisphere. There's also a family of Egyptian geese. All the students seem to know how many goslings there are and how the goose and gander can or cannot be crossed.

Zach and class on a field trip to the museum of natural history.

Field trips, or excursions are common. It's nice to live in a big city, I'm  sure it would be similar in any big city.  

There's a newsletter filled with the issues of the day. Recently, it's been dropping students off. No stopping cars in the red zone! They had the police come and issue some 40 odd tickets. It's good to see people fired up about silly shit. Makes me think the political situation can't be all bad. Then again, there have been efforts to eliminate class C schools in South Africa. I suppose I see where that comes from, equality of educational opportunity is a core democratic value. But as it is now, the Grove goes out of its way to provide a lot of scholarships to economically disadvantaged students. I can't see that continuing if public funding stopped.

The family of Egyptian Geese have their own pool.

Finally, and I'm a little uncomfortable saying this, it's nice to be in an environment where everyone cares about education. The peer group is outstanding, and our children have moved to the middle of the pack, instead of the front. The most disruptive personalities in US classrooms are not present. They are certainly here in South Africa, no society is free of that. But I don't believe that their parents are willing to  pay that much for school, because I don't think they care enough to. Alternatively, I suppose you could say that they are victims of circumstance and can't afford to pay that much. And so why visit the sins of the father on the son? Fair enough, public education should serve the public. But in America, I don't think it is so much a matter of money, but instead of priorities, and I guess I'd like to stay clear of people with really different priorities. Bummer, that's not a healthy society.