St. Johns College
THE CHALLENGE
South Africa is a land of extremities and stark contrasts. This is particularly evident with the location of St John’s on the border of Yeoville and Berea. Louis Botha Avenue separates Houghton’s wealthy and privileged lifestyles and under-resourced communities on the other side of the road.
Dlala Nje was brought in for the Africa @ Our Feet program for the Grade 9’s. The idea was to explore and leverage St. Johns’ proximities. These proximities hold stigmas for parents, teachers and pupils.
How do we deconstruct notions of these areas by intimately exploring them? Is there a possibility of challenging the perceptions of the parents through curricular activities of the pupils?
WHAT WE CURATED
St John’s hosted an eclectic bunch of speakers to expose pupils to the African diaspora and the hardships that cultivated a resilient and pragmatic city in transition.
Our experiential learning field trip began to layer and complement the program through a thought-provoking experience.
Pupils now had the opportunity to have an opinion of their own about these districts, sometimes challenging the outdated views of their families and teachers. This kind of dialogue is imperative in our country at the moment.