At Thandokhulu High School Emily A., Julie and I teach classes from 8am to 3pm. Most classes have 50 or more learners in it. During classes, I can’t help but feeling that I wish these learners had more one-on-one attention. I asked about the possibility of after-school programs and was waiting for a response when they announced that they would have computer and drama classes after school. We instantly volunteered to help with the computer classes.
The next week after class we went to the computer lab to begin the class which is held Monday and Wednesday for the next month or so. This is the only computer lab in the school. It is usually locked behind the iron gates in which case you must find “Mr. Tokyo” who usually has the key. If you go inside of it during the day you will see the two rows of computers but no chairs. The classrooms have a shortage of chairs for all of the learners so in between classes you can see learners scurrying around in search of extra chairs.
During this first class the teacher introduced us and started his lesson. Each learner had a text book that seemed pretty outdated since it talked about DOS and software that was no longer used. The teacher began doing a worksheet from the textbook that told you to match definitions to words like CD-ROM, Flash Drive, and megabyte. I felt as though these terms were too abstract for the 15 or so learners, since the majority if not all of them had no access to a computer in their homes and have had no experience with them at all.
After 40 minutes he told everyone that we were going to set up their e-mails with them. It was kind of a shock since I have been using e-mails for years and it has been my main point of communication with employers, schools, teachers and friends. I have also been taught how to use Microsoft excel, PowerPoint and communication resources like Facebook and MySpace. I feel that these learners are so behind in the world of technology and are thus less competitive when it comes to everything from going to a university, seeking jobs to finding directions and researching. There was only one learner who already had an e-mail address and Facebook account.
So we walked around and made sure that each student was able to find the website and start filling out the personal information section in order to create an account. I was saddened to see how they did not understand even the smallest functions. We kept reminding them to write down their log in names and passwords. Some began writing “First name: ... Last name: …” not realizing what a log in name is. The room was hot since the air conditioner had broken several weeks ago. We wiped the sweat off of our foreheads as we walked around to each student. One student needed help with “Pick a security question.” So I tried to explain that he needed that as a security measure in case he forgot his password and wanted a new one. So first he typed “Who am I?” With the answer being his name. Then I told him that he should not use his name as the answer because it would be too easy to guess. I also told him not to write things that could change and gave him the examples of, “Who was my first girl friend, what is my mothers name, where was I born?” to use. So he typed, “Who is my child” I was a little taken aback and I asked him nicely, “You have a child?” “Yes.” “Oh. Ok, why don’t you write ‘What is the name of my first child?’ and he did.
During this exercise I realized at what sort of disadvantage these learners were. They have never worked with Microsoft Word which seems like second nature for me now since I have been made to hand in typed essays since I was in middle school. This is neither required of them nor possible for them. In middle school I took one typing class which was part of the curriculum and am now a very fast typist. I was able to practice typing with, what were then new technology, instant messaging and e-mails. They had absolutely no typing skill and typed with one or two fingers. They also were not able to practice using this new technology and were not able to learn how to interact with others electronically.
The computer class is a good start for these learners but it should only be the beginning. Unfortunately, this will be the first, last and only class these kids will ever get on the use of computers in high school. Furthermore, this class of 15 learners is from the 11th and 12th grade. With about 1200 learners in the school this is a shockingly low percentage of students that get any experience in using computers. How will the others be able to learn in their homes where no one owns a computer? How will they find a good job when employers use e-mails and look for proper format which these students never got experience using? I see how all of these disadvantages add up and perpetuate a cycle
