Q: How did you come to be a reader?
A: I’m not entirely sure! But, when I was doing Standard 8 (Grade 10) in King William’s Town during the the time of school boycotts I started reading because there was nothing else to do!
Q: How did you come to be a reader?
A: I’m not entirely sure! But, when I was doing Standard 8 (Grade 10) in King William’s Town during the the time of school boycotts I started reading because there was nothing else to do!
I accidentally came across a book by James Hadley Chase called There’s a Hippie on the Highway. I read it and enjoyed it and I wanted to read more of the author.
I have a substantial collection of James Hadley Chase books at home! And I am a regular at Fables book shop.
Q: How did your training at Rhodes help you incorporate reading into your teaching practice?
A: Reading is a problem in our schools. The timetable is very tight and reading is not regarded as the most important aspect of learning.
When I was at Rhodes I was introduced to publisher sponsors who supply reading books for pleasure. And then we were also trained to start reading programmes in our schools.
I started a reading programme. At fi rst, because of the shortage of reading resources, I was using newspapers and magazines anything I could lay my hands on.
But, then I started writing to organisations like Biblionef and READ and they donated books. I reported back to them on the success of the programme and I have received about fi ve batches of books from them.
The purpose of the programme is to instil a culture of learning in the children, and to develop their language, writing and reading skills.
Q: How successful has the reading programme been?
A: There are somehow many challenges. It is a problem when it is regarded as the sole responsibility of the language teachers to get learners to read in class.
I make sure that during my classes especially classes specifi cally reserved for reading the learners do read. Another problem is the shortage of books, especially the isiXhosa books.
It seems the publishers are no longer publishing books in isiXhosa, especially books that learners could read for pleasure. Even magazines there is a shortage of isiXhosa magazines.
There is just not enough reading material available. Another thing is that learners either steal the books or tear the pages at the moment that is the greatest challenge.
If you leave the learners in the class unattended, youcan be sure that three or four books will go missing. On the other hand, a number of my children are now reading for pleasure.
Q: Apart from your own classroom library is there a library at TEM Mrwetyana?
A: We have a building for the school library, but there are only old textbooks in it. There are no books for pleasure. That why I have to ensure that the books I received from READ and Biblionef are looked after.
Also, I took them on a tour of the nearby Duna Library and I asked them to join the library. They are taking books out of Duna and I make sure they read these books by requiring them to do book reviews, both in writing and orally.
Also, because they like magazines, I collect magazines and get them to take just one article and tell me in class what they have read. That’s how I make sure they read!
Q: How did you learn to write book reviews?
I was taught how to do a book review for my Advanced Certifi cate in Education (ACE). Every day during our course we were given 15 minutes reading time.
We were required to read at least 10 books for the year and produce book reviews for each book we read. So it was part of my training.
Q: Tell us how you came about the book you reviewed for us (see Zanele’s review of The Uncertainty of Hope below):
A: I am doing a Masters at Rhodes and Sarah Murray brought a whole lot of books into class. She noticed that I was an avid reader and asked if I would like to review The Uncertainty of Hope to see if it would be an appropriate read for student teachers.
I took the book home and my 18-year-old daughter was the one who started to read the book because I was busy.
She told me, ‘You must read the book mum, it is interesting.’ So I read it! It is good and deals with a lot of issues.
Q: We seem to be living in an age when most people – both young and old – do not read books for pleasure. How do you explain the fact that your daughter reads?
A: I think it’s fi rst and foremost because she can see that I like to read. When she was a child, I would read to her.
Also, she was at Victoria Girls, so she would get books every day to take home. At home it’s our culture! We like to read. Sometimes we don’t even watch the TV.
