Project Read Grahamstown was launched last week at the English-medium George Dickerson Primary School to help the school’s isiXhosa-speaking Grade 1 learners with reading and literacy.
Project Read Grahamstown was launched last week at the English-medium George Dickerson Primary School to help the school’s isiXhosa-speaking Grade 1 learners with reading and literacy.
During the regular Tuesday and Thursday classes, three volunteers are paired with one or two learners. Coordinator of the project, Cathy Gush said, “A teacher in a class of 40 kids, which is the case with most of these [schools], just isn’t able to give that individual attention to help them over the hump.”
She added that the learners are not provided with the necessary support at their homes either. Every hour-long learning session is divided into four parts: word games, have-a-go writing, paired reading and shared reading.
The teaching method is based on a similar project called WordWorks, an international literacy organisation in Cape Town. Gush said she hopes to expand the project to St Mary’s Primary School and the Afrikaans-medium Grahamstown Primary School by the end of August, as well as adding an extra day’s class as soon as possible.
Project Read plans to reach grades R, 1, 2 and 3 and, Gush added, “eventually we would like to send a book home with the child as well.” There are currently about 30 volunteers – a mixed group of Kingswood and St Andrew's mothers, Rhodes students and staff, and other members of the community.
Few of these volunteers are trained teachers; however, they have attended a training session conducted by Dr Shelley O’Carroll, Educational Psychologist from WordWorks. Luiza van Heerden, one of the volunteers, was appreciative of the programme and the guidance she received.
She said it was intimidating to realise that “you’ve got this little mind that you’re going to be working with, but they seem very enthusiastic. It’s quite exciting.” Gush and the volunteers said the response from the teachers and learners has been positive, and Gush added, “It’s always a bit nerve-wracking when you start out because you just don’t know what’s going to happen or how it’s going to pan out, but I think it’s definitely so far, so good.”
The Learning Trust, based in Cape Town, is funding the pilot phase of the local project which is linked to Grahamstown’s Lebone Centre and Kingswood’s Integrated Community Development Projects (ICDP) Trust. *Project Read Grahamstown can be contacted at 082 657 4718.
