Last week the report of the Annual National Assessment of the South African Department of Basic Education was released. It is the result of a process whereby the literacy and numeracy of 7.3 million school students were tested earlier this year. Overall the results are not good and in some cases rather shocking (mg.co.za/article/2014-12-04-grade-nine-mathsaverage-slips-badly-in-2014). The inability to read with understanding is one of the main reasons for the poor performance, even in Maths, was a comment made by different educators in the media. According to one education leader students start falling behind from day one and by the end of grade 3 many are already one year behind with very little chance to rectify the problem which then grows exponentially by the year.
This confirmed to me once again that we are absolutely on the right track: we are doing the right thing by giving these kids a reading head start and we are doing it well by using the very excellent Reading Eggs combined with our commitment, enthusiasm and love. In Afrikaans we have this definition for quality and excellence: om die regte dinge reg te doen. Dis presies wat ons hier doen.
Our first year was a resounding success. We started timidly with 15 learners and 5 laptops in March, optimistic but somewhat wary, not knowing what to expect. When the school year ended on Monday we could marvel at these 23 children who did not know 10 English words in March and now can read simple books. We are proud of the 30 reading certificates which were awarded to them. We are glad that they have learned something about the power of computers and the internet. We are particularly pleased that they had a taste of independent learning. We cherish their self-confidence and openness which grew as a result of this success and we share their excitement for the big school in the knowledge that their chances are so much better.
This success is the combination of various components that came together:
- Reading Eggs (www.readingeggs.co.za) which combines all the latest knowledge and knowhow of reading with sophisticated technology
- Access to Reading Eggs provided by the Click Foundation (www.clickfoundation.co.za )
- The Kameeldrift Early Learning Centre providing access to the children and a suitable venue
- Kamcare (www.kamcare.org) for providing and maintaining the infrastructure: funding, computers, Internet access
- Friends who supported us in various ways by showing interest, donating money and books, help with transport, sharing, and above all, by praying for us.
a RE bale 