Power Lines, by Jason Carter: on Education

Jason Carter: 1998: Peace Corps educator in South Africa

I was the only white person for miles. But the Peace Corps trains all of its members to speak the local language, and the grounding I received in Siswati and Zulu allowed me to put black South Africa at ease and to participate in their lives to an extent unheard of for most of white South Africa.

Jason Carter: Worked with rural African teachers on new curriculum

While the old curriculum would have given specific instructions, and an exact lesson plan for what to do on the 3rd day of 2nd grade, the new post-apartheid curriculum would simply tell the teacher what the children should be able to do at the end of the year. Most teachers saw this not as freedom but as a lack of guidance. How were they supposed to proceed?

Our job as volunteers was to work with teachers in rural areas to help them implement the new curriculum and reform other parts of their school organization to better fit the new educational environment. It was a well-designed project, and we all felt as though we were on the front lines of one of the most important battles of the post-apartheid struggle.

Jason Carter: Third World schooling presents extraordinary challenges

All the schools were poor enough to qualify for government subsidized lunches; 2 pieces of bread and cup of milk. For some this meal was the most substantial of the day.

The area's schools were overcrowded. Sometimes 90 children sat in a single 3rd grade classroom. No child had his or her own desk, and many even shared chairs.

Apartheid's residue coated these schools from top to bottom.

I had come to South Africa to battle hardships in schools. I regarded the challenge with a sense of optimism and relished the idea of making progress.

The challenge of educating children in this environment was extraordinary.

Jason Carter: Teachers are means to vanquish South African apartheid