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The Other Apartheid in South Africa: Barriers to Literacy and Literature Ina Multilingual Society

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The Other Apartheid in South Africa: Barriers to Literacy and Literature Ina Multilingual Society Michigan Reading Journal Volume 40 Issue 1 Article 5 October 2007 The Other Apartheid in South Africa: Barriers to Literacy and Literature ina Multilingual Society Allison L. Baer Jaqueline N. Glasgow Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mrj Recommended Citation Baer, Allison L. and Glasgow, Jaqueline N. (2007) "The Other Apartheid in South Africa: Barriers to Literacy and Literature ina Multilingual Society," Michigan Reading Journal: Vol. 40 : Iss. 1 , Article 5. Available at: https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/mrj/vol40/iss1/5 This Other is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@GVSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Michigan Reading Journal by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@GVSU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Other Apartheid in South Africa: Barriers to Literacy and Literature in a Multilingual Society BY ALLISON L. BAER AND JACQUELINE N. GLASGOW Dawn shows empty jails; No light reaches the chained minds: Keys hidden in books. -Stephen Wayne Spencer we stepped on to the tarmac, our eyes were drawn to the surrounding mountains. After a 24-hour flight, we were grateful to feel the fresh, crisp air of Cape Town, South Africa. Little did we know that we would A soon be on the top of one of those mountains, talk with fascinating people, work with bright-eyed children and, ultimately, get back on a plane bound for the United States, changed after experiencing some of the many literacy challenges South Africa faces. As part of a team of 14 literacy educators from across the U.S. sponsored by the Colorado Council of the International Reading Association (CC IRA), we were ready and willing to follow the given trip agenda of daily meetings with literacy professionals, teachers, parents, and children in and around Cape Town and Durban. What We Did During Our Summer Vacation In preparation for our trip, we had read many books: This article shares some of our experiences, thought classical, young adult, and children's literature, all processes, and changes with which we struggled as set in Africa, all written in English. We used our we ventured into a country with 11 official and eight library cards to acquire, read, and share books that unofficial languages. We hope that by writing about we could discuss with our students. We confidently our experiences, we will help others gain a better set forth to share our literacy expertise in two South understanding about the many challenges in literacy African metropolitan cities, Cape Town and Durban, teaching in this linguistically diverse country. In and in Underberg, a small rural community four addition, we believe that this process will encourage hours west of Durban. We knew that, while we may others to know more and do more as their global have read and researched much about Africa, as two awareness increases. Caucasian women visiting the country for a mere While we in the United States explore ways to two weeks, we were still outsiders. Acknowledging meet the political goals of literacy development, the our own cultural ignorance and the limitations of our challenges for South African educators are decidedly understanding, we set forth to share with and learn more difficult. For example, while South Africans from the many people we were bound to meet. Little are reconstructing their educational infrastructure did we know, however, that we would be humbled after apartheid to extend education to populations and awestruck as we discovered the difficulties with no previous access and while rural schools are apparent in access to literacy and to literature in more plentiful, there is a severe lack of qualified South Africa. Allison L. Baer is assistant professor of lit­ eracy studies at Western Michigan University. Jacqueline N. Glasgow is professor of English education at Ohio University. FALL 2007, VoL. 40, No.1 7 THE OTHER APARTHEID teachers and funding for them. Consequently, it's not later" (Garson, n.d, p. 22) stance taken during the unusual for 60 first graders to meet in a ramshackle resistance to apartheid has taken its toll in estab­ tiny classroom. Illiteracy is difficult to overcome as lishing a culture of teaching and learning in schools well, because many of the languages in South Africa and universities. Schools at that time were sites for come from an oral tradition. This makes it difficult protest, rather than sites for learning. Rebuilding to teach content because there are few, if any, texts a learning environment, retraining teachers, and written in their mother tongues. In addition, few providing equal resources has been slow and dif­ children's books are published in many of these lan­ ficult, but there has been much progress in providing guages and, other than locals such as Niki Daly and equal educational opportunities for all. Sindewe Mangona, South African children's authors Just as in the United States, school life in South are scarce. So while they are prolific speakers in Africa spans 13 years, although kindergarten and their mother tongues, few children or adults learn to the last three years of high school (grades 10-12), read and write in them. Equal literacy education for or "matric," are not compulsory for everyone (South all students remains a challenge for many educators, Africa: Alive with Possibility, 2006). However, to regardless of the continent. enter the university, students must have a matric The Effects of Apartheid on "endorsement." They must pass at least three sub­ jects at higher than standard grades. Students can Literacy Development then be admitted to technikons (technical schools) From 1948 to 1994, the people of South Africa with a standard senior certificate. More than a suffered under apartheid laws. Understanding the million students are enrolled in the country's 21 power of education and literacy, Black children public universities and 15 technikons. These institu­ (those with two Black parents) and Coloured chil­ tions are all independent of government funding dren (those whose parents are some combination of and accountability. Many of these universities are Black and another race such as East Indian) were "world-class academic institutions, at the cutting "taught from childhood to realize that equality with edge of research in certain spheres" (South Africa: Europeans is not for them" (The History of Education Alive with Possibility, 2006, p. 14), such as the and Childhood, 2000, p. 3). The idea of education University of Cape Town. was limited for the great majority of South African The most complex challenge facing South African citizens - those that were Black or Coloured. The educators is the fact that they have 11 official and Bantu Education Act of 1953 stipulated that schools eight unofficial languages. See Table 1 for a list of for Black and Coloured children use different syllabi official languages. While we acknowledge that many than White schools. English, the perceived language American classrooms have children who speak differ­ of power, was prohibited in primary schools and used ent languages, English is, nonetheless, the primary only in secondary schools. Even higher education language of instruction in most classrooms. In was affected with the Extension of University Educa­ American classrooms, the effectiveness of bilingual or tion Act of 1957, which closed undergraduate classes at White universities to Blacks and Coloureds (The immersion-only programs is in constant debate; it has been argued that immersion-only programs appear to History of Education and Childhood, 2000). When apartheid ended in 1994, much changed for the discourage immigrants to assimilate with American culture (Issues in U.S. Language Policy, 1998). South Africans. Education became an option for everyone. Table 1. The Languages of South Africa Mandated education in South Africa, how­ Language Population Language Population ever, is relatively new. Beginning with the Afrikaans 5,811,547 Setswana 3,301,774 South African Schools Act of 1996, there English 3,457,467 SiSwati 1,013,193 was provision for "compulsory education IsiNdebele 586,961 Tshivenda 876,409 IsiXhosa for learners between the ages of seven 7,196,118 Xitsonga 1,756,105 IsiZulu 9,200,144 Other and 15 years of age, or learners reaching 228,275 Sepedi 3,695,846 Unspecified 355,538 the ninth grade, whichever occurs first" Sesotho 3,104,197 Total 40,583,574 (South African Consulate General, 2005, p. 10). The "liberation now, education (Source: South Africa's 11 Official Languages, 2001) 8 MICHIGAN READING JOURNAL BAER & GLASGOW The issue of the language of learning is perceived The trend is slowly changing, however, with the help differently in South Africa. Janet Condi, the of NGO's such as First Words in Print, a subsidiary president of the Reading Association of South Africa of The Centre for the Book. There we met Lorato (RASA), told us that parents decide the language of Trok, a young woman who works in seven South instruction in a school district. Since English is the African provinces advocating early literacy in homes. perceived language of power and a path to better job First Words in Print has printed and distributed opportunities, parents frequently want their children over 40,000 books in eight South African languages. taught in English. But they don't seem to understand Typically, they give a family a packet of books that that children need to learn to read and write in their has been written in their mother tongue to keep and mother tongues before learning English. Conse­ share with their children. Working in conjunction quently, the children struggle to learn content in a with other NGO's around the country, Lorato has language that is not spoken at home and is totally contacts in the provinces who go and visit these new to them.
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