We love the reactions by students to the ‘Twisted Tale’ Exit Stage Left
Back in April FunDza had a strategy session about where we have come from and where we are going. We strategised, bonded and thought and thought. And we felt. Our hearts spoke of the shifts that we as South Africans need to make in order to help develop the generations of educated, empowered and engaged young people and future leaders that our country so desperately needs.
When it was my turn to ‘nutshell’ what I do my spirit soared. Our reading and writing workshops take me to the frontlines of this shift work. I am the lucky one who gets to meet young, dynamic minds being mined to be our future leaders.
One of our new board members asked whether our workshops focuses on the mechanics of reading and writing and are therefore more curriculum-based or whether it also holds opportunities for social/personal reflections too.
That was an easy question to answer. Yes, yes and yes to social growth! I think that the point of reading is that it exposes the reader to many points of view. One of our learners involved in the False Bay College Reading for Enjoyment campaign explains this best:
“As people we often take for granted everyone else’s interpretation of life. This session made me more aware of that fact”. – Oscar IT2A
Oscar was referring to the ‘5W’s and an H’ exercise. I recall this session with them clearly. We ended up having a VERY heated discussion. The story was Exit Stage Left and it was about a girl who was set up on a blind date with by her best friend. The girl proclaimed that she only dated studs, not duds and was therefore reluctant to go on the date. She went along with it and her first impressions were that the blind date was a dud. Luckily for her the friend who set her up also gave her an exit strategy: fake a family emergency! She was about to implement this when she found out that the dud was an almost qualified doctor. Well, well. That certainly changed things. Suddenly the dud became a stud. You have to read both the tale and the twist in it to fully appreciate the story!
After reading the story we briefly chatted about whether they liked the story or not and why. We explained that every person has a different experience of the same story that they have all read. Then they had to guess what the 5 ‘W’s and the ‘H’ in the story is: Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How?
In their groups they had to engage with these questions in whatever way they chose i.e. compiling their own questions. We encouraged them to feel free to have differing opinions and to challenge one another. Each group had a chance to pose their questions to the rest of the class and collectively we all answered.
One of the questions that came up in this session is whether the girl on the blind date was a gold digger. This opened up a whole can of worms! The discussion quickly turned into a boys vs girls scenario where there were a number of strong sentiments. The boys thought that she was a gold digger for sure whilst the girls were saying that the guy was in fact superficial. It got real hot and loud. False Bay College’s OLC (Open Learning Centre) will never be the same. I had to put on my referee cap to allow each person the space to have their voices heard. One of the girls spoke in a quiet, firm voice of her life growing up. She spoke about how her mom was abandoned by a man who was not a good provider. She can relate to wanting a man who is a good provider and can therefore offer security needed to raise a family. The passionate boys listened to her, but didn’t back off: ‘Why can’t she provide for herself?’
By the time we ended this session (as is the case with many of the sessions) there was a sense that we have all stretched in some way or another. I could see respect and understanding on some faces. On others there was some signs of unease. These are prices of growth and shifts.
More comments from learners about our Reading for Enjoyment campaign:
It has widened my word recall. I take out double books at both my library and the OLC – Jade
I began to read for my younger brother, short stories at night – Qaqambile
Yes, it encouraged me to read more and it was fun. I’ve read two FunDza books and found it very interesting. I read Sugar Daddy in a day but was disappointed at the end because the ending wasn’t what I was expecting – Teran
FunDza has made me realise how reading is important to my life. So, I always read one or two magazines a day or a book. Whenever I see an article I just read it to keep my mind busy- Ntabiseng