A typical scene at
Luderitz Secondary School:
The bell rings and
learners file into the classroom as a teacher stands by the black board, chalk
poised, ready to begin.
But who are the
learners? Do they consist only of those behind desks?
Coming from the UK
where we would use the term “students”, I find this term “learners” unusual. It
seems to draw a line between teacher and pupil implying that each in the class
room has a sole function. Either to learn or to teach.
Having spent 14 years
behind a desk and the last 7 months standing by the black board, chalk poised
ready to begin, I can conclude that this couldn’t be further from the truth. I
have learnt more in the last 7 months as a “teacher” than all my 14 years as a
“learner” put together.
I have learnt to love
the early morning walks to school, on the road out of Luderitz to Valombola
kindergarten, the way the sun rises behind the mist warming the ground the
desert unfurls, we are waking up.
I have learnt that
whilst here I will always have sand in my shoes.
I have learnt to pick
up the “Luderitz Lilt” a gentle tilt of tongue towards the end of a sentence,
or the addition of a “hey?” to make a simple statement a question.
I have learnt that
walking down the street people smile and wave (not always the case in the UK.)
I have learnt that here
in Luderitz, wearing sunglasses is necessary almost all the time to shield you
from the onslaught of sandy wind.
I have learnt many
things which have shocked me over the last 7 months, and many things which have
made me smile.
Whether whilst in the
classroom we are the ones holding chalk or the ones sitting behind a desk and
whilst on the street we are wearing sunglasses or feeling the perpetual crunch
of sand in our shoes, we are all learners and always will be.
To all those students
in your last year of High School preparing for Metric exams, feeling relieved
that your years as a learner are finally drawing to a end, then I’m afraid I
have some bad news for you. As Winston Churchill would say:
“This is not the end.
Nor is it the beginning
of the end.
It is however the end
of the beginning.”
