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The Herald
18-06-2025
- General
- The Herald
A busy single mom battling with isiXhosa frets over her son's education
When my son had to choose a second language to take on at school, it was either Afrikaans or isiXhosa. We went with the latter. He is now in grade 7, and I have to admit his schoolwork is proving to be quite a challenge for both of us. Make no mistake, this child probably reads 10 books a year in addition to his required books at school. He loves reading, he loves exploring new words through those pages and literally gets excited every time he comes across a new universe. But I believe I have let him down by not introducing him to the books of black South African authors — specifically Xhosa authors. I have picked up through his work and test results that he often does not fully comprehend what he has read. He can read the words but, without looking them up, he struggles to spell and find meaning behind certain of them. This shortcoming is all too familiar and is highlighted in the report of the 2030 Reading Panel chaired by former deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. I have spoken to a number of teachers and principals who have attributed pupils' generally poor comprehension levels to a lack of parental support and the fact that many children come from single households. I am a single mother, and I work extremely irregular hours and so I've been left wondering if I've set my child up for failure. I can't always be there for him and sometimes I'm too tired even when I'm home. I'm not the only one whose child is struggling. A lot of my friends who are isiXhosa speakers, whose children attend former Model C schools, are in the same boat. Recently, a Xhosa teacher told parents about the importance of exposing our children to our traditional customs because culture plays a huge part in the Xhosa language. When they practise culture, they speak the language, internalise it and find meaning behind the words. It was suggested that I introduce my son to Nal'ibali, ( isiXhosa for 'here's the story'), the national reading campaign which has isiXhosa books catering for children up to the age of 12. Though the books might be a bit elementary for someone who is proficient in English novels, I believe they would be highly beneficial — both for me and my son. Then the day might come when I can actually help him with his isiXhosa assignments and to study for tests. This special report into the state of literacy, a collaborative effort by The Herald, Sowetan and Daily Dispatch, was made possible by the Henry Nxumalo Foundation
Irish Times
04-06-2025
- General
- Irish Times
Leaving Cert diary: ‘My short story was story set in interwar Italy when communists and fascists battled it out'
For the past few months, I have been all about 'the zone'. The zone is a flow state that – if you're lucky – you get into when studying. It's a place where you think of nothing else but the task in front of you. You're barely conscious of anything going on around you, because you're so locked into what you're doing. Some of my classmates have different techniques, including one where they study intensely for 20 minutes and break for five. That doesn't work for me – I like to stay focused on one topic for longer. I find that it is more efficient and delivers better results. It's a space I have always been able to access, but I've only ever needed to be there for exams. READ MORE It's now been over two weeks since our graduation and final day of school and, since then, I've had little mental bandwidth to do anything much besides study. I've been putting in five or six hours a day, with the intensity ebbing and flowing. English paper one finally gave me a chance to put some of this to use. Funny thing about English paper one, though: it's not really a paper you can study for like other subjects. Instead, because the focus is on comprehension and writing, it is more of a skills test, and the only real way you can prepare is practice, read and plan. The paper itself was fairly standard, and there was nothing off the wall. Every year, the format is the same, with a choice of three comprehension questions based on a text, and a written section B where we have to respond to a particular prompt, like 'give a talk' or 'write a speech.' As for the personal writing, I always go for the short story, so I responded to the prompt about an ambitious but reckless character that causes a disaster, writing a story set in interwar Italy when communists and fascists battled it out. Most professional writers would do several drafts of a story to make it perfect. But, for English paper one, I have long since realised that the story doesn't have to be perfect. We have about ten minutes maximum to plan it, and less than an hour altogether to write it, so I focused on keeping the plot simple and not overly complicated, and focusing on key aspects like descriptive language and characterisation. The comprehensions were straightforward enough, while I also tackled a reflection about changing your mind and opinions on a topic. As for the rest of the exams, I got lucky with the spacing, as I have a four-day gap before chemistry, and then another seven-day-gap before applied maths, which is one of the final exams on the timetable. This will give me plenty of time to prepare. Then, just two days after I finally wrap up, I head to India on a family trip. I will barely have time to catch my breath. But, sure, I'll have plenty of time to sleep on the plane. Shreyash Shukla is a Leaving Cert student at Athlone Community College
