Agnieszka “Agnes” Walus (center) and Diane Heilman (r), both selected for the South Africa Initiative,” work with students from Hammarskjold’s Early Act Club in June to make beaded American flags that the teachers will take to South Africa. The club already sent donated school supplies over to the South African students. EAST BRUNSWICK – Students at a South African school will soon receive a cross-cultural lesson from America, courtesy of a group that includes two Hammarskjold Middle School teachers.
Diane Heilman, a seventh-grade language arts teacher, and Agnieszka Walus, a sixth-grade social studies instructor, will be part of the South Africa Initiative study tour from July 19 to Aug. 6, run by the Rutgers Graduate School of Education.
“It’s really an opportunity to work directly in a South African classroom,” Walus said.
That will take place at Amstelhof Primary School, a first- through eighth-grade institution located in Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa, not far from Cape Town.
The experience includes cultural and intellectual workshops for the teachers before and during the tour, covering issues like AIDS and South African customs.
Participants are also encouraged to incorporate their own school communities. Walus and Heilman had their students make photo books of themselves, with things they believed were important to them. The classes also wrote cover letters to the South African students. The teachers plan to distribute the books and letters to the classes at Amstelhof, have students there do the same thing for the Americans, and look for similarities and differences.
They will also donate school supplies and assist the teachers with ideas and community skills.
“There’s so much excitement for it, there really is,” Walus said.
When classes resume in September, Heilman and Walus plan to follow up on their trip with a cultural lesson, and may even start a penpal program.
Before the trip, the participants did community service projects at places like Elijah’s Promise soup kitchen in New Brunswick and at a residence for AIDS patients.
According to Walus, the other teachers at Hammarskjold were enthusiastic about the endeavor. The district administration was interested, too.
“We, in advance, wrote a grant application to the East Brunswick Education Foundation about what we’re going to do,” Heilman said.
She also noted that incorporating their lessons at Amstelhof will be a challenge, because the technology at the school is not as advanced as it is in a typical American school.
Heilman has a blog on the subject at http://dheilman.blogspot.com.
“The kids can follow our adventures all summer long,” she said.
Both teachers are looking to learn important lessons about individuals and the world on the trip.
“It’s global citizenship and a global viewpoint, and breaking down what both sides think,” Walus said.
Her colleague agreed.
“I think it’s an unbelievable opportunity, not only for myself, but for the kids,” said Heilman.