Stahl

Phillip Stahl

Professor Cranfield

July 25, 2013

Comparative Analysis: South Africa and the United States

The distinction between the United States and South Africa was very bland

for me before arriving in Cape Town more than a month ago. I had no prior

knowledge about South Africa other than the fact that Nelson Mandela was a

previous president and that they were under control of apartheid twenty years ago.

All I had packed with me was what I had been taught previously in the United States

through my public education and my studies at MSU. What I had planned to do was

first observe and then teach mathematics in either primary or secondary schools in

South Africa. I wanted to see what similarities and differences existed in the way

curriculum is taught to the students. Also, I wanted to see if there were any changes

that could be made to influence both countries in regards to mathematics education.

Therefore, I will explain how the experiences that I had learning from the teachers I

observed as well as the incredible moments where I was able to lead teach allowed

me to fully grasp the comparative and contrasting teaching techniques of the

mathematics curriculum of the countries of South Africa and the United States.

It's difficult for me to speak on behalf of the mathematics curriculum of the

grade eight students. I only spent one day in the classroom of the teacher, Mrs.

Lusaseni. The classroom management and teaching practices alone gave me enough

reason to not spend another day in the classroom to observe how things were

taught in the classroom. The students didn't respect the teacher because she didn't
 Stahl 2

give them any chance of respect in the first place. Many of the times she would

teach to only one half of the class and disregard the students that needed the extra

attention. Therefore, those students gave up as soon as they entered the classroom

everyday and made it an extreme disruption while Mrs. Lusaseni taught. The

curriculum itself was based upon a drill and kill format where the students would

copy down the notes Mrs. Lusaseni put on the board at the beginning of the day. She

would simply explain what she wrote and tell the students to copy as she spoke. It

was a shame to see the students being withheld from a proper education in

mathematics. It made it a bad experience for them to begin Secondary school and

would then continue into the classrooms of both Mr. McLean and Mrs. Dooward.

There are similarities and differences between the way Mr. McLean and Mrs.

Dooward follow the mathematics curriculum. Mr. McLean taught the grade eight

and grade nine students while Mrs. Dooward taught the grade eleven and grade

twelve students. Mr. McLean taught algebra and geometry to his students and Mrs.

Dooward taught trigonometry and pre calculus. Both of the teachers have to pick up

the slack of what the previous teachers had unsuccessfully taught to their students

about mathematics. They had to teach them both the concepts of mathematics as

well as the reasons for which they are necessary to their overall education.

Mr. McLean introduced a new concept in the mathematics curriculum in a

very unique way compared to the way Mrs. Dooward would. Both Mr. McLean and

Mrs. Dooward began by introducing the concept they had been covering before

moving into the new lesson. But, Mr. McLean didnt explain how to do the newly

explained material. Most of the time he would give the students a couple of
 Stahl 3

problems and force them to first attempt to complete the work and struggle doing

so. In Mrs. Dooward's classroom, she would explain to the students first how to

understand the concept of the new material before allowing them to attempt to do it

on their own. I saw that in Mr. McLean's room the students felt accomplished after

learning from their mistakes and being able to explain the correct way to complete a

problem. The same happened in Mrs. Dooward's classroom, but not in a very

striking way. Mrs. Dooward's classroom was much like the experience I had in my

secondary math classes. I was always explained how to do it first and felt as if I was

given the tools how to complete my work. I was never able to struggle at first and

luckily was confident in my mathematical abilities throughout school. In my

experience in the United States it wasn't too difficult, but for many others they may

not have had the opportunity to show the teacher how they comprehended the

concept at first to allow the teacher to address their misunderstanding. That's why I

liked Mr. McLean's way of beginning a lesson better than Mrs. Dooward. He opened

up a discussion rather than an explanation. The students were able to openly

respond to each other's opinions as to how to solve various problems and worked

together to learn the material each day.

After introducing a new concept, the students are given different types of

assessments. Mr. McLean and Mrs. Dooward are very different in this regard. Mr.

McLean went about assessing his students assigned work by allowing them to

participate in an open discussion about what the correct answer was or what the

right definition is to a particular concept. Mrs. Dooward assigned work and checked

each individual students work to make sure they not only completed the
 Stahl 4

assignment, but also to make sure that they were correctly comprehending the

concept being taught in order to either address the incorrect answer or move onto

the next lesson. Mr. McLean and Mrs. Dooward both gave the students short

assessments that can be easily completed at home before school the next day. There

are no excuses for not getting work done, but the little amount of work given gives

the students the idea that they can push it off until the next day until the period

before to insufficiently complete the assignment.

The way Mrs. Dooward used the different ways of administering assessments

to her students best exemplifies my experiences with assessments in secondary

school in the United States. I was always given homework every night, but could

never get away without doing it. I always had to have it completed before class

because I knew that my teacher would be checking it. We were given more of a

workload than the students at Ned Doman, but thats because most of the time our

teacher allowed us to trade with the person behind us to grade our work. This

saved a lot of time for my teacher, but didnt allow her to check to see if we

understood the concept like Mrs. Dooward always would do.

The differences in class size between Mr. McLean and Mrs. Dooward played a

big role in how effective each of them were in teaching the mathematical curriculum

they were required to cover. In Mr. McLeans classes there would be anywhere from

forty to fifty students at a time in the room. In Mrs. Doowards classes there would

be generally thirty students or less. As the grade level increased there would be less

and less students in the classes. This is a huge problem at the school and is because

of the fact that students lack the motivation to strive for an education. There are
 Stahl 5

many reasons for this and couldnt be explained in this paper alone. But, what the

numbers boil down to be is an overload of learners that require an equal amount of

attention that Mr. McLean and sometimes Mrs. Dooward cannot adequately do.

Therefore, the students become uninterested in learning and begin to fall into the

same disproportional grade nine and ten class sizes that have been repeating for

some time at Ned Doman.

I cannot say that the differences in class sizes correlates exactly or differently

in the U.S.A. There certainly are areas of the United States that have a similar

problem of class size like Ned Doman. But, for the most part the class sizes stay

fewer than forty in classrooms and the students are all balanced out between the

grade levels. In the United States, I was never in a situation where a student or

myself was ignored and left behind in a classroom. We all were carried along

together and stayed at a constant pace of learning. The struggles that Mr. McLean

had to deal with every day troubled him very much. He frequently asked my

opinion as to how he could light the fire of interest in the hearts of his students. We

both tried our best to make all of the students valued, but there was no possible way

we could speak with every single student in a fair way each day. The class sizes will

continue to create problems in teaching the mathematic curriculum in the classes at

Ned Doman unless changes are made either to allow students to receive more help

after school or allow them to seek extra help during intervals throughout the day.

If you had asked me before arriving in Cape Town if I would be prepared to

teach mathematics I wouldnt have been able to give you a straight answer. I knew

coming into the school that I had all of the tools equipped to properly teach the
 Stahl 6

students the way I had learned mathematics in the United States. The problem with

teaching them the way I had learned in the United States was that they had been

taught in a completely different context than I had been. By the time they made it to

secondary school, the successfulness of the student solely depended on if they were

given the proper instruction in the past. The learners that were not as fortunate

were left in the dust and placed teachers like Mr. McLean and Mrs. Dooward in very

difficult situations to teach. The way I was able to teach the students mathematics

was twofold. I had to make sure that the mathematics I taught them could make

sense in everyday life as well as serve a purpose for their futures beyond their years

of schooling. I was brought up learning mathematics in a way that could easily be

applied in my life presently and in the future. This is how the students at Ned

Doman need to be taught in order build and grow a new aspect of how the

mathematics curriculum is learned and valued for themselves and the future

students to come.

I had the opportunity of a life time during the Summer of 2013 to teach in

Cape Town, South Africa to students ranging from grade eight to twelve. I first

observed and then taught mathematics in a secondary school. I wanted to see what

similarities and differences existed in the way curriculum was taught to the

students. Also, I wanted to see if there were any changes that could be made to

influence both countries in regards to teaching mathematics.

Many of the teachers had to pick up the slack of what the previous teachers had

unsuccessfully taught to their students about mathematics. They had to teach them

both the concepts of mathematics as well as the reasons for which they are
 Stahl 7

necessary to their overall education. If you had asked me before arriving in Cape

Town if I would be prepared to teach mathematics I wouldnt have been able to give

you a straight answer. I knew coming into the school that I had all of the tools

equipped to properly teach the students the way I had learned mathematics in the

United States. The problem with teaching them the way I had learned in the United

States was that they had been taught in a completely different context than I had

been.

The way I was able to teach the students mathematics was twofold. I had

to make sure that the mathematics I taught them could make sense in everyday life

as well as serve a purpose for their futures beyond their years of schooling. I was

brought up learning mathematics in a way that could easily be applied in my life

presently and in the future. This is how the students at Ned Doman need to be

taught in order build and grow a new aspect of how the mathematics curriculum is

learned and valued for themselves and the future students to come.