Student Profiles

Purpose of the ProfileThe purpose of the profiles is to allow students, not familiar with township schools, to begin to understand what life is like through the eyes of students who live in the townships.

The student profiles were compiled by having a variety of students complete a questionnaire. They are organized by grade level, starting in 2nd grade and ending in 10th grade.

Please read through the questions and then read the profiles of your choice. If you would like to respond to any of the profiles, please direct your response to:

joe.vrudny@wayzata.k12.mn.us

I would love to hear your responses to the profiles. If you would like me to direct the response to a particular student, I will be sure to get it to him or her.

The QuestionnaireYour name:Your grade:What is the name of the school you attend?How many students are in your class?Do you travel far to your school? If you travel, how do you get there?What is your favorite subject? What is your least favorite subject?What are your teachers like?Do you get much homework? How much?Is your school located in a safe neighborhood?Tell me a little bit about your home.Do your parents work? If so, where?How many languages do you speak? What are those languages?What are your future goals? Hopes? Dreams?Do you have any questions about what life is like in the America? If you could ask a student in America any question, what would it be?

Younger Students

Younger Ones, Dance Line

Profile #1 My name is Liphe, I am in the 2nd grade at Bardelle

Primary School. There are 35 students in my class. I get to school by walking a long way. My favorite subject is English and my worst subject is Math. My school is not in a safe neighborhood, but I really like my teachers. We are safe in our home, but we have no money. Both of my parents do not have jobs. I speak 2 languages, Xhosa and English. My dream is to be a business woman.

The questions I have for students in America are, “What is life like in America?” and “What is education like in America? Is school hard?”

Grade 2

Profile #1 My name is Alisa, I am in the 3rd grade at St. Theresa’s

Primary School. There are 36 students in my class. I get to school by car, it is a long way from my house. My favorite subject is math. My school is not in a very safe neighborhood. I really like my teachers and they do not give very much homework. I have a big family and we live in Guguletu. Both of my parents work. I speak 2 languages Xhosa and English. I hope to have a good job when I grow up, learn to drive a car and be well educated.

The questions I have for students in America are, “How are they combating crime?” and “How are computers used in your school?”

Grade 3

Profile #2 My name is Lulutho, I am in the 3rd grade at Bardelle

Primary School. There are 42 students in my class. I get to school by walking a long way. My favorite subject is English. My school is not in a safe neighborhood. My teacher is very nice. At home we are suffering. My father is not working and my mother is not either. We eat only rice and oil. We speak three languages in our home, Sotho, Xhosa and English. When I grow up I want to be a lawyer.

The question I have for students in America are, “What is school like in America?’ and “How would like visit America?”

Grade 3

Profile #3 My name is Yango, I am in the 3rd grade at St.

Theresa’s Primary school. There are 36 students in my class. I get to school by transport, I cannot walk to my school. My school is not in a safe neighborhood, but I like my teachers a lot. I live in Guguletu with my family. It is small. Both of my parents work to make money to live. I speak 2 languages, English and Xhosa. I hope to learn to ride a bike, and I would like to work in a hospital some day.

The question I have for students in America are, “How are you coping with HIV/AIDS?”

Grade 3

Profile #1 My name is Sibabalo, I am in the 4th grade at

Starling Primary School. There are 48 kids in my class. It takes about 15 minutes to get to my school. My favorite subject is English, my least favorite is Math. I do not care for my teachers, but the school is located in a safe neighborhood. My parents both work, but they live in Johannesburg. I live in Guguletu. I speak 2 languages Xhosa and English. When I grow up I would like to be a doctor.

The question I have for students in America is, “What is your school like?”

Grade 4

Profile #2 My name is Chuma, I am in the 4th grade at Mitchell’s Plane

Primary School. There are 42 students in my class. I get to school by transport. My favorite subject is English and my worst subject is Afrikaans. I like my teachers. They work hard to make sure I understand what they are teaching me. I get a lot of homework everyday. My home is at Mfuleni. It is not made by bricks, it is a shack with two rooms. I live my mother, brother and two sisters. My mother works as a domestic worker in Constantia. I speak two languages, Xhosa and English. My future goals is to be educated and be someone respected. I hope to achieve my goals and to go overseas someday.

The question I have for students in America are, “What is education like? Is it like it is here? Do children have rights in America? What is your biggest fear?”

Grade 4

Profile #3 My name is Nwabisa, I am in the 4th grade at Bardelle

Primary School. There are 40 students in my class. I do not have to travel very far to get to school. My favorite subject is English and my least favorite is Afrikaans. I do not get much homework and my school is not located in a safe neighborhood. I only have my mom, she is working but we have no clothes and no stationary to use. My family and I are suffering. I speak 2 languages Xhosa and English. My hope is to become a nurse, have a big house and to own my own car.

The questions I have for students in America are, “What occasions do you celebrate? Do you have youth programs? Do you have playfields for youth? How big are your schools?”

Grade 4

Profile #1 My name is Nthabiserg, I am in the 5th grade at Vanguard

Primary School. There are 39 students in my class. I travel to my school in a transport. My favorite subject is Math and my least favorite is Afrikaans. My teachers are very special. We do get some homework but not to much. My school is not located in a safe neighborhood. Both of my parents work to help me go to school and eat. I speak 3 languages Xhosa, English and Sotho, and I am learning a 4th Afrikaans. When I grow up I would like to be a doctor.

The question I have for students in America is, “What are your school uniforms like and what languages to you speak?”

Grade 5

Profile #1 My name is Nwabisa, I am in the 6th grade at Vanguard

Primary School. There are 38 students in my class. I get to school on a bus. My favorite subject is English and Math, my least favorite is Afrikaans. My teachers are very understandable, loving and caring. I do get homework and I get homework that needs the internet but, I do not have a computer at home. The school is located in a safe neighborhood but there are still a lot of problems. I live in a house with 9 people, in Guguletu. I am an orphan, but my guardian works.. I speak 3 languages Xhosa, English and Afrikaans. When I grow up I would like to be an airline hostess.

The question I have for students in America is, “Are there people living with HIV/AIDS in America?”

Grade 6

Profile #2 My name is Anathi, I am in the 6th grade at Bardelle

Primary School. I do not have to travel far to get to school. There are about 50 students in my class. My favorite subject is Math and English. My teacher is not very nice, they are rude. I get a lot of homework every night. My school is not located in a safe neighborhood. At home we eat only maize and drink sweet water. I do not get much sleep and am mad a lot. My parents are nice but they do not work. We speak two languages, Xhosa and English. I would like to be a teacher and learn to dance.

The question I have for students in America is, “What is life like in America?”

Grade 6

Profile #3 My name is Sinipha. I am in the 6th grade at Bardelle

Primary School. There are 27 students in my class. I walk to school each day. My favorite subject is English and my least favorite is science. My teachers are very nice. They give me homework each day. My school is located in a safe place, My home is such a funny place. I spend most of the time with all my family and siblings. They are wonderful. My parents do not work. I speak two languages, Xhosa and English. My dream, when I grow up, is to be a police officer.

The questions I have for students in America are, “What is township life like in America? Are there any shacks there? What is the difference between the South African Education system and your own educational system?”

Grade 6

Profile #1 My name is Vuyelwa and I am in the 7th grade at Mseki Primary

School. There are 32 students in my class. I walk to school every day. It is safe because it is guarded by the police. My favorite subject is math and English, my least favorite is Geography. My teacher is very caring and very nice. However, I do get a lot of homework! I love my family because they give me things that I need. Sometimes my family cannot afford some things like food. There are times we do not eat the whole day because we don’t have food. My mother works, but my father does not work at all. I speak 2 languages Xhosa and English. My future goals are to be a layer or a doctor because I want to work for my family so that I can change the way my family lives.

The questions I have for students in America are, “Is your education in America the same as ours? And Is your life better in America than it is in Cape Town?”

Grade 7

Profile #2 My name is Andiswa and I am in the 7th grade at Mseki

Primary School. There are 32 students in my class. I walk to school. My favorite subject is math and English. Geography is my least favorite subject. My teachers are very nice to me. I do get a lot of homework every day. At home, sometimes we sleep without eating and sometimes we get bread and tea. My mom does work. I speak 2 languages, Xhosa and English. When I finish at school, I would like to be a pilot.

The question I have for students in America is, “How is school and do you have to study?”

Grade 7

Profile #3 My name is Luphumle and I am in the 7th grade at

Mseki Primary School. There are 32 students in my class. I walk to school each day. My favorite subject is math, my least favorite is Geography. I like my teacher, but we do get a lot of homework. My house is very poor. Sometimes we sleep with no food in our stomachs. Neither of my parents work, so it is very hard. I speak 2 languages, Xhosa and English. When I get older, I would like to be a pilot.

The question I have for students in America is, “Can anyone help get food in my home?”

Grade 7

Profile #4 My name is Cebisa. I am in the 7th grade at Sobambisana Public

Primary School. There are 40 students in my classroom. I travel to school a long way, but I go by bus. My favorite subjects are English, Xhosa and Math. My least favorite is Afrikaans. My teachers are sometimes nice, and they are good and strong. I do get homework everyday. My school is located in a safe neighborhood. My home is small and in my home we are suffering. At night we eat very little and I don’t feel good about that. We have no money. Sometimes my grandparents help us and we feel better, but we still have no money. Both of my parents are unemployed. I speak 2 languages Xhosa and English. My dream is to become a social worker because I see children with no parents. They are orphans. I want a big house. I also would like to be a business woman.

The questions I have for students in America are, “What is life like in America? How is your classroom teacher? Do you like school?”

Grade 7

Net Ball Players

Profile #1 My name is Altombizanele and I am in the 8th grade at

Fezeka Senior Secondary School. There are 42 students in my class. I travel a long way to school. My dad drives me everyday. My favorite subject is math and my least favorite is natural science. Some of my teachers are nice, but others are not very helpful. I get a lot of homework everyday. My school is not located in a safe place, we have gangs in school. I have a very nice home, but sometimes my sisters and I fight. Both of my parents work. I know 2 language, Xhosa and English. I would like to go to America and go to school. I hear there is not much crime there and everyone has goals.

The question I have for students in America is, “Do you have any role models in America?”

Grade 8

Profile #2 My name is Nomonde and I am in the 8th grade at

Fezeka Senior High School. There are 43 students in my class. I do not travel very far to school. My favorite subject is English and my least favorite is social science. My teachers are kind and nice and I do not get much homework. My school is not located in a safe neighborhood. At home, there are 5 members of my family and we help each other. My parents do not work. I speak 2 languages, Xhosa and English. I would like to be able to achieve my dreams.

The question I have for students in America is, “What kind of sports do the children there like to play?”

Grade 8

Profile #3 My name is Nosiphiwo, I am in the 8th grade at Mfuleni

High School Secondary School. There are 47 students in my classroom. I travel a long ways to go to school and I travel by bus. My favorite subjects are natural science, Xhosa and English. My teachers are very good. I get a lot of homework each night. My school is located in a safe neighborhood. My mother takes care of me. My mom is unemployed and so are other people in my family. There are no jobs available. I speak 2 languages, Xhosa and English. I want to help people when I grow up.

The questions I have for students in America are, “Do people have a lot of money in America? They seem to be happy. Do they have a lot of jobs available?”

Grade 8

Profile #1 My name is Lulama and I am in the 10th grade at Fezeka

High School. There are 47 students in my classes. I walk to school everyday even though my school is not located in a safe neighborhood. My favorite subject is English and my least favorite is math. My teachers are kind, sweet and they care for one another. I get a lot of homework everyday. My home is warm, safe and it is full of decent people. Both of my parents work. I speak 2 languages Xhosa and English. When I get older I would like to be a scientist.

The questions I have for students in America are, “Is it safe in America to walk with your cell phone? And does your school have gangs?”

Grade 10