EsF Assembly 2018 Podcasts: A Sense of Place

In this episode of EsF Assembly 2018 Podcasts “A Sense of Place,” we listen to South African Montessori pioneers Naledi Mabeba & Bukelwa Selema who share impressions about their work and life in South Africa. Naledi speaks about the difficulties that she faced when first working with the children in the Western Cape and how to work towards building understanding and be accepting of others and embracing their differences. She encourages adults to think out of the box top explore ways to reach the children and to support them to reach their potential. Bukelwa, in her turn, shares her story of personal evolution: having spent childhood in a rural area during the years of Apartheid, she foregrounds the negative influence of Bantu education on people of South Africa and future generations of teachers, in particular. Therefore, she believes that nowadays the biggest challenge of all is finding the right person for the environment. She stresses that all South Africans regardless of culture or race are in a perpetual state of post-traumatic stress from the effects of apartheid. Only once the wounds of the past have begun to heal, change can take place. Bukelwa is adamant that this healing and change can begin by through Montessori education, through creating awareness and making Montessori education accessible to all. This episode includes Raro Bueno by Chuzausen from the Free Music Archive and Dance with me by Chloe Hall.