From drop out to facilitator

byEarn-Mash

83 followers

2 years ago

Based on a true life story...

Gwinyisira (never give up - not his real name) found himself expelled from university, unemployed and owing a thousand bucks in fees for unsuccessful modules.

In his tenth grade he was recognized for hard work. His Math Teacher hand-picked him for a Science Scholarship funded by a top university in South Africa. Every school break he joined learners in the same program for a week at the university. It was coined Science Exposure to high school learners - an outreach strategy to search for talent. South Africa , at the time, was facing a decline in twelfth grade pass rate in the Sciences and Mathematics. The net effect was a decrease in university Science graduates and industry began to feel the demand for workers with such skills. This program funded transport to university, lunch and some pocket money in addition to activities in the Science Laboratory at the university.

Gwinyisira responded positively to his university exposure. He passed the tenth grade right up to the twelfth grade and qualified to enter the Physical Science s Department as a BSc student. The first year was demanding, but he had momentum from high school so he successfully completed 8 out of the 12 modules. He moved into the second part of first year university and faced the true challenge of studying at university. The girls looked beautiful, a number of students drove to the campus. Some lived in their own rented apartment whilst Gwinyisira commuted daily. He took an interest in visiting car dealers near the university campus and chat with salesmen. He was fluent and spoke intelligently as a potential buyer. Some salesmen led him on and invited him to sit in the driver's seat to feel the car. On one such occasions he dropped his mum's cellphone in a car on the sales floor. His mum was looking for her phone at home only to call and be answered by an Audi Car Salesman, "We have got your phone right here at Hatfield Audi center mum. You may come and fetch it. Your son was car window shopping here 2 days back." When she confronted her son he denied it completely and said he was attending a lecture at the time the incident happened, Gwinyisira could not explain how his mum's phone ended up at Hatfield Audi Center.

The inevitable happened. Gwinyisira failed three modules in first year. He was given the option to repeat these modules in order to proceed to second year. He generally complained that this course was never his dream career. It had inadvertently been imposed on him by the Scholarship Fund. To his mum's amazement Gwinyisira wanted to quit university and look for a job. He failed the supplementary examination and the university expelled him. His parents were required to pay for the three modules as stipulated in the conditions for failing. Gwinyisira was very disappointed in himself. Each time he met his fellow Scholarship Funded students proceeding with their studies he felt deep regret for not working hard enough or seeking advice to avert the situation.

He spent a whole year at home checking college courses and throwing applications everywhere. He was desperate. A university in a different city offered him a place to study BCom in Investment Management and Banking. His twelfth grade Accounting and Mathematics grades were good. A different College in his home city offered him a place to study a diploma in Computer Science. On his way to register this course, his father asked him what became of his application for a BCom degree. They turned back home to check Gwinyisira's emails. Sure enough he had been offered a place and the university expected him to pay the enrolment fees. This time he had no scholarship and he had to look for accommodation near the university in addition to preparing his own meals. His father questioned how badly Gwinyisira wanted this course to which he responded "I will do everything I can to do this course. Its really what I wanted, but the Science Scholarship dictated what I had to take." That settled everything, His dad was ready to give him a second chance.

They drove 462 kilometers to the university and completed the registration process after 4 hours. The next step was to secure student accommodation, buy some groceries, cooking accessories and drive back the same distance after leaving Gwinyisira in his new tertiary institution. They phoned around and found lady who placed students in rented houses aroung In the process they met many people who were also registering. A lady named Victoria was talking to someone else in their vernacular. This caught Gwinyisira's mum and she greeted Victoria. It turned out Victoria had completed her PhD at this university and her husband was a lecturer at the same place. Gwinyisira's mum took this opportunity to plead with Victoria to keep an eye over him. It sounded as if they knew each other from long ago and they even exchanged contact details.

A month later Victoria informed Gwinyisira's mum that her husband would try to secure student accommodation on campus. It was like a dream come true when this actually happened. Things were turning in his favor. He had a room to himself and he put it to good use studying, researching using the residence wi-fi facility and attending lectures after a short 3-minute walk. He made friends with a supportive Christian Church and widened his friendship through attending a mid-week and a Sunday evening prayer meeting. Victoria's family took Gwinyisira one Saturday afternoon for a barbecue. The year drew to a close and Gwinyisira had 7 distinctions out of his 12 modules. The other three modules were less than 5 marks to achieve a distinction. The whole family was excited and energized.

At the beginning of second year Gwinyisira was offered a university scholarship based on merit. The Scholarship Administrator asked Gwinyisira if he owed any fees from his first year and explained that the funding remained intact based on his achievement. The package included his tuition fees, all prescribed textbooks accommodation and a monthly stipend of R1000. All he needed to pay for was his transport to and from the university. In March 2020 Covid -19 hit South Africa with a total lock down imposed on the 29 April. The university discontinued all classes in person but introduced e-learning classes. University students were allocated 10-Gb data bundles for online classes during the day and the same amount for night surfing. Gwinyisira had a laptop so he immediately switched to e-learning in the comfort of his home. He initiated an online study group on zoom and led a number of discussions with fellow students. He completed his second year successfully with 10 distinctions out of the 12 modules. This secured his scholarship into final year. Everything seemed to move in his favor.

He completed the final year successfully an the university offered him a scholarship to pursue an Honors degree. The university offered him part-time employment as a facilitator to first year students. This welcome development came with the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions in 2022. Gwinyisira graduated with a BCom in Investment Management and Banking, but finished the Honors degree with 3 supplementary modules. He opted to find employment and complete the 3 modules at his own expense.

Wikipedia defines effective learning as, "Learning is the process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviors, skills, values , attitudes, and preferences." A clear shift took place in this young person's life whilst he acquired knowledge and skills that shaped his behavior. In my opinion Gwinyisira represents many young people in our world today who are battling to find meaning in life and equip themselves for life. His experience touches on seven different learning styles that can enrich us all

1.Active learning: This "occurs when a person takes control of his/her learning experience. Since understanding information is the key aspect of learning, it is important for learners to recognize what they understand and what they do not." The moment Gwinyisira understood what he was studying as a BCom student, everything changed. His grade improved phenomenally. The intrinsic motivation attracted the right people to him. It is very important to show how a person can learn actively and dispel negativity.

2.Observational learning: "Observational learning is learning that occurs through observing the behavior of others. It is a form of social learning which takes various forms, based on various processes." In Gwinyisira's life, this form of learning seemed to not need reinforcement to occur, but instead, the social model of his parents, siblings, college friends and his surroundings brought the required change.

3.Enculturation: "Enculturation is the process by which people learn values and behaviors that are appropriate or necessary in their surrounding culture." Away from home, our college drop out learned the necessary values and behaviors in his surrounding culture. Undeniably the act of moving away from his comfort zone propelled him to make it work. The sooner enculturation happens the better.

4.Electronic learning: "Electronic learning or e-learning is computer-enhanced learning. A specific and always more diffused e-learning is mobile learning (m-learning), which uses different mobile telecommunication equipment, such as computers and cellular phones." The global pandemic of Covid-19 necessitated alternative learning methods. This synergy networked Gwinyisira and he excelled in his studies. Today hybrid learning and e-learning have proved to be very effective. This very business rests on e-learning.

5.Formal learning: "Formal learning is a deliberate way attaining of knowledge, which takes place within a teacher-student environment, such as in a school system or work environment." Naturally Gwinyisira had to learn to master this form of learning in his studies. His interaction with other students, lecturers and the College Administration took place in a formal setting. This shows how the formal setting still plays a pivotal role in education.

6.Non-formal learning: "Non-formal learning is organized learning outside the formal learning system. For example, learning by coming together with people with similar interests and exchanging viewpoints, in clubs or in youth organizations and workshops." The university residence laid all this on a platter for Gwinyisira and he took advantage of this support structure. The non-formal learning environment might be more powerful than the formal learning environment in shaping values and behavior since more interactions are likely to take place here. The nature of Covid-19 isolated people and non-formal learning played key role.

7.Informal learning: "Informal learning is less structured than "non-formal learning". It may occur through the experience of day-to-day situations It is learning from life, during a meal at the table with parents, during play and while exploring." Gwinyisira enlarged his world informally and this should be intentionally made available to young people.

What looked like the end of the road for Gwinyisira ultimately leveraged him.