But I wake up at 4am, ma'am

By Robyn Clark

It was 4am when it started. First, there were just the sounds of bare feet along the corridor of the dormitory. In a matter of minutes, there was a flurry of activity in the girls’ bathroom, as steam poured out of the bathroom door. There were shrieks and shouts emanating from the crowded room as the towel-clad girls clambered for a turn in the shower.

I woke up in a panic after hearing the commotion, thinking that there might be something wrong. As a teacher on school camp, I was responsible for the well-being of the learners. I clumsily climbed out of my warm bed and went on search of the noise. My investigation led me to find out that almost every girl on the camp was wide awake, and in the process of getting ready for the day. It just didn’t make sense to me.

Breakfast was the first entry on the schedule which had been given to all learners on the camp. Breakfast was at 8am.
In my sleepy stupor, I ushered the un-showered girls back to their dorm rooms and told the showering girls to finish up quickly and get back to bed. I told them that I didn’t want to hear another noise until 6am …

During the course of the day I learnt a lot about the learners at my new place of employment. Waking up at 4am is in fact normal; it is a part of their everyday life! Waking up that early may be unfamiliar to me, but for these learners, it’s just something that they find ordinary.

Interested to find out more about my students, I did a quick survey during a mathematics lesson on statistics, to show my learners how to gather data. They may have thought that I was merely showing them an everyday example on how to collect data, but in reality, I needed to understand my learners better. I asked them to put up their hands while I read out a list of times. I asked them what time they woke up.

A third of the learners in my Grade 9 class are awake by 4am, and at least two thirds are awake by 5am. Many of them eat breakfast as soon as they wake up, which explains why they are already starving by the time I see them. I often get annoyed because I have to wake some learners up during my lessons.

Coming from a privileged background, I realise that I’m used to a lifestyle where I only have to wake up at 6am in order to get wherever I want by 7.30. I have my own car, and I live relatively close to my place of work. For the majority of learners in my school, however, life is not so easy.

In order just to get to school, many of my learners have to walk to a taxi rank, catch one or two taxis, and then walk again to school. They often tell me of the chores that have to be done before school, siblings that need to be cared for, and sick parents that need to be checked on. Learning all day, as well as doing homework cannot be easy.

For some learners, the morning starts before 4am!

“I live in Protea Glen, Soweto, and have to get on bus at 5am to get to school on time. After school I catch the bus again, and I get home at around 7pm,” says Mulalo Mufamadi, a learner in Grade 8. “In the morning when I take a bath, I feel like sleeping because I am so tired, and I usually carry fruit in my bag, so I don’t get hungry during the day.”

After taking time to find out about a day in the life of my learners, I respect them so much more. I admire their enthusiasm for learning. Even though my learners complain about being tired and hungry, they are still mostly motivated to learn, and value their education. I will definitely have a little more compassion when I see a learner sleeping during a lesson, which is understandable, but looking at the bigger picture, sleeping in class cannot be good for learning.

Robyn Clark is a high school mathematics teacher at Sekolo sa Borokgo, a school in Blairgowrie, Johannesburg. She is also currently studying towards her MSc in mathematics education at the University of Witwatersrand. She holds a BA in psychology and linguistics and a BSc honours degree in mathematics education (cum laude) from the University of Witwatersrand. Sekolo sa Borogko is a small private school, which receives funding from sponsors and education foundations.