Boring Post from Michael about Work.

I spent my first real day in the office today getting an ID card, e-mail, internet, phone, etc. My office is on the 10th floor of the humanities building (pictured here) overlooking the campus of the University of Pretoria. I must admit it is a better view than the parking lot of Shippen Hall.

I am trying hard to just figure out the curriculum and how it is structured. From what I can tell thus far, the department here divides all content into year-long theory and practice courses. So, a student would take a theory course on something like Social Work Practice with Individuals at the same time they were taking a practice course on the same topic. So they would get lectures on the topic on, say Tuesday, in the theory class; and then on Thursday they would attend a practice class where some type of discussion, activity, or written assignment would be used to apply the content from the theory course. This semester I will be co-teaching a social work practice with groups theory course and next semester will be working on the same topic, but in the practice class. I am sure I will be assigned more work as time goes on, but that is what I know after one day.

In general, academic life is much more structured here as both a faculty member and a student. For example, according to the department policies manual (which I got to read this morning) all faculty are to report on campus at either 8:00 or 8:30 a.m. Those who do not are required to submit some kind of written report explaining their discretion. On the other hand, things are very much the same. Faculty members here complain quite heartily about the writing shortcomings of their students as well.

Let me just end with a story that illustrates how truly African things are here despite the efforts to make it appear to be a European country attached to the bottom of Africa... A faculty member told me a story today about a mother and daughter who showed up in her office the day before classes started with their "luggage", having clearly just arrived from a very rural part of the country. The daughter had successfully been admitted to the school and to the social work program. They entered the faculty members office and the mother said "My daughter is ready to study and become a social worker. Now where do we sleep." They had not known to apply for housing along with the university application and the daughter had no plans for housing, which fills up a year prior to classes starting, because the school cannot house the 50,000 students who attend here. The faculty member really had no idea what to do to help this student, but through some miracle at the housing office downstairs, something was arranged and this young woman is now in her third year in the program and doing quite well. There will clearly be a lot to experience here during the next ten months.