For most of the month of March we were very lucky to have Ms. Ntshengila visiting us from South Africa as part of the program, Teach With Africa. I had a chance to sit down with Ms. Ntshengila and listen to some of her thoughts about the experience of joining the Hamlin community.

Before coming to the United States she was worried about how she would be perceived in terms of her accent and skin color; but she left feeling that people were very nice. She shared that she gained a new level of independence and freedom by walking around San Francisco by herself, visiting places like Chinatown.

Ms. Ntshengila stated that she was very impressed with Hamlin’s math department. The importance of process is emphasized with math at Hamlin. Students must really understand what they are doing and why they are doing it. In South Africa students don’t always understand why they are doing something, they just do it because they are told to.

Ms. Ntshengila was also impressed with Hamlin’s use of technology in the classroom. I thought the use of iPads in the classroom would be disruptive, but it is the opposite, the students are so focused on their work.

Apart from academics, I asked Ms. Ntshengila what impressed her most about San Francisco and Hamlin. The hills, there are so many, and eating green salads, I love the salad from the buffet.

Below is a short video of Ms. Nthshengila

To learn more about Teach With Africa, please visit: http://www.teachwithafrica.org/

Special thanks to the kind people who helped host the Nonhlanhla Ntshengila: Julie and Allen Benello, Hala Jimenez, and Heather Smith.

The Hamlin School would also like to recognize Hamlin grandparents and Founders of Teach With Africa, Marjorie and Larry Schlenoff.