On the morning of 26 June, Ms Mateboho Masiu landed in Frankfurt. After a first round trip of Freiburg via the Sonnhalde, the Mundenhof farm was our destination. Mateboho runs a small farm at home, so there were plenty of animals, plants and farming things to explore at the Mundenhof. That Sunday the Africa Festival was also taking place at the Mundenhof – a double reason to begin Mateboho’s stay there.
The main purpose of Mateboho Masiu’s visit was to give her in-depth insights into the school system of Baden-Württemberg. We therefore put together a very extensive programme of classroom visits for her. As Mateboho is principal of Kingsgate Primary School in Mafeteng, Lesotho, the visits focused on the lower and middle grades at the Kolleg and on the primary schools in Eschbach, Stegen and Kirchzarten.
Through these visits Mateboho gained direct insight into how teaching is done at schools in Baden-Württemberg, which forms of classroom organisation can be used to teach particular content and which media are available to support this. She was impressed by the variety of methods we use in our schools and the different forms of differentiation we use within a single lesson. Mateboho compiled very comprehensive documentation of all the lessons she visited. Back home in Mafeteng she will analyse everything again and incorporate what makes sense into teaching at Kingsgate Primary School.
In addition to the visits to our Kolleg and the three primary schools, the programme included three visits to the University of Education in Freiburg (Pädagogische Hochschule). There Mateboho learned how teachers are prepared for their profession through their studies, and a partnership was established between the University of Education Freiburg and Kingsgate Primary School in Mafeteng, with the aim of sending two students to Kingsgate School each semester. The students will carry out a research assignment on site and gain experience in this school setting.
Kolleg St. Sebastian and Kingsgate Primary School have also entered into a partnership. Here, contacts between pupils of both schools by letter, email and later also Skype will form the main part of the partnership. In addition, pupils will have the opportunity to volunteer at Kingsgate Primary School during the holidays and after finishing school. Mayor Fränzi Kleeb framed the visit by welcoming Ms Mateboho Masiu and bidding her a warm farewell at the general meeting of the support association Kagiso Learning Aid Project.
Bernhard Moser
Headmaster, Kolleg St. Sebastian Stegen