The youth in South Africa are eager to learn but need some direction and inspiration. Since 2019, this Mercer On Mission program has motivated many K-12 South African learners to get comfortable coding computers and robots. These learners need dreams of a better future, and this team helps move them in that direction.
Students and faculty will reside in a tourist district in Cape Town and travel to an impoverished township to work with young people. Mercer students and faculty will prepare technical lessons to deliver while in South Africa. These lessons will range in scope and intensity dependent upon the team formed. In the past, Mercerians have taught elementary, middle and high school learners. Last year, they ran a one-week workshop for local teachers who wanted to be prepared to teach technical topics in their classrooms.
My teaching-related highlight is not a single moment but seeing the learners during the last week start to work on independent projects and require less help from us. During the third week, I saw ideas click, which was joyous.
Students are required to sign up for six hours of credit. The registrar will enroll you in courses for your program, including one class from each of the program's faculty.
Choose one: