A distinguished intellectual and acclaimed educator from Stellenbosch University (SU) has teamed up with a SU alumna to compile and release a new book about learners’ experiences under lockdown.
Professor Jonathan Jansen and SU graduate Emily O’Ryan’s CNA-published book, Learning Under Lockdown: Voices of South Africa’s Children, was launched on 3 September via a webinar.
The book compiles the stories of 400 learners, aged nine to 19, who share their honest experiences of what it was like trying to learn under lockdown, said 22-year-old O’Ryan. O’Ryan graduated from SU with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Political Science, in 2019.
According to Professor Jonathan Jansen, one of the motivations behind the book was to draw attention to the education bottom line – learning. PHOTO: Supplied/Professor Jonathan Jansen
Making publishing history
Learning Under Lockdown: Voices of South Africa’s Children is the first title that CNA has published in 50 years, according to an article that first appeared on Times Live.
“Just like professor Jansen, we are passionate about literacy and education. Learners are our future, and we saw it as our duty to give a voice to our nation’s children during these trying times,” Olinka Nell, procurement director at CNA, told MatieMedia.
All profits from the book are being donated to school feeding schemes, according to CNA’s social media platforms.
According to Emily O’Ryan, the book has been well-received by the public. Here it sits stacked on the ‘best sellers’ shelf. The pair is planning a Heritage Day webinar with TEDx on 24 September, where they will be collaborating with the learner writers to explore the theme of how to use one’s voice to write history. PHOTO: Supplied/Emily O’Ryan
Providing a platform for children
According to Jansen, when it comes to school-related issues, the media is oversaturated with the voices of teachers, bureaucrats and parents, and is often missing the experiences of children.
“We thought this was a wonderful way to give [children] a platform to speak but also an opportunity to write and become published. For a child, that is huge,” said Jansen.
According to O’Ryan, she and Jansen read through 640 submissions from across the country’s provinces before choosing the final 400 stories.
“We took stories with some sparkle in it, elements of creative writing, saying something the others did not say, as well as parsimony, elegance and ‘realness’ in the writing,” said Jansen.
To categorise the learners’ various experiences, the pair divided the submissions into themes, ranging from family dynamics and computer chaos, to mental health and more, said O’Ryan.
“Sometimes it’s humorous, [and] sometimes it hurts to read what kids are going through, but it’s always honest,” added O’Ryan.
According to co-compiler Emily O’Ryan, the biggest reward is knowing that 400 young people have been given a sense of value and contribution. PHOTO: Supplied/Emily O’Ryan
Perfect partners
Working with O’ Ryan was a “fantastic” experience, said Jansen.
“She is the ideal I look for in a postgraduate student and a young author – a strong work ethic, a fertile imagination when it comes to ideas, and someone who challenges me as a co-author,” he said.
According to O’Ryan, working with professor Jansen was “absolutely incredible”.
“He listens, and he trusted me to really go for gold,” she said.
According to Emily O’ Ryan, many late nights and early mornings were involved in putting the book together. Here we see the make-shift workspace O’Ryan created to work on the book. PHOTO: Supplied/Emily O’Ryan.