UBUNTU
A student from another province has just started at a new school and she has no friends. She has to adapt to the new environment she is placed in, and also has to learn the language that is spoken in that particular province. The student may struggle to overcome cultural and language barriers as she comes from another province. As the student is part of the minority culture in the school, for example, a Zulu in a Tswana dominated school; they may be misunderstood and stigmatized, the student may even feel isolated. This student may even be prone to being bullied. This can cause the student to become afraid of attending school or participating in class/ school activities. As the class leader, one will need to implement the principle of Ubuntu, in order to help the new student to get involved in class and feel welcome in her new environment and forge relationships with new people and make friends.
Ubuntu is an ethnic/ humanistic approach focusing on people’s allegiance, duty, commitment, loyalty and relations with each other. A human being can not exist in isolation. Ubuntu speaks of interconnectedness, what one individual does, affect a whole. The good that one does, affect the whole of humanity. The Teacher therefore ought to instill this principle in the learners, and also make it easy for the class leader as he/she oversees the class-room. The class leader, together with the teacher and fellow class members needs to ensure that the new student feels secure in her new environment, and also make them feel welcome. They need to make sure that the student does not feel threatened or excluded both in the classroom, and also outside the classroom. They also need to ensure that the student is not humiliated or oppressed due to their cultural or language differences.
The class leader can also arrange that every new student that comes be allowed student-orientation for a day or two, where they will be introduced to