I have been teaching physics and attending all the events; we had a district decathlon, heptathlon, and cross country meet last weekend. There were some highlights like when I stood around with a group of about 50 secondary school students and they were asking all the standard questions about America. Normally it is only the primary school students that gather around me so it was nice to talk see what students from other secondary schools are like. What I took away from the event (and from comparing our test results to other schools) is that I am a teacher at a typical Kenya day school.
Today we had a district "prize giving day." The assistant minister of education (for the whole country) was there, the local member of parliament, and all of the school students. School was cancelled in all of the schools so that we could receive prizes for how our schools performed last year. The primary school students had songs and skits that they had rehearsed so that they could show off to their member of Parliament - most of the money for school improvements comes directly from the mp's constituency development fund, so the politicking is important. Remember though, that this is a school system that is mostly without buses, so imagine walking with 250 high school students on an hour long walk through small villages and outposts, hoping that none of them sneaks off to disobey the rules. The muzungu is still an attraction and without fail every time during the day that I passed through the field my path became clogged by 100's of primary school children. They always look up at me wearing their cute knitted caps, their checkered shirts, and their big eyes. It is always just as adorable as the time before. The Kenyan adults that are walking with me don't seem to understand my interest with the children and always try to swat them away.
The Kenyan scouts were also at the event. It turns out that Baden Paul (I don't know the spelling, but he is considered the "founder" of Boy Scouts) lived in Kenya and scouts is popular but here it seems to mostly involve marching. The scouts marched for us, and their scout matter marched along with them, smiling and waving at the politicians. It really is exactly like the military parades that I have seen on TV. I get to see this at my school twice a week when the scouts raise the Kenyan flag at the assemblies. They always come up with a new set of commands and a new dance routine to show off to the school, but they never learn skills to earn merit badges. - Scouts at ease, atten-tion, scouts at ease, atten-tion, scouts count off one through 2, *scouts count*, all ones one full step to the left, one step back, about face, backwards march, scouts: do the polka, now scout on duty raise the flag. The polka part in the middle always gives the student body a good laugh. Actually, I can't hear what some of the commands are, their accent is much different than mine, but the student body does always have a good time watching whatever dance steps they are doing.
The times these past two weeks when I have been most happy are the times when I have been moving rocks with the dudes. Okay, dudes is going a little too far, they are my students, granted some of them are twenty five. All of the teachers refer to them as their boys and girls. My wavulana and wasichana. It feels good to work along side them though. I know they are becoming impressed by the improvement in the toughness of my hands. The current project is planting arrow root in order to utilize the otherwise waste water. It seemed simple enough the first day that I proposed the project, but since then it has proven difficult due to the very large rocks that make up our ground. None of them has been impossible to remove, but some of them have taken 3 or 4 of us around 4 hours to remove.
Sometimes they take a little nudging, but I make sure that they have a vested interest in these projects. I think labor is a good way to form bonds with people, but also I think that it is good for the students to know that this school is theirs. They are able to make it a positive place both academically and otherwise. When we are working it is not the A students or the F students, but the students of Athiru Gaiti. I want to get to the point where the students will come to me with their projects because they are the ones who know what improves their lives. Maybe I could form some sort of "good Samaritan" club where the students improve their lives and the look out for the well being of the community. Maybe they could become artisan bred makers and use the profits to build a covered bus stop, or maybe they could create a scholarship for students who are unable to pay school fees but are otherwise bright. We will see if there is much of a market for artisan bread around here, but the Methodist hospital in town would be a good place to start looking for our core market. It is only an hours walk from the school and there is a steady stream of Europeans and Americans coming through their for a few months at a time. Even if we cannot make a profit, we can still help to feed each other.
Next weekend I am going to Meru National Park. The board of governors for the school is helping to pay for all of the teachers to go. Sounds like someone is even donating a goat that we will slaughter and roast together. Nyama choma ya mbozi - roasted goat meat. They roast it and then cut it up into bite sized pieces. From there you take a piece, pick up some onions, tomatoes, and peppers and enjoy. Delicious. As my deputy principal tells people, "it is [ my ] best food."
13 March 2009
21 February 2009
Bread Oven
This past week were mid-term exams. The students took a one hour exam in each subject and then they went home on Thursday afternoon. I ran with them before I left, and boy am I sore. How could I not go for a run though, because it gave the villagers such amusement. "Muzungu" and then words that I didn't understand. A lot of laughing though, and general merriment. And then my boys appreciated it too. It's happening, they are becoming my boys. Some of them (many actually) are older than I am, but here they are still called boys and girls until the graduate. Four of my boys are remaining at the school over the break. Thursday night we hunkered about a kerosene lamp and talked about cultural differences between schools in Kenya and America. In Kenya students are expected to fetch their teachers water, relay messages, and clean the teachers' office. In Kenya things come up and some teachers don't make it to class. I gave one of those Obama speeches, "yes we can" grow into effective adults and make a difference.
I also told them about my hope to build a wood fire bread oven. They got super excited. This is my first "project" here and it feels good to have the jimbe in my hand, to dig up dirt, place stones, and be working towards a common goal with the people around me. A fundi (worker, this was was a mason by trade) came on Friday since I don't know much about masonry. With my vision, his knowledge, and the students muscles we completed the first stage, a 2 1/2 ft tall base. I want to show you pictures, and some day I will but not today. You will have to wait. I am unable to upload them at these Internet cafes.
I introduced the project to the students by saying that I wanted to build an oven because when I lived in America I would bake bread about once a week. After they got the message they came up with their own plans, "maybe we will be able to bake bread for the school, maybe we will be able to sell bread to the community." Yes, that would be good. Maybe you will be able to build a covered matatu shelter so that people don't have to stand in the rain. Maybe you will be able to use the money to help children more needy than yourselves pay school fees. I hope that they will be able to tell me what the community needs. They are the ones who know, not me. We will see how this pans out. Even if there is not a sufficient demand, I will still be able to teach the students my favorite bread recipes. They will still have gotten practice working with their hands, skills that will help them after school. They will have learned a little bit about thermal expansion (hopefully the oven will not crack under the force). Most importantly, my boys and I will have grown closer through working together.
I found a coconut on a journey to Meru last weekend. I am hoping to reward them this evening for there help by cooking a peanut - coconut curry for them. Spices are not used here because they are expensive and they do not add nutrition. If I wasn't cooking for them they would be eating rice seasoned with salt. In Kenya boarding students eat githeri (beans and corn) for two meals a day. I wish that the American school system was a little closer to this. Instead of fake nacho cheese and corn dogs we could given them githeri with a little sakuma wiki (kale). They could get excited for Ugali (kind of like polenta) day instead of square pizza day. Could you imagine sending your kid to school with a cold lunch of beans and corn? He would hate himself, and no one would trade them their shoe-glue go-gurt for your kids organic proteins.
I also told them about my hope to build a wood fire bread oven. They got super excited. This is my first "project" here and it feels good to have the jimbe in my hand, to dig up dirt, place stones, and be working towards a common goal with the people around me. A fundi (worker, this was was a mason by trade) came on Friday since I don't know much about masonry. With my vision, his knowledge, and the students muscles we completed the first stage, a 2 1/2 ft tall base. I want to show you pictures, and some day I will but not today. You will have to wait. I am unable to upload them at these Internet cafes.
I introduced the project to the students by saying that I wanted to build an oven because when I lived in America I would bake bread about once a week. After they got the message they came up with their own plans, "maybe we will be able to bake bread for the school, maybe we will be able to sell bread to the community." Yes, that would be good. Maybe you will be able to build a covered matatu shelter so that people don't have to stand in the rain. Maybe you will be able to use the money to help children more needy than yourselves pay school fees. I hope that they will be able to tell me what the community needs. They are the ones who know, not me. We will see how this pans out. Even if there is not a sufficient demand, I will still be able to teach the students my favorite bread recipes. They will still have gotten practice working with their hands, skills that will help them after school. They will have learned a little bit about thermal expansion (hopefully the oven will not crack under the force). Most importantly, my boys and I will have grown closer through working together.
I found a coconut on a journey to Meru last weekend. I am hoping to reward them this evening for there help by cooking a peanut - coconut curry for them. Spices are not used here because they are expensive and they do not add nutrition. If I wasn't cooking for them they would be eating rice seasoned with salt. In Kenya boarding students eat githeri (beans and corn) for two meals a day. I wish that the American school system was a little closer to this. Instead of fake nacho cheese and corn dogs we could given them githeri with a little sakuma wiki (kale). They could get excited for Ugali (kind of like polenta) day instead of square pizza day. Could you imagine sending your kid to school with a cold lunch of beans and corn? He would hate himself, and no one would trade them their shoe-glue go-gurt for your kids organic proteins.
14 February 2009
X Country Coach
Many of you know that during my time in high school I was interested in running, until I got burnt out and quit. So I played frisbee instead, which gave me everything that I felt like I had been lacking when I was running. They don't have frisbee teams in Kenya and the cross country team at my school was coachless, leading me to make a re-entry into the sport. My first initial duty, other than doing mazeuzi (exercises) with the students was to attend a cross country meet with the students last weekend. Being there brought back a lot of memories for me, the stress, the passion for endorphines, and the desire to perform well. During the 8km boys race one of my students was the third in the pack after the first lap, which intensified all of these feelings even more. He went out of site, and then upon seeing him again he was about 200m in front of the others. I was so excited for him. I cheered, ran along side him, and then hurried off to meet him at the finish. He moved onto the provincial meet, which was today, and I accompanied him to the course.
We were told that the first meet was going to begin at 7:30am, and so I was very worried when we showed up at 8:30am and no one was at the course. Round about 9 another school showed up. At about 9:45 the officials showed up, and then we got going at about 10:30. I felt awful because I told my physics students that I would be back at the school in the afternoon to teach a few extra classes, but there wasn't a lot I could do. So today we got to town at about 7:30, when we were told to meet at 7, only to find that everyone had already proceeeded ahead of us to the course. This is exactly the way Kenya is, you cannot say that they do not care about keeping time, because sometimes they keep strict times. It's those other times that really throw me off. No matter what time is kept - or not kept, people are generally understanding.
We arrived to the meet just in time, and everybody was very curious of who this mazungu. I met with the chairman, I met with some teachers, and some students. Then I got to watch the races. The students were lined up on the starting line, the gun goes off, and I see my student sprint to the front. I know that he got first last time, but maybe I should have warned him that this would be a slightly tougher crowd. One of the reasons why I left cross country was that I was the best at my school, and there was a lot pressure on me to always achieve results. The stress became too much and it just was not fun anymore. Maybe I should have relayed this story to my student, I don't care how well he does, as long as he tries and feels good about himself. So I see him after the first lap and yell out encouragement, "Paul, keep it up," and he returns, "but mwalimu" and gives me this pained face. After that I didn't notice him in the pack next time around but was able to find him sitting away from the course next to a few other students. Okay, talk time, I don't care if you get first, there were lots of people in the race that you could have kept up with. He says that he knows, and wants to try again. During this talk it comes out that the cross country team only goes on 4 km runs, maybe 3 times a week, while the races are between 8 and 12 km. No wonder he got burnt out quickly. Now though, he knows what races are like, and can help motivate the other students. I will also try to step up a little more to help them organize themselves.
The event was followed by speeches from a member of parliment, district commisioner, and a representatives of the sponsors of the events. We were even blessed by the presence of the winner of like 6 international marathons who happens to be from this part of Kenya. Runners in Kenya are really revered. Even the runners today who finished in the top 6 for each race received track suits, 20 thousand shillings, and are being put up in the training camp for the next week in order to prepare for the national event.
I told my student that in highschool my English teacher told me that Kenyans are good runners because they don't have TV, which means that they go on 300 mile runs. We both had a good laugh at cross cultural mis-representations and ended the day on a happy note.
Now I just have to get in shape so that I can run with my students. I don't know what it is, if it is the elevation, the heat, or my diet, but I can't keep up with the students for more than 1/2 a mile. I can't say that I am getting old, because there was a 69 year old man that ran the 12 km race with the students. This guy gave a speech, and said that he has worked on a shamba all of his life, but he just loves running so much that on top of his farm work he runs about 10 km a day. What an inspiration. He certainly didn't get first, but he seemed to be about the happiest of any of the runners.
We were told that the first meet was going to begin at 7:30am, and so I was very worried when we showed up at 8:30am and no one was at the course. Round about 9 another school showed up. At about 9:45 the officials showed up, and then we got going at about 10:30. I felt awful because I told my physics students that I would be back at the school in the afternoon to teach a few extra classes, but there wasn't a lot I could do. So today we got to town at about 7:30, when we were told to meet at 7, only to find that everyone had already proceeeded ahead of us to the course. This is exactly the way Kenya is, you cannot say that they do not care about keeping time, because sometimes they keep strict times. It's those other times that really throw me off. No matter what time is kept - or not kept, people are generally understanding.
We arrived to the meet just in time, and everybody was very curious of who this mazungu. I met with the chairman, I met with some teachers, and some students. Then I got to watch the races. The students were lined up on the starting line, the gun goes off, and I see my student sprint to the front. I know that he got first last time, but maybe I should have warned him that this would be a slightly tougher crowd. One of the reasons why I left cross country was that I was the best at my school, and there was a lot pressure on me to always achieve results. The stress became too much and it just was not fun anymore. Maybe I should have relayed this story to my student, I don't care how well he does, as long as he tries and feels good about himself. So I see him after the first lap and yell out encouragement, "Paul, keep it up," and he returns, "but mwalimu" and gives me this pained face. After that I didn't notice him in the pack next time around but was able to find him sitting away from the course next to a few other students. Okay, talk time, I don't care if you get first, there were lots of people in the race that you could have kept up with. He says that he knows, and wants to try again. During this talk it comes out that the cross country team only goes on 4 km runs, maybe 3 times a week, while the races are between 8 and 12 km. No wonder he got burnt out quickly. Now though, he knows what races are like, and can help motivate the other students. I will also try to step up a little more to help them organize themselves.
The event was followed by speeches from a member of parliment, district commisioner, and a representatives of the sponsors of the events. We were even blessed by the presence of the winner of like 6 international marathons who happens to be from this part of Kenya. Runners in Kenya are really revered. Even the runners today who finished in the top 6 for each race received track suits, 20 thousand shillings, and are being put up in the training camp for the next week in order to prepare for the national event.
I told my student that in highschool my English teacher told me that Kenyans are good runners because they don't have TV, which means that they go on 300 mile runs. We both had a good laugh at cross cultural mis-representations and ended the day on a happy note.
Now I just have to get in shape so that I can run with my students. I don't know what it is, if it is the elevation, the heat, or my diet, but I can't keep up with the students for more than 1/2 a mile. I can't say that I am getting old, because there was a 69 year old man that ran the 12 km race with the students. This guy gave a speech, and said that he has worked on a shamba all of his life, but he just loves running so much that on top of his farm work he runs about 10 km a day. What an inspiration. He certainly didn't get first, but he seemed to be about the happiest of any of the runners.
24 January 2009
Week of Obama and School Strikes
Teachers are striking here. I have not been able to discern precisely which teachers are striking and which are not. Some teachers, primary school teachers, are definitely striking. Secondary school teachers may or may not be striking. All week I have been at school teaching, and some of the other teachers have been too. This week the school may close completely, or it may not. Either way, it is a peaceful strike and I will continue to be present for my students.
On the 20th I had the pleasure of announcing to the students that Obama was being inaugurated today. I imagined myself sitting around a radio with 100 students at 8pm (noon in Washington, DC) listening to the event. In preparation I ran to my fellow teachers house across town, borrowed her radio, and upon returning called all interested students to the flag pole to listen with me. I imagined that even if students were not interested in hearing Obama speak that they would at least be interested in finding a reason to not study. I know that my students are excited about Obama, but still only 6 or 7 joined me. The reason was that they were all too concerned about their studies to leave for an hour. It also turned out that all of the commentary was in Kiswahili. I am learning Kiswahili, but in my excitement I wanted to hear all of the details. The school cook has a friend in Athiru with a hotel that has a generator and a TV. Him and two students rushed me off, or maybe I was rushing them, to the hotel and arrived in time to see the opening prayer of the inauguration. The room was packed by about 60 Kenyans and one American. I wanted my students to absorb and appreciate it all. They said that Obama's speech was very clear and that they understood it, but I wanted to push them to the front of the crowd and let my excitement overwhelm them. I think that even though I refrained from this course of action that they appreciated the experience very much. The TV showed a split screen between the crowd in Washington, DC and the students at Nairobi University. My students said that the crowd in Nairobi looked more excited, but I think that the people were excited in different ways. In Nairobi they had pop music artists playing and the crowds were active. In Washington the people felt how I felt, and we showed it by feeling as though we would cry. It wasn't quite the night that I imagined, I wish that I could have been with all of my students to let them all have the experience with me, but I think that the night would have meant more to me anyways.
At school, two days later, I had the privilege of attending the prefect and administration meeting. This is the analog of student counsel in the States, except that the student prefects do a lot more than I did when I was on student counsel. They do everything from helping the teachers ensure that games happen, to coordinating cleaning efforts around the school, to helping the teachers discipline students. It amazes me that you can expect a student to help enforce the discipline of the other students, but in Kenya it seems to work.
At the meeting we mostly discussed the discipline of the school, and I received confirmation that indeed to the students being discipline with their studying was more important than listening to Obama. The students asked us to enforce discipline more strictly, they asked us to change the schedule to require the boarding students to be in their classrooms every morning at 5am, and they asked us to punish them for speaking Kiswahili instead of English. I am continually amazed and impressed by the students. They really want to be the early bird and to do well. The goal of most of the students is to make it to America. I've been reading the book, The Bottom Billion, which has been making me think about issues like this one. I recommend the book for anyone who is interested in globalization or the giving of Aid to developing countries. It is a big problem for the development of Kenya that the most educated citizens want to leave. I try to tell them that it would be better for Kenya if they focused their energy not on leaving, but on trying to change and build the country. This doesn't work though, I need to think about how to get them to believe the words that I am saying. I wonder if the most educated will always want to leave as long as they see life as being better abroad, or if there are other motivations make them want to remain. Maybe the key to make them appreciate Kenya is to focus on helping them to think about what makes a life good. I have tried this a little by saying that I think the best life that you can lead is the one where you affect the most positive change, but how sure am I of this? Being here in Kenya I have come to believe it, but there was a time when I thought that maybe the best life was the most simple life. Maybe if I open up this dialog with my students they will be able to help teach me what is best. This last sentence was inspired by the movie, Conan, where someone says to Conan, "Conan, what is best in life?" And Conan responds something about crushing your enemies and see them driven before you. I think I can say with confidence that I do not agree with Conan.
I am going to start a debate club in the next couple of weeks, and maybe this can be a topic.
On the 20th I had the pleasure of announcing to the students that Obama was being inaugurated today. I imagined myself sitting around a radio with 100 students at 8pm (noon in Washington, DC) listening to the event. In preparation I ran to my fellow teachers house across town, borrowed her radio, and upon returning called all interested students to the flag pole to listen with me. I imagined that even if students were not interested in hearing Obama speak that they would at least be interested in finding a reason to not study. I know that my students are excited about Obama, but still only 6 or 7 joined me. The reason was that they were all too concerned about their studies to leave for an hour. It also turned out that all of the commentary was in Kiswahili. I am learning Kiswahili, but in my excitement I wanted to hear all of the details. The school cook has a friend in Athiru with a hotel that has a generator and a TV. Him and two students rushed me off, or maybe I was rushing them, to the hotel and arrived in time to see the opening prayer of the inauguration. The room was packed by about 60 Kenyans and one American. I wanted my students to absorb and appreciate it all. They said that Obama's speech was very clear and that they understood it, but I wanted to push them to the front of the crowd and let my excitement overwhelm them. I think that even though I refrained from this course of action that they appreciated the experience very much. The TV showed a split screen between the crowd in Washington, DC and the students at Nairobi University. My students said that the crowd in Nairobi looked more excited, but I think that the people were excited in different ways. In Nairobi they had pop music artists playing and the crowds were active. In Washington the people felt how I felt, and we showed it by feeling as though we would cry. It wasn't quite the night that I imagined, I wish that I could have been with all of my students to let them all have the experience with me, but I think that the night would have meant more to me anyways.
At school, two days later, I had the privilege of attending the prefect and administration meeting. This is the analog of student counsel in the States, except that the student prefects do a lot more than I did when I was on student counsel. They do everything from helping the teachers ensure that games happen, to coordinating cleaning efforts around the school, to helping the teachers discipline students. It amazes me that you can expect a student to help enforce the discipline of the other students, but in Kenya it seems to work.
At the meeting we mostly discussed the discipline of the school, and I received confirmation that indeed to the students being discipline with their studying was more important than listening to Obama. The students asked us to enforce discipline more strictly, they asked us to change the schedule to require the boarding students to be in their classrooms every morning at 5am, and they asked us to punish them for speaking Kiswahili instead of English. I am continually amazed and impressed by the students. They really want to be the early bird and to do well. The goal of most of the students is to make it to America. I've been reading the book, The Bottom Billion, which has been making me think about issues like this one. I recommend the book for anyone who is interested in globalization or the giving of Aid to developing countries. It is a big problem for the development of Kenya that the most educated citizens want to leave. I try to tell them that it would be better for Kenya if they focused their energy not on leaving, but on trying to change and build the country. This doesn't work though, I need to think about how to get them to believe the words that I am saying. I wonder if the most educated will always want to leave as long as they see life as being better abroad, or if there are other motivations make them want to remain. Maybe the key to make them appreciate Kenya is to focus on helping them to think about what makes a life good. I have tried this a little by saying that I think the best life that you can lead is the one where you affect the most positive change, but how sure am I of this? Being here in Kenya I have come to believe it, but there was a time when I thought that maybe the best life was the most simple life. Maybe if I open up this dialog with my students they will be able to help teach me what is best. This last sentence was inspired by the movie, Conan, where someone says to Conan, "Conan, what is best in life?" And Conan responds something about crushing your enemies and see them driven before you. I think I can say with confidence that I do not agree with Conan.
I am going to start a debate club in the next couple of weeks, and maybe this can be a topic.
17 January 2009
I Am Here
I have arrived and all is well.
I am now a teacher at a new secondary school just outside of Athiru. I have a modest house (about 10x20 ft), which is located on the school grounds between the women's dorm and the men's dorm. The students here are amazingly disciplined. They wake up at 5am, study for an hour, take porridge for breakfast, do a little religious ceremony, and are in their classrooms at 8am when the teachers arrive. They are in class, with the exception of a few breaks from 8am to 4:10 pm. Then they play sports or do clubs until maybe 6pm. By 7pm they are huddled together around a single kerosene lantern to study. They study until 9:30pm, then are in bed by 9. Furthermore, they do this 6 days a week! On Saturdays there is rarely a teacher around, but they do the chores of the school and spend the rest of the day in the classrooms studying.
The structure of the Kenyan curriculum is different than the US. Here, all students study physics in form 1 and 2, then some of them choose to continue on in physics for form 3 and 4. The last physics teacher is no longer at the school, so I have taken over all four forms. In forms 3 and 4 I have only about 6 and 8 students respectively, but in form 2 I have two classes of 45. We have not yet received out form 1 students, but I am told to expect either one class of 60 or two classes of 40. On top of the physics I may also teach form 1 math.
I want them all to learn so much physics, but what I need to step back and consider more thoroughly is how I will develop a pedagogy to teach them not only the syllabus but how to get them to think critically. So far I have been including this by asking them to try to figure out which equations to use, and to try themselves to apply them before I show them how to do the problem. I feel like there should be more though... I think that the answer may lie in taking a whole holistic approach. That is, maybe if I also spend time having conversations with them after school and on the weekends we will get a lot further in developing their general reasoning. Maybe just the exercise of challenging them to apply their knowledge to novel situations will do it. What did my teachers do?
I have such a respect for teachers. Being back in a school setting makes me think about and miss Reed College. Could I be a teacher all my life though? I don't know, but more importantly I don't think that I need to know at this point. Being a teacher for two years will be a good exercise regardless of whether or not I will be a school teacher later on. I already feel more comfortable expounding on topics in front of groups and teaching physics certainly forces me to think about my organization of topics.
I was going to upload pictures, but I could feel the voltage potential difference between the computer and my hand when I plugged the flashdrive into the computer. I freaked out a little bit and removed the flashdrive quickly. Maybe you will be fortunate enough to get pictures at a later date.
I am now a teacher at a new secondary school just outside of Athiru. I have a modest house (about 10x20 ft), which is located on the school grounds between the women's dorm and the men's dorm. The students here are amazingly disciplined. They wake up at 5am, study for an hour, take porridge for breakfast, do a little religious ceremony, and are in their classrooms at 8am when the teachers arrive. They are in class, with the exception of a few breaks from 8am to 4:10 pm. Then they play sports or do clubs until maybe 6pm. By 7pm they are huddled together around a single kerosene lantern to study. They study until 9:30pm, then are in bed by 9. Furthermore, they do this 6 days a week! On Saturdays there is rarely a teacher around, but they do the chores of the school and spend the rest of the day in the classrooms studying.
The structure of the Kenyan curriculum is different than the US. Here, all students study physics in form 1 and 2, then some of them choose to continue on in physics for form 3 and 4. The last physics teacher is no longer at the school, so I have taken over all four forms. In forms 3 and 4 I have only about 6 and 8 students respectively, but in form 2 I have two classes of 45. We have not yet received out form 1 students, but I am told to expect either one class of 60 or two classes of 40. On top of the physics I may also teach form 1 math.
I want them all to learn so much physics, but what I need to step back and consider more thoroughly is how I will develop a pedagogy to teach them not only the syllabus but how to get them to think critically. So far I have been including this by asking them to try to figure out which equations to use, and to try themselves to apply them before I show them how to do the problem. I feel like there should be more though... I think that the answer may lie in taking a whole holistic approach. That is, maybe if I also spend time having conversations with them after school and on the weekends we will get a lot further in developing their general reasoning. Maybe just the exercise of challenging them to apply their knowledge to novel situations will do it. What did my teachers do?
I have such a respect for teachers. Being back in a school setting makes me think about and miss Reed College. Could I be a teacher all my life though? I don't know, but more importantly I don't think that I need to know at this point. Being a teacher for two years will be a good exercise regardless of whether or not I will be a school teacher later on. I already feel more comfortable expounding on topics in front of groups and teaching physics certainly forces me to think about my organization of topics.
I was going to upload pictures, but I could feel the voltage potential difference between the computer and my hand when I plugged the flashdrive into the computer. I freaked out a little bit and removed the flashdrive quickly. Maybe you will be fortunate enough to get pictures at a later date.
08 January 2009
Site Placement
I am currently in Nairobi, Kenya. Staying at a lovely hostel. It is unlike any hostel I have ever imagined. It's really a jolly good hotel. Tea 4 times a day. This is the site that Peace Corps is putting us, the volunteers (today we were sworn in), and our supervisors. I met my supervisor yesterday morning and found out that I will be 5 km outside of a town called Maua, which in Kiswahili means "flower." The town is located between a national game reserve and Mount Kenya. Very beautiful sounding, and it also sounds like it is the coldest place in Kenya - the temperature is in the 70's every month of the year.
I am a secondary school teacher at a small school that was founded in 2004. The principal is the representative that came to meet me. My initial impression of him is that he is very hard working as he was responsible for the creation of the school. The story, as I have heard it, is that he was a career teacher who saw a need for a secondary school in the area. He talked to the chief, a former student of his, who was able to mobilize the community around the project and raise the initial building. From there the principal contacted former students of his that now work for the government and was able to get teachers and grants for a science building. The story is very inspiring, and I am excited to be a part of the community.
About half of the students board and the other half are day students. I will be living on campus in a house that was formerly occupied by the principal. I will write more about that once I see it. I have learned that I do not have an adequate intuition for connecting Kenyan descriptions with the real object yet. For instance, I could tell you that Loitokitok has a supermarket and you would think of Safeway. I have come to associate the term supermarket to mean "corner store" - a store that is big enough to walk into but maybe only 15 ft by 30 ft. I can tell you about the traffic jams in Nairobi, but you don't imagine a city the size of Seattle during rush hour, with only a few traffic lights and with no lines painted on the roads in many places. Imagine that 1/4 of the vehicles in this traffic jam are vans called "matatus," about the size of an aerostar with 12 people crammed inside. The music is blaring, some have TV's with music videos and the drivers are young and aggressive, picking up as many people as they can as quickly as they can to make some money. Remember, no lines on the roads, its amazing.
Tomorrow morning I am leaving for the school. I've heard that the road is paved and is decent condition the whole way. I'll be in a station wagon with 5 people, three of whom are trainees meaning that we have 3 big pieces of luggage each. It will be a great opportunity to get to know more about my supervisor and become closer to the other two trainees that will be within 70 km of me. I just realized that I have been using trainee, as I mentioned before we are now real live volunteers. My principal was actually taught by a Peace Corps volunteer back in 1971 -2 while he was a secondary school student. He told me about what an impact the volunteer made on his life and career path.
An aspect of the school that I particularly appreciate is that students are allowed to attend the school term even if they are not able to come up with all of the school fees. This cost is offset by raising the school fees for those who can afford it. It isn't perfect, but I think that it is a much better system than 99 percent of Kenyan school where students are sent home and not allowed to return if they cannot afford the fees. A consequence of this system is that the school is very tight monetarily, and there are not enough teachers. In forms 2 - 4 each class has close to 65 students.
It will be a new and thrilling experience living in such close quarters to so many students. It will be important to set up strict boundaries initially, but I am thrilled by the prospect of having a form 4 student tutor me in Kiswahili, playing football afterschool, and teaching the students about baking their own bread.
I am a secondary school teacher at a small school that was founded in 2004. The principal is the representative that came to meet me. My initial impression of him is that he is very hard working as he was responsible for the creation of the school. The story, as I have heard it, is that he was a career teacher who saw a need for a secondary school in the area. He talked to the chief, a former student of his, who was able to mobilize the community around the project and raise the initial building. From there the principal contacted former students of his that now work for the government and was able to get teachers and grants for a science building. The story is very inspiring, and I am excited to be a part of the community.
About half of the students board and the other half are day students. I will be living on campus in a house that was formerly occupied by the principal. I will write more about that once I see it. I have learned that I do not have an adequate intuition for connecting Kenyan descriptions with the real object yet. For instance, I could tell you that Loitokitok has a supermarket and you would think of Safeway. I have come to associate the term supermarket to mean "corner store" - a store that is big enough to walk into but maybe only 15 ft by 30 ft. I can tell you about the traffic jams in Nairobi, but you don't imagine a city the size of Seattle during rush hour, with only a few traffic lights and with no lines painted on the roads in many places. Imagine that 1/4 of the vehicles in this traffic jam are vans called "matatus," about the size of an aerostar with 12 people crammed inside. The music is blaring, some have TV's with music videos and the drivers are young and aggressive, picking up as many people as they can as quickly as they can to make some money. Remember, no lines on the roads, its amazing.
Tomorrow morning I am leaving for the school. I've heard that the road is paved and is decent condition the whole way. I'll be in a station wagon with 5 people, three of whom are trainees meaning that we have 3 big pieces of luggage each. It will be a great opportunity to get to know more about my supervisor and become closer to the other two trainees that will be within 70 km of me. I just realized that I have been using trainee, as I mentioned before we are now real live volunteers. My principal was actually taught by a Peace Corps volunteer back in 1971 -2 while he was a secondary school student. He told me about what an impact the volunteer made on his life and career path.
An aspect of the school that I particularly appreciate is that students are allowed to attend the school term even if they are not able to come up with all of the school fees. This cost is offset by raising the school fees for those who can afford it. It isn't perfect, but I think that it is a much better system than 99 percent of Kenyan school where students are sent home and not allowed to return if they cannot afford the fees. A consequence of this system is that the school is very tight monetarily, and there are not enough teachers. In forms 2 - 4 each class has close to 65 students.
It will be a new and thrilling experience living in such close quarters to so many students. It will be important to set up strict boundaries initially, but I am thrilled by the prospect of having a form 4 student tutor me in Kiswahili, playing football afterschool, and teaching the students about baking their own bread.
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