Enos (my Peace Corps supervisor) came Tuesday to see how I am adjusting to life at site. He brought Amy who also works in the Nairobi office for the session.
Ken (the business teacher at my school) is really nice in a lot of ways.
Then Enos, Amy and I went back to my house and we talked a bit more about a lot of different things.
Finally, they brought me back to school (in a nice air conditioned car both ways).
They brought me homemade chocolate chip cookies. They were delicious. I probably should have shared them with my neighbors, but it's just been one of those weeks and they were a good pick-me-up.
-----
The passages that were previously on this post but are no longer here probably weren't relevant anyway.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The Canadian Invasion
Well, the weekend was fairly uneventful. The priest came to our mass this week (didn't you know I'm Catholic?), but since he stays about an hour away and works with several congregations, he only comes every few weeks.
Yesterday, our new headmaster visited the school, but he is still taking care of a few things. He seems nice, although I haven't seen much of him. I am very grateful to finally have a supervisor, although I fear that this will increase my responsibilities.
In the afternoon yesterday, we also had a group from McGill (it's a university in Montreal) that is doing a semester traveling East Africa visit the school. There were 40 of them, and we gave them a taste of life in Maktau. The Canadians (some Americans too) told me that I sound really weird when I talk. I put on my normal American voice and they were relieved. Then, after they left, I spent the rest of the day explaining to students that these people are not my relatives.
I am on duty again this week. Sigh...
Yesterday, our new headmaster visited the school, but he is still taking care of a few things. He seems nice, although I haven't seen much of him. I am very grateful to finally have a supervisor, although I fear that this will increase my responsibilities.
In the afternoon yesterday, we also had a group from McGill (it's a university in Montreal) that is doing a semester traveling East Africa visit the school. There were 40 of them, and we gave them a taste of life in Maktau. The Canadians (some Americans too) told me that I sound really weird when I talk. I put on my normal American voice and they were relieved. Then, after they left, I spent the rest of the day explaining to students that these people are not my relatives.
I am on duty again this week. Sigh...
Friday, March 6, 2009
Science Congress
Yesterday was the science congress. The science congress is the local science fair, so each of the 9 schools in our zone was allowed to bring up to three projects in each of the subject areas (biology, chemistry, physics, math, agriculture, home science, applied science and computers). The theme this year was science and technology for environmental improvement. I was to be a judge for the math projects. The students started working on their projects about a week and a half before the competition. It seemed like short notice to me, but everyone else thought it was normal.
I should back up a bit and talk about everything leading up to the fair. Several students approached Mr. Godwin (the physics teacher) and myself for advice about selecting and proceeding with projects. He offered the structure and content guidance, and then sent them to me for technical advice. I was approached by several students, and as we approached time for the congress, we had seven projects to bring with us.
Two days before the congress, we discovered that the school was almost out of posterboards, and we would not be able to buy any until we had a new headmaster. Only 3 teams were able to go with posterboards, and the rest had to take deductions on their projects for that. Then, the day before the congress, one of my colleagues (it's always the same one) announced that the school did not have access to money to send students to science congress. The money was in the bank, but could not be withdrawn until we had a headmaster. After much persuading, he agreed to allow me to use my own money for the trip and be paid back later. It really shocked me how much I had to argue for him to agree to let the students participate in an educational activity.
We went to the congress with six projects: construction of a greenhouse (Math), raising sheep in arid climates (agriculture), the importance of beetles to soil fertility (agriculture), community scale water harvesting (agriculture), making medicated soap from local plants (chemistry), using household supplies to make hair product (home science). The seventh one had to be cancelled because one of the girls was suspended for giving names to the teacher (I haven't actually figured out what that means). We arrived early and helped the students prepare their presentations.
During my judging session, I was paired with another teacher from a different school. I wasn't really sure what to do, but the rubric was very specific, so I just filled it out. Each group made its presentations. For math, we only had 9 to watch. We were supposed to ask questions after each presentation. I had to restrain myself from asking the really hard questions, although the other judge did not feel similarly constrained. I was glad that I got to see Noel and Eunice present on their greenhouse (related to math through scale modeling and geometrical considerations). Most of the other presentations had to argue that the math they were demonstrating was relevant to the environment ("well you see, if people solve problems using our method, they will use less paper and save more trees.") while Noel and Eunice had to convince people that they were not supposed to be in the agriculture competition. Still, they won first in math and will be going on to district level next weekend. The rest of the school did not fare quite so well (remember, most of the students didn't have posters, so automatically received hefty deductions), but I spent the whole way home telling them how proud I was of them.
I also had the opportunity to watch some of the chemistry presentations. In that room, I did not shy away from asking the hard questions. (Two students demonstrated a water filter that they had created, so I asked them if they would drink the water they had just purified. They laughed and shook their heads.) I kept reminding myself that I was not in my D-Lab design reviews, so I didn't push them too far. I also made sure to tell everyone that I interrogated after they had finished that they had made a good presentation.
This was also a good opportunity for many of the students to meet other secondary school students and see how life is for them (the school that hosted the competition has been around for 30 years, so their facilities are far more extensive). I think my favorite moment was when Stanley (he is a mischievious third year, but he's a good kid) came up to me and explained that some of the students at the school were studying even though they were on break. "They could be at home resting or talking with friends, but they're reading! They're reading! And no one even told them to read. But they're still studying! Wow!!!" Hopefully he was inspired by this.
Before I end the post, I just want to mention one of the hardest moments. One of the groups was talking about using geometric patterns to beautify the area. As they were going over the problem statement they announced "Kenya has lost most of its anaesthetic." I bit my lip really hard to keep from laughing. At the end of their presentation, I whispered to them that they should make sure to say "aesthetic" the next time that they present.
I should back up a bit and talk about everything leading up to the fair. Several students approached Mr. Godwin (the physics teacher) and myself for advice about selecting and proceeding with projects. He offered the structure and content guidance, and then sent them to me for technical advice. I was approached by several students, and as we approached time for the congress, we had seven projects to bring with us.
Two days before the congress, we discovered that the school was almost out of posterboards, and we would not be able to buy any until we had a new headmaster. Only 3 teams were able to go with posterboards, and the rest had to take deductions on their projects for that. Then, the day before the congress, one of my colleagues (it's always the same one) announced that the school did not have access to money to send students to science congress. The money was in the bank, but could not be withdrawn until we had a headmaster. After much persuading, he agreed to allow me to use my own money for the trip and be paid back later. It really shocked me how much I had to argue for him to agree to let the students participate in an educational activity.
We went to the congress with six projects: construction of a greenhouse (Math), raising sheep in arid climates (agriculture), the importance of beetles to soil fertility (agriculture), community scale water harvesting (agriculture), making medicated soap from local plants (chemistry), using household supplies to make hair product (home science). The seventh one had to be cancelled because one of the girls was suspended for giving names to the teacher (I haven't actually figured out what that means). We arrived early and helped the students prepare their presentations.
During my judging session, I was paired with another teacher from a different school. I wasn't really sure what to do, but the rubric was very specific, so I just filled it out. Each group made its presentations. For math, we only had 9 to watch. We were supposed to ask questions after each presentation. I had to restrain myself from asking the really hard questions, although the other judge did not feel similarly constrained. I was glad that I got to see Noel and Eunice present on their greenhouse (related to math through scale modeling and geometrical considerations). Most of the other presentations had to argue that the math they were demonstrating was relevant to the environment ("well you see, if people solve problems using our method, they will use less paper and save more trees.") while Noel and Eunice had to convince people that they were not supposed to be in the agriculture competition. Still, they won first in math and will be going on to district level next weekend. The rest of the school did not fare quite so well (remember, most of the students didn't have posters, so automatically received hefty deductions), but I spent the whole way home telling them how proud I was of them.
I also had the opportunity to watch some of the chemistry presentations. In that room, I did not shy away from asking the hard questions. (Two students demonstrated a water filter that they had created, so I asked them if they would drink the water they had just purified. They laughed and shook their heads.) I kept reminding myself that I was not in my D-Lab design reviews, so I didn't push them too far. I also made sure to tell everyone that I interrogated after they had finished that they had made a good presentation.
This was also a good opportunity for many of the students to meet other secondary school students and see how life is for them (the school that hosted the competition has been around for 30 years, so their facilities are far more extensive). I think my favorite moment was when Stanley (he is a mischievious third year, but he's a good kid) came up to me and explained that some of the students at the school were studying even though they were on break. "They could be at home resting or talking with friends, but they're reading! They're reading! And no one even told them to read. But they're still studying! Wow!!!" Hopefully he was inspired by this.
Before I end the post, I just want to mention one of the hardest moments. One of the groups was talking about using geometric patterns to beautify the area. As they were going over the problem statement they announced "Kenya has lost most of its anaesthetic." I bit my lip really hard to keep from laughing. At the end of their presentation, I whispered to them that they should make sure to say "aesthetic" the next time that they present.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Parent Teacher Conferences
I want to preface this post by saying that I hope people reading my blog will not take anything I say and extrapolate that all Kenyans behave in a certain way. Even when I make generalizations, there are many people who are exceptions to what I say. Furthermore, the situation described below is the conduct of one individual, and should not reflect any generalizations about Kenyans, Kenyan teachers, my community or any other group.
Well, not exactly parent-teacher conferences. The fourth year students were instructed to have their parents come to school today. All of the teachers, the parents and the fourth years crowded into a single classroom and we talked. This was happening during the school day, so the other 3/4 of the school was left without teachers or lessons for half of the day.
The session started off well. All of the parents and teachers introduced ourselves and I managed to do all of my talking in Kiswahili. Then things went downhill from there.
The format was as follows. The teachers had the report cards from last November. They announced the student's name. The parent came up and collected the form. The parent then proceeded to announce their criticisms of their child's performance to the whole group, usually calling them lazy and undisciplined. When the teaching staff felt the criticism was inadequate, they would add in some of their own. The students could rebut slightly, but they all seemed pretty dispirited. As each parent or teacher went in turn, the other students would laugh, while the victim would sit with his or her head hung. It was one of the most excruciating experiences thus far.
The absolute low point came midway through this. Now, it's common for teachers to ask leading questions so that the students at least engage in whatever is being said. My colleague asked the following question to one student: "Where are your parents?" [Pause, pause, pause] (sometimes it's silent, and sometimes students murmur the response) he continued "That's right, they're dead." At this point, I was rather taken aback. He continued, "And you've been taken in by this nice woman, and you haven't been able to get A's. You are lucky that you have a home to go to, and this is how you treat them? You can just sit down now."
It took every piece of strength I had to keep from punching him right then. Everyone else in the room seemed pretty non-plussed by this, however. I've had several experiences so far where parents or teachers felt it necessary to remind students that they are incredibly stupid, and I just don't know what to say at that juncture.
The session finished eventually. As it was wrapping up, I asked to be allowed to speak again (as I wasn't criticizing the students, my comments seemed out of place during the rest of the talk). I wanted to speak in Kiswahili, but I knew that I would lose most of my meaning if I did, so I settled for English (the session was conducted in both English and Kiswahili, so I didn't feel so bad about this). I stood up and I said that everyone in the room should be working together so that the students succeed. The students are the ones who take the exams, but it is imperative that both teachers and parents become very involved in the process. I talked about supporting and encouraging students, and even discussing the material that the students had learned at school. The word that I kept using was responsibility, while during the criticism session, the words were inevitably pejorative. The parents and teachers seemed to acknowledge that what I was saying had some logic to it, but the students seemed to really be smiling. I don't know if anything will change for these students' situations, but maybe at least when they have children, they will really become involved in their education.
I was really disgusted for most of the night. I called home and talked to my mother for a while and felt better, but it still took a really long time before I could fall asleep.
Well, not exactly parent-teacher conferences. The fourth year students were instructed to have their parents come to school today. All of the teachers, the parents and the fourth years crowded into a single classroom and we talked. This was happening during the school day, so the other 3/4 of the school was left without teachers or lessons for half of the day.
The session started off well. All of the parents and teachers introduced ourselves and I managed to do all of my talking in Kiswahili. Then things went downhill from there.
The format was as follows. The teachers had the report cards from last November. They announced the student's name. The parent came up and collected the form. The parent then proceeded to announce their criticisms of their child's performance to the whole group, usually calling them lazy and undisciplined. When the teaching staff felt the criticism was inadequate, they would add in some of their own. The students could rebut slightly, but they all seemed pretty dispirited. As each parent or teacher went in turn, the other students would laugh, while the victim would sit with his or her head hung. It was one of the most excruciating experiences thus far.
The absolute low point came midway through this. Now, it's common for teachers to ask leading questions so that the students at least engage in whatever is being said. My colleague asked the following question to one student: "Where are your parents?" [Pause, pause, pause] (sometimes it's silent, and sometimes students murmur the response) he continued "That's right, they're dead." At this point, I was rather taken aback. He continued, "And you've been taken in by this nice woman, and you haven't been able to get A's. You are lucky that you have a home to go to, and this is how you treat them? You can just sit down now."
It took every piece of strength I had to keep from punching him right then. Everyone else in the room seemed pretty non-plussed by this, however. I've had several experiences so far where parents or teachers felt it necessary to remind students that they are incredibly stupid, and I just don't know what to say at that juncture.
The session finished eventually. As it was wrapping up, I asked to be allowed to speak again (as I wasn't criticizing the students, my comments seemed out of place during the rest of the talk). I wanted to speak in Kiswahili, but I knew that I would lose most of my meaning if I did, so I settled for English (the session was conducted in both English and Kiswahili, so I didn't feel so bad about this). I stood up and I said that everyone in the room should be working together so that the students succeed. The students are the ones who take the exams, but it is imperative that both teachers and parents become very involved in the process. I talked about supporting and encouraging students, and even discussing the material that the students had learned at school. The word that I kept using was responsibility, while during the criticism session, the words were inevitably pejorative. The parents and teachers seemed to acknowledge that what I was saying had some logic to it, but the students seemed to really be smiling. I don't know if anything will change for these students' situations, but maybe at least when they have children, they will really become involved in their education.
I was really disgusted for most of the night. I called home and talked to my mother for a while and felt better, but it still took a really long time before I could fall asleep.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
A Different Kind of Weekend
I think my posts of late had taken a rather melancholy turn, so I am pleased to report that this weekend I completely unwound. I went to Voi and we met up with 6 other volunteers (Tori, Kelly, Nick, John, Nemo and Emily). We spent a lot of the weekend swapping war stories (I'm glad that none of my students have tried to put curses on my unborn children) and just catching up.
I ate cheese! Lots and lots of cheese. We had wine (from a box) with cheese and crackers, and then for dinner, we ate macaroni and cheese because Kelly had some packets. It was amazing. Then, we watched the superbowl (a dvd had been sent to John from America). We all knew what the final score would be, and there were no commercials on the disk but it was still really fun to watch the game. Tori was an amazing hostess all weekend and I think we all felt a lot better afterwards.
I also finally bought a dish rack, which was rather overdue. While we were at the market (Voi's market is on Friday, so I can never go because of school, but this was our first three day weekend) we saw some T-shirts that had come to Kenya from thrift shops and the like. As we were browsing, I came across a shirt from Oak Park. I think it was from the premiere of the 6th Harry Potter book (I was working with Emily A-P and Kate Merrick that summer, and I remember them making a big deal about it). Anyway, I bargained the price down to 100 shillings ($1.25). It was really fantastic. The shirt was Youth Size 12/14, but it was only barely too small for me. I may have lost a little weight here in Kenya.
I also drank about 15 Picanas, which is an amazing mango puree (probably artificial) drink that they have in Voi and its ice cold.
I really feel recharged after this weekend, let's hope I can keep up this pace!
I ate cheese! Lots and lots of cheese. We had wine (from a box) with cheese and crackers, and then for dinner, we ate macaroni and cheese because Kelly had some packets. It was amazing. Then, we watched the superbowl (a dvd had been sent to John from America). We all knew what the final score would be, and there were no commercials on the disk but it was still really fun to watch the game. Tori was an amazing hostess all weekend and I think we all felt a lot better afterwards.
I also finally bought a dish rack, which was rather overdue. While we were at the market (Voi's market is on Friday, so I can never go because of school, but this was our first three day weekend) we saw some T-shirts that had come to Kenya from thrift shops and the like. As we were browsing, I came across a shirt from Oak Park. I think it was from the premiere of the 6th Harry Potter book (I was working with Emily A-P and Kate Merrick that summer, and I remember them making a big deal about it). Anyway, I bargained the price down to 100 shillings ($1.25). It was really fantastic. The shirt was Youth Size 12/14, but it was only barely too small for me. I may have lost a little weight here in Kenya.
I also drank about 15 Picanas, which is an amazing mango puree (probably artificial) drink that they have in Voi and its ice cold.
I really feel recharged after this weekend, let's hope I can keep up this pace!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Blog Logistics
Well, as some of you noted on the comments section, the posts come at interesting rates. The reason is that I use the computer at my school to write the posts and I save them on my USB stick to post whenever I go to the internet cafe (2-3 week intervals). So really, it's like you're getting a letter from me, because for most of the info, it's a little out of date by the time it arrives. But actually, letters would be even slower, since I get to the post office as often as I get to the internet cafe.
In any case, glad that I got such an enthusiastic series of comments, and I hope that you enjoy this series of posts, especially the one from Feb 27. Concerning comments, I am not always sure who is posting them, so signatures would be very helpful. I assume I know which Kate that is. Mimi, on the other hand, is a mystery to me.
In any case, glad that I got such an enthusiastic series of comments, and I hope that you enjoy this series of posts, especially the one from Feb 27. Concerning comments, I am not always sure who is posting them, so signatures would be very helpful. I assume I know which Kate that is. Mimi, on the other hand, is a mystery to me.
Books 2.0
*** Poirot Loses a Client by Agatha Christie. I used to make a habit of just staying up the whole night and reading a book if it wasn't too long. Feeling a bit nostalgic for this practice, I polished off this one in just under 6 hours (went to sleep at 3 AM). Probably not her best work. I had figured out the killer by about 40% through the book. Unfortunately, I was wrong. But I liked my ending better than hers (probably the only time that I've said that about an Agatha Christie mystery). Still, it was nice to read a novel.
**** Agroforestry Extension in Kenya by Bo Tengnas. This was another ICRAF book, and it was actually a good synthesis of much of the information in some of the other books that I had read. It gave me some good ideas for future directions to pursue. Also, he discussed the prospect of making charcoal from coconut husks. Definitely made me miss Abraham and the people of Onyansana in Ghana. The most enjoyable part was the fact that the book announced in its introduction that it had taken its illustrations from a variety of other sources, several of which I have read. One of these illustrations was a cartoon from Agroforestry in Dryland Africa. Except that the dialogue was completely changed. An identical drawing was used to discuss the environmental damage as people move into a forest, and explain the effects of trees on the microclimate.
You may notice that my list of books is much shorter this month. This is partially due to my workload and the fact that I am omitting reviews of textbooks and some of the technical manuals. However, it is primarily the fault of Dean Acheson (Truman's 4th Secretary of State) and his 750 page book about his years in the state department. I am 400 pages in so far. I will probably add a post just for that book in between my monthly book posts (Books 2.1, if you will)
**** Agroforestry Extension in Kenya by Bo Tengnas. This was another ICRAF book, and it was actually a good synthesis of much of the information in some of the other books that I had read. It gave me some good ideas for future directions to pursue. Also, he discussed the prospect of making charcoal from coconut husks. Definitely made me miss Abraham and the people of Onyansana in Ghana. The most enjoyable part was the fact that the book announced in its introduction that it had taken its illustrations from a variety of other sources, several of which I have read. One of these illustrations was a cartoon from Agroforestry in Dryland Africa. Except that the dialogue was completely changed. An identical drawing was used to discuss the environmental damage as people move into a forest, and explain the effects of trees on the microclimate.
You may notice that my list of books is much shorter this month. This is partially due to my workload and the fact that I am omitting reviews of textbooks and some of the technical manuals. However, it is primarily the fault of Dean Acheson (Truman's 4th Secretary of State) and his 750 page book about his years in the state department. I am 400 pages in so far. I will probably add a post just for that book in between my monthly book posts (Books 2.1, if you will)
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