First Weeks of Teaching + Site visit

So as you know, I did orientation and began teacher boot camp.  Things went well for the most part.  I had a few good lessons and some that I will tweek in the future.  Before I tell you specifics about my two weeks of practice in the Ugandan classrooms, I want to share a few facts with you about the education system here in Uganda.

Fun facts

-    About half the population is under the age of 15

-  Students transition to all English classes in P4

-  Corporal punishment is banned yet still practiced in the country

When I had a good day, man, did I have a good day.  I would laugh with the kids and make sure participation was to the max.  Unfortunately, that was not always the case.

On my first incident, I was giving instructions for a workstation session on writing.  One kid in particular was not paying attention and headed for the door.  In my head I was thinking that this kid was just so bored by my lesson that he was trying to escape my dull chatter.  I stopped him in his tracks and inquired as to where he was going and to which he responded with the simple word “outside”.  I asked him to sit down and to be patient since his group would be outside the next day.  Thinking the problem was solved I went back to teaching until I noticed the same boy with his head down.  I spotted him crying and as I got closer I noticed the puddle under his feet.  I was MORTIFIED.  I was the reason this kid wet his pants in front of his classmates.  I quickly turned it into a lesson on respect so there wouldn’t be any laughing.  He finished his business in the latrines outside and then came back in to the classroom.  If he had the guts to come back in, then I must not have traumatized him too much.

The next day I was determined to not have a kid piss his pants on my watch.  During my observation of a colleague’s lesson, I spotted my second incident.  Two tables ahead of me, I spotted a boy with his head ducked under the desk and there is smoke coming from his mouth.  *Smack my forehead* A 5^th grader was smoking in the back of the room in the middle of a lesson!  I attempted to get my colleague’s attention but the message was not clear and instead he called the kid up as a volunteer for a read-aloud.  This kid thought he could be slick by helping the teacher at the front of the class.  Um, I don’t think so!  After class I pulled him aside to chat.

 Before I said anything, the kid starts begging me for forgiveness.  “Please, teacher, have mercy on me.  Please forgive me.”  Do those words sound like those of an innocent child??? Clearly this kid was guilty of something.  His friends were starting to encircle us so I had to pull him behind the building.  I asked him what he was doing under the desk; his answer – “I was cleaning my cup.”  I asked him why there was smoke coming from his mouth; his answer – “I was taking a pill medication.”  He handed me his matches and I explained to him how he was not paying attention to the lesson and what he was doing was wrong.  His head teacher, my supervisor, and the headmaster were made aware of the situation.  I just hope he wasn't caned for the crime.  Smoking is bad but beating a child is bad too.  My supervisor was informed that this kid came from the street so he probably requires more creative methods for discipline.

The third incident happened less than two hours later at the end of the school day.   Since the wet child problem didn't feel like it had been resolved, I discussed it with my group and decided that a common signal for toilet was needed in the classroom.  We agreed on the ASL sign for the letter “T” which is a closed fist with the thumb between the pointer finger and the middle finger.  During our family initiative time which could be the equivalent of homeroom time, we discussed the ups and downs of the day and finally came to the topic of a toilet signal so we do not have so many students disrupting the lesson by just walking in and out.  I shook my “T” signal and asked the class to follow suit.  Right away I got giggles and a lot of confuzzled faces.  The head teacher interrupts and tells me that it is a bad sign and it would be better to change it to a different one with the pinky finger pointing down.  During lunch I asked Fred, our security officer AKA James Bond, about the hand signal and if he would be kind enough to tell me the meaning.  He tells me that it is an incredibly vulgar sign for “want to f*&%?”  OH EM GEE!  My darling 5^th graders were flicked off by their foreign teacher.  I am lucky that all they did was giggle and not report me to their parents or the Ministry of Education.

For the second week of teaching practice, I spent time with the P6 students and they were the best class ever.  I saw so much progress from the children and their love for us touched me to the core.  We were given fruit, including pineapple, papaya, and avocados, and I even received special visits from one of my students all the way to the college campus we were staying at.  She brought me a handmade card and a gold chain which must have cost her a fortune.  This class was so good to me in that one week of teaching that I felt like tearing up when we had to say goodbye.  Even the P4 class that I accosted said they missed me and gave me warm hugs on the way out.  If two weeks is all it takes to win the love of 200 students, then I have to wonder, how much love will I have by the end of two years with a school filled with 2,000 students?

Which bring me to the topic of my site.  My future permanent site is an over-crowded school of 2k students with 40 teachers that have a ton of teaching experience and open minds willing to explore new strategies for introducing more literacy into their lessons across all content areas.  The conversations I have had with my fellow co-teachers seem promising in that they accept and welcome me to exchange ideas and culture with them.  So far I see various areas where I can help including but not limited to creating a library/resource room, a computer lab (there is a strong cry for this), enhancing the teaching materials, and once I actually meet the students, I’m sure there will be more work to be done.

The housing situation remains to be sorted but I have faith that it will be resolved soon since everyone at the school seems to want me to be there.  I have a home but it is not furnished.  Easily fixed.

On Friday, I am going to be in a different city for homestay while I complete my 1 month of language training with the rest of the volunteers in my region.  For Christmas, the volunteers in my region will be meeting at another local volunteer’s house for dinner and to enjoy the festivities.  Once the language training is finished, I will be in Kampala for a short workshop and then we will be sworn in on January 23^rd.  The day after swearing in will be the day that it gets real and I will not have anyone holding my hand.  

Until my next post, I leave you with an expression that a veteran volunteer has taught me – T.I.U. = THIS IS UGANDA.

If you haven’t called me yet, please do.  Peace Corps volunteers need love too.

VSO