I am so used to a somewhat instantaneous, resourceful lifestyle. If I
want to learn about a subject all I have to do is jump on the internet,
go to the library or even a bookstore, then print off the website or
copy the pages and I can take them home with me. I am pretty used to
having the resources to find the information I want at my fingertips, so
it is a hard task for me to teach others without having a bounty of
resources and technological devices to gather and produce information.
Rox and I just completed our first full week of teaching after observing
the classrooms last week. It went rather well, although I am utterly
exhausted and didn't realize all the work that would come of teaching.
From our observations of the first week we realized how much time the
students spent copying down passages and homework exercises from one
textbook, because there weren't enough textbooks for everyone; even if
there were enough textbooks students are not allowed to take them home
in fear of them not returning. As our first task of teaching we decided
to make booklets of exercises for the students to take home so they
wouldn't have to spend time writing them down and could therefore focus
more on solving the problem rather than having the problem written and
in their possession. I believe in this solution, yet it takes a lot of
energy to make several handouts for each student everyday, nonetheless
create a lesson plan, homework exercises, and in-class exercises for the
students to work on. It has been a challenge for me not to be selfish
this week when I come home from a long day because I want nothing more
than to rest, but I know that I need to make worksheets for the students
for the next day. On top of this work we are faced with the challenge of
teaching concepts to students whose first language is not English. The
students have been able to understand our teachings for the most part,
yet there isn't a lot of feedback in English from them, but speaking
another language is definitely more challenging than listening to it and
understanding it. The students also range in academic levels and it's
been a challenge for us to know how to help each student. My way of
living has been challenged as now I can only address one issue at a
time, with the limited resources that there are. Instead of having the
now luxury of a computer and printer, or a copy machine, I simply have
to kick my selfish desires and work towards the goal I fully believe in:
to give these students the opportunity to learn and advance so they can
improve their quality of life and face the difficulties in Zambia.
Please continue to pray for our strength and humility as we fight our
selfish desires in order to put the needs of the students above our own.
God's Blessings, Amanda.
As Amanda and I experienced much of the same work these past two weeks,
I can echo that I'm exhausted at the end of this week. Neither of us is
trained in teaching whatsoever, we are in a different culture where the
structure of learning is different from what we experienced in the
United States, and there is a language barrier that challenges us to
break down material and explain it in a much more creative way than we
would with people who speak English as a first language. So we can't
just step in here and do what we know. Every detail of everyday has
something new and different that we've never experienced before. That
being said, I'm re-learning how to rely on God through all of this. At
home I can get used to new things pretty quickly and eventually think I
can do it pretty much on my own. But here, each day is new. There is no
other way but to take each day as it comes, and all I can do is ask God
to give me the patience, openness, and care to make that day count.
Just a few of the differences I have seen between school back in the
States and school here:
1. In the first two weeks, I've witnessed two classes that have
talked extensively about HIV/AIDS. In addition, we went to the HIV/AIDS
Club last week. It's an afterschool program that teaches the students
about HIV/AIDS and how to encourage their peers to avoid it. I have
heard of many different school clubs in theU.S. from art to French, but
never is there such a concern over HIV/AIDS.
2. The first day, Teacher Juliet noticed a boy in her class who was
burning up with a fever in the midst of nearly 50 other children in the
classroom. She forced him to go home. Never have I witnessed a teacher
in the U.S. have a classroom of 50 children and discover just one that
was sick, and never have I witnessed a child so sick who didn't say
anything to the teacher until he was discovered sick.
3. An entire unit for science was focused on contaminated water and
its effects for the 7 thgraders. Another unit for 5 thgraders is focused
on specific types of malnutrition that can be visibly seen everyday.
While students in the U.S. study the distant solar system and the
physics of a rollercoaster, students here study these everyday concerns
prevalent in their society.
4. The headmaster of the school, Teacher Ngoma, was talking to
Amanda and I the other day about our class. He said one of the girls,
Jane, was privileged because she's at the orphanage and they have books
there to enhance her learning over the other children in the class. Most
of them don't have books at home. I've never heard of a child in the
U.S. who has lost both parents and must live in an orphanage be
described as "privileged" over other children who live at home with
parents. That's just a sign of the concerns in Zambia but also the great
work being done through Hope Fellowship with the orphanage and school.
This is just a taste of what's been happening here. For these reasons, I
believe in this school and the work it is doing. I am inspired by the
teachers who do this day in and day out, and I'm exhausted after only a
week. Through it all, I'm learning about the perseverance and joy of the
people here. What we see as limited resources, they see as a blessing
and are grateful for what they have. They have a spirit that I hope to
continue learning from and adopt myself. Thanks for all the continued
support! Rox
2 comments:
I am with Rox. You have to admire these students' desire to learn despite their lack of resources. It is sad that they don't have the tools we do to find all the information we do at their fingertips. It is probably better that they don't understand how things could be if they had our technology. Of course they are just as deserving of it as us Americans. However, they are not in a position to use a computer hooked up to the internet or a cell phone right now. So, the fact that they are doing the most of their education is very impressive. I would lose much of my motivation to learn if someone had told me that I had to copy whole pages and chapters of my textbooks.
It was interesting to hear about the two classes exclusively talking about AIDS as well. It comforts me to know that they are trying to decrease these large numbers of infected people. Just from what Dr. Pitts said about the spreading of it along the truck routes can emphasize the need for classes being taught on the subject.
Another thing that surprised me was the story of the orphaned girl being considered "privileged" because of her resources. I can see how one could say that. In an area where people are starving for information, this girl has a huge leg up on the rest of her classmates I imagine. It is great to hear all of these stories firsthand, and I hope all of those like Amanda and Rox continue to have a great experience in Africa.
Hey Aurora, thanks for posting Amanda's and Rox's blog again. It is so interesting to get their perspective on life there, especially about education. In Rox's blog, I liked her numbered list about the differences. I thought it was so sad that a little girl in an orphanage was considered privileged. That was really touching, and it occured to me that there are probably so many children in orphanages because both of their parents have probably died of HIV/AIDS.
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