The Spark
When Scott and I set out to volunteer abroad for a year, our main goal was to do some good, to hopefully make a difference, even if it was in the smallest, miniscule way. We had other motives as well – to live abroad, to experience a new culture, to get to know a community in a way that’s not possible by just being a visitor. When we found out we were going to be teachers in a school for under-privileged, under-served youth, our friends told us the kids were lucky to have us. Scott and I weren’t so sure. And less than two weeks into the school year I think we’re both a bit uncertain if we’re affective in the classroom (or is it effective? Yep, I’m a great English teacher).
For the past few days, I’m been pretty down and pretty discouraged. I don’t feel like I’m connecting with the students. I don’t know if I’m dynamic enough. I don’t get the feeling that my students are engaged. In other classes, especially Thomas’s classes, I hear the students laughing. When I peak behind the door window curtain, I see all the students’ hands raised, eager to answer the question posed, eager to win the respect of Thomas. Don’t get me wrong, students raise their hands in my class too, but not in the same volume, not with the same oomph, not with the same spark in their eyes.
I’ve always had a love for English, so one would think teaching it would be fun for me, challenging yet enjoyable. But I’m constrained by bad textbooks (“CHAPATER TWO”), a confusing syllabus, lack of resources, and a mentality (of students and Tanzanian teachers alike) that secondary school learning is all about passing the crucial national exams.
Basically, for the past several days, I’ve been wondering if I should even be here in Tanzania teaching at Orkeeswa Secondary School. After all, if I’m not helping the students, why the hell am I here?
Well, this afternoon I got some well-needed encouragement that perhaps there is a reason I’m here. Today was the first day of clubs. Each teacher along with Peter, the director, is in charge of a club, which means there are seven clubs. When Scott and I first got acquainted with the school and its practices, we knew we’d have to run one. I kept hearing about a past volunteer teacher who had a cooking club which was a hit with the students. Since I love to cook, it seemed a perfect fit. But when only four students (out of 73) signed up for the cooking club, I knew I had to change it. The idea of a newspaper club came naturally to me. A school newspaper for Orkeeswa, their first ever.
Nine people attended today’s club and we got a lot done. We talked about what news is, what a newspaper is. I showed them examples of real newspapers – international English ones and national ones in both English and Swahili – and the students were excited to comb through them. We thought of a name for our newspaper. Nine names were in the running and it came down to two – The Orkeeswa Eye (my idea) and The Orkeeswa Journalist Paper (a student’s idea). The Orkeeswa Journalist Paper won, and under my guidance, it got shortened to The Orkeeswa Journal. It may sound boring and over done, but it was the students’ choice and this is their paper.
We discussed what the focus of our paper would be – the school (Orkeeswa) and the local community (Lashaine). We went over the definitions of terms like ‘fact,’ ‘unbiased,’ and ‘neutral.’ We went over the big questions associated with any story – who, what, where, when, how, and why. We decided that the paper should be a monthly since a quarterly would mean too much waiting. And, as a group, we decided that our paper would likely include school news, sports, opinions, comics/cartoon, an entertainment column, and a classifieds section (i.e. Wanted: a fellow student to walk to school with).
The students asked about selling the paper and I said the paper would be free. They asked how many copies would be printed and I said we’d figure that out as the club developed. They asked if their paper could also be written in Swahili so the villagers could read it and I said that since it was a school publication, it’d have to adhere to the all-English school rule. They asked who would take the pictures and I said they would be. “With what,” they asked. “With my camera and whoever else’s we can borrow,” I said. They asked who would be typing the stories and I said they would be. “On what?” they asked. “On my computer,” I said. And as each student asked a question, they each had a spark in their eye.
It’s true, isn’t it? If you’re excited about something, that excitement translates. Now, I just need to figure out how to be excited about conjunctions and prepositions.
For the past few days, I’m been pretty down and pretty discouraged. I don’t feel like I’m connecting with the students. I don’t know if I’m dynamic enough. I don’t get the feeling that my students are engaged. In other classes, especially Thomas’s classes, I hear the students laughing. When I peak behind the door window curtain, I see all the students’ hands raised, eager to answer the question posed, eager to win the respect of Thomas. Don’t get me wrong, students raise their hands in my class too, but not in the same volume, not with the same oomph, not with the same spark in their eyes.
I’ve always had a love for English, so one would think teaching it would be fun for me, challenging yet enjoyable. But I’m constrained by bad textbooks (“CHAPATER TWO”), a confusing syllabus, lack of resources, and a mentality (of students and Tanzanian teachers alike) that secondary school learning is all about passing the crucial national exams.
Basically, for the past several days, I’ve been wondering if I should even be here in Tanzania teaching at Orkeeswa Secondary School. After all, if I’m not helping the students, why the hell am I here?
Well, this afternoon I got some well-needed encouragement that perhaps there is a reason I’m here. Today was the first day of clubs. Each teacher along with Peter, the director, is in charge of a club, which means there are seven clubs. When Scott and I first got acquainted with the school and its practices, we knew we’d have to run one. I kept hearing about a past volunteer teacher who had a cooking club which was a hit with the students. Since I love to cook, it seemed a perfect fit. But when only four students (out of 73) signed up for the cooking club, I knew I had to change it. The idea of a newspaper club came naturally to me. A school newspaper for Orkeeswa, their first ever.
Nine people attended today’s club and we got a lot done. We talked about what news is, what a newspaper is. I showed them examples of real newspapers – international English ones and national ones in both English and Swahili – and the students were excited to comb through them. We thought of a name for our newspaper. Nine names were in the running and it came down to two – The Orkeeswa Eye (my idea) and The Orkeeswa Journalist Paper (a student’s idea). The Orkeeswa Journalist Paper won, and under my guidance, it got shortened to The Orkeeswa Journal. It may sound boring and over done, but it was the students’ choice and this is their paper.
We discussed what the focus of our paper would be – the school (Orkeeswa) and the local community (Lashaine). We went over the definitions of terms like ‘fact,’ ‘unbiased,’ and ‘neutral.’ We went over the big questions associated with any story – who, what, where, when, how, and why. We decided that the paper should be a monthly since a quarterly would mean too much waiting. And, as a group, we decided that our paper would likely include school news, sports, opinions, comics/cartoon, an entertainment column, and a classifieds section (i.e. Wanted: a fellow student to walk to school with).
The students asked about selling the paper and I said the paper would be free. They asked how many copies would be printed and I said we’d figure that out as the club developed. They asked if their paper could also be written in Swahili so the villagers could read it and I said that since it was a school publication, it’d have to adhere to the all-English school rule. They asked who would take the pictures and I said they would be. “With what,” they asked. “With my camera and whoever else’s we can borrow,” I said. They asked who would be typing the stories and I said they would be. “On what?” they asked. “On my computer,” I said. And as each student asked a question, they each had a spark in their eye.
It’s true, isn’t it? If you’re excited about something, that excitement translates. Now, I just need to figure out how to be excited about conjunctions and prepositions.
posted by Siapiau | 6:51 PM
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