Teacher Moments

So, as I have updated I have been spending most of my days as of late seeing primary schools here in Gulu. Yesterday I went to Negri primary, a boarding school for boys. I was so thrilled to see posters on the walls, children with books, and a (relatively) small class size. We talked to the head teacher there about getting our boys into this school for the upcoming year. He was very encouraging and I got the impression that if we can foot the bill, we will be able to move our kids there. When we went to the girls boarding school up the road the same sentiment seemed true. Today we have been looking at our budget trying to see if this all would be feasible.

It excites me to think that next year we could move these students from a class of over a hundred to one of forty. I have met almost all of the children of the Dwon Madiki Partnership now, and I see great potential. I know that despite the hardships they have been handed, they can succeed with just a little support.

I know this because in the short while I have been here I have experienced a moment that would fill any teacher's heart with joy and a sense of purpose.

On Saturday, I was asked to teach an English lesson for the students who came to the office. I had no idea what to do given my limited knowledge of student skills or the Ugandan English curriculum. We have a small number of books in the office and I simply decided to take some out to the kids and read them. After a short read aloud with about 10 kids (maybe 2 of whom actually understood the book), I noticed Brenda sitting with a book, looking at it, flipping through the pages rather unaffectedly. While the other kids began drawing pictures or reading other books, I suggested to Brenda that we read her book "The Reel of Cotton". She was very hesitant at first, suggesting instead that she just copy it down on paper as some of the other students were doing. I insisted that we read the whole book so that she would know what she was writing.

When finally she agreed, we settled down and began reading the story of Mayaka who lost his reel of cotton his mother had just bought him. Carefully we read through the story, each page a struggle. Brenda would stop at word and ask, “this one?” and I would read it. When she struggled with “reel of cotton,” I made her read and reread it at least a dozen times, enough for her to find humor in the situation and laugh at my persistence. We at long last finished the story (the dog triumphantly discovered the cotton and was rewarded with bread!), and I could tell Brenda was proud of herself which brought the same feeling about in me.

This in and of itself felt successful, but Monday at the office Madisson went out to greet the kids and when she did, Brenda, the reluctant reader asked, “Can I read?” Well of course! Madisson brought out “The Reel of Cotton” and Brenda said, “I have to read the whole book and answer the questions on the back!” (which we had also done Saturday with minimal success). Any one who has ever spent time in a classroom can relate to triumph of this moment. She asked to read! I am reminded that these students are brimming with potential and so excited to learn. I am proud of the Dwon Madiki Partnership for being a part of their education, and I am hopeful that we can do even more. Because surely, in a class of 121, that individualized attention that brings out the desire to learn is rare.

In all of this I cannot help but think about my teaching experiences in the U.S. As Brenda and I read, I felt like I was in Hayt School Room 107. I had that same experience of laboring through a book so many times there. The environment was different, but the teacher moment was exactly the same. It is a weird feeling I have, happy to know that the power (and joy!) of education is universal, but saddened by the fact that so many kids here miss out on the opportunities to know it.

I knew that spending my summer in Uganda would have its effects on my teaching. Certainly with more than a month to go it still will in new and unexpected ways. Right now however, I feel lucky to return to a classroom with 30 students with books and an abundance of scholastic materials. I know that there are many problems facing public schools in the United States, but I have a renewed energy to work toward fixing them.