"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
-Nelson Mandela
I suppose that since I came to Rwanda to work for a school I
should talk about that a bit more! When
I showed up in Rwanda all I knew was I was going to a very high quality girl’s
boarding school for 7th-9th graders. It is fairly typical in Rwanda for secondary
schools to board their students and be single sex.
Specifically I assumed I would be chiefly assisting with
English. Children begin their study of English in early primary school and all
instruction is conducted in English within a few years. The Primary School National Exam is
administered in English, meaning every student at Maranyundo knows enough
English to excel at this exam and gain admittance into the school. But unexpectedly there is a huge range in
English ability! Some girls went to premium
primary schools in the capital and are almost fluent. Impovershed children unable to pay tuition
are sponsored by the Maranyundo Initiative and likely to come from impoverished
communities with less qualified teachers. Sometimes they have trouble following
basic commands. The span in a single
class creates an interesting challenge.
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| Students are on Rwandan money. I think this is the best indication of how highly Rwandans value education. |
The first thing I noticed about Rwandan education is the seriousness
of the issues they address. I remember
taking the SAT and my writing prompt being something about celebrities. Here, the graded composition motion was
“Education is a fundamental catalyst for economic development.” The entire
school meets for debate every two weeks and the most recent topic was “Has
foreign aid done more harm or good in Rwanda?”
Their country is facing important problems and every student knows
it.
I think the US Education System could take some notes in
that regard (hehe, take notes…about school, get it?), but I still sometimes
break that mold. The girls are obsessed
with typical teenage pop music and during my lesson on English articles (a, an,
the) I teased them with example sentences about how Justin Bieber is the worst
singer. Justin Bieber is a worse singer than Bob Marley. They were shocked.
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| What the computer lab actually looks like |
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| What it sometimes feels like. I found these in a business courtyard in Kigali. No idea why they're there |
So far, at teachers’ requests I have covered lessons in
English, Computer, Math and even substituted when the Geography teacher was
unable to come. The most challenging by
far was the computer class. The
electricity went out no fewer than three times while we practiced touch typing. But the students just groaned good naturedly
and we modified the lesson.
Even with the challenges, I love it. During my Geography session, I think they
sensed my lack of plan and capitalized by asking a ton of questions. And I relished
their questions and curiosity. Despite
their terrible reputation, middle schoolers are at such a great age; they are
still so excited to learn and are old enough to explore deep concepts.
Their questions included (the lesson was supposed to be an
introduction into astronomy):
How many stars are in the galaxy?
How many galaxies are in the universe?
Are there aliens?
Why is there only life on Earth?
Could we live on the sun?
Does Pluto still exist?
Why do we sometimes see only half the moon?
Why is there no snow in Rwanda?
Why is Antarctica alway1s cold?
Why do people around the world have different skin colors?
Why do some people have different colored eyes?
Why do people in the US lay in the sun?
Why are there big snakes in America?
Why is America always at war?
I love working with students because that eagerness is
infectious!
Hi, so a couple questions for ya ~
ReplyDeleteDo the students understand your sayings or do you have to explain what you are discussing?
Are the students polite in class and respect each other no matter their social status?
Do they stay at the boarding school over the weekend or go home?
What type of material things do the students have and what do they want to have?
What about boys? (I know it is a girls school, but where there are girls there will be boys)
Have you shown the student (or teachers) your blog?
How is your Kinyarwanda coming along?
Dad
Idioms are a huge challenge in English so I have tried to cut them down to a minimum. but do you know how many idioms people use without even realizing it? I didn't even think of the phrase "sounds good" as an idiom until someone asked me what it means. And I must be a very agreeable person because I say it at least twice a day, even when trying to avoid it! So that is sometimes a challenge. but otherwise, it is mostly based on their educational history for whether they can understand me or not.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea about the social dynamic of the girls, to be completely honest. I have been told a few times that cliques are impossible to form here because of the set up and organization of the school. Somehow I doubt that though.
They stay at school. The only time they really leave campus is to go to church on sundays and over breaks. Or if something bad has happened. I will soon share a typical day/week of a student in a post because I think people would be interested.
The kids bring a suitcase of stuff and I'm not really sure what is in it. I have ony gone in their dorms once. They really want more books. And any way to access the internet. Every single time we use the kindles they ask if they are sold in Rwanda. But otherwise they all have the same dictionaries, the same uniform, the same notebooks. Similar black shoes Everything seems the same to me except their tennis shoes.
Boys...I don't know. They like princess books, but they have no access to boys except at church. And they don't seem to pay those boys much attention. However, they did get a hold of a family picture and they were giggling over your sons. In fact, one of the girls asked if she could keep the picture. They were excited when they found out their ages too.
Anyone who is facebook friends with me can see my blog, the students haven't seen it as far as I know. And my kinyarwanda is pretty terrible still, I want to take a formal, intensive class. :( This is a super long post for the reply section of a blog :p basically another post. Email me!