1. What my expectations for myself really are (as briefly described previously), and that they are, in fact, obtainable, if I stay the course and continue to earnestly and honestly work my tail off (because, gosh darn it, those kids are worth it);
2. They're just kids. They may be pretty naughty, and they may beat each other over the head with their tiny fists every once in a while, and they may come from one-room homes where poverty and hunger and violence are the norms... but really? They're just kids, and they're like every other kid in the world. They just want love, attention, and some fun, whenever possible. I can give them that... and more. I also have power to teach them some things, and that's a gift I came all the way from America to share.
So, anyway, after spending some time being confused about how I could contribute and what my role really was here, etc. etc., I had an informal meeting with Mama Naseem. She wanted to meet me, and I just wanted to get to know her and ask her questions about how and why she started Step Up... what she hoped for her students, etc. This one meeting (and a subsequent chat with Olivari, the one teacher I work with at the new Step Up extension school) nearly tripled my confidence level and drive to do good by these kids. No joke. I feel like I am part of a team now, striving for a really important victory. Sound corny? I bet it does, but I'm totally being earnest, and it was the best feeling in the world.
In a country where corporal punishment in schools is still WIDELY used, Mama Naseem has created a safe haven of a learning environment. She wants her students to feel welcomed and comfortable at school (as home-life often isn't both or either)and to associate learning with fun and persistence, not pain and embarrassment; thus, no one uses the cane on her kids. She wants her school to give children the skills, smarts, and confidence they need to succeed in primary, secondary, and university; thus the inclusion of English in the curriculum, in addition to extra tutoring sessions every afternoon, evening and weekend morning for anyone who wants to learn. She loves that volunteers come in to help, as it not only opens the door for new ideas, extra help, and cultural exchange, but also allows her to promote her school to local families as a place that employs native English speakers -- a real rarity here.
Her hope, she explained to me, was that the new school where I have started working (Amka, which opened in January) would be as colorful and full of life as the original... but it just isn't there yet. Parents don't want to send their kids there, as it's not as bright, cheerful, and safe as the original (where Mama Naseem herself lives... someone they know and trust -- another bonus), and there are no resources. But Mama Naseem has so much faith in her new school, and so much passion towards her cause... it catalyzed a new energy in me, breathing new life into the core of why I packed up my life and moved to Africa.
So what have I been doing for the past week, you ask? Well, I've brought in a handful of children's books I hunted down every single day. I read to them, and then I let them share and pass around the books themselves, so they get a chance to explore the books on their own. It's magical how pumped they get about this.I've also photocopied at least a half dozen different coloring book pages and collected as many crayons and colored pencils as possible, so that they could have some fun with art and practice their colors and English vocabulary. Last week, I did a few mini-lessons on "Animals" and "Animal Habitats," having them practice writing and drawing animals and identifying their homes (in English and Kiswahili, as I need as much practice as they do, haha), in addition to browsing animal books and singing any and every song I can possibly remember about animals. (You'd be surprised how many are out there if you reached into the depths of your memory bank, let me tell ya.)
This week, I dove head-first into "Shapes," as they don't know a triangle from a rectangle from a circle... but my goodness, are they cute. I cut out dozens of construction paper shapes and had them paste them to their own pieces of paper, collage-style, and it was basically a blast.
[True story: When I held up the construction paper hearts and asked them "What shape is this?" they all promptly responded, "I love you! I love you!" To which I responded, "Yes, ndiyo. That's correct!" and then proceeded to melt and kiss them all on the top of the head. So I'm basically the worst educator ever. haha]
Anyway, in addition to my adventures in teaching in Swahili (which I'm painstakingly studying every evening after dinner), I also had a chance to ask Olivari and Naseem if they would like me to see if I could paint the front porch "classroom" of my preschoolers (being that I do have several summers as a paint crew employee under my belt), and they were all for it! Thus my research for finding cheap and brightly colored paint, rollers, and masking tape in Moshi town as well as rallying my fellow volunteers for extra help begins! What do you think, guys? Teal? Royal blue? Periwinkle?
(My classroom at AMKA... minus the future fun paint job)
More to come!
Most sincerely, Sarah
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