This has been a month of being in the classroom. I have mentioned numerous times how much I miss being in the classroom, but I didn’t expect that God would answer that prayer by putting me in schools much of the last few weeks.
The church has several schools that are connected to it, so we have been volunteering in the schools. That has looked very different depending on the days. Some days, we have done chapel times. Other times, we have had our red pens close by and have corrected papers to help eliminate some of the work load for the teachers.
I have had two very entertaining moments. The first was my first day in the equivalent of a 5th grade classroom at the school that sits on the same property as the church. Most of the students receive scholarships as their families cannot afford to send them to school. Many I have discovered are orphans. I arrived in the classroom as they were having a science lesson discussing the classification of living organisms. They had discussed plants and animals as the two classifications and the teacher writes the word “animal” on the board and turns and hands me the chalk. He said, “You can teach from here.” He then proceeded to walk out the door. I am now discussing the characteristics that are true of plants, followed by what is true for animals with no teaching materials and no idea as to the actually curriculum. I was so thankful for my time in the science classroom as an aid last year as I at least had some idea. I was cracking up. The teacher disappeared for much of the rest of the days.
One of the boys, Jeremiah, informed me that he was planning to go to America with me when I leave Uganda. I informed he and the class I wasn’t headed back to the U.S. for at least 4 more months and I am pretty sure he will not fit in my backpack. He kept asking, “You will take me to the U.S., yes?” My answer, “No.”
As no teacher was still around, I decided to have them work on writing (what all good teachers in the U.S. do with their students) so I had the write letters about themselves and explaining why they want to go to the United States. I am attaching two videos that I made of the Jeremiah and the class. Jeremiah is convinced that somebody who reads my blog will bring him to the U.S. on Monday. You can think about it. He is a great kid and quite entertaining. Their letters were adorable and if I can find a way I’ll post those for you as well.
My other favorite moment was yesterday as we were at a church school located about an hour from where we are staying. I am volunteering in the equivalent of a 7th grade classroom and yesterday in Social Studies I learned about the East African community. I am being educated in school as my knowledge of African history is quite limited. But, as they finished I was correcting their work and the teacher had left so I decided to have a question and answer time with the class as they had finished their work. They had been talking a bit about imports and exports as well as currencies. Thankfully, I have leftover change from almost all of the countries we have visited in my backpack.
We got to have a hands-on lesson on different currencies and the advantages of using a common currency between African countries. The resources are so limited here, it was fun to be able to do something different with the students.
As a teacher, it is humbling to realize the resources I have at my disposal. Noah the math and science teacher is drawing a picture of a bird as I write this to use to demonstrate different parts. There are no computers, no projectors, no textbooks, no copiers, a single blackboard with chalk (I had forgotten what a mess chalk makes), and the notebooks each student has. The teachers have to write every exercise and all notes on the board. The students must copy anything they want to learn. The classroom has no window and 33 students sit on wooden benches packed into a 10 x 15 space. Yet, they work hard and are learning the same things my students were learning last year.
The education is forced to be so different and yet for most of these students, the opportunity to be in school is such a huge blessing. Without the school sponsorships, they would be uneducated and continue the familial cycle of poverty. It is definitely challenging at times as I look at all of the deficiencies or things the students have, but today I am choosing to be excited at the fact that these students actually have an opportunity to receive an education.
