A missed calling?

I am a Peace Corps Health Extension Volunteer sent to work in educating, training and facilitating under the framework of health needs in rural poverty of an African village. I am not an Education Volunteer, which is to be a full time teacher teaching English, mathematics, or other science classes.

However, in addition to health education, I have proposed to work like an Education Volunteer, as I see there is a clear need to teach English in one school and offer a new subject to another, which possibly may be a once in a life experience for these impoverished children from a rural farming community.

I live in a big spread out village with 2 primary schools. Primary School Image is in front of my house with a student population of 450 and 2 kilometers away from my house is Primary School Makula with 270 students. Both schools teach standard 1 to 7 which is basically, grades 1 to 7.

At exactly 6 AM, I am awoken by the klang klang sound of a stick banging on the rusty metal by a student at Image. This is when students will begin their morning chore. I get up as my "alarm" has called me from my slumber, and if my bladder is to explode at any moment, I quickly go to the backyard and relief myself. If I have a minute to spare before incontinence sets in, I make my bed and assuring that the mosquito net is securely tucked in the bed which would be more comfortable if the length was longer to accommodate my entire feet since I'm not exactly a short person. First order of business is squatting and scrubbing last night's dishes and other kitchen implements. Afterwards, dress, eat if there is last night's leftover dinner (rare), pack my knapsack and walk out to a store shack to buy my daily breakfast and snack of greasy and unhealthy fried dough bread. I'm always early but I'm waiting to be picked up by a teacher from Makula to take us to school where everyday from 8AM until lunch time, I teach English to standards 5, 6 and 7.

Makula only has 5 teachers for the 270 students. Yes, understaffed...to say the least. With me joining the crew, we're now at a whopping 6 teacher team.

With 7 different grades and prior to my arrival, one grade would be free without a teacher and 2 grades would be combined and share the one classroom because in addition to not having enough teachers, there is also an issue of not having enough classrooms and don't get me started on books! 32 students with only 4 books to share. Lack is too mild a word. The 2 grades sharing a classroom works like this: simultaneously, one grade is being taught by a teacher while the other grade shuts up and sit in silence while the other class is in session. Now that I've offered to be on scene, a class will now learn instead of twiddling their thumbs and playing in the mud.

My experience as an English teacher has been bitter sweet. Bitter in that at times, so far it's most of the time, I want to take the chalks and throw it at the crappy chalkboard, call them "retards", storm off and to never return, ever! Sweet in that it is thus far, the most satisfying thing I've done in my life. Before I continue to rant and praise at the same time...I have a newfound admiration for teachers and educators. Before this self-imposed teaching gig, I was a docent or a facilitator at an art museum which is the closest to teaching I have done. In a role as an educator, there is immense satisfaction and emotional reward. I now understand first hand, the need to have passion, love, and unbelievable patience and compassion to be able to teach children. You don't go into teaching to make money or to climb the career ladder. For me, not having a formal teaching degree or certificate in education...literally, I'm now having to completely wing it. The Head Teacher just handed me a weekly time table and that's it! GO TEACH! No curriculum, syllabus, not even a chalk. I'm totally on my own. I assume because I am from America and speak English, voila...I need no direction or input about teaching English to Tanzanians. This absence of information or guidance suits me perfectly well. Thank you very much. I'm highly independent and prefer to be in complete and total control of my classes, anyway. I relish the complete freedom of how I want to teach my class of nearly 100 students. With the exception of wanting to smack the closed shaved kinky heads of almost a hundred kid at times, I love teaching! I have such an urgent desire for them to learn and to move forward if possible in life. Even if 90% will most likely remain in the same village their lifetime being a peasant farmer like their mother and father, at least they received a language class from someone from USA. Perhaps being in contact with a "foreigner" may encourage some ideas. Technically, each class is 40 minutes long but I without fail, go over the time and my next classes gets short changed in time because I've been completely immersed in my teaching that I forget about time. There is no bell except for my own watch or mobile phone's clock to track my time. I walk from classroom to classroom while my class waits for my arrival. As I enter, I am greeted with formal and polite salutations while students stand before I allow them to sit back down.

After more than 3 hours of teaching in Swahili and English...along with the entire student population, I either get a ride or walk the 2 kilometers road back home during lunch time. There is no such thing as a cafeteria, snack time, or lunch at school. Students walk back home for lunch of ugali and a side dish. Nutritiously minimum.

Once I arrive at home, I cook and or I hunt for food to buy at least to supplement for dinner. Many times, there is nothing to buy at my God forsaken village. Tomatoes are always a staple but the issue is... Is the shack store even open!?!? Half of the time, it's a negative. If possible, I also continue working on my Village Situational Assessment report.

At 4:30PM, I leave the house to teach my after school class of French, English, and Art at Image, the other primary school where I teach the entire student population of 450 students. Each day is a combination of different grades together. Only Friday is grade 7 as is. Monday is grades 1 and 2, a full house with students needing to stand at the back, crowded and uncomfortable as hell.

My offering to teach this subject is complete voluntary attendance for the students. After school, they can chose to return home or remain in school and learn French (incorporation of English as review) and drawing. It's primarily a French class...but I throw in cookies of drawing and English. The turn out has been overwhelmingly popular and successful. Even teachers and the medical officer sits in to learn. The continent of Africa is francophone as well; therefore, it's somewhat practical if not an opportunity to be exposed to something new. Who knows, this may give idea to a kid who maybe later will go study or work in north or west Africa, where they speak French. Any exposure to something positive is wonderful, in my opinion.

Per Peace Corps' policy/philosophy, projects volunteers undertake need to be politically sustainable and so on...I have thought, after my completion of service, how are the students and school able to sustain the French class I've taught for 2 years? Frankly, it probably it ain't gonna continue. Why am I doing this? Since I have the knowledge and am contributing my personal time and effort, students should use and abuse me in that I'm offering a new subject and it gives them something to do aside from returning home and getting muddy from house chores; moreover, my true hope is that students will be inspired, challenged and motivated by the simple fact a foreigner is teaching them something completely out of the ordinary from their curriculum in which they may never have this opportunity again. In USA if you have money, you can learn anything: fencing, archery, taxidermy, flying a plane, Greek, whatever the hell you want. In Africa, sadly that's not the case. There is no money and there are no resources for many things. Students wear dirty torn school uniform which means they only have one set. The parents can only buy used clothes, pen and a flimsy wimpy notebook.

My students are enjoying my French class. How do I know? Well... I'm standing in front of 450 students a week and I see and feel everything. I think as a teacher, you must be very intuitive, sensitive and sharp of the entire class dynamic and situation. I don't miss a beat in all my classes. I teach with such intensity and focus that my supposed one hour French class gets dragged out for 2 hours 15 minutes. How? I love what I do and the students are hanging on the edge of their seats. It's exciting for them. Their pronunciation is impressively decent. When primary school kids want to continue in my class and not go home, absolutely, I take this as a sign that they are engaged, learning and mostly, finding the class of value. I see their eyes fixed in what I'm teaching.

Although I highly enjoy teaching students because I gain tremendous personal satisfaction, it is at the same time, equally highly frustrating. Without being judgmental, I'm struggling with the students' capacity and ability to think and analyze. And maybe learn. The saying, "not the sharpest tool in the shed"...I have intimate first hand knowledge of adjectives such as dull, dim witted, slow, dense, hard head, etc. I recall an 80 years old something twice Education Peace Corps Volunteer, John, who teaches mathematics telling me that in his classes, the students don't get it and just are not motivated and are not doing well except maybe a few who can do the work. I remembered what he shared was interesting as it gave me a glimpse of students' ability or inability to learn. In my 3 English classes, I'm seeing exactly what John was talking about. The majority are clueless as hell. John was a math teacher back home in the states and his first PC stint was also teaching in South Africa. Although by profession I am not a teacher, with absolute confidence, I can teach and I feel I'm pretty damn good at it too. A missed calling? So is it us or them that's the problem? It's still too premature to assess why but from what I have observed, these are what I think: Lack of teaching supplies and educational material for students in and out of school, living environment not conducive to learning, no role model or encouragement for life advancement, nothing inspiring, uneducated parents who are farmers/peasants, no promotion or aspiration of any kind, no resources, no critical thinking because life is repetitive and rural; hence, everyday is the same, and etc. They don't really need to use much brain work. They need to use lots of hand work. In my village, everyone is a farmer. They dig, plant, cultivate and harvest and repeat. When you live in an underdeveloped country, you're not exposed to the outside world. Life is rustic and primitive. I think intelligence can suffer. It's not their fault, again, it's the living condition that produces people to not be able to think critically. However, I believe, students living in towns or cities would be sharper and able to think. In impoverish rural villages, students' parents are uneducated; therefore, it's the environment that produces children to be like their parents. They are happy and good at rote repetition of words, over and over again like a robot. Once you ask them a question like what is 1 plus 1 ...you'll wait an eternity for a response for the answer 2. But ask them to repeat the number 1 over and over again until hell freezes over... No problem. Easy. They'll happily oblige.

Assuming other projects will not impact my current teaching, I will try my level best to continue working with them for the next 2 years. As a teacher, I am strict, no nonsense, very clear and I give 120% because I care. I care a lot. I have a lot of energy and my time in Africa will be devoted to giving all my energy to les enfants...watoto.