We depart for Amsterdam in a couple hours. The past nine days have gone very quickly. We will try to give you a snapshot of all that we did on Thursday , Friday, Saturday and today. We visited Prefer on Thursday morning, a local pre-school. The minute we stepped off the bus, we were surrounded by a sea of little red vests giving us hugs left and right.This program was started by a Canadian woman who has been in Rwanda for ten years. And yes, did we take pictures! The program is for students ages two to five. We also had the privilege of seeing a local drummer run the dance and music class for the five year olds. The little ones were kind enough to ask some of us to dance. They were lighter on their feet than we were!
That afternoon, we visited with the students of Kampanga secondary school where we talked about the curriculum at Berkeley Carroll and the students' studies. We opened with a game called "Step into The Circle", an ice breaker. We then moved into a question and answer session where discussed effective study habits, how to create connections between BC and Kampanga. The students were very open when talking about the challenges they face in a changing education system. The pressure to learn English and their selected areas of study is intense.
On Friday: gorillas! It was magical. We trekked up a steep volcanic colline ( but it was more like a mountain!). The terrain was rocky, narrow, slippery and beautiful. Our guide, whose name is Hope, was a master at his craft; he was knowledgable, patient, intuitive and reassuring. He told amazing stories of the wildlife we saw along the way.
We climbed to an elevation of 2600 meters to see the Bwenge family.
Bwenge is the male silverback who is the patriarch of the clan. We were allowed to view the gorillas for one hour, which passed very quickly.
On Saturday, we had some closing group discussion with Ray, our World Leadership instructor. In the afternoon, we walked around Musanze town and visited the local markets where food, clothing and other goods were sold. The highlight of the day was having dinner with local leaders from the Kinigi District and the Ministry of Education. It was a lively conversation, largely conducted in French. We learned lots, but will tell more when we get home. Today, we said goodbye to the lovely staff at the Kinigi Guesthouse and hit the road to Kigali. We ran into a slight mechanical hiccough, but luckily we resolved the problem and moved on. Once we arrived in Kigali, we went to the Genocide Memorial. Words do not do justice to what we learned; the photos, readings, testimonials and the grave site were overwhelming.
We now need to board. To be continued when we get home. We are grateful for this life-changing opportunity.
Ryan, Vanessa, Suzanne, Amanda and Brandon
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Tea and Inspiration
Mwiriwe (good afternoon/good evening),
As you have read in Brandon's last post yesterday was a long day, but thankfully I was able to reflect on what I learned. My biggest connection so far is with the teachers in Kapanga Secondary because we were able to get to know them over a two day period which provided time to understand who they are as people. I appreciated being able to converse with colleagues who were willing to have an honest conversation. I look forward to preserving my connection with this school, so I am currently brainstorming ways we can turn these connections into fruitful ways of supporting the teachers broach the challenges they face with teaching their students.
Today we were able to change our US dollars into Francs and we learned that we can obtain a better exchange rate at the local Pharmacy instead of at the local bank. We also bought snacks for our day out of Kinigi including chapati, cashews, other nuts, oranges, and gourmet steak strips (Thanks to Vanessa and her love of Costco). Our first excursion was to Sowarthe Tea Plantation which took two and a half hours by car. The drive provided beautiful scenery, so our ride was mostly quiet as many of us took the time to admire the beauty and journal. I can't wait to share our pictures when we return. Many people warned me about the beauty of Rwanda, but I wasn't prepared for how beautiful it actually is. The volcanoes, the hills, the flowers, people, etc. Once we arrived at the plantation, we had to wait for approval from the director who was in Kigali. I was so happy when we were granted approval because not only is this a fascinating place but I finally realized that I was able to really take a breather and learn out tea. Sowarthe is the largest out of eleven tea plantations in Rwanda covering over 800 acres of land, so I was honored to have the opportunity to learn about the operation. Our guide, Patrick, spoke very good English and clearly explained every step of the tea process. We were able to taste tea at the end of our tour, and learn the technique of tea tasting (kin to wine tasting) and we got to use the spittoon (Guma, Guma / Woohoo). The final portion of our visit was to see the Sowarthe Guesthouse. I am going to plan a trip to Rwanda and make sure that I stay at this guesthouse because you get to appreciate nature and smell tea at the same time.
Our next excursion was to visit the Imbabazi Orphanage. I was skeptical of visiting the orphanage for obvious reasons, luckily the ride from Sowarthe to Imababzi was two hours allowing mental preparation. When we arrived to Imababazi we were greeted by a few staff and orphans, and four friendly dogs. We then met Devin, the manager of the orphanage. Devin gave us a fascinating tour of the grounds, which covers over 100 acres of land. I felt as if I made a connection with the founder, Rosamond Carr affectionately known as Roz due to the spirit of Imbabazi. We learned that Roz's love for Rwanda, even though she was born and lived in the United States until her late thirties. Upon separating from her husband she bought the plantation in which Imbabazi is housed and began a career in growing and selling flowers.
Roz was forced to leave her home during the genocide for four months. Upon returning to her destroyed home, she witnessed the many children effected and decided to do something. In December of 1994, 82 year old Roz decided to open Imbabazi Orphanage with forty children. This alone is inspirational, but it doesn't stop there. Roz doted on her children and as a result they didn't have to life a finger under her care. Although I understand her actions, this didn't fully prepare her children for adult life because they didn't learn how to fully care for themselves. Imbabazi has cared for more than 400 children since it opening. Today the government is eliminating orphanages, believing that children are more successful when living with a 'family.' Imbabazi currently cares for 51 orphans in which 2/3 are male; the staff is in the process of finding families for them and has committed to paying for their education until they have graduated from secondary or vocational school. Imbabazi will continue to nurture the community's children by opening and running a pre-school.
Roz's story has inspired me as an educator and is forcing me to cautiously think as a global educator. Before taken part of this program, I was having difficulties understanding how I fit in as a math teacher. I now understand that my responsibility as a global educator is to encourage my students to engage in conversations with people from other cultures which will allow them the opportunity to learn that we have more commonalities than differences. These conversations may also lead them to work together to solve local and global issues, and ultimately my students will be more appreciative of the world's diversity. I look forward to working with Brandon and creating a social justice through mathematics curriculum for BCS.
As you have read in Brandon's last post yesterday was a long day, but thankfully I was able to reflect on what I learned. My biggest connection so far is with the teachers in Kapanga Secondary because we were able to get to know them over a two day period which provided time to understand who they are as people. I appreciated being able to converse with colleagues who were willing to have an honest conversation. I look forward to preserving my connection with this school, so I am currently brainstorming ways we can turn these connections into fruitful ways of supporting the teachers broach the challenges they face with teaching their students.
Today we were able to change our US dollars into Francs and we learned that we can obtain a better exchange rate at the local Pharmacy instead of at the local bank. We also bought snacks for our day out of Kinigi including chapati, cashews, other nuts, oranges, and gourmet steak strips (Thanks to Vanessa and her love of Costco). Our first excursion was to Sowarthe Tea Plantation which took two and a half hours by car. The drive provided beautiful scenery, so our ride was mostly quiet as many of us took the time to admire the beauty and journal. I can't wait to share our pictures when we return. Many people warned me about the beauty of Rwanda, but I wasn't prepared for how beautiful it actually is. The volcanoes, the hills, the flowers, people, etc. Once we arrived at the plantation, we had to wait for approval from the director who was in Kigali. I was so happy when we were granted approval because not only is this a fascinating place but I finally realized that I was able to really take a breather and learn out tea. Sowarthe is the largest out of eleven tea plantations in Rwanda covering over 800 acres of land, so I was honored to have the opportunity to learn about the operation. Our guide, Patrick, spoke very good English and clearly explained every step of the tea process. We were able to taste tea at the end of our tour, and learn the technique of tea tasting (kin to wine tasting) and we got to use the spittoon (Guma, Guma / Woohoo). The final portion of our visit was to see the Sowarthe Guesthouse. I am going to plan a trip to Rwanda and make sure that I stay at this guesthouse because you get to appreciate nature and smell tea at the same time.
Our next excursion was to visit the Imbabazi Orphanage. I was skeptical of visiting the orphanage for obvious reasons, luckily the ride from Sowarthe to Imababzi was two hours allowing mental preparation. When we arrived to Imababazi we were greeted by a few staff and orphans, and four friendly dogs. We then met Devin, the manager of the orphanage. Devin gave us a fascinating tour of the grounds, which covers over 100 acres of land. I felt as if I made a connection with the founder, Rosamond Carr affectionately known as Roz due to the spirit of Imbabazi. We learned that Roz's love for Rwanda, even though she was born and lived in the United States until her late thirties. Upon separating from her husband she bought the plantation in which Imbabazi is housed and began a career in growing and selling flowers.
Roz was forced to leave her home during the genocide for four months. Upon returning to her destroyed home, she witnessed the many children effected and decided to do something. In December of 1994, 82 year old Roz decided to open Imbabazi Orphanage with forty children. This alone is inspirational, but it doesn't stop there. Roz doted on her children and as a result they didn't have to life a finger under her care. Although I understand her actions, this didn't fully prepare her children for adult life because they didn't learn how to fully care for themselves. Imbabazi has cared for more than 400 children since it opening. Today the government is eliminating orphanages, believing that children are more successful when living with a 'family.' Imbabazi currently cares for 51 orphans in which 2/3 are male; the staff is in the process of finding families for them and has committed to paying for their education until they have graduated from secondary or vocational school. Imbabazi will continue to nurture the community's children by opening and running a pre-school.
Roz's story has inspired me as an educator and is forcing me to cautiously think as a global educator. Before taken part of this program, I was having difficulties understanding how I fit in as a math teacher. I now understand that my responsibility as a global educator is to encourage my students to engage in conversations with people from other cultures which will allow them the opportunity to learn that we have more commonalities than differences. These conversations may also lead them to work together to solve local and global issues, and ultimately my students will be more appreciative of the world's diversity. I look forward to working with Brandon and creating a social justice through mathematics curriculum for BCS.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Teachers and Teaching in Rwanda
I'm going to squeeze in a brief post at the end of a long day. Yesterday's blog post was a communal effort; today's reflections are my own. I hate to be a blog hog, but I happen to have custody of the computer at the moment and wanted to take advantage of a moment before dinner to share today's experiences.
We started out this morning at Kabwende Primary School. We had been asked by the principal, a charismatic educator, to run a training session for some of the school's teachers. Although by government decree they are supposed to be teaching at least parts of their courses in English, most have only a rudimentary grasp of the language. We consulted with the director of Books and Beyond and decided to split our session between reviewing the distinctions between print and cursive and using a children's story to illustrate how to use a graphic organizer. You might look at our first lesson and wonder why on earth the differences between print and script merit 30 minutes of teacher training time, but it turns out that because Rwandans write exclusively in script and have relatively poor print resources at school, it's sometimes difficult for the students - and teachers - to read print easily. When they do get books, then, students misread, and mislearn, vocabulary. The second part of the training was more revealing, as teachers took turns reading aloud. In truth, we were impressed with teachers' skill level and persistence given their lack of training. The fact remains, however, that young students are expected to gain proficiency studying from undertrained teachers and underresources classrooms. I think we all came away marveling at the teachers' efforts and the principal's resourcefulness in trying to meet the government's mandate.
In the afternoon we returned to Kampanga Secondary School. As at Kabwende, the warm, ambitious and resourceful principal at Kampanga had heard of our visit and asked if we would run a session of teacher training. We had met the teachers yesterday and knew they would be welcoming and eager. They also speak very good English. We decided we really wanted to have a conversation with colleagues rather than a unidirectional information session, so started with a reflective writing exercise. All of us responded to the following prompts: Why do you teach? What do you enjoy most about teaching? What do you find most challenging? We then had a discussion, and spent time exploring some of the commonalities and differences of our experiences. I won't speak for my colleagues, but I was struck by the number of shared joys and the tremendous differences in our challenges. I was reminded what a luxury it is to be able to wax philosophical about the nature of teaching as my colleagues from Rwanda spoke, one after another, about the basic lack of resources - books and lab equipment, but also food for students and essentials like notebooks and pens - that they have to contend with. They are creative and resourceful, and they do spend time thinking about how to teach more effectively, but their faculty meetings aren't focused on the latest brain research or ideas for making maximal use of extended blocks. There are more pressing needs when the chemistry teacher has no chemicals, the English teacher has no books, the computer science teacher has no computers and every class has at least a handful of students - nearly a third of the students at Kampanga are orphans - who don't have anything to eat between 6 a.m and 2 p.m., when school ends. I hope that if some of my Rwandan colleagues try using reflective writing as a way into a topic with their students that they find it as useful a tool as I do. I know that what I've learned about their joys and challenges will inform my thinking and teaching in the year ahead.
Off to dinner. Rey's birthday is today, so we may splurge on bananas en flambee for dessert tonight!
Someone else's voice, I promise, in the next few posts.
Goodnight from the Land of a Thousand Hills,
Brandon
We started out this morning at Kabwende Primary School. We had been asked by the principal, a charismatic educator, to run a training session for some of the school's teachers. Although by government decree they are supposed to be teaching at least parts of their courses in English, most have only a rudimentary grasp of the language. We consulted with the director of Books and Beyond and decided to split our session between reviewing the distinctions between print and cursive and using a children's story to illustrate how to use a graphic organizer. You might look at our first lesson and wonder why on earth the differences between print and script merit 30 minutes of teacher training time, but it turns out that because Rwandans write exclusively in script and have relatively poor print resources at school, it's sometimes difficult for the students - and teachers - to read print easily. When they do get books, then, students misread, and mislearn, vocabulary. The second part of the training was more revealing, as teachers took turns reading aloud. In truth, we were impressed with teachers' skill level and persistence given their lack of training. The fact remains, however, that young students are expected to gain proficiency studying from undertrained teachers and underresources classrooms. I think we all came away marveling at the teachers' efforts and the principal's resourcefulness in trying to meet the government's mandate.
In the afternoon we returned to Kampanga Secondary School. As at Kabwende, the warm, ambitious and resourceful principal at Kampanga had heard of our visit and asked if we would run a session of teacher training. We had met the teachers yesterday and knew they would be welcoming and eager. They also speak very good English. We decided we really wanted to have a conversation with colleagues rather than a unidirectional information session, so started with a reflective writing exercise. All of us responded to the following prompts: Why do you teach? What do you enjoy most about teaching? What do you find most challenging? We then had a discussion, and spent time exploring some of the commonalities and differences of our experiences. I won't speak for my colleagues, but I was struck by the number of shared joys and the tremendous differences in our challenges. I was reminded what a luxury it is to be able to wax philosophical about the nature of teaching as my colleagues from Rwanda spoke, one after another, about the basic lack of resources - books and lab equipment, but also food for students and essentials like notebooks and pens - that they have to contend with. They are creative and resourceful, and they do spend time thinking about how to teach more effectively, but their faculty meetings aren't focused on the latest brain research or ideas for making maximal use of extended blocks. There are more pressing needs when the chemistry teacher has no chemicals, the English teacher has no books, the computer science teacher has no computers and every class has at least a handful of students - nearly a third of the students at Kampanga are orphans - who don't have anything to eat between 6 a.m and 2 p.m., when school ends. I hope that if some of my Rwandan colleagues try using reflective writing as a way into a topic with their students that they find it as useful a tool as I do. I know that what I've learned about their joys and challenges will inform my thinking and teaching in the year ahead.
Off to dinner. Rey's birthday is today, so we may splurge on bananas en flambee for dessert tonight!
Someone else's voice, I promise, in the next few posts.
Goodnight from the Land of a Thousand Hills,
Brandon
Monday, July 23, 2012
We're alive!
Sorry loyal readers, we've been let down by our flotilla of iDevices. Thank goodness for good, old-fashioned modems and laptops.
We arrived in Kigali on Saturday evening and had a late dinner at the hotel with \Rae from World Leadership School and our in country coordinator, Isaac. We were serenaded by local music and took in the scent of local night blooming jasmine.
On Sunday, we drove to Kinigi, which is about two and a half hours northwest of Kigali in the volcanoes region. It is beautiful here and delightfully cool (not an iota of humidity) and we are wearing sweaters as we type. Today, we visited Kabwende, the primary school and observed student teachers from Indiana University's Books and Beyond program, an English-intensive summer camp for local primary school students. In the afternoon, we visited Kampanga Secondary School, where we met with the teachers and a portion of the student body. We also took walks around the community, Rwanda's most densely populated community.
Tomorrow, we will return to Kabwende to work with some primary school teachers and on Wednesday, we will head to the SOWARTHE tea plantation in the morning and then in the afternoon, we will visit the Imbabazi Orphanage.
We hope to post more reflective entries in the coming days.
Muramuke!
We arrived in Kigali on Saturday evening and had a late dinner at the hotel with \Rae from World Leadership School and our in country coordinator, Isaac. We were serenaded by local music and took in the scent of local night blooming jasmine.
On Sunday, we drove to Kinigi, which is about two and a half hours northwest of Kigali in the volcanoes region. It is beautiful here and delightfully cool (not an iota of humidity) and we are wearing sweaters as we type. Today, we visited Kabwende, the primary school and observed student teachers from Indiana University's Books and Beyond program, an English-intensive summer camp for local primary school students. In the afternoon, we visited Kampanga Secondary School, where we met with the teachers and a portion of the student body. We also took walks around the community, Rwanda's most densely populated community.
Tomorrow, we will return to Kabwende to work with some primary school teachers and on Wednesday, we will head to the SOWARTHE tea plantation in the morning and then in the afternoon, we will visit the Imbabazi Orphanage.
We hope to post more reflective entries in the coming days.
Muramuke!
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
We've been getting these questions a lot.
Fair enough: a landlocked African nation, about the size of Vermont, known mostly (exclusively?) for its terrible genocide, Rwanda doesn't exactly scream "visit me!" So of all the places in the world, why choose Rwanda for a faculty development program? What could that country have to teach us that warrants the long flight and expense?
It wasn't a whim. There's good reason to visit Africa in general, and Rwanda in particular.
First, let's talk about Africa. The Economist published an article in 2011 that showed that in the first decade of the new millennium, six of the ten fastest-growing economies belonged to nations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Nick Kristof cited the these numbers in a recent piece before going on to write,
One of the problems with journalism is that we focus on disasters. We cover planes that crash, not those that take off. In Africa, that means we cover famine in Somalia and genocide in Sudan, terrorism in Nigeria and warlords in Congo. Those are important stories — deserving more attention, not less — but they can also leave a casual reader convinced that all of Africa is lurching between genocide and famine.
It's probably fair to say that in this country, Africa is the least studied and least understood major world region. Civil war, famine, and exotic animals make up only part of Africa's complex story. I think as teachers we have a responsibility to learn about - and share with our students - what Nigerian author Chinua Achebe calls "a balance of stories." I think it's a moral responsibility - we must always strive to correct distortions where we see them - as well as a practical one. If demographers are right, by 2050 Africa's population will hit 2 billion. And if Africa's economies continue to grow, that means more - and more varied - interaction between the United States and the African continent. In his article, Kristof points out that China is investing heavily in Africa, and when I travel there, I see the evidence. I was struck on a recent transit through Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta Airport how many East Asian business travelers were awaiting flights. In this country, few secondary schools offer courses on Africa. (Berkeley Carroll offers two: African History and African Literature.) The imperative to learn about the continent's rich diversity is about long-term economic strategy, but it's also about global politics, environment, natural resources, urban planning, art, literature, culture and so many other things. In other words, we have to start treating Africa like it's important, because it very much is.
Fine, Africa. But why Rwanda? Why a tiny, resource-poor, landlocked country with a violent recent past? Because what's happening in Rwanda is unique on the African continent, and may serve as a model not just for Africa, but developing nations all over the world. After the 1994 genocide, Paul Kagame, the newly elected president, looked to his country's neighbors and saw few examples of success, and none in countries without considerable claims to oil or minerals. Instead, he saw dependence on foreign aid choking all attempts at meaningful and long-lasting development. So Kagame cast his gaze beyond Africa and found an unlikely model in Singapore, another small nation without any natural resources of note. Today, Rwanda is investing heavily in infrastructure. It is building its banking and technology sectors, and attracting investment to replace aid. It has national healthcare, a parliament with as many female representatives as male, and a ban on the single-use plastic bags that wind up strewn about, lending a dirty, sad appearance to economically depressed areas from the South Bronx to Naples to Nairobi.
Rwanda is has also adopted English as its official second language, replacing French, arguing that English is the lingua franca of the modern world.
In Rwanda we're going to visit NGO's and local craft cooperatives. We're going to tour an environmentally sustainable, free trade-certified tea plantation. We're going to meet with local leaders in the western part of the country, and learn about strategies for educating the Batwa minority. And we're going to work with teachers at two schools - Kabwende Primary School and Kampanga Secondary School - to collaborate on teaching methodologies that are being encouraged in Rwanda and with which we have some experience.
Can a country reinvent itself? Does Rwanda offer a viable model for how? We have many more questions than answers at this point, and that's what's so exciting. That's what makes Rwanda so ideal for a faculty development program. We're going to explore, discuss, debate, reflect. And though we may not return with clear answers, there's no doubt we will return better teachers.
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