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Musanze, Ruhengeri, Rwanda
It’s already the end of the first day of school! A lot has happened, so let’s get right to it.
Monday (yesterday) was a national holiday in Rwanda (National Heroes Day) so there was no school. Students continued to arrive, register and move their foam mattresses and buckets into the dorms. We the teachers, on the other hand, had a meeting scheduled for 8:00 am to determine the year’s “timetable” – the schedule of classes.
Although the meeting was scheduled to start at 8:00 am, it actually started around 11:00 am. Part of the delay could be chalked up to “African time” – the phenomenon that makes everything slower and disposes of the need for punctuality. Indeed, some of our colleagues were still drifting into the teachers’ lounge around 9:00 am. However, another big part of the delay was due to the WorldTeach volunteers. Err, that’s Jenn and me! At some point the other language teachers and the Dean of Studies gathered at one end of the table, huddling over lists of language classes and speaking in rapid Kinyarwanda. I couldn’t imagine what else the topic could be other than the fact that the word had come from WorldTeach that we needed to have and be the sole teachers of our own classes. No doubt this caused a lot of work for them, given that there are simply too many teachers for not enough teaching hours! But, it doesn’t change the fact that we came here to teach rather than be co-teachers or assistant teachers.
After the pow-wow at the table, that small group moved the entire discussion into the Dean of Studies’ office and we continued to just hang out in the teachers’ lounge. I had a long discussion with one of the science teachers about American universities, student loans, car insurance, and the difference between cities, suburbs and rural areas. It all started because he asked about the American holiday where people leave their homes, go to villages and thank their ancestors (Thanksgiving). I love having those kinds of talks. I always find it fascinating to discover what interests people about the U.S. and what their perceptions of it are.
After quite a while, the language teachers and the Dean of Studies shuffled back in. There was more discussion and waiting around, until finally at 11:00 am the Headmistress entered and sat at the head of the table. She gave a long talk in Kinyarwanda and one of the language teachers, Sam, translated in a low voice for Jenn while another language teacher, Philip, translated for me. She reiterated for the 15th time how proud and happy she was to have us here from the United States, as well as 2 full-time volunteers from Korea (they are here for their second year with Korea’s version of the Peace Corps…one of them teaches chemistry and the other teaches computers). She also laid down some basic policies, like call the office if you’ll be missing any teaching, allow her to observe your classes, and do not have relationships with students (we heard throughout Orientation that the latter is a big problem here – ick!).
With that bit of business done, it was time to make the timetable! The teachers had already drawn a complex grid on a chalkboard that spans the width of the room. All of the boxes were empty, and areas were grayed out for Tea Break (10:30 – 10:45) and Lunchtime (12:25 – 2). Otherwise the grid was drawn according to days, class periods and grade or “form.” The forms of S1, S2 and S3 are called Ordinary Level. The forms of S4, S5 and S6 are Advanced Level and come with specialized combinations such as PCM (Physics-Chemistry-Math) or BCM (Biology-Chemistry-Math) or MPC (Math-Physics-Computers). Students in any given form stay in that form and have an assigned desk in one classroom all year. When it’s time to change classes during the day, the teachers move rather than the students. I didn’t understand this at first until I lifted the cover of a few student desks one night. They were chock full not only with books, notebooks, and pencils, but also toilet paper, toothpaste, and rolled up school uniforms! Their desks are essentially where they hang their hats since there’s really no other place to do so. The dorms are nothing more than sterile, large cement-walled rooms with bunk beds…no closets or wardrobes or bureaus. A girl’s classroom desk is all she’s got.
Back to the timetable. After a few words about making it, the Dean of Studies gave the OK to start filling in the grid with classes. The teachers all jumped up from the table and dashed towards the board with chalk in their hands. They had lists of classes they knew they were teaching, and they started scribbling the names of those classes into little squares. Jenn and I took no part in it….we didn’t even know what we’d be teaching after Kelly Jo laid down the law and the Dean of Studies said he’d rearrange things for us. I just sat back, drank the delicious African tea they’d brought for the teachers, and watched the mayhem ensue. There was scribbling, erasing, more scribbling, talking, bartering, laughing, head scratching, erasing, switching, more scribbling, and so on….
Many hours after 8:00 am when the entire process was supposed to begin, the grid was mostly filled in and finalized. Teachers were busily using rulers and graph paper to reproduce it in their own notebooks. Then we were told to come to a separate meeting just for language and computer teachers in the Dean of Studies’ office. We knew this was the moment of truth!
Eight of us (including the Dean) piled into his office and sat on wooden benches around a tiny wooden table. His windows were closed and I was still drinking African tea, my body temperature was around 136 degrees. Ha! Anyway, in a nearly ceremoniously way, the head teacher Sam announced which classes we would be teaching and that we would be completely responsible for these classes and the sole teachers of each. He also explained that he and Philip would be sitting in our classes all year, as observers and learners only, in order to benefit from our ideas and especially our pronunciation. That sounds like a great idea, although I know the real reason is that they’re required by the Ministry of Education to teach a minimum number of hours and sitting in our classes counts. I don’t mind either way, as long as I get to teach my own classes. And I do. So there.
I was given S4 – MPC, S6 – MCB and S6 – PCM. That is 3 classes which translates to 6 hours per week, and since two of them are S6 I can use the same lesson plan for both (it doesn’t matter that one is MCB and one is PCM…they’re learning the same English). Score! I can devote even more time to teaching adults!
I was thrilled with this and felt full of energy when we finally finished alllll the meetings of the day. I think part of my energy was due to drinking too much African tea on a half empty stomach, but I took advantage and went for a great run that afternoon. It was a beautiful sunny day, and a very fit guy named Ari (I think) joined me for about half of it. He spoke no English and the few words of French I know didn’t get us very far, but we had a nice time running and chatting! When he was done, he stopped and shook my hand and I kept running. I did a bunch of stairs in front of the cathedral before coming home, which always seems to fascinate anyone around. The groundsmen stop their work and stare for the entire duration, although not in a lewd way at all. Children stop playing and stare, although not in a rude way at all. I think it’s simply a foreign concept to them that anyone would climb stairs just to do it. I imagine they’re thinking, “Why would that woman run up those stairs just to come back down them? Did she forget something? Look, now she’s doing it again!” I just smile and greet them, and they smile and greet me back and all is well!
Today was the first day of school across Rwanda. We had heard all throughout Orientation that the first day would NOT be the first day…that students and teachers would trickle in for a few weeks and we should prepare to bring some thick novels with us. That was certainly not the case here at St. Vincent’s Secondary School. My first class on Tuesday was at 9:40 (third period) and I left my room shortly beforehand to meet Philip. I walked through the courtyard which is surrounded on all sides by classrooms, each of which was full of students in identical uniforms (white blouses and long tan skirts). I took a quick look into one room as I passed and saw a teacher in a long white jacket writing on the board. I thought “Oh, that must be one of the many science classes.” When I reached the teachers’ lounge I was surprised to find that everyone was wearing a long white jacket! Apparently it’s normal to wear over one’s outfit in order to stay clean and chalk-free. I’m all for it! My black skirt already has chalk and dust on it. So far there’s no sign of a jacket for me, though.
After a bit of exchanging greetings and socializing, Philip and I headed to my class. He gave a short introduction of me and then sat at the back of the class so I could take over. I looked out onto this sea of faces and any misgivings I had about teaching high school girls quickly dissipated. They looked so interested and eager, and they listened to me intently while I introduced myself and told them how much I love Rwanda and Musanze. I had originally intended to start out the year very stern and strict, as it’s easier to loosen up later. I have fellow volunteers that don’t smile at all the first few months of teaching. But you know what? That’s not me! I can’t help but smile and clasp my hands and make funny faces to exaggerate my point. They sounded a chorus of reaction in unison to anything I said:
“I will be your English teacher all year long. – Oooohhhhh! (smiles)
“Before I came to Rwanda I had never been to Africa.” — Collective gasp!
“This classroom will be 100% English for 50 minutes, agreed?” – yyeeeEEEEsssss!
“I come from New York, New York. That’s a funny name, isn’t it?” – laughter, laughter, laughter
The first class was easy. I did the usual “Interview your partner to find out her name, where she’s from, how many siblings she has and what her hobbies are.” Then each student had to present her partner to the entire class. Even though this is S6 – the most advanced grade in secondary schools – there were so many basic mistakes. Examples: “His name is…” (referring to a girl); “Her hobbies is….” and “Her siblings are four.” Seems like I should start at the beginning, but that’s not possible. There is a curriculum to follow, which I didn’t know until Philip handed me a ratty old green book for S6 with 10 lessons in it. Each lesson would take an entire term to cover, especially given that they have English for only 2 50-minute periods each week! I’d love to scrap the whole thing and teach what I think they need to know, but they also have to be prepared to pass their national exams at the end of the year. Anyway…. Oh and in case you’re interested, the most popular declared hobbies for these girls are football (soccer), basketball, singing, praying and studying. As for the number of siblings, most of them had five or more with many answers coming in over 10.
I was surprised by how much I liked being in the secondary school classroom and I think I will actually enjoy teaching a few student classes after all! I have to admit that part of what I like is the camaraderie with the other teachers. After class I walked back to the teachers’ lounge for Tea Break and hung out there for a bit while Philip and a chemistry teacher tried to settle a “kwigonga” (conflict) on the schedule. The other teacher won out, which meant I was free until 2:00 pm. I headed back to my room, changed, and walked into town. It’s great having such a big block of time available in the middle of the day! I went to the bank, bought airtime for my phone, had lunch, and went to the market to buy some produce.
My 2:00 pm class was a carbon copy of the morning class, although the students seemed much more subdued. I wonder if it’s because it was right after lunch. I have the S6-MCB class again tomorrow morning, then my first S4 class.
After the afternoon class I returned to my room and relaxed before my evening adult class. I had another few hours free – I could get used to this! I chatted online with Tracy, made some tea and chomped on cookies while listening to music.
At 5:00 pm I was ready to teach the District office staff! Some came soon after 5, but other trickled in slowly. Sister Annunciata was a doll and scrambled around looking for an appropriate classroom for us. The problem is that students and their belongings hang out in the classrooms during their free time (see my above description of the classroom as their hat-hanging location!). Their bags and books are strewn about the desks and wooden benches even if the girls aren’t there. Sister tried to set us up in the computer lab, which was a terrific effort but not realistic. Then she simply moved us to the classroom next door, telling the students “We must to use this room now. Please go” and they scampered out.
The District staff was a blast to teach! I was going to administer a diagnostic exam to get a sense of their current English proficiency. One of my contacts there had happily agreed to print and photocopy anything I send to them – what a boon here in Rwanda, where everything is done with the chalkboard! However, he showed up with 23 other students and informed me with a big smile that he’d brought 4 copies. I asked incredulously, “Four copies?” He restated “Four copies” (with a smile). I put up four fingers and repeated, “FOUR copies?” He shrugged his shoulders and kept smiling. Welcome to Rwanda!
Needless to say, I scrapped the diagnostic exam for tonight. Since they have a photocopier and they offered, I refuse to write everything on the board. I’ll be doing enough of that for all my other classes! I told them they’ll be taking the exam on Thursday night and instead we did, you guessed it, introductions in pairs. They introduced their partners to the class, stating his or her name, where they’re from, what their position is at the District office and what their hobbies are. Since I didn’t have anything else planned, I stretched that out and chose random things to explain (like, a cowboy doesn’t ride cows…he rides horses! Why? I have no idea!) and we did a review of possessives because these folks also want to say “His name is…” when they refer to a woman. Other than that we just talked for a while and I answered all the usual questions that everyone in Africa seems to ask every newcomer: Where are you from? (New York) Are you single or married? (Single!) How old are you? (They guessed anywhere between 28 – 36…I told you I love teaching them!) Next District office class will be Thursday night.
from: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gypsygirlri/2/1265220873/tpod.html
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