Day 7: Danielle Fortin

Day 7 With Danielle
Thursday May 30, 2013.

Today started off as one of the roughest days (teaching wise). Our first (science) lesson was central around atoms, neutrons, protons, and the different states of matter. The first two groups we taught went great! The kids were responsive and participated as much as they could, though they didn't seem to know much about our lesson plan. It was so rewarding to see the students learn something new. In the past it seemed that the students knew more about the topics we introduced then we did. This time, it was the other way around.

While most of the students didn't know all about chemical reactions and how particles react in the different states of matter, they (again) surprised us with how much they already knew. The students never cease to impress us with their understanding of scientific definitions. Their ability to recite definitions of atoms, protons, neutrons, and electrons was striking at such a young age.

After crazily acting out how the molecules and particles of the different states of matter react with one another we introduced to the students to static electricity. They were highly amused by the balloons we brought to class. I think us teachers, however, were more amused watching the students try and create static on their bald/shaved head. Most of the balloons were popped on the short hair of the students. It was fun to watch how excited they were over the static electricity they created. With the balloons they were able to “magically” pick up pieces of paper.

After the balloon activity, we moved onto bubbles! As an amateur photographer I quickly took the opportunity to capture as any pictures of the students as possible. I got some really good shots that I can’t wait to share.

Our third group however, was the most disappointing. Throughout our entire lesson the students seemed to just stare back at us with blank expressions. It was so difficult in getting the students to respond and participate in our discussion. This made one of the most educational-lasting impressions on me. I secretly vowed to myself to not be that student that just sits and stares at the teacher- when I return to Lasell.

The second session of the day went way better than the first. We split into smaller groups, and discussed the human body. Using the diagrams and miniature versions of the body donated to Arlington, we had a very good afternoon! The students (again) surprisingly knew a lot about the human body, the brain, and the heart. We also were again, able to teach them new concepts and facts that they were sure to remember forever.

Just like every other day, on my journey home to the guest house, I was able to see the exact reason why I love not only this country but this village. I made friends with students walking down the streets of Bumwalakani. We asked each other questions, and they taught me many words in their language. I love how friendly the people are here. They are so willingly to say hi and wave back to every one of our greetings of, “Molembe.” I’m going to miss the friendliness and willingness to communicate with all of us Americans.

I can’t believe today was our last full day of teaching at the Bulobi school. It seems like we just started to get to know all of the students. I wish we had 10 more days with them, to teach them, inspire them, and hear their stories. Every day I spend here I fall more and more in love with the people, the surroundings, the language, the food, and the overall experience.

Do we have to leave??? 

Prof. Tom’s Notes 5/29/2013

Here’s the best thing so far: after the first full day of teaching (8:30 to 4:30, with a lunch break), the Head Teacher at the Bulobi School sidled up to me, and said, “The students don’t want to leave!” And she was right – the P7 students, about the age of our seventh graders, had to be told to leave. They had completed two full rotations of math, science, and English, and they clearly loved the personal attention, the interactivity, and the chance to learn. We had to shoo the other students away from the windows of their classrooms!

Yesterday we spent almost an hour trying to teach in metal-roofed classrooms during a pouring rainstorm (we all kept stopping, hoping the rain would let up, but it kept raining harder and harder). We have settled into a rhythm, with morning and afternoon class sessions, but we are all pretty tired by the end of the day.

Fun Lasell result: one of our students, who is quite shy, spoke up at our evening reflection several nights ago. I had asked, as part of the reflection, “What makes you uniquely you?” She had participated in a workshop I ran at Lasell earlier in the year, and she had a lot of trouble answering that question. But she piped up and said, “Now that I’ve been on this trip, I know the answer to that question!” She also said that she always had trouble speaking in front of groups, but after two days of working with the Uganda students she felt much more confident about speaking in public, and much happier about her abilities in general. 

 We can already see some results from our work. As our students get to know the Ugandan students, we are able to see improvement in their math ability, more clarity in science, and rapid strides in their ability to write and communicate effectively in English (students in public schools in Uganda are not taught in English until fourth grade, although they have studied English as a classroom subject since grade one). We have discovered that we need to add a significant daily reading component next year – that is one area where the Ugandan students really lag behind, both in terms of training and resources.

I have personally found the Bulobi School to be almost overwhelming, even though I visited classes there last year. Although I think our teaching is, actually, making a difference for the P7 students, the occasionally teacherless classes, the clear disparities in the students’ preparation and abilities, the total lack of school supplies, the absence of books – the whole scene has renewed the sense of challenge I feel about this rural Ugandan school and village. I know we will come back, and it will take several years to start to create a better “learning culture” here but, at least for a few moments, it seemed like an outsized task. Of course, as soon as I shared this with our students, they started pelting me with suggestions and helpful ideas (part of why I love undergraduates!), and then went back to preparing for the next day!!

After three full days of teaching, the Bulobi students still have to be told to leave at the end of the day. We are more than half way through our time here (it has flown by), and the experience seems to grow richer each day. Thanks for your support!

Day 6: Ricky Hawkes

Day 6 With Ricky 

So as you can tell so far, Africa has been pretty exciting. Each day, everyone had woken up excited and ready to go. This morning was not the case. From around 3 a.m. till morning, the cow next door was continuously mooing. Most of us didn't get much sleep, and were a little grumpy. It’d didn't take us long to switch gears and get excited for the day. Today was our first full day (8 a.m. – 4 p.m.), and it was the first day we were teaching the boys as well as the girls.Our first lesson at the school went really well. Katelyn, Danielle, Molly, and I taught the kids about the water cycle. We used the game Hangman to introduce the topics to the group and used white boards to explain the different steps. At the end of the lesson we taught them how to play 7-Up, which they loved.We came back to the guest house for lunch, which was a relief. As fun as the kids are, sometimes it’s nice to just get a break. Some of us used this time to take a short nap while others read and relaxed. Around 1:20 we started back up to the school for the afternoon classes.

                

When we got back to the school, the kids had a little more recess time left. Flannagh Lead them in a game of Simon Says, which they loved. For the afternoon class, we decided to have the groups play jeopardy to give them a review of what they already learned. It started out a little rocky, but the kids eventually started to catch on and it became a fun and engaging exercise. At the end of jeopardy we played Four Corners with them, a game where one person counts to ten and they have to choose one of 4 corners and run to it. The counter then picks that corner and the people there are out. The kids LOVED this game. It’s fun to see how excited they get about us playing with them. At the end of the day when we walked back to the guest house, not one person in our group had a free hand. Everyone was holding the hand of at least one of the students they taught today. They walked us back to the guest house, we said our goodbyes, and we all went inside to relax.

                

As we talked about our day, we all agreed that the boys are a great addition to the class.  Most were outgoing and funny and they all seemed excited to have us here. For the rest of the day we all hung out and got to know each other better by sharing stories. For dinner, we had pasta and meat, which is sort of a delicacy here. People made jokes about how they hoped it was the cow the kept us all up last night. After dinner we had our daily discussion questions, which help bring all of us a lot closer together. As the night wound down we went to sleep one by one with the same thing on our mind:

Please Don’t let the cow Moo all night.

Day 5: Shelly

Uganda Day 5

Today was a hike…literally. How many people can say they’ve climbed a mountain in Africa? I know I can, after today. For our “free day” we decided to go on hike and climb Mount Nuscu (pronounced Noo-Soo) which is approximately 5 kilometers (3 miles) high. At first, not all of us wanted to go because we had a long day and night yesterday, and if we wanted to go on the hike, we had to be up and ready to leave by 8:00. This sounded pretty dreadful to many people, including me because this meant waking up and being ready at 7:00…which sounded pretty dreadful to many people. However as the morning progressed, one by one more people were waking up. By 8:15 EVERYBODY was dressed and ready to go. The first picture you are looking at is before our hike and the second picture is the aftermath of our hike.

            According to Lena and Tom, when they visited a couple of years ago, and climbed Mount a Nuscu, it took them longer to come down (3 hours) than it did to climb (2 hours). But for us, it took us about 3 hours to climb and 2 hours to come back down. On our way home, I found out that our tour guide, Rasheid, who was amazing by the way, was lying to us the entire way. Every time we would ask him how much longer, he would say, “30 minutes” but it was actually an hour. “Rasheid, you’ve been lying to us this whole time?!” I asked when I found out. He giggled sheepishly and said, “Well I didn’t want to scare you guys. If I had told you 2 hours, you guys might have been scared.”

            He was right because after first 15 minutes, I (and I’m sure other people) wanted to turn around and go back home. So that was a good trick. Thanks Rasheid. This was one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done in my whole life. I’ve walked 20 miles for Project Bread’s “Walk for Hunger” two years in a row, but those 40 miles combined was nothing compared to climbing that mountain. I am not a person who likes to do physical activities but I was determined to come back to America and say that I climbed a mountain in Africa.

            It was a hike…a blazing hot, sweaty, stinky, painful, and at times dangerous hike. Along the way we saw many people, chickens, goats, cows, and cow poops, like every else that we went. The higher we climbed the steeper and more dangerous the hills got. At some points I feel like we were literally walking on the edge. Have you seen “Taken 2”…the scene where the daughter had to climb out of window and walk on the ledge to climb into the room next door? Well that’s how I felt, the higher we climbed. In my head, I kept picturing myself tumbling over the edge. Two seconds later I heard a crash behind me. When I turned around I saw Jessica sliding down below. She must have lost her footing or the ground below crumbled because one second she and Lena were behind me and the next she was lodged two feet down in the bushes. Thankfully there was a small tree and she grabbed a hold of its branches. Lena quickly went down to check on her and Ricky (who was ahead with everybody else) came over to help her. Amazingly Jessica only had a scratch or two on her legs and arms and big rush of adrenaline.

            I think from that moment on, things (and people) started going downhill. It was a slip-and-slide the rest of the way. We had to really watch our steps and hold on to the branches nearby. It was amazing to see how high up the mountain people lived. I asked Rasheid, “How do people get food and buy things, if they live this high? Are there markets up there?” He said, “They have some but not many. They have to go down to the market in the village when they run out of things. If they have a lot of people living in the house, they have to go often. They go on Saturday, Monday, or Thursday, depending.”

Girls Self-Esteem Workshop Pics

Day 4: Professor Tom's Notes

Day 4 Notes From Professor Tom 
Saturday May 25, 2013.

Each night, after our communal dinner, we gather to debrief for the day. We call this time ”reflection”: we share our highs and lows, what went well and what we could do better, and how we are feeling about the day’s experiences. We laugh a lot – often at ourselves – shed a few tears, and learn a good deal from each other. Last night, for example, we each offered the high point and low points of our day. Our second day of teaching had gone well, with ten or twelve of the girls we have been working with waiting for us at the Bulobi School when we walked up the hill. They ran out and gave us hugs, shouting “Good morning! And “Mlembe!” (pronounced muhlembay, more or less).

But the evening reflections offered several poignant moments. One of our group, who confesses to owning thirty or more pairs of shoes, volunteered this reflection:

“As you all know, I am quite fussy about my shoes. Last night, after we walked down the road, I was concerned that my shoes were dirty, and covered with the red clay mud of the soil here. I was fuming, to be honest, and I scurried to clean my shoes off. But as I was washing them, I thought about the students we worked with, and about how many of them were barefoot. I knew that each student had been given a pair of shoes last year, donated by Tom’s Shoes [Tom’s donated almost 30,000 pairs of shoes that were distributed to schoolchildren in the Bududa district, where our village of Buwalukani is located]. But many of the students do not wear their shoes to school, because they don’t want them to get ruined. Many of the students walk on the red clay roads and trails for up to an hour to get to school, and I started to feel badly about my concern for my shoes. I remembered watching the girls running around their playground, squealing with delight, completely unconcerned about the dirt – or their feet, for that matter. They were just plain happy. I cleaned my shoes, but I resolved to pay more attention to what happiness really is. I don’t think it’s my shoes.”

Another student spoke about what she had learned so far about teaching. She actually said, “I never realized how hard teaching is. Some students understand the material we are discussing, and some of them have no idea what we are talking about. It’s really hard, even just working in a small group of four, to work with their different levels at the same time.” From my point of view this makes the trip worthwhile, all by itself! But, more seriously, the Lasell students’ comprehension of the challenges of teaching relatively simple math, science, and English to a group of eager students is a great development, since the groups have already started adjusting their lesson plans and developing alternative problems and exercises to offer to students of differing abilities.

Our group has been remarkably flexible so far. Three of our number have gotten sick enough to miss a day of teaching, and the others have pulled together to cover for their absence. Due to an interesting international miscommunication, only girls showed up for our first two days of teaching (the head teacher of the Bulobi School, who is quite involved in a number of local activities, apparently misunderstood the invitation for the Girls’ Self-Esteem retreat scheduled for Saturday, and invited all of the P6 and P7 girls for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday!). Our students quickly redesigned their lesson plans to include a wider variety of material; although P6 is largely a preparation year, and P is a review year for the P7 Leaving Exam, there is still a wide range of ability and achievement levels. We also discovered early on that the students love to play simple games like Duck, Duck, Goose, so we’ve incorporated those into our daily routine, as well. I hope there will be some pictures of these on the blog – we are still working on a spotty internet connection.

So we are off to a great start. All day Saturday our female students and Lena Berc will offer the Girls’ Self-Esteem workshop, and Sunday is a day off; most of us, except for middle aged professors with sore joints, will hike nearby Mount Nusu. Monday we are back at the Bulobi School, with full classes of girls and boys, for a solid week of lessons.

Day 4: Katelyn Fabri

Day 4 With Katelyn

Saturday, May 25 2013.

Today was day 4 in Uganda! I've been waking up early every day so far, to sit on the porch with my cup of tea looking out at the beautiful mountain scenery that surrounds the entire house. I woke up early again today and Lena woke up early as well. We decided to go on a morning run down to one of the neighboring villages. All the villagers were awake and ready to greet us as we ran by them. Each and every individual was smiling and excited to say “Mlembe!” to us. Once we returned from our morning jog, it was time to get ready for the girls self esteem workshop. We began our walk to Arlington School of Hope. It was in a different direction than the Bulobi School with a steeper hill than we were use to. We get to the school and all the girls are sitting at their desks waiting for the exciting day ahead. We split up into 6 different small groups to discuss with the girls in a more comfortable setting. The first topic we discussed was puberty and pregnancy. After this, we gathered in our large group again to go over what we talked about and then we handed out the menstruation pads to all the girls that the volunteers made out of towels and fabrics. The girls loved it so much that we let them trace the outlines out to take home to make their own! 

After this it was time for snack and we had this snack called Mundazzi. It tasted like fried dough it was soooo amazing! Then there was a huge interruption because we found a chameleon in the tree!  After snack time we went back inside and made friendship bracelets with the girls. They loved this activity and we gave them extra string to take home with them. Once the bracelets were finished it was time for lunch. We ate matoke, rice, beans and cabbage. Our next activity was to get back into our small groups and discuss self confidence, appropriate attire and bullying. I feel like the girls were really able to connect when discussing these topics which helped the flow of conversation. Our final topic we did with all the groups. We talked about what S.M.A.R.T. goals were and had every girl make a smart goal for themselves with something motivating them to complete school and pursue whatever they wanted to be in life.

Since it was a girl’s workshop, only the girls in our group ran it.  The boys, Ricky and Tier, got to sleep in.  They left at 12:30 to bring us snacks, but got lost and ended up walking 45 minutes in the wrong direction.  When it started raining out, a man named James invited them into his house to stay dry. They spent about 2 hours talking to this man about all sorts of things; from the pros and cons of industrialization to how unemployment is treated in America.  He told them the right route to the school and they made it right at the workshop was ending. Boys will be boys!