Week Nineteen

As my time winds down I am trying hard to squeeze the most of the days I have left.  This week has been busy.  Here are the highlights:

First, not a highlight exactly but an explanation … My computer problems have lingered, leaving me with a machine that works very very slowly, no way to download my photos,  a sticky keyboard that seems to enjoy leaving me with undecipherable typos (!)  and a screen that is missing the navigation bars and editing functions.  As one of you so kindly reminded me, computers are great, but only when they are working!  So I am limited in what I can do and in the messages that I can read, write or send.  I have figured out an elaborate ‘work around’ that allows me to do updates like this. The pictures on my blog posts and Facebook activity will have to wait until I return home.

On Sunday I had a chance to worship with Massai at his church in the nearby village. You may remember me commenting a few weeks ago about the sound system and keyboard their church has. This week was no better – in fact it was worse, if anything. As I sat trying to pick out the melody line and the words (distinct from the keyboard player’s version!) the words of the song went through my head:  “May it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear.”  Regardless of my Canadian idea of ‘good’ worship music, I have no doubt that God appreciated every word they sang. (Perhaps not the electronic squawks and mismatched accompaniment though!) The service started at 9 am, people trickled in throughout the first hour or so and we headed back for home at about 12:45. This time I was asked to preach (in advance!) – I was the ‘first preacher’. Sort of like a warm-up band perhaps. As I listened to the ‘second preacher’ I thought of my grandmother’s famous line “He missed many good stopping points.”  If I had ten shillings for every time he said “I’m about to finish” I would have been able to buy Massai and me a few bottles of soda to enjoy on the way home!

As I mentioned last week I have been doing a number of visits to schools in the past few days, trying to be sure to see all of our Home of Grace children in their classrooms and meeting their teachers. While King David remains my favourite spot, it is good to see the others as well. Like in Canada every school has its own flavour and ‘feel’.  The children were so excited to have me visit and I am getting quite good at tailoring my ‘All About Canada’ speech to the age level and English ability of my audience!

My time at King David ended Wednesday, when the school closed for the end of term.  I have had such a great time there and have created an unofficial partnership between my home school in Milton and the school here. We have all learned a lot from each other and as I think about my time here I am feeling pretty pleased. We, as teachers, have had great conversations together about a whole range of topics related to children and to education. Some of the ‘seeds’ I have planted are already bearing a bit of fruit.

This week I spent a lot of time helping them do the paperwork connected with the end of term examinations that end on Friday – calculating average marks for each class, for each subject, who is placed in which position in the class, etc.  These are the kind of statistics I hate about school here – many of you know how I feel about standardized tests, scores, competition and marks for primary students.  But, ‘when in Kenya’ …!  I felt the least I could do is help the teachers with the marking and calculations so they could spend their time instead with their students.  Math does not come easily for many people here so I was happy to be of help.

A little exam story for you….  They are almost exclusively multiple choice – and VERY difficult.  I think many of the questions are poorly worded and confusing and have their share of typos.  (Maybe the exam publisher’s computer has the same problem as mine!) I helped Fidel, who is in Class 8, with a practice English exam he was given. The 50 questions took the two of us over one hour to do. And my final score? 31 out of 50.  Unreal! That’s 62 percent. (I know. I speak English. And I am a teacher. More proof of the shortcomings of the Kenyan education system…)

A couple of good things came out of all of the marking and calculating I did at King David.  As I helped them, it gave us a chance to talk together about the different priority marks and exams have in Canada and it gave me a chance to try to get them thinking in some new ways. As a result, there are a couple of things they are going to try. Tomorrow’s assembly includes a ‘prize giving ceremony’, the time when the top students in each class are rewarded in front of the entire community. We had  much talk about ‘positive reinforcement’ instead of punishment (In Kenya entire classes are typically caned when their overall marks are lower than the teacher expected – don’t get me started!) This time they are going to reward the most improved student and even include awards for cleanliness, punctuality and thoughtfulness. I’m pleased.

As I’ve said before King David is in a very needy area. Many families struggle to eat on a daily basis and the majority of mothers are single. 50 of the 300 students are attending for free, thanks to the generosity of the staff. That is an incredible number for a private school whose manager is running it not only as a ministry but also as a business/livelihood for himself and his family.

The school manager and a teacher told me a story the other day about one of the mothers. I had to laugh as they told me, but it is also very revealing. Several of the students’ mothers work as prostitutes. (Desperate times call for desperate measures.) The staff were happy to report that thanks to the time and effort they have spent with one young mom she is now no longer a prostitute. Instead, she is having an affair with one man only, who gives her enough money to feed her children. Yes, he is married – not an ideal situation – but they are excited because it is progress!!

We have talked a lot about the educational abilities of the children here – they come from poor circumstances where education levels of their parents are extremely low. (There are certainly some parallels with the families I have known and worked with in ‘inner city’ Oakville, Burlington and Hamilton.) So the students’ reading, math and English skills often develop slowly and this is difficult for the staff in a culture where a school’s reputation and future totally relies on their students’ exam results. We looked at the children’s scores and noticed the bottom three or four in each class who are doing so extremely poorly (marks of under 20 percent). It was felt (with my encouragement, naturally!) that something perhaps could be done rather than just having them repeat the year over again or being sent back to the previous level. So, beginning next term, they will create a special class space for math and language lessons for these slower students and change the homework assignments that they are given each night. A small amount of money was needed to see this happen, money that I was delighted to leave them with. Progress!

But, best of all, I also have been able to give them much-needed funds to meet their number one priority – new latrines! Teachers at my school in Milton – thank you PLR! – contributed some funds before I left. I have spent the money many times over, but I felt that a lasting, concrete gift (literally – haha!) from my school to King David would be significant for both schools. So, thanks to their Canadian friends, King David will soon have 6 new outhouses, including one for staff use. (If I had pictures you could see why these were so desperately needed – another reminder of just how basic needs are here.)  Latrines may not be the most exciting ‘legacy’ to leave but I am sure the words Canada and P L Robertson Public School will not be forgotten any time soon! (I know my friend John Smith is smiling broadly now!)

So – enough of ‘teacher talk’. Apologies to my non-teacher friends…

More math though. This has been the week to ‘show off’ my math skills pehaps! (I know my brother is grinning now…!)  I spent much time this week also helping Edina and Maxwell with the Home of Grace accounts. As they are quick to admit, math is not the strong point for either of them, but the bookkeeping is a necessity that must be done regularly. Much of their spending is done with the strange combination of electronic over-the-phone transactions (electronic only, no paper trail!) and informal purchases at the market or with tradespeople – both of which make it difficult to keep good records. I think after much time we now have a system that is easy to use and will be simple to maintain.  Very low tech: a Kenyan style receipt book, a ledger book and brown envelopes. (This is where my primary school teaching skills and my own practice in keeping track of our family spending has paid off.) Here’s hoping….

It was great to be able to spend some time this past week enjoying the Olympics. I may not be much of an athlete (understatement of the century, I know!!) but as many of you know I’m a great Olympics fan.  Being able to watch it here has been a big unexpected bonus. Even more exciting, though, has been the chance to be able to share it with Edina and the children, thanks to a new tv and the miracle of satellite.  As we have been together watching the parade of nations, synchronized diving competitions, sailing, tennis, it is quite a reminder of how ‘out of this world’ life is here – and there! Everything is a ‘teachable moment’ and a chance to broaden their horizons a bit…  Naturally they are very excited about Friday when the Kenyan runners will be front and centre and certain to be on the medal podium.

So – another week. The first day of August has come and gone – by the 15th I’ll be back in Canada. I’m counting the days – but also trying to enjoy every moment I have left here.  After all, this ‘immersion’ experience is one I will never have again… (I promised Craig!)

Until the next time,
Cathy