School

School is in full swing. My class at City on the Hill Primary School is hovering around 40-45 students; a number that is, in my opinion, bordering on insanity (I should mention that this number is still quite small when compared to many East African classes, which can commonly swell to more than 100 plus students!).

Half of my class is made up of my former Faith Nursery School students. These students are very near and dear to my heart. I am proud to say that they are thriving academically and continue to hold the prize for sweetest group of youngsters on planet Earth. Most are now between the ages of 11 and 13 and are functioning around a 4^th grade level in math and maybe, on a really good day, a 2^nd grade level in literacy. These kids are the reason why I LOVE my job – I adore these kiddos! They give me hope for the future and a confidence in my own teaching abilities.

The other half of my class comes from one of Nagishot’s neighboring villages, Thuguro. Before school began five weeks ago, I had previously only met a handful of these students. Didinga people are notoriously weary of newcomers, and for good reason, as they rarely, if ever, encounter an outsider. Following suite, my Thuguro crew wasn’t all too sure of their new, white, female teacher. However, with time, patience, consistency and great deal of love many new relationships are developing.

These Thuguro students are, on average, between the ages of 15 and 24. Most are functioning at a kindergarten to perhaps, if I were to be incredibly generous, first grade level. Some don’t know their ABC’s, many don’t know how to count to 100.

Though I have been teaching for some years now, this is the first time I have ever been faced with the task of teaching a grown man his ABC’s. Though my teaching tricks have been successful with wee ones, they’ve recently proven to be a bit juvenile. Tweaking kindergarten lesson plans – ie. the singing, acting, constructive playing and coloring - to meet the needs of a more mature audience, is a new challenge for me. So far, I’m following the old rule of thumb – if you confidently act like it’s cool, a class will also, most likely, think it’s cool.

This is my first class of giants. I’m a pretty tall lady and eight year-olds tend to be pretty short. This year, at least half of my class is taller than me. It’s weird.

This is also the first time I have been challenged to teach kindergarden, 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th grade curriculum simultaneously, in a foreign language (think, one room Didinga speaking school house). I am learning how to effectively teach a four year old and twenty-four year old the same subject matter (due to the sheer lack of teachers, I am teaching P1-P4 social studies, science and geography), in the same room, at the same time. I am learning that the main ingredient needed in disciplining a cocky, disrespectful 18 year-old Didinga boy, in this male-dominated society, is bravery!

We are all learning.

Here’s to the 2012 Didinga school year! Let the learning begin!