Role Models

"People cannot be developed; they can only develop themselves."
-Julius Nyerere

February 18, 2009

I decide to teach a lesson about role models to get my students to start thinking about the people they want to become. Therefore, what "life skills" they should be developing. I am ridiculous when it comes to teaching. It takes me an entire day to lesson plan. This is a bit excessive, as I am teaching the same thing six times for only 40 minutes a piece. My method is to first write down everything I want to teach in English and then using every book I own translate it into Kiswahili. I probably don't need to revert to these books as much as I do but I am terrified of making grammar mistakes, even though the Wabena make plenty themselves. Then I take the lesson plan to Juster and have her correct it. Then I rewrite the whole thing in a little book that I will take with me to class. After I have written it I pace around my house reading it aloud like I am rehearsing for a part in a play. Yet, still I always struggle onstage. I think the Juster step might be the most important. When I brought her the role model lesson plan she started cracking up. "What?" I said, "Is it bad?" "No No" She said, catching her breath. The word I had so carefully looked up to describe a role model as someone you admire wouldn't work. Juster said it had strong sexual connotations... someone you admire sexually. I had used the word repeatedly, but she said the whole rest of the lesson was correct. A minor slip-up, which if it had not been checked, would have ruined the whole lesson. Cultural connotations run deep, so the word was changed to a more suitable one for what I meant.

My examples for them of people I admire were Barak Obama because through working hard in school, he worked his way to where he is. I explained to them the American dream, which could be the Tanzanian dream as well. Work hard and stay in school. My second example was my mom, illustrating to them that a woman can be so much more than a wife. I talked about how she always has every one's best interest at heart and that she is always creating beauty in our family, home and community. Reminding the girls that they don't have to just create children but can create the life that they want. Teaching goes like usual- rough. The students are not used to participating and are afraid of talking to me. Juster and Jen come in to check on me and I have them both sit down and pretend to be students and they talk about their role models. After that the students are more eager to share. They do exactly as I hope and most of them pick a teacher. After class, I tell the teacher that a kid picked them and why. The teachers seemed shocked, which sort of made sense but I was hoping it would remind them that they are supposed to be an inspiration to the children in our community. Finally, I call on a little girl I have never seen and she picked me. I was a bit shocked because I didn't know her. But she said she wanted to be brave enough to leave her home and see the world too and then teach the children there. As I looked down at her sweet face, I remembered drawing in pencil on our family globe everywhere in the world I wanted to go, and there were a lot of places! I have not been to even a fraction of them, but maybe even though I feel lost on a daily basis, I am right on track. I told her to work hard in school and she can do whatever she wants- "Dream lofty dreams and as you dream you shall become."

I only get through one class because at 1.30, for some reason, we decide to have a teacher's meeting. I figure it is like an in service day, but no, the kids don't get to go home. They are supposed to be "U safi wa mazingera", literally: cleaning the environment. In America, we hire landscapers for this job, but in TZ we have the kids out there with seeds, hoes, and plants. I sit in the meeting and space out. I watch the kids work outside, because after a half an hour of someone talking at me in Swahili, it starts to be hard to focus on listening. At the final end of the meeting after 3.5 hours of this. Th teachers tell me they are concerned because I am not gaining weight. They don't seem to realize that in America this is a good thing. In Africa, the fatter you are the richer, healthier and happier you are. So the Mwalimu Mkuu says they all need to take special interest in making sure I am eating enough because I am their guest. They really took it to heart because that night Mama Lau, Mama Atu and Mama Latifah all brought me almost identical dinners of ugali, beans, spinach and a banana. This was after I had already cooked and eaten dinner... so much for dieting in Africa.