Yes, I Ate Zebra

Wednesday June 8th

...and Spring Bok which is an animal that is kind of equivalent to an American deer to put it into simple terms. The zebra was delicious and so was the Spring bok, it did not taste like game it tasted like a really rich steak. We all tried out taste buds with the local food at a place called Joe's Beer House. It's an outside restaurant that is enclosed with fires and heat lamps scattered amongst the tables. Danny tried the ostrich and said it was awesome!

After we ate, we headed to the back of the restaurant where there was a giant fire pit to enjoy a few more Windhoek Lagers and each others company. As I looked around the circle of people I was surrounded by, this is when I realized that I have never been surrounded by people who share the same passion for educating that I do. Each teacher contributing so much of their individual skills to the trip's success, but each of us sharing one common goal. It was incredible to feel what I felt when I finally realized why this trip is so special. I may not ever be teaching along side people who are "beast mode" each and every morning, all day long, no matter how hard of a time their students give them or how hard it is to teach under certain conditions. But the fact that I get to experience this Zeal in everyone around me for at least this short period of time, will always be my motivation for the future. I admire my fellow teachers on this trip more than they can imagine.

After a few more Spring Boky! shots, we headed to Zanzibar which is a popular "night club" in Windhoek. We danced all night and met some really incredible people from all over Namibia. On our way home we all squeezed into a taxi van that probably regrets picking us up because we literally belted out Celine Dion all the way home at the top of our lungs. Thanks to Danny, we have it on video!

Thursday June 9th

We woke up early to go observe in schools around the Katatura area. We first went to the Community Hope school right down the street from the center. It offers a catholic school education for students who would not be able to afford it if this school was not opened. It was interesting to see the 2nd graders so hard at work and the class sizes were very small(maybe 15-20 students). All of the teachers are volunteers and this seems to be an underlying problem with many of the educational projects in the Katatura area, they can't get volunteers and keep them for extended periods of time. This is a problem Marybeth is having at the center, as well. One woman who is helping out with the administration of the school told us that she came for 3 months and stayed for 5 years. It's kind of odd/scary to think about how some of the student's education in Katatura is relying on volunteers. However, the fact that there are so many volunteers who understand the value and importance of a one's education is completely inspiring.

The next school we visited was one of which many of my student's attend, A.I. Steenkamp Primary School. Here we saw many different classrooms that were much like classrooms we could find in the states(minus the smart boards and computers). Mike and I were placed in a Special Ed. classroom with about 10-15 students of all ages. They were reading Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in Afrikaans and English. Their teacher was speaking to Mike and I throughout the story belittling the students in front of them about how this is a "special class" and "none of these students understand anything." She also mentioned that she was not qualified to teach this class, which she made very obvious to us throughout the next couple of hours we were there. One of her younger students was "laughing too much" at the story and she told him that "when the American teachers leave she was going to beat him up." There were recent laws made in Namibia against corporal punishment in schools, but as we have heard and now seen for ourselves, it is not monitored.

When the kind woman working in the office, brought us around to the 4th grade class, my eyes opened so wide because when I peeked in, there were about 50 or more students squeezed into that room, with one teacher. Fortunately, a few of my students were in that class! As my eyes scanned the room, my eyes met Ruru's and he stood up, waved,and shouted, "Miss Mary!" The BIG smile that he had on his face when he saw me enter his classroom will forever be unforgettable.

Today at the BNC we read Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Suess and it could not have went over any better. Afterwards, my students and I set goals for ourselves to constantly be revisited throughout the upcoming year. They finally learned that making one draft of something is simply not what good authors do. Each student set personal, educational, and future/professional goals for him/herself. I could not have been more touched with the goals and dreams that they came up with. Since soccer is a very popular sport here I tied it in with making a big goal and soccer ball in the back of the room that says "Together We Score Goals" and each student got a moment in the special author's chair to share what their goals are with the class. Each student then posted up their own goals on the classroom wall. My students had so much fun with this activity and it was the only time all week that they were working so hard I could literally hear a pin drop! I am so proud of each of them.

After the day was over at the BNC, while all of the students were playing four square, marbles, and on the playground, Deborah, one of my very intelligent students approached me. She asked if I would stay to help her complete her math homework. Of corse, I sat down with her for a few minutes guiding her through the math that she was doing a flawless job with. She was doing a beautiful job in class with this math and I started wondering why she asked for my help. Once we got down to the bottom of the page of her workbook, the problems were written horizontally. She picked up her pencil and looked up at me. I thought to myself, OK this is what she needed help with, this is easy, I will show her how to set it up vertically and she will use this trick forever. Well, I showed her how to set it up like all of the other vertical problems were set up that she was so good at. She immediately erased the markings that I put on her paper and got very defensive and told me not to write it like that again on her workbook. She then explained that if her teacher saw her writing horizontal problems, vertically, she will beat her. I figured out the best possible way to teach her how to do the math horizontally, she continued to struggle and I really wish I could explain to her teacher that all students learn differently. The thing that makes me the most upset about moments like these, is that it is so obvious to me that these students are afraid of taking risks and making mistakes. The unfortunate part about this is that making mistakes is how one grows and learns.