Monday, July 29, 2013
Pictures from Inauguration
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Classroom
One of the great parts about this grand opening inauguration is that EVERYTHING is at the school now--chairs, tables, lab supplies, computers, paper: everything! So that means that we get to move into our own classrooms.
This has been one of the parts of being a teacher which I have been looking forward to the most. I have my own classroom now! I share it with the school counsellor, who also teaches Life Skills with me. I've been laying out chalk boards, white boards, posters and desks. It's almost completed! I've recruited learners from one class to help me to make posters for my room, so the boards will be completely filled with various Life-Skills-Related-Tidbits tomorrow or so. It feels like I have a place to belong now. I couldn't be more happy about this. 8 groups of 4 learners, desks for art supplies, and a table by the door to pick up books on their way in (thank you Mr. Baier for that idea), posters about time management, summarizing skills, communication, stress, smiling, and relationships, homework/notice board with the objectives for the week, messages on the mirror about smiling (thank you KD for that idea). I think I've said "my classroom" about 50 times more than is necessary in the last 2 days.
This has been one of the parts of being a teacher which I have been looking forward to the most. I have my own classroom now! I share it with the school counsellor, who also teaches Life Skills with me. I've been laying out chalk boards, white boards, posters and desks. It's almost completed! I've recruited learners from one class to help me to make posters for my room, so the boards will be completely filled with various Life-Skills-Related-Tidbits tomorrow or so. It feels like I have a place to belong now. I couldn't be more happy about this. 8 groups of 4 learners, desks for art supplies, and a table by the door to pick up books on their way in (thank you Mr. Baier for that idea), posters about time management, summarizing skills, communication, stress, smiling, and relationships, homework/notice board with the objectives for the week, messages on the mirror about smiling (thank you KD for that idea). I think I've said "my classroom" about 50 times more than is necessary in the last 2 days.
Three Days and Counting
Three days until the grand opening of the first ever Vision School in Namibia, and things are all coming together!
This weekend, we rehearsed for many hours for a large dance that will be the focal performance from the school during the inauguration ceremony, in front of the President of Namibia, as well as a multitude of dignitaries, ministers and other really important people. On Monday, the principal informed us that we needed to make the dance over 10 minutes long (doubling the time of the performance). Ms. Mupiri, Mr. Kapisi and I stayed up late coming up with new choreography, and we were super worried, because the choreography we had done had taken the learners a week to learn. But the next day, we added two solid minutes of choreography (they call the electric slide moves "dance de familia" here, and that takes up a lot of time! Thank you high school gym class!), a train into an RVS formation, and a specialty dance group. Boom--these kids are all awesome! We doubled the length of the dance in less than three hours of rehearsal. And tonight, we showed all of the staff, and everyone was very, very pleased and impressed, and I am still just glowing with pride, 4 hours later. AND the kids are starting to understand what it means to be timely--they were all in their positions for the beginning of the dance before the teachers had all arrived. Seriously baller, dedicated, talented kids, I'm telling you.
I have learned so much about myself and what adaptability means in the past week. I have always struggled with asking for help and clarification, and I continue to work on that every day. I didn't really realize how much theatre practice from the US was ingrained in the way I expect things to run. Scheduling here is much more flexible (especially when it comes to ending times for events/rehearsals/meetings etc), and the structure of a rehearsal is as well. There is not so much of a director who makes executive decisions, but rather a discussion. That aspect of Namibian even preparation was the hardest for me to adjust to, because moments, comments, adjustments and changes felt like challenges to my ability, worth and experience, and I got super defensive. But on Monday, after a long rehearsal with a lot of these discussion-based rehearsals and hot tempers (mostly mine), we cooled down and discussed the cultural differences and where we could meet each other in the middle. It frustrates me that things will take longer here, but the result is still a polished, high-quality dance, so that's what matters. How we get there can be different, but different is not always bad or wrong. I think a lot people are learning that this week, myself most of all.
I've also decided that I'm going to try saying "Yes, And" every time that I would say "No, But." I think that little bits of positivity throughout the day will help me. Monday was a really, really rough day, and with a lot of positive effort, I feel as though I've really become more culturally adapted to this school, this job and this role.
**obviously, a video of this dance will come VERY SOON, but I don't want anyone reading my blog from Windhoek/elsewhere in Namibia to see it before these kids debut for the Pres!**
This weekend, we rehearsed for many hours for a large dance that will be the focal performance from the school during the inauguration ceremony, in front of the President of Namibia, as well as a multitude of dignitaries, ministers and other really important people. On Monday, the principal informed us that we needed to make the dance over 10 minutes long (doubling the time of the performance). Ms. Mupiri, Mr. Kapisi and I stayed up late coming up with new choreography, and we were super worried, because the choreography we had done had taken the learners a week to learn. But the next day, we added two solid minutes of choreography (they call the electric slide moves "dance de familia" here, and that takes up a lot of time! Thank you high school gym class!), a train into an RVS formation, and a specialty dance group. Boom--these kids are all awesome! We doubled the length of the dance in less than three hours of rehearsal. And tonight, we showed all of the staff, and everyone was very, very pleased and impressed, and I am still just glowing with pride, 4 hours later. AND the kids are starting to understand what it means to be timely--they were all in their positions for the beginning of the dance before the teachers had all arrived. Seriously baller, dedicated, talented kids, I'm telling you.
I have learned so much about myself and what adaptability means in the past week. I have always struggled with asking for help and clarification, and I continue to work on that every day. I didn't really realize how much theatre practice from the US was ingrained in the way I expect things to run. Scheduling here is much more flexible (especially when it comes to ending times for events/rehearsals/meetings etc), and the structure of a rehearsal is as well. There is not so much of a director who makes executive decisions, but rather a discussion. That aspect of Namibian even preparation was the hardest for me to adjust to, because moments, comments, adjustments and changes felt like challenges to my ability, worth and experience, and I got super defensive. But on Monday, after a long rehearsal with a lot of these discussion-based rehearsals and hot tempers (mostly mine), we cooled down and discussed the cultural differences and where we could meet each other in the middle. It frustrates me that things will take longer here, but the result is still a polished, high-quality dance, so that's what matters. How we get there can be different, but different is not always bad or wrong. I think a lot people are learning that this week, myself most of all.
I've also decided that I'm going to try saying "Yes, And" every time that I would say "No, But." I think that little bits of positivity throughout the day will help me. Monday was a really, really rough day, and with a lot of positive effort, I feel as though I've really become more culturally adapted to this school, this job and this role.
**obviously, a video of this dance will come VERY SOON, but I don't want anyone reading my blog from Windhoek/elsewhere in Namibia to see it before these kids debut for the Pres!**
Friday, July 5, 2013
Controlling our Emotions
This week in Life Skills, we are discussing how to control our emotions, so that they don't control our actions. For homework, I asked them to reflect on a time when they had been controlled by their emotions--How did you feel, what did you do, and what would you have done differently? The following is the answer one boy gave me.
"Write about a time when you were controlled by your emotions. How did you feel? What did you do?
When I wanted to kill a lizard that was in my room, I felt pity for it, because it was innocent. I took it and went to put it on the grass. I let it free.
If you had more control over your emotions, what would you have done differently?
I could have killed it."
10 out of 10. Nice job, bud!
Now... there are many things that could be going on here:
1. He could have missed the point of the assignment. Perhaps he thought he was to write about a time when he didn't lose control.
2. Pity overwhelmed him. In that case, BE A MAN and KILL THE LIZARD!
I find it so funny that I'm almost sure he was thinking #2. That is just so different than most American kids would think about a lizard in their room, where we have to protect the adorable little guy.
UPDATE: I sat down with this learner to make sure he understood the assignment.
"Read what you wrote, and explain to me which emotions were controlling your actions."
He read it and replied, "Kindness."
"... So you think you should have ..." I pointed at the paper where he said 'I could have killed it.'
"Yeah. I should have killed it, but kindness led me not to."
Alright. well he understood the assignment. Not what I was expecting, but definitely an insight into his mind and the cultural position of animals.
"Write about a time when you were controlled by your emotions. How did you feel? What did you do?
When I wanted to kill a lizard that was in my room, I felt pity for it, because it was innocent. I took it and went to put it on the grass. I let it free.
If you had more control over your emotions, what would you have done differently?
I could have killed it."
10 out of 10. Nice job, bud!
Now... there are many things that could be going on here:
1. He could have missed the point of the assignment. Perhaps he thought he was to write about a time when he didn't lose control.
2. Pity overwhelmed him. In that case, BE A MAN and KILL THE LIZARD!
I find it so funny that I'm almost sure he was thinking #2. That is just so different than most American kids would think about a lizard in their room, where we have to protect the adorable little guy.
UPDATE: I sat down with this learner to make sure he understood the assignment.
"Read what you wrote, and explain to me which emotions were controlling your actions."
He read it and replied, "Kindness."
"... So you think you should have ..." I pointed at the paper where he said 'I could have killed it.'
"Yeah. I should have killed it, but kindness led me not to."
Alright. well he understood the assignment. Not what I was expecting, but definitely an insight into his mind and the cultural position of animals.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
"I saw the sign...
... and it opened up my eyes. I saw the sign."
Gotta love 90s music that inspires.
Before I left for this journey, I was encouraged to see those things in life that keep popping up in my life. Just for fun, I started making a list of those things today, and it helped bring life into clearer focus. Some of these things, like teaching, counselling and working with marginalized youth, I get to do every day here in Namibia, and that is awesome. Other things, like pushing the US government to decrease barriers to education and support alternatives to traditional educational settings for marginalized youth, will have to wait.
While I'm working at the Vision School, I do have a major opportunity to be a part of something way bigger than myself. Since this school will hopefully become the model for other schools all around the country, and this is the pilot school, we get to do something no one else gets to do: whatever we want to help these kids. We get to pick and choose parts of the Namibian, Cambridge and American models of schooling to create a whole new system, with our own individual flavour added. That is so cool. That is what I want to be a part of at this point in my life. Working with other dedicated teachers and principals and advisors to make a brand new school. We may not go with my ideas every time, but I am so lucky that I get to have a voice in the future of this school. Change is difficult, frustrating and exhausting, but it is amazing when you can see the results of the change improving children's outcomes and lives. This is such an amazing opportunity, one that will hopefully now extend to two full years here.
Gotta love 90s music that inspires.
Before I left for this journey, I was encouraged to see those things in life that keep popping up in my life. Just for fun, I started making a list of those things today, and it helped bring life into clearer focus. Some of these things, like teaching, counselling and working with marginalized youth, I get to do every day here in Namibia, and that is awesome. Other things, like pushing the US government to decrease barriers to education and support alternatives to traditional educational settings for marginalized youth, will have to wait.
While I'm working at the Vision School, I do have a major opportunity to be a part of something way bigger than myself. Since this school will hopefully become the model for other schools all around the country, and this is the pilot school, we get to do something no one else gets to do: whatever we want to help these kids. We get to pick and choose parts of the Namibian, Cambridge and American models of schooling to create a whole new system, with our own individual flavour added. That is so cool. That is what I want to be a part of at this point in my life. Working with other dedicated teachers and principals and advisors to make a brand new school. We may not go with my ideas every time, but I am so lucky that I get to have a voice in the future of this school. Change is difficult, frustrating and exhausting, but it is amazing when you can see the results of the change improving children's outcomes and lives. This is such an amazing opportunity, one that will hopefully now extend to two full years here.
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