RVS has experienced two major changes this year: double the
learners, and almost double the teachers.
Our family is growing! The new learners are a riot. I’m teaching new Grade 8 learners art and
Life Science, and man, are they smart! This week, we’re preparing for gardening
at the beginning of next term. One of
the things we look at is soil pH. They
really only need to know that pH exists, but class 8C was all “what’s pH, Miss?”
and so we got really into it. And then
after 40 minutes, they were explaining to each other how negatively charged
minerals in the soil could be held out of the root system by acids, and drawing
diagrams on the board. Seriously?! These
kids are 13. And they ask questions. Good questions, not just “Miss, may I use
the toilet?”
Speaking of “using the toilet,” I went home for my brother’s
wedding. Bad transition, I know, but bear with me. It’s really interesting to go back and forth
to the States. The last time I went, I made
concerted efforts to tone down my Namlish, but this time, I was only in the
States for 4.5 days, so it was not worth it for me. Out for drinks with a bunch of Chicago
friends, I said, “Oh let me just run to the toilet,” and I fully did not
understand why everyone was laughing. At
least I didn’t say “ablutions.”
The wedding was absolutely a blast! Mike and Kate are so
incredibly happy, and the party was amazing! Great beer, fun dancing (though no
P Square—Kate, we still have to find the person who took all the P Square off
your wedding playlist!), great food, the best people anyone could wish for, all
in one place.
And then somewhat tearful goodbyes and heading back to
Windhoek.
Upon my return from my two week hiatus from school, I was
told that the head office would be coming for an official visit to assist with
the progress of this school. Last year,
this visit was very stressful, to say the least, so the Sunday I arrived was
hectic. Everyone was a bit on edge, not
knowing quite what to expect this time around.
It couldn’t have been more pleasant or helpful. The biology department had a supervisor from
the curriculum development teams in Windhoek, and he was remarkable! He brought
us so many resources and we had great discussions about assessment strategies,
problem based learning, inquiry based learning and team-centered teaching
approaches. It was like being back in my
Masters program—geeking out over teaching.
It was a blast! Overall, it was a crazy first week back, with the visit
and preparing for Independence.
Today was Namibian Independence Day. This morning, the learners and teachers came together
for songs, poems, skits and speeches about the day and the history. It’s interesting, because it’s so fresh for
so many people. All of the teachers were
around when Independence for Namibia was gained in 1990, so they find it really
important to get the “born frees” to try and imagine what a lack of
independence even means. Because they know.
After the formal morning celebrations, we had a really
relaxed/busy day with sports and dancing, and now, in the evening, the learners
are back to study, because, as the principal reminded us this morning,
Independence isn’t a one-off thing. To
paraphrase his speech from the morning: Namibians must continue to earn it and
fight to keep it every day through hard work and education, because now the
fight is for economic freedom.
