Kindred Spirits

Kindred spirits are interesting things.  No two people are exactly the same, and that’s what makes humans a beautiful species.  But sometimes, you find a person who just “gets you.” I don't think I believe in a singular kindred spirit that exists in one other person, like a soul mate.  The idea of kindred spirits is more transient than that.  In any given moment, your "other half" could be that girl on the dance floor who you have a blast with, smiling and dancing in sync the whole night.  Could be that colleague who you work really well and really hard with and then go home for tea and moan and feel self-righteous with about how hard you work compared to other colleagues.  Could be that colleague who feels as much pain as you do when he sees learners who are ill, or lonely, or sad.  Could be that woman in the combi who you share a seat with for 6 hours from Rundu to Divundu, and you feel exhausted, frustrated, but also somehow accomplished together.  Could be those learners who you are about to ask to do something, and you turn around, and they’re already doing it.  Could be that PCV who is so ambitious and who pushes you to set strong goals for yourself.  Could be that teacher who you can sit and plan a week’s worth of lessons in an hour with, because you are aware of the content and the best way to teach it.  Could be that man you can sit next to and read with until both of your eyes start to close after a long day.  Could be that little girl who you went to camp with when you were 11 and you still are thankful for her introducing you to the best place in the world.  Could be that farmer who you pull a calf into this world with.  Could be that young woman you met the first day of college who became your best friend.  Could be that colleague who pushes you to a whole new level on the tennis courts.  Could be that life guard who also has a heart attack with you every time he hears an air horn because of one too many missing camper drills.  Could be that little girl who is as Alive Alert Awake and Enthusiastic as you at seven in the morning.  Could be that young man who just wants to sit and be quiet with you for hours. And in those moments, you bond, connect; then the moment shifts.

And the crazy thing about all these spirits is that they’re American; they're brown; they’re Namibian; they're white; they’re Zimbabwean; they’re Indian; they’re Nigerian; they're black; they're yellow, red, blue, green; they’re people.  

Special Education

Part of my role as the WorldTeach teaching fellow is that I get to provide teaching support for the other volunteers.  After helping with orientation and our midservice conference, this basically consists of a mass text once a week for "Teaching Tip Tuesday." But sometimes, volunteers ask me for help with various issues they're facing in their classrooms, and it's always really rewarding to hear about stress turned success in their lives.  

That happened this week with one volunteer who is struggling with four learners documented with learning disabilities.  However, there is not any sort of system in Namibian schools for providing consistent support to these learners.  The structures in place in New York schools, like individualized education plans, case managers and resource rooms simply do not exist here.  These learners mostly get ignored and pushed along.   But for the volunteer, this wasn't good enough. He couldn't sit by and not help these learners in some way.  We talked it out for a long while, and he revealed more about these kids.  They're nonverbal in their home language and in English.  So I suggested drawing and colouring for these learners, since they always end up doodling anyway.  Their pictures can even be related to the work that is being done in class--colouring simple nouns etc. 

The volunteer bravely was worried that this wouldn't be enough for these kids, and I responded with one of the saddest things I think I could have thought of: Anything you do with these kids is probably more than they're getting outside of your class. 

Positively, though, he took my advice, and the feedback today was that the drawing went really well! I'm proud of the kids, proud of the vol and proud of myself! 

Disappointments and Proud Moments

Yesterday was a disappointment, and today, I was proud.

We had visitors come to the school yesterday to talk to our learners about "Saving the Rhino." They brought a very inspiring message about how important biodiversity is to environments, and how important the environment (especially the diversity found in Namibia) is great for the economy.  They also spoke about how inhumane and unsustainable rhino poaching is. Then the visitors had the learners draw pictures of rhinos to send to Vietnam, where people purchase rhino horn, to show the "Voices of the African Children" speaking up for the rhino.  The best drawing also won a bicycle!!

All in all, the kids had lots of fun and got to take tons of pictures and draw and take part in a mission to help their country's natural resources.  They also lost 3 hours of classes and their focus for the rest of the day.  Now I'm not saying that the goals of sustainability, conservation or ecology are bad. I think they are very important things.  But if you're going to come to a school to talk to children about these issues, then please be more empowering for the children who are there.  The undertones of the visit was "us-getting-our-drawings-from-you-is-more-important-than-whatever-teaching-you-were-planning-to-do-today," instead of "let's-work-together-to-get-these-kids-psyched-about-the-environment."  I think that what bothered me most about it was that the kids didn't get that subtle message.  And they're kids, so why would they? They're going to enjoy the drawing and the attention while it's there.

But there is a silver lining that the learners here are starting to ask the bigger questions.  Today, I was sitting in on a Life Skills class in which they were discussing marriage, laws and tradition.  The teacher said something along the lines of two men or two women cannot get married because it's wrong. One learner from the back raised his hand, and asked, "But why?" The teacher responded, "Because it's illegal." "But why?" The teacher, shocked, retorted, "Are you questioning the law?" and to my immense pleasure and pride, seven or so learners responded, "Yeah!" There was no response to them, except a beaming smile on my face.

I know that this questioning of the system is a generally Western thing to do, and I'm not sure how it will effect blossoming countries like Namibia, but I hope it would effect things positively.  I am so proud of my learners.  If only adults would learn this, too.

General Update

I know I have been silent lately, and I apologize! Things are going along smoothly this term.  I'm working on getting some of the tasks I do to become more systematic within the school, and thanks to understanding management, I think it's working! Life Science and Biology are going really well, and my coteacher is a-maaaah-zing! We teach one week on-one week off switching between the two subjects, so she'll teach Grade 11 Bio, while I'm teaching Grade 8 Life Science.  It's working quite beautifully, and we're definitely able to get a lot done in both classes.

The sports teacher has been very proactive, and we've had a number of internal soccer games under the lights on Saturday night! That makes me miss football and lacrosse so so much.  We're having another school come to play our soccer team next weekend: our first competition  with another school.

I'm working with my director, Fritz, to get auditions going for a play.  We're hoping to put it on in a month's time.

Things have become very routine here and comfortable.  I really love the ease and regularity with which things happen these days. And all of our learners have finally received their uniforms so they're all lookin' sharp!

And I'm not letting stress get to me this term. Firstly, because there is a lot less stress in general, now that I'm not filling in for people who aren't here yet.  Having a full staff makes life much easier for everyone! Secondly, because I've started to distance myself from things a bit, to prepare the teachers for life without  me.  Not in a cocky-I-do-everything-and-now-I'm-sick-of-it way, but a I'm-not-around-much-longer way.  I take more weekends away from school, and I find a lot more time to relax.

Good times, good times.