By Becky Wong
Going to Kumi this second time around for me held a totally new aspect of Mission Service. As one of two retired schoolteachers on the team (the other being Connie Branson), I was invited to share some of my teaching expertise with the KCVS staff. This sounded like an intriguing opportunity, filled with possibilities of all kinds. So we both agreed to the task of teacher training.
But as the trip grew closer, and Connie and I started to plan, all kinds of uncertainties and questions began to arise: What kind of training did the teachers already have? What books were they using? What materials were available? What would the teachers think of learning in cooperative groups----a teaching style that was probably radically different from what they were used to? How could we share worksheets when copy machines and even paper were not readily available supplies? And what would Kumi teachers think of 2 foreign retirees who looked, spoke, and lived in very different worlds from them? In short, where should we begin? Of course, there were no simple answers to any of these questions.
So looking over our reserves of science teaching tools, and proceeding in what I’ll call Faith with Trepidation, we began to pull lessons we thought might work from an elementary school science program put out by U.C. Berkeley. We packed tape measures, balance scales, metric weights, paper clips, buttons, and seashells.
So we spent 4 days training the staff and the Head Teacher. I remember that the first day, the teachers seemed very shy and quiet. Moses, James, Scovia and Stella had some previous experience teaching, but Jessica was brand-new----in fact she was one of the orphans we had sponsored through high school. I kept hoping that they could understand my English accent, because sometimes it was a challenge for me to understand their British accent.
But the neat part was watching them try out being the student. One exercise had them use paper clips to measure a desk. I was relieved that they didn’t think it was at all silly. You could see their minds being challenged by a very different style of teaching. Who in Kumi had ever heard of using paper clips to teach measurement? In the afternoon, we tried the same lesson with a class of students, and the teachers observed. When we debriefed the following day, it was interesting what they noticed.
First, they were delighted with how the kids “took” to the lesson. Kids were out of their seats, and talking to each other about the task. They realized that their students were engaged in doing real thinking and problem-solving. Head Teacher Jacob commented that as the master teacher, I didn’t skip over students who didn’t have the answer right away, but gave them time to think and offer a guess or a thought, even if they weren’t sure it was right. A real eye-opener was when I pointed out that their classes were seated with total separation of boys and girls. We talked about opportunities for girls, and encouraging them to have confidence. Almost immediately, the two male teachers, James and Moses, got up from their seats and walked over to the three female teachers, and indicated that they also needed to mix the gender seating, just as their students should. This was met with surprise, and then giggles as they rearranged their seats, and Connie and I realized that they really “got it”. They were sharp, and they were open to learning something new. In that moment, I was totally grateful that we had come halfway around the globe. Here, with our new brothers and sisters, we delighted in learning together, learning from each other, and seeing the future opening doors wider and wider for all of us.
Another surprise came on the day of the great celebration: Commissioning Day for KCVS. About 500 villagers had gathered at the school that Saturday. Everyone was in awe of the Uganda Minister of Education, a beautifully dressed woman seated on a bright red sofa chair brought in for the occasion. It was hot, and we had been sitting for about 3 hours. But when it came time for her to give her speech....we hung on every word. She had great praise for the school construction. But I was caught totally off-guard when she mentioned the science lessons and trainings that had been offered to the teachers and students. She hoped that these could be shared with other schools throughout the area. WOW, I thought. Indeed, you never know what an impact you might make, just doing a small thing like sharing a science lesson.
Thinking back, I’m so glad that I didn’t let my fears and uncertainties get in the way of the willingness to serve. While I had tons of questions going into this new mission, I learned that having respect and an open heart goes a long way in building bridges and overcoming differences. I truly thank God for the blessings of this journey.