Time Flies

With the blink of an eye, yet another week has come and gone. Just like that. No warning. No waiting. Just gone. (I swear the prospect of a nine week trip to Africa sounds extensive, but ever since we arrived, all time’s done is fly.)

Nevertheless, it was an exciting week at Rwentutu. Our program supervisor, Dr. Maggie Hawkins, joined us for the week as she works to further develop a video project connecting schools around the world.

The week began without a hitch. All of my students had come to school; my Monday morning math lesson had gone smoothly; and I felt well prepared for my English lesson following break. But, when the time came for English, my students did not. 

For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out where 22 P2 students could even hide on such an open campus. That is, until I looked out the classroom window…

To find my students out in the fields digging

My immediate reaction was to call them in, which I began to do, until one of them told me that they were needed in the fields and had been told not to go to class. That brought me back to this reality. Of course, their priority is the fields. Learning is important, but eating is imperative. I quickly complied and assured them that we would have our lesson the following morning,

…which we did.

Can’t say I’ve ever glued instructional materials to a classroom wall before.

In math, we continued practicing place value.

And also, began the planning process for our 2014 calendars.

Biira Jane helping with lesson prep.

So now, it’s Friday morning. We’ve made it through the week and are beginning our first lessons of the day. Out of the blue, we’re interrupted and told to move to the teachers’ room for an emergency meeting. When we arrive, the headmaster tells the group that the issue at hand is school fees. Rwentutu Christian School has effectively run out of food and without the expected financial support will be unable to continue on with the term. Aside from the few sponsored students at the school, not one family has paid their fees in full. Our purpose, then, is to determine if and when the whole of the student body will be chased and the school closed.

As I sit in the meeting, I’m torn. As a teacher, how can I not want my students in the classroom every day? They need to have a routine and deserve my full attention while I’m here. On the other hand, how well can the school realistically operate without the necessary provisions? This brings me back to my earlier quandary—how does balance exist between learning and fulfillment of the most basic human needs?

I then begin to wonder about the boarders. What will happen to the 60-some students living at school? Most board because their families live some great distance away; how would they reach home with such short notice? And not only that, what if no one could get a hold of their guardians?

With promises to spend the weekend contacting every family from the school, the headmaster and teachers settled on the decision to close the school after lunch on Monday and open again on Thursday morning. This way, students will only miss an extra day and a half of instruction and families will understand the gravity of the school’s needs. (Wednesday is Independence Day—a public holiday—so no classes were scheduled anyways.)

I’m curious to see whether or not this approach is successful. Will families be able to pay? If not, will students even bother coming back to finish the term? How will these absences affect students’ performance on the upcoming midterm exams? How will the students react to all of this?

Come Thursday, I hope to answer some of these questions, but until then I’ll end on a more positive note.

Yesterday, we were finally able to stay for social development—a time set aside every Friday for whole-school activities. This week’s theme: netball, which is seemingly a combination of ultimate Frisbee, handball, and basketball.

Action shot.

And the crowd goes WILD!!

Gold wins!

Well, it’s definitely been a rollercoaster of a week, so I’m glad to have the weekend to mull everything over.

Tomorrow’s Biira’s P6 Farewell Party! We were lucky enough to be invited as the guests of honor. From what I hear, that means we’ll be presented with a special cake and asked to mime, which is some combination of lip-syncing, karaoke, and dancing. Highlights from this to come.

Until next time!