Teaching is an incredibly difficult job. Ask any teacher. The super powers required to settle darting questions, jiggling knees, clicking pencils, raging hormones, cliques, insecurities, independence, and, oh yeah! learning! is hard for the mere mortals we are. There are moments when I look around the classroom and see the stacks of essays waiting to be graded, the students' expectant or blank faces, the standards I want to meet, the child I know can do so much more, and I have to take a deep breath before jumping in.
In Rwanda, teaching isn't any different. Kids are kids. They are all waiting - to grow up, to feel good, to know, to play, to go to lunch, to belong, to question - it is a universal theme of development. Yet in Africa, "Slowly, slowly" is a favorite saying. It has taken a long while (okay, I'm not quite there) to balance having a classroom that is to meet International/American curriculum and standards in this environment.
Progress is happening. After doing an in-depth novel study of To Kill a Mockingbird one of my ninth graders looked up and said, "Miss Lewis, this is the only book I have ever read. Ever." Our class spontaeneously began clapping. She pointed out that the theme of walking in someone else's skin applied to her now - that because she had gotten involved in the novel, she was able to view the world through Atticus, Scout, Boo, and the many other characters in the novel. She is now reading her second book. Ever.
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