A Month of Reflection

Sometimes, I guess, it takes a while for one to reflect on a life changing experience.  My experiences in Uganda were both the best and the worst of my life.  Even with preparation, or so I thought, I was amazed, truly amazed by the simultaneous feelings of the foreign and acknowledgment of the same.  I did not think that I was going to Uganda to "change the natives," so to speak, but I was aware of some of these ideas cropping up as I began to talk with teachers and interact with locals and missionaries in the Bugabo Village.

My stay there was short.  The people and community was beautiful.  Sure there are problems: unclean drinking water, health issues, poverty.  However, I came away with a profound sense that these people are just fine under God's sun.  In fact, the thing that bothered me most was the fear that the people had about discussing their native beliefs.  These are considered Witchcraft.

My primary educational concern was that the formative years of education are totally instructed in English, the official language of Uganda.  However, without a connection of education to traditional culture, I feel that valuable assets are lost including a healthy sense of self-identity.  I expressed some of these feelings to the US missionaries there and was met hostility and resistance.

Upon arriving at Teachers and Tour Sojourner (TATS), I was able to teach classes to many different age groups and disciplines.  This experience opened my eyes to the desire for education in the country and there belief that education is power.  Only gaining their independence in the late 1960's from Britain, the educational system is chaotic without many organizational or structures to assure a quality education in being given.  For me, FLEXIBILITY was the key.  At one University, I had gone prepared to talk about Educational Philosophy to group of second year students; however, I ended up on the grass outside, where many classes are taught because the power was off that day, which is typical of Uganda.  The class was comprised of students of a disciplines, so I had to regroup and quickly.  Taking a lesson on Educational Motivation, I modified it for motivation in general.  The students asked questions and were eager to learn.


One barrier that I experienced in all my teaching experiences was my strong southern accent.  I learned quickly to speak slowly, rephrase what I was saying, and to open the door for them to slow me down and ask me to repeat if they did not understand something. 

They were without books, paper, pencils.  Basic supplies.  So, I put them into pairs for role playing to reinforce the lesson. 

This was the most challenging teaching event of my life.  It is hard to summarize the affect that it had on me as an educator.  I am working on putting this into words, and I will when they come clearly.

As for what I learned about being a a Master Teacher.  She is flexible, secure in their content area and able to adapt content to many different situations.  She can apply many classroom management techniques and can adjust those to best suit students and situations as they change.

Daniel Pink's Six Senses and Skills for the Conceptual Age

http://steves.blogharbor.com/2006/02/19/a-whole-new-mind/

#1 - #10 (The Teacher As Student)

In Maslow's levels of the five basic needs, the person does not feel the second need until the demands of the first have been satisfied, nor the third until the second has been satisfied, and so on. Maslow's basic needs are as follows: Physiological Needs These are biological needs. They consist of needs for oxygen, food, water, and a relatively constant body temperature. They are the strongest needs because if a person were deprived of all needs, the physiological ones would come first in the person's search for satisfaction. Safety Needs When all physiological needs are satisfied and are no longer controlling thoughts and behaviors, the needs for security can become active. Adults have little awareness of their security needs except in times of emergency or periods of disorganization in the social structure (such as widespread rioting). Children often display the signs of insecurity and the need to be safe. Needs of Love, Affection and Belongingness When the needs for safety and for physiological well-being are satisfied, the next class of needs for love, affection and belongingness can emerge. Maslow states that people seek to overcome feelings of loneliness and alienation. This involves both giving and receiving love, affection and the sense of belonging. Needs for Esteem When the first three classes of needs are satisfied, the needs for esteem can become dominant. These involve needs for both self-esteem and for the esteem a person gets from others. Humans have a need for a stable, firmly based, high level of self-respect, and respect from others. When these needs are satisfied, the person feels self-confident and valuable as a person in the world. When these needs are frustrated, the person feels inferior, weak, helpless and worthless. Needs for Self-Actualization When all of the foregoing needs are satisfied, then and only then are the needs for self-actualization activated. Maslow describes self-actualization as a person's need to be and do that which the person was "born to do." "A musician must make music, an artist must paint, and a poet must write." These needs make themselves felt in signs of restlessness. The person feels on edge, tense, lacking something, in short, restless. If a person is hungry, unsafe, not loved or accepted, or lacking self-esteem, it is very easy to know what the person is restless about. It is not always clear what a person wants when there is a need for self-actualization. The hierarchic theory is often represented as a pyramid, with the larger, lower levels representing the lower needs, and the upper point representing the need for self-actualization. Maslow believes that the only reason that people would not move well in direction of self-actualization is because of hindrances placed in their way by society. He states that education is one of these hindrances. He recommends ways education can switch from its usual person-stunting tactics to person-growing approaches. Maslow states that educators should respond to the potential an individual has for growing into a self-actualizing person of his/her own kind. Ten points that educators should address are listed: We should teach people to be authentic, to be aware of their inner selves and to hear their inner-feeling voices. We should teach people to transcend their cultural conditioning and become world citizens. We should help people discover their vocation in life, their calling, fate or destiny. This is especially focused on finding the right career and the right mate. We should teach people that life is precious, that there is joy to be experienced in life, and if people are open to seeing the good and joyous in all kinds of situations, it makes life worth living. We must accept the person as he or she is and help the person learn their inner nature. From real knowledge of aptitudes and limitations we can know what to build upon, what potentials are really there. We must see that the person's basic needs are satisfied. This includes safety, belongingness, and esteem needs. We should refreshen consciousness, teaching the person to appreciate beauty and the other good things in nature and in living. We should teach people that controls are good, and complete abandon is bad. It takes control to improve the quality of life in all areas. We should teach people to transcend the trifling problems and grapple with the serious problems in life. These include the problems of injustice, of pain, suffering, and death. We must teach people to be good choosers. They must be given practice in making good choices. from Psychology - The Search for Understanding  by Janet A. Simons, Donald B. Irwin and Beverly A. Drinnien West Publishing Company, New York, 1987

I Am Not Thy Master

So, as I work on my Dispositions Assignment for my final class in the Master's Degree Program in Education, Language Arts at Auburn University at Montgomery, I am seriously contemplating what makes a "Master Teacher."  Does planning, knowledge, integration, standards, and measurements make a Master Teacher?  I searched on the web and found many different ideas about defining the Master Teacher.  Of course, I have an idea about what I think one should be, but I wanted to survey other's opinions.

The first hit in my search list was for the Five Core Propositions that define National Board Certified Teachers.  I see that these are well aligned with the Dispositions that I am having to write about for Practicum.  However, I wanted to get some less "rigid" definitions in the words of real every-day teachers.  I came across an article by George Corous called "What Makes a Master Teacher?"  He spells it out simply and covers each of the more hardened propositions with simplicity.

Right now, I am seeking simplicity.  A quieting of the intellect in search of a connection with teaching that goes beyond everything that I have learned in books.  I know the verbiage.  How to spell out what I "would" do in different teaching situations and in application of all my knowledge, but this exploration is not about that.

Africa is not about knowledge.  It is about faith, and humility, and the recognition that a Master Teacher should be much like a Zen Master, never giving answers, but directing those who look to him for guidance towards self-discovery.  I am exploring this, in preparation for my teaching opportunities at Makarere University and in Bugabo.

Zen Koan on Study:
EVERYDAY LIFE IS THE PATH

Joshu asked Nansen: `What is the path?'
     Nansen said: `Everyday life is the path.'
Joshu asked: `Can it be studied?'
     Nansen said: `If you try to study, you will be far away from it.'
Joshu asked: `If I do not study, how can I know it is the path?'
     Nansen said: `The path does not belong to the perception world, neither does it belong to the nonperception world. Cognition is a delusion and noncognition is senseless. If you want to reach the true path beyond doubt, place yourself in the same freedom as sky. You name it neither good nor not-good.'

Underlined and italics portion is mine.  This really makes me think.  Who is the Master?  I have much knowledge, but I am not thy master.

Why Can't I Get Okot p'Bitek for My Kindle?

The most influential African writer of the 20th Century?  (Some say.)  I searched for him on my Kindle, and I found nothing.  Then, I went directly to Amazon, and most of his books are out-of-print.  I am questioning the logic of this. I want to read African Religions in European Scholarship, but it is very expensive used.  I want to read the first of his poems before he came to the States.


He studied, wrote, and taught at prestigious Universities around the world.  His books are out-of-print?  I am questioning this.  Frustrating for my studies.  Sad for the world.

Rage and Hope: The Paradox of Feelings in Education

My whole life I have had periods where I felt like the person on the other end of the phone line in old Charlie Brown Cartoons, "Blah, Bla, blah, bLah, bla, BLAHHH!"  Talking just to hear myself talk, understood by no one.  So, I am listening...practicing listening.  This time listening to advice from SIFAT and re-studying Paulo Freire.

This explains why.  Taken from a beautiful website: RAGE AND HOPE.  Read the excerpt below, and if you like it, follow the link to learn more.

Quote:

Paulo Freire felt that for the learner to move from object to Subject, he or she needed to be involved in  dialogical action with the teacher. Dialogic action has two basic dimensions, reflection and action.

Action + Reflection = word = work = praxis
Action without Reflection = activism (acting  without thinking)
Reflection without Action = verbalism = "blah" (Freire, 1998b, p.68)

Verbalism is an empty word, word without action, and transformation cannot happen with action. Transformation is also impossible with activism, because without reflection, there can be no commitment to transformation, it is empty action. With action and  reflection you get praxis, which enables transformation to take place.

Dialogue cannot exist without humility. You cannot dialogue if you place yourself above another, seeing yourself as the owner of truth.

Dialogue requires faith in humanity. "Faith is an a priori requirement for dialogue. Founding itself upon love, humility and faith, dialogue becomes a horizontal relationship of which mutual trust between the dialoguers is the logical consequence"(p.71).

Dialogue requires hope in order to exist. "Hopelessness is a form of silence, of denying the world and fleeing from it"(p.72).

"Dialogue cannot exist unless the dialoguers engage in critical thinking"(p.73).

"Without dialogue there is no communication, and without communication, there can be no true education"(p.73).

SHUT UP BRACELET? GOT ONE I CAN BORROW?

So, this is the theme of my journey, learning to listen, really listen.  Going over my flight plans with George last night, a very good friend from Uganda, and he began to laugh hysterically.  I really wish you could hear George laugh, this mixture of British and Luganda, plus just a taste of Alabama.  I was asking about the airport, transportation, money conversion, my work with Teacher and Tour Sojourners, he and Christie's plans to stay in Kampala, things to bring, not to bring, happenings in the village.

George laughs out loud in the middle of my ranting.  Then he gets this high-pitched voice, and says, "Lisa, Lisa.  Just stop it.  You have never had anyone take care of you before have you?"  I had to stop and think.  Of course, I have, but not for a very long time.

"You will be a guest here.  I will pick you up from the airport.  I will get you where you want to go.  I will help you decide where it is you want to go.  I will learn with you as you lecture at the University.  I will carry you through until you step back on the plane.  End of story.  You go too fast.  Do not talk so much." 

Why have so many people been telling me not to talk?  Am I getting the message?  I told a friend that I needed "Work In Progress" tattooed across my forehead, but I really think I need "Shut up!" tattooed across my hands.  I tend to wave them in from of me when I am talking, and I would see that instruction and possible heed my own advice.  I really won't get a tattoo, but I need something to wear on my wrist to remind me of my purpose.  Anyone have a "Shut Up" bracelet they can loan me for just a few weeks?

THESE THINGS ARE IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEY ARE USEFUL. WE DO NOT ADMIRE WHAT WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND.

I, too, dislike it: there are things that are important beyond all this fiddle. Reading it, however, with a perfect contempt for it, one  discovers in it after all, a place for the genuine. Hands that can grasp, eyes that can dilate, hair that can rise if it must, these things are important not because a high-sounding interpretation can be put upon them but because they are useful. When they become so derivative as to become  unintelligible,  the same thing may be said for all of us, that we do not admire what we cannot understand: the bat holding on upside down or in quest of something to eat, elephants pushing, a wild horse taking a roll, a tireless wolf under a tree, the immovable critic twitching his skin like a horse that feels a flea, the base- ball fan, the statistician-- nor is it valid to discriminate against 'business documents and school-books'; all these phenomena are important. One must make a distinction however: when dragged into prominence by half poets, the result is not poetry, nor till the poets among us can be 'literalists of  the imagination'--above insolence and triviality and can present for inspection, 'imaginary gardens with real toads in them', shall we have it. In the meantime, if you demand on the one hand, the raw material of poetry in all its rawness and that which is on the other hand genuine, you are interested in poetry.  -- by Marianne Moore

YOU CAN NOT TALK AND REALLY HEAR THE MUSIC.

Meet Akram Sebakijje. He is 10 years old

and lives with his mother, 2 brothers, and 4 sisters.

He wants to be a teacher when he grows up. 

Meet Alice Nabakabya. She is 8 years old
and lives with her father, 4 brothers, and sister.
She wants to be a pilot when she grows up. 

Dr. Alexander and I met today for my practicum project advising session.  What can I say about such a positive experience?  "Soft guidance," the feeling of a steamy rain (one of my favorite things, as you know), comes to mind.  I was worried that wanting to carry my Practicum into my experience in Uganda in March would be met with the kind of stern resistance that my family had displayed when the subject first came up.  However, I had forgotten that Dr. Alexander's first teaching post was on a Navajo Reservation.  She listened intently, leaning forward in her chair, receptive to every word, giving feedback, and offering suggestions for enhancing my ideas; however, she did not confine them.  

The only pointed advice for my interaction with other teachers while in Bugabo, Uganda (the village where I hope to train teachers in the future) that she gave was this, "Talk less.  Listen more."  It made more sense than anything anyone has told me thus far.  I hope that in doing so I can create the kind of symphony of friends and colleagues that will make lovely music, blending from the diverse and unimaginable sounds of Africa and the cacophony of American discography that breathes inside this skin.  "Talk less.  Listen more."  Then, you will hear the music.