Meetings, Money, and Mines

Joy, Rajob, and Dianna looking smart.

Well the week is through. Not much has happened since our my last post, but we did have our teacher meeting on Friday. Throughout the meeting we discussed topics such as discipline, pooridge and sugar distribution, payment plans for teachers’ children, the financial issues regarding students not paying school fees, testing, and other topics of interest. It was a great meeting to be a part of because of the issues that were discussed that would have escaped the agenda at an American public school.

              

  It seems one of the biggest burdens faced by the school is monetary resources. The income that the school uses comes from the school fees paid by the children’s families. If the families don’t pay, they essentially have no money to operate on. When discussing how fees are mostly paid ahead of time where we are from, it was noted that if Rwentut required upfront payment of school fees they would have no students. The school has been consistently encouraging the children to ask their parents for full or partial payment, but they are still lacking a majority of the funds due. They were  going to start sending non paid students away last week, but they wanted them to at least take the tests in hopes that they would have their tests completed when they brought the payment and returned to school. Apparently on Tuesday they will send away children who have not paid three quarters of their school funds. It is hard because it is not like the staff wants to send them away, but they cannot afford to feed them when the school runs at such a deficit.

               

  Another interesting topic brought up at the meeting was discipline. Wilson (the headmaster) said he was disappointed that he was aware of caning that was still taking place. He informed the staff that the best steps to take for disciplining students are: 1) guidance and counseling, and 2) assigning the student physical labor. There was a short conversation about how discipline should look, and Wilson asked for additional comments on the issue. A bit nervous about how they would respond, I offered a suggestion about also using positive reinforcement as a means of achieving positive behavior. As I somewhat imagined, my suggestion received laughs from around the room. They were not at all making fun of me, but that idea was just a bit foreign to them. I was comfortable with the laughter, and told them it sounds silly, but, from my experience, can have positive effects on behavior. The attitude of discipline here is different than in U.S. schools. Even Dr. Gllian told us when we first arrived that sometimes verbal reprimands or taking away a privilege just seems like a silly punishment to the students. And I have not seen caning taking place, but I am aware that schools still do it. From all the people I have talked to about it, it just seems to be a cultural difference that many find acceptable here. I could not imagine doing or seeing it, but children are canned and apparently respond to it.   

After the discipline conversation, Wilson also thanked Doreka, who is Doreen’s Aunt, for taking care of the spiritual affairs at the school. He suggested that the good discipline seen at the school is related to the spiritual welfare that exists here. I have not talked very much about the religious components to Rwentutu, but it does help make the school a very positive place. The school has time set aside for religious education, we have chapel under the tree on Thursdays, and the students and staff take their religions seriously. This does well to promote positive values within the student body, and chapel is one of the greatest things I have experienced here at Rwentutu, and in Uganda. The first 20 minutes to a half hour consists of the students gathered under the tree. There are drums holding the background beat, the older female students lead the songs, and the rest of the students sing and dance. The vibes are so extremely positive, and the children just amaze me with the way they participate in this student guided worship. It is truly amazing and inspiring. I think this, and the other aspects of religious education here do influence the students positively.

King James had some good things to say at the meeting too. He was very positive about thanking all the teachers for hard their hard work. He noted that by leaving the schools they were at for Rwentutu, we have all taken something away from one school, but added to ours. He also commented on the commitment of the teachers, the grading of the students, and the need for teachers to give homework. He said that learning needs to continue at home, and academics must remain the nucleus of their lives. He referred to the intentional structuring of constant learning as the “hidden curriculum.” That is not what the term meant to me, but it made sense. Once again, King James is a very thoughtful educator. Rwentutu is lucky to have him.

The meeting lasted a little over two hours and we were invited to eat lunch with the staff afterwards (we normally pack lunches). We ate matoke, goat, beans, and rice.

Fort Portal: The Cleanest Town in Uganda

Now it is Sunday. This weekend we went to Fort Portal with Enoch and had a really nice time having some lunch and doing some shopping. Lunch was very exciting because we got to have pizza! We cannot get pizza in Kasese, and already tried to make it once with no oven. So we got some pizza, and it was the first time I tried anchovies. It will not be the last.

Frankie and Kayla Excited for some Pizza

So everything went great until we got home and found out I paid over 200% more than what I should have on a drum that I bought. Shopping makes me very stressed and for some crazy reason gives me horrible anxiety, so it was a big deal that I made a big purchase. We were all pretty proud of me. But later when Doreen informed me how much I overpaid I felt sick! I think I will be okay though. I am making a slow recovery, and feel a little better than I did yesterday.I can't stop thinking about it though because now my room kind smells like a cow.

Today we went with Ben and Mark, two younger boys who knew the last  few groups of UW students to the Kilembe Mines. They were used primarily to mine copper, and they have been mostly abandoned since 1979. It was only about fifteen minutes away, but the drive into the mountains was absolutely beautiful. We had not driven that way before. We went for two short hikes before taking a tour of the mines. We would have seen one more of the sights, but we were told we could not hike down a trail to a bridge overlook without paying. This was of course a lie. There are people here that see Mazungu and think money. As Ben and Mark put it, “They wanted to steal you (meaning steal from us).”  So we said forget it and left.  It was a great day, and now I need to plan for the week. My unit test for math is tomorrow (exciting!), and we start our new unit on Tuesday. I want to begin the new unit well, so I have a lot of work to do to be sure the start is engaging.