The Teaching J-O-B

Now that the school year is within hours of completion, it’s now my turn to share a little about what it’s like to teach here.  I’m sure you can all appreciate the fact that if someone asked you to sum up your job – you know, that thing you spend 90% of your time doing, thinking about, dreaming about, etc. – it would be slightly difficult to (A)make it interesting enough to not be fully rejected by the world of blogging and (B)not write a novel.  And since we’re talking about teaching, (C)not say something that will make it sound like I teach in a prison or mental institution.  To try and satisfy that criteria, I’m going to try to stick to the basics and what makes doing this in Africa so ridiculously fill-in-the-blank (fun, challenging, exciting, frustrating –depending on the day).

African Emperor Moth (and as a caterpillar, yikes, scary looking!)

First things first, we’ll go way back to the beginning.  I teach at Heritage International School – and I am THE secondary science teacher.  Like, the whole department – you have a question about science, you find a scary looking caterpillar (or snake, yikes!), you find some weird mold growing, you want to make something safely explode – you talk to me.  Am I qualified to be a science department?  Probably not.  Can I fake it and Google it with the best of ‘em??  You betcha!  Teaching secondary science means that I am responsible for making sure that 64 students from approximately 15+ countries learn all the biology, chemistry, and physics they can stand.  The school itself has over 200 students, but it is very common for secondary students to go off to boarding school, so since we are not a boarding school, our numbers taper off as we get into the older student population. 

My nook is at the back corner of the building.

Our campus here is absolutely beautiful.  It’s centered around beautiful walkways lined with short stone walls enclosing beautiful gardens and the best tree-climbing acacia trees you have ever seen.  Surrounding this courtyard area are several classroom blocks – primary students on one side and secondary on the other.  In the center is the Administration Building complete with picturesque front porch.  And free internet.  Gary and I often come here on the weekends to hang out on the porch, download some podcasts, and watch the diverse and beautiful birds chase each other through the trees.  There are 2 soccer pitches, a sort of scary looking playground, a basketball court, and a volleyball court with future plans for a swimming pool and another soccer pitch.  The school is lined by a 10-foot wall for security, and there’s a great running path just inside the wall for those of us that like to run in a more secure, less attention-grabbing atmosphere.  A chapel is under construction and scheduled for completion soon.

As far as curriculum goes, we use the IGCSE curriculum which is designed for an international setting and based out of the UK.  The textbook has very little information in it and emphasizes things that were not important in the States, so I have basically abandoned the book, and I create most of my materials as I go.  Thankfully I have been able to adapt materials that I have used previously or have had the blessing of many generous former co-workers who have shared resources for classes like Chemistry and Physics, both of which I have not taught before.  Grades 7 and 8 are doing a broad smattering of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.  Grades 9-12 are doing variations of Biology and Chemistry that were not covered with their past teachers.  I am used to dealing with students from many different backgrounds and need to all get on the same page, but in this case, I also have to account for the fact that even though many have attended the same school, they have had many different science teachers in the past who emphasized different things – fortunately for me, most of their previous teachers did lots of Physics and not much Biology and Chemistry.  Since I really like Biology and Chemistry and am most familiar with these, I feel a little more comfortable trying to get everyone caught up.

The hopefully-soon-to-be-completed chapel.

Most students speak fantastic English – a few are still learning – and most know more several languages and make me feel totally inadequate in my monolingual-ness.  The students here are wonderful – just treasure troves of diverse experiences and ideas.  This is a Christian school, but our population is by no means all Christian.  In fact, I have much more religious diversity in my classroom than I have ever had – but the fun part is I can talk about Jesus all day long and nobody thinks anything of it – awesome!  The students as a whole are ultra-respectful – some will call me “Mrs. Hightower,” but most will simply call me “Miss.”  And as a whole, I would say they are perhaps a bit more studious than those that I’ve taught in the past – not to say they are all over-achieving, ridiculously hard-working students, but they seem to care more about their studies.  Interestingly enough, many of the same trends I saw in the States continue – my 7^th graders are ridiculously energetic and creative and still so excited about school – and the level of enthusiasm and creativity gradually decreases until it comes to a screeching halt with the seniors who are, as you can imagine, quite ready to graduate.  But a different dynamic with the 12^th graders is an added level of anxiety and pressure – any teacher of seniors will tell you that they sort of “wig out” during their senior year.  The big-bad-world is waiting, and it’s scary!  Students who were perfectly “normal” (by teenage standards) will do some crazy things during their senior year.  In the States, most of my seniors stayed close to home and they STILL got weird – my seniors over here are spreading out all over the world – they’ll go to college in the States, in the UK, other parts of Africa, the Middle East, etc. and leave everything and everyone they have ever known.   We’re working to try to provide the kind of support and encouragement they need to not lose their minds and be prepared to take on the world on their own (as well as not beat them senseless as they try to figure themselves out, haha!).

Isn't it beautiful?!

Teaching in Africa definitely is different than in the States – as if you were expecting it to be the same…  For example, my classroom is basically open to the elements – and to the wildlife.  I have had snakes, rats, geckos, birds, bugs, etc. on a fairly regular basis in here.  The geckos are cute but also gross because they poop on everything.  Didn’t have THAT problem in the States!  Also, as the science teacher, supplies can be a blessing and a curse.  Getting standard chemicals and equipment is a pain – we have to order it from the States and have it brought over here (shipping is terribly unreliable), or get lucky and find it in a lab supply store here (although I think that’s only happened once since I got here).  On the plus-side, when I wanted to dissect eyeballs, I just asked for a bag of eyeballs and voila!  Bag of fresh cow eyes from the butchery!  Same was true for brains.  Truly, if I can imagine it, get the supplies, and not cause permanent damage to a kid while I try it, I can do whatever lab I want – none of this “ask for permission, make sure they didn’t do it in middle school already, what if another class is using the supplies I need that day” stuff – I LOVE that part of teaching here.  Technology can make things oh-so-wonderful as well – when it’s working.  Today, the clocks were all off, the bells weren’t working, the power was out, and the internet was out.  But at least we still had running water!  And last but certainly not least, over the course of the entire school year, I missed Grade 8 and Grade 10 for two classes when they took their Stanford Tests – and that is the ONLY time ANY of my students have missed class, had schedules rearranged, been inconvenienced and stressed out about standardized testing – coming from the “land of over-testing,” that is a breath of fresh air.  In general, there is less pressure here, and that not only makes it easier to form relationships with the students, but a more relaxed atmosphere makes it easier to get things done.  Gary can confirm that I almost had a nervous breakdown when I found out I was teaching 6 different classes, but it is totally manageable when you take out all of the unnecessary red tape and time-killing activities. 

As a whole, I would say that I have thoroughly enjoyed my teaching experience here.  It took some getting used to at first – for someone who enjoys structure and things being “just so,” well, Africa just isn’t that kind of place!  But now I see the beauty of slowing down to do things well, and not freaking out about it.  I absolutely love my students – every one of them – and I am thankful for what they are teaching me about being patient, taking things in stride, and taking the time to really care for and invest in others.  I hope I have been of some use to them, but I suspect I will walk away with far greater reward than they will.