The System

I know this is true of all things, but education is one of those Systems that seem to create an unbreakable cycle of problems.

It’s not just Namibia. I was watching “Waiting for Superman” the other day, (great film, if you haven’t seen it you definitely should!) and it really highlights serious problems with the American educational System.

Here in Namibia, there is a problem with education that is at least as serious. We work and work to improve education in our own classrooms, in our own schools. But the longer I am here and the more I see, it seems to be more a problem with the System as a whole than with individuals. And I know that’s the case in the States as well – what can we do to address this problem? It’s almost enough to make me want to go into politics.

Over the weekend, a police officer came to my house. He is clearly successful since many people in Tses don’t have jobs, and talking to him, he is also very clever. But the reason this particular police officer came to visit was that he needed help with a mathematics assignment. He is taking a distance course through PolyTech, so this was college-level work. You have to give the guy some serious credit for trying to take a college maths course through a distance program!!

But the thing is, he was struggling. No, you can’t blame him for struggling when he is trying to teach himself math using an arguably not-that-helpful textbook. But one of the problems he asked for help on was a word problem that required you to set up and solve two simultaneous equations. (2 equations, 2 variables) I think I learned that around 7^th grade. Another problem involved Venn diagrams.

My point is this: What has the system done to us? If a smart and motivated individual is struggling in college with concepts that are covered in middle school in other places, where did the problem occur? How is it that the lower primary school learners seem smart, motivated, and successful, but by the time they come to my junior secondary school every single one is woefully behind grade level? And maybe more importantly: If this police officer isn’t seeing success in this System, who will? How much does the System really ALLOW people to learn?

And the real problem is that it’s a problem without a clear solution. Yes, we as volunteers can work with individual learners and with individual teachers to maybe cause a slight change in understanding, or in critical thinking, or in perspective. But what are we really doing when we just throw these kids right back into the System when we leave? Is it just an ongoing cycle where we set an artificial ceiling on the amount of learning that can take place?

And to continue on a vein that's closer to home for most of us, What about these problems in America? Because we have exactly the same ones.

That’s my frustrated rant for the day, thanks for reading...

My best grade 9 learners - we tried positive reinforcement, so the ones who managed to behave in class got a party at the end of the term!

Hostel Life

Recently I've been thinking a lot about what it must be like to actually live here, at St. Therese Junior Secondary School, for the learners.

The boys' block

In the US, everyone who goes off to college or boarding school expects to have a small, crappy room their first year. Those are the “bad” rooms.

Here, it’s usually the lucky learners who get to stay in the hostel. They get 3 meals a day and a guaranteed bed (to themselves, no less!) every night. The thing is, by our standards, these are pretty dire conditions. The kids stay up to 12 in a room, and the rooms are NOT big.

one of the girls' rooms

In the girls' bathroom - no idea why, but they really wanted me to take a picture... so here it is!

At our junior secondary school (grades 8-10), we have room for 72 girls and 72 boys to stay in the hostel – they have separate buildings for girls and boys and they are locked in whenever they have “block time” so they can’t escape and have sex. I think that’s the logic, anyway.

The eating hall at the hostel doubles as a study facility and place for holding big events (similar to a cafeteria/gymnasium you would expect at an elementary school, but much smaller). The learners are there for 3 meals a day (which are oddly silent since they file in, pray, eat quickly, and leave in about 15 minutes), plus an hour of mandatory study time at night.

We had a big school event at the hostel hall last week – basically a drag beauty pageant. “Miss Funny” was a school fundraiser where 20 of our boys dressed up in casual, school, traditional, and formal –wear and paraded up and down a makeshift runway (a bunch of tables lined up). It was HILARIOUS and we made lots of money for the school!

All of the boys dressed in formalwear, in the corner of their "dressing room" (aka the kitchen that is attached to the eating hall)

I found the emptying-out of the hall to be really interesting, though. First, the kids from outside the hostel were let out and we watched them al leave the hostel gates. Then the hostel gates were locked and the hostel girls were escorted to their block, where they were immediately locked in. The hostel boys stayed and helped set the hall to rights, then were escorted to their block by 4 different teachers – apparently we are very worried that they’ll get out and cause problems (which to be honest, a few of them probably would). It’s a very long process, though.

On top of this, we’ve recently started locking the hostel gates ALL THE TIME. This means the hostel kids basically are locked in the hostel and the school 24/7. They’re not even allowed out to play for community sports teams (some kids just got in trouble for that) because the school is liable if they get hurt. It totally makes sense and I obviously understand why we’re worried, but it seems crazy to lock energetic teenagers in such a small area all the time!!!

 Just a note - not trying to be sexist or anything by only having pictures of the girls. But let's be honest, I'm pretty terrified to go into the boys' block and I try to avoid it when I can.

AfriCat Adventures (also known as Easter weekend with Noah)

“Easter weekend is a huge deal for Namibia,” someone told me two weeks ago.

I unwittingly assumed this meant “most people in Namibia are religious and therefore we care a lot about Easter as a religious holiday.” Turns out, I’m pretty sure he meant “Easter means a long weekend and Namibians love holidays when they can go visit their family and friends!”

 Well, far be it from me to argue with Namibian standards! Noah met the manager of the NGO AfriCat while working at Gobabeb, and somehow they managed for us to come visit for free this weekend!

AfriCat is a really interesting place when you look at it. It’s a huge piece of property which houses 2 nature reserves, some wild animals kept in captivity (they are rescued and unable to fend for themselves in the wild), a lodge, and an education centre.

The lodge is the only profitable part of the whole place – AfriCat itself is the reserve and care for dozens of (formerly) wild cats. Cheetahs, leopards, lions, hyenas, caracals and some other things like wild dogs. Although the reserve is fenced in, it’s a sustainable ecosystem of predators and prey, bush and savannah, etc. It’s really incredible to see these animals being cared for in a place like Namibia, where so many things/people are not environmentally conscious and where most people are farmers and hate predators like these! It’s such a successful business/NGO and a beautiful place. (Not to mention the fact that it’s green and rainy, two characteristics I haven’t seen in a LONG time…)

Some of the cheetahs AfriCat is famous for

Anyway, I mostly just wanted to share with all of you the cool pictures of animals we saw =) More updates coming soon, it’s been a hectic week!

Why yes, that is a donkey head they are feeding the cheetahs

Caracal got angry over his food

Our warthog friend who lived right next door to our temt (in the lean-to shack thing that was meant as an observation place for people to watch the birds from)

leopard!

chameleon