But teach-ah, do you have culture in U.S.?

I had to laugh at this question because it was adorable, in a certain way. But the more I thought about it, the question revealed that the student who asked it– Kule Christopher– did not understand that “culture” was something everyone had. To him, “culture” was something that he was told his people had. Outsiders came to his village and marked their songs, religion, dances, and food as “culture” because it was different from what they had experienced. So really, he was asking if we had songs, dances, and particular foods. But he did not understand that a person cannot exist without culture; the two are inextricably linked and the latter is made visible by a person’s habits, attitudes, and values, not just by their songs and dances.

We were sitting in the library during lunch: Cassie, Matt and I, and three of my students, Christopher, Kato, and Deborah. Christopher’s question prompted an explanation of the cultural diversity in the United States, which led to a dive into our nation’s history with immigration, slavery, race relations, and inequity in school funding. Then, we returned to looking at a children’s encyclopedia. In a half hour, the students’ brains must have stretched out by the inch; we discussed medieval castles, musical instruments,  parachutes and gravity… there was so much they didn’t know! One of my favorite conversations went like this:

Christopher: “But teach-ah, what is this one?”

Me: “It’s a dragon. It’s not real. It’s fiction, which means pretend, remember?”

Kato: “But teach-ah, is it a reptile?”

Me: “It’s not anything. It’s in a story.”

Christopher: “But it has scales, and 4 limbs…” (We’d just learned about about reptiles in science.)

Me: “Yes, you’re right. If it were real, it would probably be a reptile. But it’s not real.”

Kato: “So they’re liars.”

Me: “Ha, well no, they’re just telling a story. Sometimes a story can help you learn a lot, even if it didn’t really happen. Like the story about the girls fighting; it didn’t really happen, but now you know not to fight, because it hurts people.”

Kato, second from right, is a serious thinker.

At one point, we came across a picture of an astronaut. “But teach-ah, why is he wearing this?” “He’s in outer space. Do you know what outer space is?” We looked for some books on outer space to help explain (good thing we had just organized the library and knew where those books were!). The rain softly pattered on the insulated library roof– while it pounded the tin classroom roofs– as we casually flipped through books on outer space for hours. The rest of the staff were in meetings, and children had abandoned their assignment to debate, because the rain was too loud. More and more children kept gathering around to gape at the pictures, ask questions, and listen to my explanations. I loved the questions– “But teach-ah, what is this one?”

I realized that this was the kind of learning I loved, and it was missing from my classroom. Students’ minds were being blown, they were fully engaged, and they were directing the learning. I was sitting next to them, not standing in front of them. I was connecting with them one-on-one, feeling free to explain slowly, not rushed by the threat of a 60-minute limit. We stumbled across questions to which even I did not know the answer. I made promises to bring in videos of things like zero gravity, of which students wanted proof that it actually existed.

Granted, there were maybe 20 students in the library, whereas I have 34 students. And we were talking about multiple topics at once, whereas I am forced to cover one topic in Science, which has a limited number of books. But I have hope that I can somehow capture the feeling of passionate discovery that reigned over the library that afternoon and work it in to the classroom. Because, as Enoch reminded me during his latest observation, I’ve been too caught up in getting the information to them rather than letting them discover. I guess I just felt guilty that I was so far behind; I’m supposed to have started talking about sound energy, but I haven’t gotten through animals yet. I’ve only covered vertebrates and still have invertebrates left. It was really hard to get students to notice things for themselves, so I think I subconsciously decreased their opportunities to do so, in order to make things move along.

But ultimately, I would like my legacy at this school to be changing their way of thinking, and helping them to understand one topic really well rather than cover all of the information. I want to get through sound energy because I think I can make that topic engaging for them. But if I don’t get there, they can look up the answers for their tests in the textbooks and hopefully now they would be passionate enough about learning to find more out for themselves.

I’m also very hopeful that my upcoming field trip will help accomplish this goal. In case you haven’t heard, I organized a fund for family & friends across the world to donate money towards a field trip for my students. We raised so much money that we are able to take two more classes along! We will be going on a boat ride on the Kazinga Channel, to a zoo, weather station, and museum in Mweya, a salt lake mine,  and to visit the Equator. All the animals we’ve been discussing will be there! Plus, this is literally a once in a lifetime chance for many students. They’ve never been on a field trip before! When I announced the news, they were SO excited. It’s wonderful to see kids so excited about discovering new places. I think I can help channel this excitement into a realization that the world is a huge and wonderful place filled with so many interesting things to discover.

Hearing the news about a field trip

Look at those smiles!

The trip is next Friday, so stay tuned for photos & stories. Thank you to everyone who supported & made this happen!