Teaching in Kenya

On my 2nd full day at the Tania Centre, I was able to start teaching.  The head teacher was very organized and already had a schedule written up for me when I arrived, which was huge in helping me prepare.  I got to jump right in with my favorite level, Class 4 (equivalent to our 4th grade).  They were so eager to learn and, just like American children, had trouble keeping their recorders silent when it wasn’t time to be playing.  I can hardly blame them, though, as they were so excited to learn an instrument.  When their regular teacher returned at the end of music time, they proudly taught him how to play B, A and G on the recorder.  It was so wonderful watching my students become the teachers after only half an hour of instruction!
I’m also teaching recorder to Classes 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8, and I am so, so proud of how quickly they take to the recorder.  The little ones have a hard time keeping the holes covered with their itty bitty fingers, but they love it just the same.

One challenge that I wasn’t expecting was having deaf students in my music classes.  I thought the deaf students were in a separate class, but they are integrated into the general classrooms with the other students, so they are learning recorder along with the rest.  The hearing students and teachers who know sign language are helping to interpret what I say, and I am truly impressed with how well they play.  Most of the deaf students seem to enjoy it just as much as the hearing students.  One deaf girl from class 5 even found me during break today to show me that she remembered Hot Cross Buns:

I can’t forget to thank the music teachers at Woodburn Elementary and Mantua Elementary for donating old recorders for this trip—I’m so grateful to teach in a district with the ability and willingness to use its resources around the globe.

Monday was my first non-music class—Class 7 English.  I’m not overly comfortable teaching anything other than music, so I was a little nervous going into this class.  Luckily, the class has already covered their syllabus and is just doing revision for their upcoming exams, so all I need to do is follow along in their revision book.  I’m trying to get them all involved & reading out loud, but it’s a challenge with two deaf students in the class.  Some hearing students who know sign language well are able to translate, though, so everyone can still participate.

Class 7’s classroom:

 Kenyan class times aren’t as precise as American class times, and since the bell ringer’s watch was off by 15 minutes, we accidentally ended English 15 minutes early.  No one seemed overly concerned about it, though.  It’s hard to wrap my head around when I’m used to every last second of class counting, and even being 1 minute off from the rest of the school can cause a lot of stress on other teachers in America.

Teaching here has reminded me just how much I love teaching.  I had a rough time this past school year that left me wondering if teaching is where I should be, but teaching in a new environment for the first time in 5 years has reminded me that yes, teaching is absolutely what I love to do.  I can’t imagine anything making me prouder than the light in a child’s eyes as they learn to do something they haven’t done before, or as they share their new-found knowledge with others.  In the hustle and bustle of education in America, it’s sometimes hard to notice those moments.  I hope to remember this when my next school year in America starts, to keep my focus on why I love what I do, and what a privilege it is to work with young people.