Alex leads a chemistry class for S-2 students at Keyo Secondary School in Uganda
**This article is part of a series detailing the experiences had by six Ugandan teachers during their one-month team teaching adventure in the US in January. As participants in Schools for Schools’ first reciprocal teacher exchange, the teachers forged new ground for not only IC, but for themselves and their schools, as well.**
“Learning is a two-way relationship,” Alex explained. He paused and looked up at the sky, searching for words to help him elaborate. “I learned that one cannot work without the other.” He was referring to teachers and students, the way a teacher needs feedback from his students, needs dialogue, to teach with impact. This idea, powerful in its simplicity, was the biggest lesson Alex learned during his time in the United States: Teachers must be open to learn from students if they expect their students to learn from them.
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When Alex, a science teacher from Keyo Secondary School in Uganda, first heard he was heading stateside, he let his imagination run wild, thinking of all the things he’d be exposed to, the people he’d soon meet, and the unique things he would learn about American culture.
Like the other teachers he traveled with, Alex grins from ear-to-ear when talking about the few days he spent in New York for a pre-teaching orientation. All teachers not only checked out some of NYC’s famous tourist hotspots, but they also met the hosts they would spend weeks with while team teaching; Alex was able to spend time with his host teacher, Mandy. During the short time he spent in New York, Alex was particularly impressed with the city’s skyscrapers and architecture. It was his first time out of Uganda, and he couldn’t have been happier that his first introduction to America came from Manhattan—the country’s epicenter for commerce, multiculturalism, and innovation.
Included in the group’s New York itinerary was a visit to a temporary art exhibit created by Invisible Children. The gallery—through pictures, stories and articles—painted a picture of children’s experiences in northern Uganda. Alex was impressed with the gallery and thought the show did a fantastic job of telling the story of Invisible Children and the work they do in the North. The exhibit generated a handful of questions and positive commentary from visitors, making Alex proud to see so much excitement and inspiration buzzing around the room.
Snow! Alex gets his first glimpse of snow in Colorado.
After a few days in the Big Apple, Alex bid farewell to Manhattan and embarked on another adventure, this time flying to the mile-high city of Denver, Colorado. He was surprised once he arrived in Denver—there was snow everywhere! Alex flew from NY to CO with Mandy, and together they drove to Pablo City, the small town that he would call home for the next three weeks. With his fast-paced New York visit over and done with, Alex was ready to start doing what he came to the US to do: teach.
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Ground rules. Alex laughed when he described the first conversation he had with Mandy in Colorado, one in which she outlined her ‘ground rules’ for his stay. Her only rule, Alex explained, was that there were no rules. They agreed that Alex would not be a guest, but rather a family member in her home, a home he could think of as his own. With the ground rules (or rule, rather) out of the way, Mandy taught Alex how to cook, use electronic appliances, and clean around the house. He also learned how to jump on a trampoline! At first, he struggled to catch his balance while jumping, but after a few short days, Alex got the hang of it. By the end of his stay, he decided that jumping on the trampoline was a favorite hobby of his!
Mandy’s outgoing personality coupled with Alex’s local celebrity meant the pair rarely ate at home; dinner dates with friends were the norm. Although he missed dodo—Ugandan greens that often accompany rice and beans—Alex admitted that he fell in love with thin-crust New York pizza.
Even more than pizza, Alex loved the time he spent at McClelland School, his host school in Colorado. He ended up teaching biology and physics to students in grades 5-8. During his three weeks in the classroom, in addition to his course lectures, Alex also taught his students about the S4S program and the way American youth are improving Ugandan schools through their fundraising efforts.
Alex and some of his McClelland students
The highlights from his time at the school were the classes in which he learned new teaching methods. One method he learned about, the use of continuous assessment—a technique that sees teachers frequently checking-in on students to make sure they correctly understand information—amazed Alex. He also enjoyed seeing how the Internet affected American classes. He realized that Internet access at McClelland made possible much of what teachers were achieving in their classrooms.
Being in high demand at McClelland, Alex was often invited to other classrooms to talk about his life back home in Uganda. In these talks he would answer questions about his Ugandan students, local food, and similarities between American and Ugandan curricula. He loved teaching the Colorado students, especially since they were very disciplined, cooperative, and most notably, free and open with their opinions. In contrast, students in Gulu often tend to be very shy and timid when it comes to revealing their thoughts. After seeing this difference, Alex made a promise to himself to work harder to encourage Ugandan students to be more vocal, more confident when they express themselves. Through his collaboration and discussions with American teachers, Alex also learned new ways to motivate his Ugandan students.
Armed with this fresh knowledge and the excitement of having spent a month in a country he had always wanted to visit, Alex returned to Uganda eager to hit the ground running. When he returned to Keyo, he started working on his post-trip project (all six teachers have projects that they’re working on), one that would let him apply what he learned in Colorado to his work in Uganda. For his project, Alex is coming up with strategies to help engage Keyo students outside of the classroom. While in the US, he saw time and time again how extracurricular activities motivated students and supplemented the lessons they learned in the classroom. In Uganda, a network of clubs and sports teams already exists at every secondary school. Alex is determined to help more students get plugged into that network, to use the activities and sports Keyo students love as a means to inspire them to stay focused in the classroom.
–Jessica
