On the ground: meet Grace, a Ugandan teacher heading to the US

Amono Grace is well-mannered, professional, and confident.  Her English is impeccable.  She is deliberate with her words, and because she’s personable, chatting with her is easy.  Grace is the ideal candidate for the Reciprocal Teacher Exchange (TReX), an initiative that sends Ugandan teachers to the U.S. to team teach for one month.

Grace’s interest in cross-cultural teacher exchange dates back to 2007, when she taught alongside a U.S. teacher who came to Uganda through Invisible Children’s Teacher Exchange (TeX).  Even three years later, she recalls how impressed she was by the young American teachers she met—teachers eager to learn about the people, culture, food, and education system of northern Uganda.  “What they were doing was commendable,” she added.  That exposure and long-lasting impression stirred Grace’s desire to participate in the TReX.

Typically confident, Grace admits she was nervous following her TReX interview.  “I was hopeful, but trying to be realistic,” she explained.

It wasn’t until a week later that James, S4S’ Program Manager, rang Grace and prompted the long-awaited phone call.  “Why do you think I’m calling?” he began.  Grace was shocked to hear the good news.  She, alongside five other Ugandan teachers, will head to the U.S. at the end of 2010.

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S4S Update: Robert’s month in America

Robert teaches a science class to some of his students at St. Joseph’s College Layibi 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.**

“Did we take off yet?” Robert asked the American seated next to him.

“No, not yet.  Stay cool,” the man replied, picking up on the nervousness in Robert’s voice.

Robert couldn’t help it:  it was his first time on a plane.  Taxiing around on the runway in the dark was disorienting for him.  It didn’t take long, however, before he knew he was up in the air.  A physics teacher at St. Joseph’s College Layibi in Uganda for the past three years, Robert had taught his students countless times about air pressure, about how the human ear pops at high altitude.  Now, for the first time in his life, this strange feeling was playing out inside his own body.

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