Temperance - frustrations

In my final week at House of Joy school, and my final full week in Uganda, temperance was at the front of my mind as I dealt with some of the frustrations of the systems and environment around me. Aside from the regular power cuts, appalling roads, and lack of hot water, all of which are perfectly manageable, the education culture is the most frustrating.

The emphasis on rote learning obscures differences in progress among learners. This was especially visible when I built in more class engagement to the lessons, beyond what is typical in schools here (the whole class reciting lines off the blackboard together in unison). Whether in maths or English, individual progress checks and support are not usual. Teachers approached me at the end of lessons with comments like “I never realised they couldn’t write two digit numbers”. As an outsider, it is so obvious that teaching shouldn’t simply be instructing students to copy/read from work written on a board. But here, that is accepted practice – it is all the teachers know, having been brought up themselves in such a system all the way from primary school, through secondary school, and to teaching college (and university, where applicable).

Trying to model more inclusive and individualised teaching was a challenge. While teachers noted my “patient” approach, or the variation in students’ abilities, the real mission was to show that this shouldn’t be seen as the exception but rather as the rule.

Another challenge emerged when three of the site staff conspired to steal the school safe one night. Only after being confronted did the night guard mention that he saw the culprits. After two nights in the local jail, the thieves scraped together money to repay the school, and were dismisses. Seeing through prosecutions and even simply coaxing the police to crime scenes can be a challenge. Police will often demand fuel money in order to arrest a suspect.

However, the commitment by staff at CRANE and at House of Joy has been amazing to see. Even in such a challenging environment, the attitude of keeping children safe and building a better future is inspiring, and there is so much potential for many successes.

One final test of my temperance came courtesy of Uganda Airlines, when I was emailed 10 hours before I was due to fly home to say that my flight had been postponed 24 hours. After another postponement the day after, this time pushing back my departure three days, I decided to take another route home. After a stopover in Kigali in the middle of the night I finally arrived home only a day later than planned (shoutout RwandAir). The next 10 days will be a test of my cramming capacity, having not revisited last term’s content at all over the long vac. These collections could be generationally bad but oh well!