Tuesday, July 6 Kiko and Tea

Today was our first day teaching and we were starting at Kiko Primary School. The schools in Uganda are based on the British system. Primary schools are universal. That means that each community must provide a school that goes from P1 (our kindergarten) through P7 (our 6th grade). Kiko is a small primary school that is on the far side of tea field. Thus the color of the student uniform is green.

When I say small I mean that there was only one classroom per grade level in this school. Christie and Chris were teaching in P1 and P2 today. The first classroom into which we went was P1. This classroom has 140 students in it, and the room was about the same size as a classroom in Weston, perhaps a bit smaller. The classroom consists of a blackboard, a teachers desk and then a large number of benches. The students sit on the benches 4 and 5 to a bench.

As the headmaster enters the room all of the children stand and greet him in unison and in English. Students in P1 through P3 are learning English. Starting in P4 students’ instruction is mostly in English, but they are still not fluent. The teachers tell us that students in P7 have excellent English, however, in order for us to be understood we must speak very slowly to these students. English may, in fact, be the key to these students’ achievement. The Primary Leaving Exams are given entirely in English and a students familiarity with this language is likely the key to whether or not they receive a Grade 1 pass and are eligible for a scholarship.

Janis and Steve’s lesson in P3 required quite a bit of translation and it was modified quite a bit in the next class (P4). But in each classroom we were able to leave behind a book that the students had created themselves and that would help them practice their English. Chris and Christie’s lesson in P1 and P2 went very well we could hear the students singing the song that they had been taught from outside the classroom.

Sometimes the kind of teaching that you see here is what I call “heroic teaching.” Chris and Christie happened upon that kind of teaching when they visited a P5 class at Kiko. The subject was Science and Christie reports that the teaching was some of the best that she has seen anywhere. The teacher demonstrated with gestures when using an English term with which the students might be unfamiliar. He stuck with every student when he was confronted with an incorrect or incomplete answer. It was a remarkable performance in spite of the tremendous obstacles that are faced here everyday.

We left Kiko after lunchtime and were scheduled to visit the Kiko Tea Factory in the afternoon. Christie, Janis and Steve decided to walk as the factory was only a mile down the road. Students in P1 and P2 leave school at 1:00 and so we had an escort of about 15-20 small children as we walked to the factory with tea fields all around us. Sometimes you just feel like the Pied Piper here.

We were joined at the Tea Factory by the Krimsky/Kee family and four students from Kiko along with their teacher Sam. One student, Gloria, told us that she walks an hour and 20 minutes to school each way. The other students lived more locally, but even they were quite unfamiliar with the growing and processing of tea despite the fact that they literally live in the middle of tea growing country. The factory visit was quite interesting. The most fascinating part of the visit was that we learned that new plants are grown from cuttings from old plants. These old plants can be literally hundreds of years old. The oldest plant from which we saw cuttings was initially grown in 1560. That’s 250 years ago!

Christie decided to buy a Kilo of tea after our tour. So we went to the store but unfortunately there was none to buy (Tea, tea everywhere but not a drop to drink). That didn’t stop our host. Sunday Godfrey said that he would find the manager and have him make some. Christie protested and said no that it was late and we were tired and she could didn’t need the tea that badly. But that would not stop our hosts. Off he was to find the manager. The assistant manager then showed up about 10 minutes later to inform us that this would cost 4,000 shillings ($2), and we said yes that was fine. Another 15 minutes went by and finally the Kilo of tea showed up in an unmarked plastic bag. So now Christie has a Kilo of tea with no receipt and no marking on the bag. How is she going to get that past security??

Going to the bathroom in Uganda can sometimes be a challenge. Thus we restrict our water intake somewhat, because what goes in has to come out at some point. Here at the Field Station we have flush toilets, that flush at least most of the time. But the facilities at the schools are latrines. A latrine is basically a hole in the ground. There is cement around it and in the more sanitary versions there are little cement blocks on which you stand to reduce the amount of splatter. For men this is not so problematic, but for women not used to this kind of facility it can be quite difficult (open toed shoes and sandals are not recommended in these facilities). This let’s you know why Chris announced at dinner tonight that she didn’t have to go the entire time while she was teaching at Kiko, and that for her this was a minor miracle. That comment prompted Christie to wonder why depends were not on the “essential to have” list for visiting Uganda. Such is the level of conversation at dinner at the Field Station.

Tomorrow we go to Mugusu Market. Power shopping in the third world. Don’t worry, Scott, they don’t take VISA.