Week Seven - Cultural Blog

22nd March 2012

Not only does an international semester abroad allow me to experience and investigate my profession further, but it also allows me to submerse myself in a new culture which I now call my home. As the weeks pass and Lynsey and I continue to familiarise ourselves with our new lives, we have taken time to explore our environment, learning about the Ugandan culture as we do so. Mariam Beard highlights how, “Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” (Beard, 2000) I am slowly beginning to realise how travel here is not temporary, but even the memories I have made so far will remain with me as we travel further around Uganda.

Having noticed how dance and music had a huge influence within our surrounding culture, Lynsey and I decided to look further towards traditional African arts.  The ‘Ndere dance troupe’ is a traditional African dance company which provide shows displaying music and dance from the different divisions among Uganda.  The Ndere dance troupe was originally formed for the recruitment of talented and disadvantaged children in which they could be looked after, and their school fees paid. Each dance performed tells a different story, usually a traditional milestone in Ugandan culture such as harvest and falling in love. Tradition has it, that a terrible image was painted by colonialists, that African dance and music was evil. Whoever performed them therefore, would supposedly not see eye to eye with God. It was 1984, when the Ndere dance troupe was formed in order to change this view, allowing society to join together and celebrate their culture through music and dance.  Most African dances “…teach social patterns and values and helps people work, mature, praise or criticize members of the community while celebrating festivals and funerals, competing, reciting history, proverbs and poetry; and to encounter gods.” (Malone, 1996) As Lynsey and I witnessed each dance, we couldn’t help but notice how passionate and enthusiastic they were to put on such an energetic show.

The Ndere dance troupe

This was not the first time that Lynsey and I experienced the hold Ugandans have on superstition. Upon circulating various markets, we have found that a lot of stalls and shops sell a selection of statues representing different ‘gods’. Upon questioning their purpose, a number of Africans believe that having these present in their home will inevitably bring them good fortune. I was unaware of the different tribes which are associated with Africa and those which are still currently present in Uganda and so I have been very interested to find out about them.

Having finished teaching practice this week, we have had the chance to travel beyond Kampala. However, as we recognise how much time left we have left in Uganda, Lynsey and I are planning to move further afield, branching to areas outside of the main city.



Visiting the Equator

References

Beard, M. (2000) “Making Womens history: The essential Mary Ritter Beard” Feminist Press Edition, New York.

Malone, J. (1996) “Steppin’ on the Blues” University of Illinois Press, Illinois.  

Blog Six - Professional Blog

13^th March 2012

As each day passes in City Parents Primary School, I have grown to love the Ugandan culture even present within my teaching placement. As you have probably grasped from my previous blogs, teaching in Uganda is completely different to that of Northern Ireland. Although dissimilar, I am surprised at how well Lynsey and I have fitted in and adapted to school life here. As we come to our finishing days of City Parents, I have realised that however different we appear, and however different our teaching styles and strategies are in relation to the teachers present, each pupil and member of staff have welcomed us as a valid member of their school; “We may have different religions, different languages, different coloured skins, but we belong to one human race.” (Annan, K. 1997)

A school day in Uganda is much longer than that of home. Beginning at 6:30am for teachers, a school day can stretch to almost twelve hours! Pupils start to arrive in school any time after 7:00am, finishing at 4:40pm for Key Stage One. Having a day of almost ten school hours can be tiring for most pupils, but their sense of enthusiasm to learn is encouraging. There are nine periods in the school day, lasting forty minutes each. Each day is split into three main intervals; morning, mid-morning and afternoon which is made up of three periods in each. After each interval, pupils will have a snack, or meal which the school will supply for them. Lynsey and I have also had the privilege of enjoying traditional Ugandan food during school such as ‘posho’ and ‘matoke’, that is to say some which is more favourable than others!

Lunch time at City Parents

Focusing on two main learning areas, Mathematics and Physical Education, Lynsey and I have tried to adapt our lessons towards strategies which we usually implement in Northern Ireland. Focusing on ‘The Olympics’ for Physical Education, we have come up with a theme which can incorporate a range of athletic skills. Developing these skills provides the basis for many games and so we felt this was a good starting point for teaching. Teachers within City Parents have a high emphasis on knowledge and presentation of lessons within the pupils’ workbooks. Taking this on board, Lynsey and I have felt pressure within Mathematics for pupils to perform well, yet our main aim is for pupils to enjoy what they are learning.  

P.E. with P.3.S

Each class consists of two teachers usually with different specialist subjects. After every lesson, the teacher who has just finished teaching will take a break, while the other teacher will take the next lesson. In this break, it is common for teachers to mark the endless amount of books, which we have also discovered is very time consuming for such a large class!

In Northern Ireland it is perfectly normal to experience a seperate school Assembly for each key stage. In City Parents however, we have an assembly for each year group! P.3. assembly takes place on a Friday morning where the children are seated in their house groups. A school assembly in City Parents is a lengthy concoction of songs, dancing, the Ugandan national anthem and the City Parents anthem. Following this, school news, class news, and a Bible reading is told which is then rounded off with a quiz for each house group. Although lengthy, we have really enjoyed watching how passionate each pupil and teacher is about their school and country which is displayed through each assembly.

Some of the P.3. assembly

It is hard to believe that my time as “Teacher Ashleigh” has almost came to an end, as the saying goes, “Time flies when you’re enjoying yourself!”

References

Annan, K. (1997) “Ethnic Factors in International Relations” The popular science monthly, Bonnie Corporation, Fort Portal.

Blog Five - Professional Blog

6^th March 2012

As I begin to find my feet at City Parents, the children have in turn, welcomed me as an important member of their class. It is no surprise that after observing in school, I was excited to be greeting P.3.S as their new teacher for the next six weeks.

I was very surprised to find that most schools in Uganda use corporal punishment as their way of disciplining children.  According to a recent ANPPCAN Study , “81% of children in Ugandan primary schools undergo corporal punishment.” (ANPPCAN, 2011) To my dismay, I have witnessed various occasions In Uganda when my teacher has lifted her hand to the pupils. Initially I was stunned that this method of discipline was adequate, still the reaction of the children proved how customary it had become throughout the class. Upon talking through our ideas of how we would obtain classroom management and manage discipline within our class, negligible jeers and sniggers were overheard amongst the staffroom.  Tackling a different discipline method, not involving corporal punishment, “Teacher Ashleigh’s five stages” are posted beside the blackboard. This in turn allows pupils to have a degree of ownership for their behaviour. Pupils are moved down a ‘level’ every time they misbehave, with the degree of the punishment getting worse. Upon questioning our head of department, Jovita, I was able to have her view on punishment throughout the school.  Her belief is that corporal punishment is what children are used to at home, and so to understand how to behave in school, pupils should be treated in the same way.

Used to what teachers believe to be ‘good’ classroom management, it’s not surprising I felt uneasy presenting my new system to the class. I have split each row in my class into three different animals; lions, gorillas and tigers. Each group has an empty water bottle which is used to collect beans. Beans are rewarded to pupils who behave well, yet they are taken away if they continue to misbehave. At the end of each week, the beans are counted within each row, and the winning group will receive sweets.

Winning group "Gorillas"

Recognising the importance of introducing teaching strategies learnt from home, I felt they could influence the children to think for themselves and allow them to experience new ways of learning.  ‘W.A.L.T’ and ‘W.I.L.F’ are no strangers to any classroom in Northern Ireland, and with this in mind; I felt that I should introduce them to my class in Uganda. Originally unaware of the purpose of “We Are Learning To…” and “What I’m Looking For…” my pupils were soon quick to catch on to its meaning and its practicality within each lesson. The pupils have responded well to this and can be reminded continuously of each lessons’ objectives, and what they are expected to achieve.

Teaching Aids for my classroom

Although our methods seem uncommon in Uganda, we have had some praise from fellow staff who have heard how we are implementing new strategies and teaching methods. As we continue to teach in C.P.S we hope to make an impact not only on the pupils, but on the staff’s teaching approaches.

References

ANPPCAN, (2011) “ANPPCAN calls on government to expedite amendments to the Children Act”, Kampala, Uganda, Greenmedia Publications.