Going back to the basics

It's no surprise to anyone that I've had my fair share of struggles here. It's been so hot, the water in the apartment is rarely running, I have no car to get groceries, and even if I wanted to drive, they drive on the opposite side here which intimidates me, and the list goes on and on and on. But I have friends, and I have two feet, and the temperature broke recently so I slept under my covers last night for the first time, and I'm on holiday, and I traveled to Maun for an awesome week with an awesome friend, so I'm staying positive, having a good time, and so appreciative for this incredible opportunity to learn, grow, and explore while being surrounded by some really great people.

What may be a surprise to some is that I've been beating myself up for not putting New Zealand or Finland as my top choice for the Fulbright. New Zealand is top in the world for integrating culture into the curriculum (think Maori schools) and Finland is top in the world in education. Obviously those should have been my top pics. Obviously those are everyone's top pics. It even says so on the list of countries to choose from. So I stayed away. I chose Botswana. I didn't even put myself out there for anything else because I did not think I had a chance. And I was angry at myself for awhile.

And then I realized as I sat in schools here where there is no technology, not even a plug-in for a CD player for music, and a large chalkboard at one end of the room and plastic tables and chairs that take up the entire classroom because class sizes are huge here: I am going back to the basics of teaching.

           And I knew I must observe classroom

through that lens.

And then I read a fellow Fulbright teacher's blog. And she brought everything full circle for me. And she is an incredible writer and her blog is incredible. And she's from Fairbanks, Alaska, which obviously means she's incredible. Here is the blog post:

http://www.nicolestellon.com/what-we-cant-learn-from-finland-apples-oranges-and-denial-in-the-us-educational-community/

In the arctic, we do not have every resource at our disposal at the moment we need it. Although we have so many more resources there than here, in order to start integrating culture into the everyday curriculum we must go back to the basics. 

And that's exactly where I am.

An incredible day

We got running water in our apartment for the first time since Thursday today. And it is Wednesday.

But that is not why today was an incredible day.

I went to the US Ambassador's house for a teacher networking reception and met up with Neo from Maun, met teachers doing cool things across the country, arranged to visit more schools in Gaborone, and took pictures with the ambassador.

And that is not why today was an incredible day.

I also met the regional director of Gaborone schools and discussed doing a workshop benefitting 30-60 primary teachers across Gaborone next month.

And that is not why today was an incredible day.

I went over to a friend's house for dinner. Her (southern) husband made homemade fried chicken, six cheese macaroni and cheese, and sweet tea for dinner. It was incredible.

And that still is not why today was an incredible day.

Today, I learned that all my students in kindergarten passed all of their winter benchmarks.

And that makes today absolutely incredible. 

What are benchmarks, you may be asking? In kindergarten, each student takes assessments three times a year to track their progress throughout the year. These assessments range from naming letter names and sounds to identifying numbers and more. Each assessment has target numbers, or benchmarks, to show that students are where they need to be in order to be prepared for their next grade.

All of the my students did incredibly well.

So obviously that is great, but why does it make my teacher dance in circles?

Because this means Helen (my teacher aide) and I have worked hard to lay down a foundation for learning in our classroom. This means students know in kindergarten they come to school to have fun, learn, and work hard. This means that while I have been here, Helen was able to continue instilling this philosophy in their young minds and hearts and they were continue to excel. I am so proud of them. And Helen too. And they are in good hands with a good teacher.

I am so overwhelmed with joy right now. I miss them. I miss them so much. And I miss my little world in Point Hope beyond words. But it is such an amazing feeling to know that the foundation has been laid and my little babies are continuing to grow and excel into successful students.

And as it turns out, they miss me a little too :)