Blog 11 - Professional

19/04/12

This week commenced with our farewell assembly at City Parents School, our placement school.  We were very grateful for receiving an invitation back to the school, and honoured to have an assembly dedicated to thanking us for our time spent there.  We were eager to find out what this assembly had in store for us; On arrival at 7.30am we were seated at the front of the assembly and greeted by all of the smiling faces of over 600 Key Stage One pupils.  The assembly began with many kind and thankful words from the headmaster, head of department and staff of City Parents.  It was quite overwhelming to realise the long lasting impression we had made with the staff of this school after just a few short weeks spent there.

The assembly continued with various performances from teachers and students in which they performed some traditions African dances and sang many of the songs that we had taught the children throughout our placement.  It was lovely to hear the performances of our songs as it demonstrated to us how much the children had enjoyed the various teaching activities which we had created for them.  Towards the end of the assembly each of the children presented us with homemade cards and gifts leaving both of us completely overwhelmed by the generosity of the children and overpowered with the sheer number of gifts we received.  This heart warming assembly proved to us how much this school appreciated our presence there and confirmed how much we were going to miss our time teaching in this wonderful school.

This week has also marked the end of our classes at Makerere University which have had both many similarities and differences when compared to our lectures back home in Stranmillis University.  During our time at Makerere University we were enrolled onto two modules ‘Instructional methods of teaching’ and ‘Technology in the classroom’.  While studying in these classes, I found my twelve other classmates (PGCE students) very welcoming and interested in our experience of teaching in Northern Ireland compared to that of Uganda.  Throughout our weeks spent in this class I found it both challenging and intriguing to share my perspective on teaching and discuss the similarities and differences between teaching methods taught in Northern Ireland, and those taught in Uganda.  These discussions also helped me to evaluate my current teaching practices and encouraged me to reflect upon how aspects of Ugandan teaching practices could be incorporated into my own teaching style in a way to enhance my pupils learning experience.

One important difference which I observed during my time within the Ugandan education system was the contrast between education theory and practice which often appeared to exist.  Despite the fact that the lecturers spoke frequently on various western techniques such as interaction in class, I did not often observe this in practice.  The Northern Ireland Curriculum states that “children should be given opportunities to engage with and demonstrate the skill of communication and to transfer their knowledge about communication concepts and skills.”(CCEA, 2007)  In university, the lecturers often spent a large portion of their time dictating notes, this was ironic as it eliminated the opportunity to practice the techniques which formed the subject matter of these notes, namely class discussion and class interaction.  It also set the tone for the principle teaching method used when teaching students in school, where many of the teachers encouraged dictation and rote learning as the main method for education.  In spite of this drawback we found the lecturers very friendly and approachable outside of the lecture theatre in regards to giving advice and guidance on assignments.

Overall, I feel my time spent in City Parents Primary School and studying at Makerere University has been a wonderfully beneficial experience.  I have been truly blessed with this opportunity to experience a different education system outside of western society.  My time spent here has helped me to fully appreciate the vast range of teaching resources that we have in Northern Ireland, and to reflect, challenge and evaluate my own teaching styles.  Having the opportunity to engage with the countless teaching resources available at Stranmillis when contrasted with the limited resources available for teachers in Uganda has enlightened me to make full use of the privileges that we have been given in Northern Ireland as future teachers.

Our final assembly

References

CCEA, (2007), The Northern Ireland Curriculum: Revised Edition, CCEA, Belfast.

Blog 9 and 10 - Personal/Cultural

12/04/12

Garth's welcome sign

Ashleigh and I decided that after two months of exploring the city of Kampala, it was time to discover what other gems were to be found in the ‘Pearl of Africa’.  After completing our placement and volunteer work we decided to spend the Easter holidays travelling around Uganda.  Personally, I have been eagerly anticipating the Easter break for many weeks because my boyfriend Garth was due to arrive in Uganda to spend Easter with us.  I was very excited as I stood in the arrivals lounge at Entebbe airport with my homemade sign ready to welcome Garth to my new home.  I was interested to find out what Garth would make of my life here in Uganda and how he feels I have adapted to this different environment.  I also wanted to share with him a glimpse of my experience of African culture thus far.

We didn’t waste much time easing Garth into the African way of life as we decided to take a trip to Jinja the following day after his arrival.  Jinja is a small town situated beside the Source of the River Nile and has become a popular destination for travellers wishing to experience the power of the Nile’s famous white water rapids.  In order to make the two hour journey to Jinja we needed to catch a matatu from the ‘Old taxi Park’ in Kampala.  This soon gave Garth a glimpse to what the public transport system is like in Africa; We weaved our way through the web of matatus, and eventually found one bound for Jinja, after waiting twenty five minutes for other passenger to arrive we eventually left Kampala to begin exploring the rest of Uganda.

The breathtaking scenery of the River Nile was situated right on the doorstep of our hostel at Bujugali falls and it certainly did not disappoint.  While Garth rested following his previous days’ travelling, Ashleigh and I decided to visit the source of the River Nile.  It was very interesting to take a guided boat trip to the underground springs found in Lake Victoria which mark the beginning of the 3 month journey which the river takes from Uganda to Egypt.  This relaxing afternoon coasting along on the sun soaked Nile also gave me a chance to prepare myself for the adrenaline pumping activity which Garth and I were to embark on the next day.

View from our hostel

Ashleigh and I at the source of the Nile

The grade five white water rapid rafting experience offered on the Nile is marketed as a thrill not to be missed.  Garth and I were both really excited to see what the “adrenaline capital of east Africa” (Fitzpatrick, 2009) had in store for us.   I grew quite apprehensive during the safety precaution lecture as the guides explained how to avoid serious injury and minimise the risk of potential ‘drowning.’  However, after venturing down our first eight metre waterfall I knew that this was going to be an exhilarating day which I was not going to forget.  As our rafting adventure continued we soon grew accustomed to being either submerged under water or floating down the river Nile waiting to be rescued by the extremely talented kayakers who coursed through the rapids with ease.   

Garth and I rafting on the Nile

 My adventurous weekend didn’t stop there as the next day all three of us donned dungarees, goggles, bandanas and helmets to spend the morning on a quad bike safari.  This two hour trek consisted of many bumpy, dusty, narrow paths leading through numerous traditional African villages before reaching the stunning scenery and rapids of the river Nile.  The combination of thrilling rapids, exciting quad trails, stunning surroundings and beautiful African sunshine provided us with the perfect escape from the craziness of Kampala and really accentuated the reputation for which Jinja is renouned.

Our quading adventure

 After spending a few days showing Garth around Kampala we decided to travel further a field.  We took an eight hour coach in order to reach Kabale the centre of the much desired tourist destination of Lake buynoni.  As we first caught a sight of the lake which encircles 29 small islands, we could only stand in amazement of what is “undoubtedly the loveliest lake in Uganda.” (Fitzpatrick, 2009)  In order to reach our guest house we opted to travel to the secluded island ‘Byoona Amagara’ in a “Pocahontas Style” dugout canoe.  These canoes, carved from the trunk of a eucalyptus tree, are a typical mode of transport for the Batwa tribe which inhabit the islands of Lake Bynoni and provided us with a unique perspective of this magical freshwater wonderland.

A view of lake Bynoni

Upon spending a night in our eco friendly, no frills accommodation with only candle light and African style toilets to submerge us in the simplistic life which many Africans still adopt today, Garth and I decided to experience the Batwa mode of transport for ourselves while Ashleigh enjoyed the African sunshine.  As we started to paddle away from shore in a hired dugout canoe we soon discovered that the people of the Batwa tribe make steering these canoes look incredibly easy.  We spent first half an hour of our canoe trail going around in circles, a technique which the local people commonly recognise as “the mzungu corkscrew.”  To our relief, a friendly Ugandan man taught us a few much needed paddling tips which soon got us on our way to exploring some of the islands of Lake Bynoni.  One of the islands which we were keen to go and investigate is suitably named ‘punishment island’.  The tiny island of Akampeine is easy to distinguish from the others as it has one lonely tree situated in its centre.  This island is rightly named punishment island because it was once the place where unmarried pregnant women of the Batwa tribe were left to die.  Despite the grim history to the island it was interesting to gain some historical knowledge about the traditions of the Batwa tribe.

Overall, I feel that the experience of visiting a gem like Lake Bynoni has helped me to appreciate how diverse Uganda can be as a country.  There was a stark contrast from the chaos of Kampala to the secluded bird paradise of the islands in Lake Bynoni.  This brief glimpse of travelling in Uganda has provided Ashleigh and I with a great enthusiasm for exploring more of Uganda and beyond as we embark on a brief period of travelling in East Africa once our university placement has concluded.  We are eager to embark on this next leg of our adventure to discover what sights, smells and experiences this tremendous continent has to offer.  After all, “we live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure.  There is no end to the adventures that we can have, if only we seek them with our eyes open.”(Nehru, 1952)

References

Fitzpatrick, M, (2009) Lonely Planet;East Africa, Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd, London.

Nehru, J, (1952) How to plan and survive safaris, camping trips and expeditions in Africa, FRGS.

Week 8 - Personal

01/04/2012

I knew that when I chose to come to Uganda for my international placement I was not just concerned about gaining an experience of another education system but I also wanted to gain an overall perspective of what it was like to live in Africa.  Alongside this I hoped to get an insight into some of the organisations that help the 2.5 million orphaned children which live in Uganda.  It is possible to visit Kampala and never fully appreciate the vast poverty which is so prominent in this city, but I wanted to see first hand the inequalities faced by these orphans.  Upon finishing our teaching placement we knew that we had some free time this week so we decided to volunteer at Bulrushes Baby Home in Kampala.

We found out about bulrushes through Watoto church which we have been attending here on a regular basis.  Watoto is a community based church which reaches out to the needs of Kampala in many different ways.  They have established three babies homes in Uganda along with several children’s villages in response to the overwhelming number of orphaned children in Uganda.  As an organisation they “rescue an individual, raise each one as a leader in their chosen sphere of life so that they in turn will rebuild their nation.” (Watoto,2010)

A baby disguised in a cow outfit

When our friends Katie, Ashleigh and Kelsey helped us to get involved with volunteering in Bulrushes for a week we were both excited and quite apprehensive at potentially looking after such small and sometimes sick babies.  When I walked in on the first day I didn’t really know what to expect, this made me quite nervous as it would be my first time working with babies.  I was placed with the babies who were aged below three months for the first few days before I was moved into the room with the babies aged 3-6 months.  There are around 15 babies placed in each room, this often became quite hectic which I soon realised once feeding time arrived.  When one baby cries it often spurred the others to turn it into a competition.  Therefore, multitasking quickly became the key skill which was required to deal with the daily routines of feeding, changing, bathing and nursing.  I have really loved this opportunity to observe and be involved with the amazing things that Watoto they are doing for these babies.  They are indeed “giving them the best possible start in life.”(Watoto,2010)

After spending some time in the babies’ home it was clear that these babies were truly loved and cared for by the nannies assigned to them.  It is wonderful to see how far these babies have progressed physically in such a short space of time.  It was hard to believe that some of these happy, healthy babies were once abused, premature or abandoned because they had serious medical conditions.  Spending a week in bulrushes has really opened my eyes to the need in Kampala and I have been able to appreciate first hand the impact of the work by Watoto in providing basic needs for these babies.  This much needed care is helping towards abolishing poverty and ultimately shows compassion to those who need it most.

References

Watoto, (2010) “Watoto;Baby Watoto,Watoto Africa, Uganda.