St. Jude's Sponsorship

For more information on how to support the School of St. Jude in Moshono, Tanzania, East Africa - either through sponsorship of a child or a general monetary donation, please visit the following site. http://www.schoolofstjude.co.tz/ Asante sana! Sangiki

Back from Africa

I am writing this last posting (at least for now) as I am sitting at home in America, having returnmed just hours ago.

In thinking about the work we completed, I can truly say that I believe we were able to make a difference in the thinking and commitment of the teachers, and to teach them some new ideas along the way that they can apply in their classrooms.

And, I will end this portion of my blog in much the same way as I began, with a metaphor for my time in Africa. Above is a Jacaranda tree. I found it along a roadside as I was going to visit a small village very much off the beaten pathway. The Jacarandas are blooming all over Tanzania this time of year, and this one was of particular interest because it seemed this wonderful spot of beauty in the middle of nowhere, and was surrounded by dirt brick homes - a community sprung up at the foot of a wild and beautiful tree - Tanzania.

Freda's New Friend

Freda and I have been able to make some home visits to meet the families of prospective pupils. Freda was able to find a child to sponsor. Her name is Judith, and on the day she came to the school to be fitted for her uniform (the biggest day in her life), Freda was able to meet her and arrange to sponsor her.

The photo here is of Freda and her new sponsored child Judith on Uniform Day.

Coming to an End

As the final days of teacher training take place, I am seeing much growth in the faculty over the week. We introduced a standards-based unit and lesson planning format today. Having used this type of planning process with thousands of teachers in America, I can truthfully say, I have never worked with a group that is so willing to try something new. Additionally, while some struggled, most were able to complete a unit plan and some individual daily lesson plans during the day today.

Some plans were just beginning to show the touch of best practices and strategies, while others were well on their way to producing highly effective and engaging learning for pupils.

Tomorrow, we will finish the work with assessment and reflection, and then hit the road for America. It seems like we have been here no time at all, and also forever, as we have made many real friends among the staff, and receive kindness everywhere we go.

This is a photo of teachers engaged in conversation during planning time.

Teacher Training Mid Week

As we have moved into the middle of the week of teacher training, we are focusing on working with specific techniques to better understand the new pupil objectives, and working with the teachers to develop objectives for the quality of their teaching.

The group is working well together and is very focused throughout each day. They respond well to all of the techniques, and spent the afternoon constructing their teaching objectives. It is very clear at this point that they have an intellectual understanding of what they should be doing. Getting organized is the problem, and we will spend the last two days of the week focused on that piece of work.

Above is a photo of teachers using a tableau (frozen picture) strategy to demonstrate quality teaching and learning in their classroom. The two teachers standing represent creatures of nature coming to the waterhole to drink, while the man crouching represents another creature that is blocking their access to the water. In the end, they find a way to drink.

Teacher Training - Day I

Yesterday, we began the teacher training week, with a day focused on understanding how pupils learn and how teachers teach. The group was very responsive, with new and returning teachers working together to create their own understanding of what good teaching and learning look like.

One interesting observation struck me during the day - much like teachers in America, the faculty has somewhat of an intellectual understanding of what they should say when asked about effective teaching practices. Like teachers everywhere, it is when you ask them to do it, or HOW to do it that the conversation can come to a halt. Even after just the first day, we realize that these teachers need the same thing needed by teachers everywhere. They need to see good models, get direct feedback on their own teaching, and be held accountable for working to make progress in their practice.

If that support is in place, all things seem possible. Above is a picture of teachers using a Circle Sharing technique to discuss a professional article read during the first day.

A View of Kili

After three weeks in Tanzania, and being about 40 miles from Kilimanjaro, I finally got to see the mountain. At our weekend lodge, I had my own cabin with a spectacular and direct view of Kiklimanjaro. And, as you can see, the snows are still hanging in there, despite the global warming!

Preparing for Teacher Training

We spent the weekend at a beautiful lodge close to St. Jude's, called Karama Lodge (it means 'to be honored' in Kiswahili). Worked very hard all weekend, and battling a small case of what might be dysentery, but there was never a more lovely spot to be sick or to prepare for professional development.

Tomorrow morning, we will begin 30+ hours of professional development with a staff of about 55. We will spend the early part of the week focusing on what current research suggests about best practices and developing teacher quality objectives with the group. Toward the middle of the week, we will introduce their new course objectives, syllabi, and curriculum maps, as well as a planning process.

On Thursday and Friday, we will be working with them to help plan their first units of the new year, and providing a mini-session on effective classroom assessments, as that is a major need school-wide, and they have expressed an interest in that work in particular.

On Monday evening, we will have a dinner out with the full leadership team (16!) to get their feedback on the first day of teacher training, and then at the end of the week, on the night before we leave, we will have dinner again with the Director and Assistant Director to present our report of the work accomplished and our recommendations for ongoing work in the school.

Then on Friday, we finish at 3:30 and are on a plane to Amsterdam at 9:30! So, all a whirlwind and time is slipping away fast!

Tarangire

The last stop on safari was Tarangire National Park, which is home to a relatively permanent population of herd animals, specifically elephants. While we were able to approach close to the elephants we saw in other areas, that is not the case at Tarangire. Because the park is adjacent to an area where the elephants have been seriously hunted, elephants at Tarangire are very skittish of humans (a good idea), and have been known to be dangerous at times.

So we went expecting to see large herds of elephant only from a distance. To our great surprise, we managed to stumble onto several small groups with very young babies, some as young as two to three weeks old. With the early rains, we were also able to witness some waterhole behaviours that I felt very lucky to experience, as you can see here.

Lake Manyara

On safari, we spent two days in and around Lake Manyara, a beautiful spot with a completely different landscape than the serengeti or the crater. Full of tributaries that feed a saltwater lake, it has both swampy and rainforest type areas. The animals are plentiful, and the days at Manyara were all beautiful and sunny.

With the early coming of the short rains and the clay nature of the soil around the lake, the waters leading into the lake run virtually red with clay slip. The large mammals are everywhere, but it is the smaller animals and birds in the area that are the most interesting to spot and identify.

The Final Leadership Day Has Flown By

Today was spent working with the St. Jude leadership team, and focused on new learning in several areas. We began the day with a discussion of the coming week of training we will be providing to teachers - providing a brief overview and the text that will be used to support the work.

After that conversation, we broke into small groups to provide instruction about the three basic styles of leadership and a self-assessment tool designed to help teachers reflect on the quality of their communication skills.

The big portion of the day was spent setting up the virtual environment through which we will continue to support the leadership team after we leave for America. We registered all school leaders, learned how to engage in threaded discussions, post and retrieve files, and participate in real-time chats about specific leadership topics. While each person's computer skills varied, all teachers were persistent and incredibly patient in learning the process, and all were successful in the end.

At the end of our session (the last formal leadership session), Mr. Ben made a formal statement of thanks to us for the work and the time, and expressed the group's feelings that the week had been a great success and that they had each learned more than they expected they could about leadership and team work. In reflecting on the day, I also received several individual emails from the teachers stating how much they had enjoyed the week, and the hope that we will continue to support them in their leadership roles. All I can say is that it would be a real pleasure to continue to work with a group of people who are so open to new ideas and anxious for new learning.

Setting Expectations for Leadership

Today we spent the day working with the teacher leadership group to further explore the concept of shared leadership and democratic leadership styles. The teachers worked together to finalize their own set of expectations about how they should act as leaders in the coming year.

In addition, each teacher selected a specific objective on which to focus their own ongoing learning during the year. Some objectives that were selected for professional learning focus included Planning and Implementation of Lessons, Building Community with Department Staff, Understanding and Teaching Others Effective Instructional Practices, and Learning to Listen and Respond to the Needs of Other Teachers.

The group also identified the topics on which they wish to focus our work together in the coming days - Understanding Different Leadership Styles and Developing Effective Communication Techniques. So, tomorrow we will focus on both of these topics, using self-assessment rubrics and informational articles for discussion and practice. Additionally, we have created a virtual network office for the team and will get everyone registered and trained on how to use the network tomorrow. At that point, we will be able to continue to communicate with the team, provide them with tools and techniques, and offer ongoing threaded discussions about different leadership topics - whether we are here in Tanzania or back home in the states. By all accounts, the work is going very well, and we are very impressed with the dedication and commitment to learning demonstrated by the entire team. Great day!

Awards Day

Today was the end of the year Awards Day at St. Jude's. The ceremony began at 10:00 with performances from children, singing, dancing, and plays. Additionally, there were over 250 awards given out, for everyone from children who performed well to parents who have done a special job of supporting the children's school work. At 2:00, the ceremony ended and we proceeded to feed about 2000 people at outdoor stations set up all around the school grounds.

It was the largest day in the history of the school, and all were very pleased with the entire day. The pupils stayed in form for the entire ceremony, parents were well pleased, and St. Jude kept the rain at bay all day long. The largest problem of the day was how to bus the 2000 into the school in the morning and then get them all back home at the end of the day. Watching Gemma organize and oversee the entire thing was like watching a miracle in action.

The Wahazabe

Spent a day on the back roads going to visit a bushmen tribe. They live outside with little to no shelter in a very traditional structure. They are currently at risk for losing the land they use to hunt Vervet and gather roots and plants for eating. They live completely off the land and the government is selling off the area for development. Some people associated with the school are trying to help protect their rights, as well as make arrangements for some of the children to attend the boarding school that is currently being planned for St. Judes.

On our visit, we took blankets and some food staples for the women and children. The young boy to the right is about the age where he may be able to come to the school when the boarding section is open.

Sleepy Lion

Came across this sleepy female lion just getting up to start the evening hunt with her two sisters. Nothing ferocious, just a large yawn.

In the Crater

I spent a day in Ngorongoro Crater, the largest inactive volcanic crater in the world. It is home to many varied animal species, and is quite a vehicle climb, both in and out. The landscape is lush green and damp, very unexpected just south of Serengeti. The bird species that live in the crater are varied, and include a wide number of birds of prey. To the left is a photo of a Kite at rest after trying to steal my lunch.

One of the great sights people hope for in the crater are the small number of severely endangered Black Rhino that live year round in the crater. They are in fact so endangered that each Rhino has two full-time armed guards inside the crater watching out for them. While many I have met count themselves lucky to have seen one rhino in a crater day from a distance, we were able to see five distinct rhinos, one from quite close, as you can see below.

Cheetahs

Went looking for cheetahs on the second day in Serengeti, they are not always easy to find. Our driver got stuck in the mud trying to navigate a large kopti (rock formation) where cheetahs like to hide when it is wet. He spent three hours digging us out, while I watched through the binoculars to ensure nothing scary was about.

The good news is that, within 10 minutes of getting free, we saw five cheetahs. In an effort to get close to them quickly, I sacrificed several ribs to the rigors of the road, and almost flew out of the top of the jeep. But, in the end all was worth the effort. We saw a mother and two cubs on the savannah, and then two juvenile brothers walking down the road, where we were able to take photos of them for about fifteen minutes undisturbed. The best shots (of many) are here.

They are usually solitary animals, but we managed to catch two situations where you will actually see cheetahs together - either when they are raising young, as is the case above, or when they are at the 'teenager' stage and siblings are still together and fending for themselves without their mother, as is the case to the right and below.

Serengeti

Two days on Serengeti is like being on the moon, but a moon like none you could imagine. It is the beginning of the rainy season, so there is this amazing mix of dry savannah and fairly raging rivers. On our first day we were lucky enough to spot a wide variety of lion (as you have seen in a previous post) and additionally a variety of baby animals that have all apparently come quite early due to the early and heavy short rains. The shot below is of a mother and baby Vervet, the most common monkey in Tanzania. Couldn't resist this one.

Just the daily process of safari is a learning experience all its own. We get up every morning very early and have a quick bite, then it is into the jeep for a full day of game driving, with a driver who knows much about the birds, mammals, and plant environment. The day ends about five pm with a drive back to the lodge or camp, and then dinner and early bed. To get up the next day and do it again, seeing a new physical environment as you travel across the northern part of the country each day.

One of the other most fascinating finds at Serengeti were the hyenas. While they are not my favorite animal, I did find them most interesting during the trip. They tend to stay close to the road, and to run in packs, so you can smell them a mile away, and come upon them all over the place. Unattractive, but fascinating to watch. A photo of hyenas on Serengeti below.

Working with the Leadership Team

Today, we spent the day working with the teacher leadership team at the school. The team consists of the two Head Masters and 14 teachers who have been identified for leadership positions and Head of Department positions. We worked today on conversations about defining and understanding leadership as a process and a community commitment, as opposed to a title or a job that an individual takes on.

Addressing leadership as a concept of community and commitment made very good sense to the group today, as they spend each day at the school working in very commited ways in very difficult situations.

As the day began today, we had a very quiet group, waiting, I suppose to see just what we were going to tell them or tell them to do. We spent the early morning asking them to reflect and talk to one another about what they think and believe about the concept of leadership, and by mid morning the room was buzzing with discussions and ideas, and the group had created its own formal objectives for teacher leadership in the school.

From there forward, the day continued to be productive, with small groups reading leadership text and peer teaching, departments working together to use our new planning process to plan for their first department meetings of the new year, and the introduction of a fairly complex professional growth plan process.

As you can tell, the day went well, and at the close of day, we heard many very positive comments and expressions of interest, engagement, and friendship that felt new and very genuine. So, good day!

Mambo and Kwaheri from Safari

Mambo!

I have been on safari for eight days, so out of touch the entire time. Unless you have had the safari experience, it is very difficult to describe just how unique it is. The landscape is ever changing, moving from very dry and flat Serengeti, to the lush and wet area of Ngorongoro Crater, to the tropical scenery of Lake Manyara, and then the swampy savanah of Tarangire.

In the jeep all day every day, with the sun beating down, you get accustomed to the rough roads and backways, the persistent vehicle repairs, the lack of water, and the general rhythm of each day. The animals are everywhere, and if you have a good guide (which I did), you will learn more about them and how they survive and thrive than you could imagine. In addition, the friendly hospitality of Tanzania is immense, and downtime at the lodges and camps is as interesting and enjoyable as the game drives.

I will be creating postings about each of the different areas I visited, along with some of my best photos (from the 3000+ taken this week), but for now, the dirt is still in my hair and my bags are not yet unpacked, so I will just begin with my first day on Serengeti. I took the shot of the lion above from the jeep on the first day, no telephoto required. He is a relatively young lion - his mane has yet to darken - but clearly shows the scars of many battles, one very recent. He was sitting under a bush with two females, one of which is shown below.

Kwaheri!