EDUCATION FOR A JUST, SACRED, AND SUSTAINABLE WORLD
By Allister Stanton, ED2
I asked my class if there were any questions and a dozen hands took to the air like a flock of birds. One student raised his arm so high, straining and practically lifting out of his seat, obvious that he really wanted to be called on. Taking one more glance around the room, I gave in and pointed at him. "Teacher, can a vampire make a horcrux?" He asked straight-faced, to which I just stared at him- a likely reaction that particular question would get from most teachers. Slowly, a grin formed across my face (I am not most teachers. "That is a good question," I told the class. "No, it's a great question. That is perhaps the best question we have had all year. Would anyone like to guess the answer?" I asked as the questioner beamed with pride.
A few minutes passed before a girl timidly answered, "They cannot, because one must have a soul to make a horcrux..." She stumbled over the bizarre new vocabulary word, "and vampires are dead, so they no longer have souls." She looked around the classroom for confirmation. "Yes, that is excellent!" I exclaimed triumphantly. This unanticipated tangent had engendered the most impressive display of creativity and logic of the entire year. My students were finally getting it.
In what feels like a past life, I studied and worked at the New College of California- a San Francisco based, non-traditional college providing "education for a just, sacred, and sustainable world." This lofty goal really spoke to me, but it was the implementation that won me over. Classes such as "Making the World with Words: Literature and Peace" and "Immigration and Diaspora: The Family as History" opened up my eyes to what education is capable of at its best; when students really care about their lessons. I was transformed from a passive, uninterested, D- average student into an energetic, curious,
strident academic. When New College was tragically shut down by the Department of Education, I made it my life's goal to carry on New College's mission- and to one day hopefully bring it back. Teaching English communication skills here in
Rwanda provides me an effective outlet for this passion, and I am pleased to present lessons to my students that are interesting, engaging, and most of all, meaningful.
By now, many education volunteers may be starting to simmer with indignant rage, mentally drafting the nasty letters they would like to send me in order to convey sentiments such as, "How dare you waste your students' time learning about these things," "Don't you realize that you are teaching at a Rwandan school, and not at Hogwarts?" and "How can you say that vampires and horcruxes are meaningful subjects?" Please allow me to explain.
Teaching English communication skills is an adventure. The Rwandan Ministry of Education has not yet written the curriculum, and so my headmaster gave me the freedom to teach anything I would like- as long as my students would be practicing speaking and writing English. Making the most of that offer, I made it my plan to use the course to encourage and teach logic, creativity, and critical thinking. I have done my best to keep things interesting, and while some may feel I have taken this liberty too far, let me note that communication skills is not meant to just be another English class: it is meant to be an opportunity to build up English communication skills, and to that end, my class is wholly compliant.
A few minutes passed before a girl timidly answered, "They cannot, because one must have a soul to make a horcrux..." She stumbled over the bizarre new vocabulary word, "and vampires are dead, so they no longer have souls." She looked around the classroom for confirmation. "Yes, that is excellent!" I exclaimed triumphantly. This unanticipated tangent had engendered the most impressive display of creativity and logic of the entire year. My students were finally getting it.
In what feels like a past life, I studied and worked at the New College of California- a San Francisco based, non-traditional college providing "education for a just, sacred, and sustainable world." This lofty goal really spoke to me, but it was the implementation that won me over. Classes such as "Making the World with Words: Literature and Peace" and "Immigration and Diaspora: The Family as History" opened up my eyes to what education is capable of at its best; when students really care about their lessons. I was transformed from a passive, uninterested, D- average student into an energetic, curious,
strident academic. When New College was tragically shut down by the Department of Education, I made it my life's goal to carry on New College's mission- and to one day hopefully bring it back. Teaching English communication skills here in
Rwanda provides me an effective outlet for this passion, and I am pleased to present lessons to my students that are interesting, engaging, and most of all, meaningful.
By now, many education volunteers may be starting to simmer with indignant rage, mentally drafting the nasty letters they would like to send me in order to convey sentiments such as, "How dare you waste your students' time learning about these things," "Don't you realize that you are teaching at a Rwandan school, and not at Hogwarts?" and "How can you say that vampires and horcruxes are meaningful subjects?" Please allow me to explain.
Teaching English communication skills is an adventure. The Rwandan Ministry of Education has not yet written the curriculum, and so my headmaster gave me the freedom to teach anything I would like- as long as my students would be practicing speaking and writing English. Making the most of that offer, I made it my plan to use the course to encourage and teach logic, creativity, and critical thinking. I have done my best to keep things interesting, and while some may feel I have taken this liberty too far, let me note that communication skills is not meant to just be another English class: it is meant to be an opportunity to build up English communication skills, and to that end, my class is wholly compliant.
Are vampires the most necessary subject to teach about? No.- But, since they drink blood, I was able to incorporate some HIV/AIDS prevention information when students asked if vampires could contract the disease. Did my students need to learn about horcruxes? No. But, students in Rwanda often appear to be sharing a hive mind; the production of original content is rare compared to the recitation of a memorized, prepared statement. When my students wrote a composition about what personal object they would select to transform into a horcrux, they actually
wrote individual responses. When students asked where they could find additional information about these topics, I suggested they visit the school library where we have a Harry Potter book, and one from the Twilight series. I found a way to get my stu-dents to read! |
Some of my lessons are major successes, and others are learning experiences.. During last year, my students improved in their communication skills as they received classes on a variety of eclectic topics. We learned about deforestation and environmental degradation, but my "Lorax" lesson fell short as each class successively decided that the ideal conflict "resolution" would be to kill the Lorax, thus ending the environmentalist's crusade and removing the impediment to development. One lesson involved a heated debate about whether colonization had been a positive or negative event in Rwanda's history; another included an eye-opening question and answer session on love, which I proceeded to mess up by following it with a Valentine's Day card-making activity. My students seemed to need a full year to begin grasping how to think for themselves, and they are still learning. Now that I have gotten a sense for how best to engage my students, I am prepared for this year.
My students are fascinated by America, so I designed a role-playing game that is comprehensive enough to be used as a lesson, and simple enough that I am confident my students will be able to play it. I call this game "American Trail," and it allows my students to simulate taking an American cross-country road trip, operating some-what similarly to the beloved computer game classic, Oregon Trail. In the game students form travel groups, select from different methods of transportation, and choose their own adventure along the pre-established travel route. They endure challenges such as flat tires, car sickness, and maybe even dysentery. Each class begins with a brief description of the destination the students have reached, a question and answer session, a mini-game (blackjack when they arrive in Las Vegas), a chance to "purchase"
provisions or souvenirs, and a topical activity or exercise. For homework, students are required to keep "travel journals" documenting their adventures.
I could simply give my students a composition or a debate topic each week with which to practice their communication skills, but doing so, I feel, would be a disservice to my students. Part of communicating is the ability to express one's own ideas, yet many secondary students have a limited capacity for this. Regurgitation of rote memorization is the standard practice in Rwanda, and while memorization is a useful skill, it has become an impediment to creative expression. Critical thinking may be the most important skill I can impart. If students are trained as expert listeners yet never question what they are told, they may operate using wrong information, or fail to make well-founded decisions.
If my students learn to question, evaluate, and research for themselves, they can better take respon-sibility for their lives and actions, in turn making them into better citizens. My method of teaching may be nontraditional; but it seems to be getting through to my students. While I have this freedom, I intend to put it to use. Hopefully the lessons I impart on my students will be remembered after I am gone, and they will carry on my dream of education for a just, sacred, and sustainable world.
My students are fascinated by America, so I designed a role-playing game that is comprehensive enough to be used as a lesson, and simple enough that I am confident my students will be able to play it. I call this game "American Trail," and it allows my students to simulate taking an American cross-country road trip, operating some-what similarly to the beloved computer game classic, Oregon Trail. In the game students form travel groups, select from different methods of transportation, and choose their own adventure along the pre-established travel route. They endure challenges such as flat tires, car sickness, and maybe even dysentery. Each class begins with a brief description of the destination the students have reached, a question and answer session, a mini-game (blackjack when they arrive in Las Vegas), a chance to "purchase"
provisions or souvenirs, and a topical activity or exercise. For homework, students are required to keep "travel journals" documenting their adventures.
I could simply give my students a composition or a debate topic each week with which to practice their communication skills, but doing so, I feel, would be a disservice to my students. Part of communicating is the ability to express one's own ideas, yet many secondary students have a limited capacity for this. Regurgitation of rote memorization is the standard practice in Rwanda, and while memorization is a useful skill, it has become an impediment to creative expression. Critical thinking may be the most important skill I can impart. If students are trained as expert listeners yet never question what they are told, they may operate using wrong information, or fail to make well-founded decisions.
If my students learn to question, evaluate, and research for themselves, they can better take respon-sibility for their lives and actions, in turn making them into better citizens. My method of teaching may be nontraditional; but it seems to be getting through to my students. While I have this freedom, I intend to put it to use. Hopefully the lessons I impart on my students will be remembered after I am gone, and they will carry on my dream of education for a just, sacred, and sustainable world.