Vacation had been a blast, but it was time to get back to what we were here for - teaching and learning. The official academic calendar at the University of Rwanda, College of Education had students and faculty out of the starting gate on February 6, 2017. There was a slight hitch, however. We didn't have definitive courses (which are referred to as modules here in Rwanda) to teach nor did we have a timetable.
The good news was we had set up a meeting with the Chair of the Humanities and Language Education Department to discuss our spring term duties and responsibilities. One important reason for the delay was that first semester final exams were still being graded and that no student grades had been posted on the notice boards around campus (the means for informing students of their progress...or lack thereof!)
Intro to Literature in English - College of Education, University of Rwanda (CE UR)
After being directed to the English literature program coordinator, we left the Chair's office and moseyed on over to Anthony Kamanzi's office. Anthony had been our mentor and resource during the first semester providing us with module descriptions, University of Rwanda rules and regulations documents, templates for the exams, and more. Most importantly, he gave us insights into the university culture and the lives of the students who attend the UR. Initially, Anthony offered us the LIT 102 Survey of African Literature course which really excited us as this would be an opportunity to explore the writings of both classic and contemporary African writers with FIVE students. Yes, a class of five students majoring in literature!
PROBLEM 1. This dream come true only lasted a day, though. It was decided that the LIT 103 Introduction to Literature in English course would be the more appropriate one to give to the Fulbrighter (and his co-teacher). This class consisted of three groups of first-year students, or combinations as they are referred to here at the university: KEE (Kinyarwanda and English Education majors), FEE (French and English Education majors), and EDE (English and Drama Education majors) - a total of 48 students. This number was manageable.
Week 1. We had decided that we would use the module description and work on a rough syllabus during the first week of class (when students are still waiting for the grades and timetables to be posted) and go to our class the following week to see if anyone would show up.
Week 2. We went to the GF (Ground Floor) Room 6 classroom on Wednesday for the 12:00 - 12:50 p.m. class, sat, waited and no students came.
PROBLEM 2. We had incorrectly read the schedule and were supposed to have class that day in 3F (3rd Floor) Room 7. The next day we went to GF6 for the 3 p.m. class. Still no students showed up. After waiting 15 minutes, we decided to go to 3F7 and lo and behold, there were four students patiently waiting for their lecturer to arrive. This time they were in the wrong room but all is well that ends well, right? We had a great two-hour conversation with these students and sorted out who would serve as the Class Representative and inform the others that we were ready to begin. We set up a WhatsApp group and we...were...ready...to...roll!
Week 3. We were back in GF6, the room in which we had previously arranged with our class rep to meet. Thirty or so students streamed into the class. We gave a big shout out to Peter for getting the word out to the three combinations of students.
PROBLEM 3. However, soon after the start of this our first class, our colleague Anthony entered the classroom with about 30 of his own students hovering outside who appeared to be students in search of a classroom. Some slipped in and took seats. When Anthony read out the combinations that were supposed to be with us (KEE, FEE, and EDE), Peter and his gang of ELEs (English Literature Education majors) realized that they were in the wrong room. The students who had been with Anthony and had entered our classroom now left it leaving us with our original 30.
So, with a delay on the delay of a delay of holding our first lesson, we finally began teaching our second semester Introduction to Literature in English course/module.
Week 4. Fingers crossed, knocking on wood, we hope we will be in the right place at the right time with the right people as we continue to move forward into this semester.
Who is on first anyway?
Debating Class - CE UR
We are waiting for a general meeting of all 800+ Year One students to be announced so that university administration can inform the selected 50 students in the upper intermediate English proficiency level that they will take part in a weekly non-credit but mandatory debate class with us. Fun. Fun? Fun!
Observations on Semester Two 2017 at UR-College of Education:
We are still not in the communication loop at the CE UR. We do not have faculty IDs and, therefore, cannot receive email communications. We are emailed directly by our department chair and program coordinator infrequently and usually on the day that action on our part is required.
We have learned the various combinations (majors) and have somewhat of an insight into the lockstep sequence of courses that they are required to take.
Course modules, in some cases, may have different titles and reference numbers, but content is the same. This is the case because of the different combinations. It is, therefore, important to find out the modules that different combinations are required to take.
We have come to the understanding that although outlining a module schedule is a worthwhile task, planning individual lessons weeks ahead of teaching them may be a waste of time and effort as events both predictable and unplanned may result in cancelled lessons, changes in teaching assignments, etc.
The academic calendar outlines a 15-week semester. This, we have come to realize, will not occur as the semester began late (they always do!) and there will be weeks??? of student/faculty/staff absence during April, a month of reconciliation across the nation as the population remembers and reflects on the 1994 genocide. We have planned our module curriculum, that is, our schedule of course content for 10 weeks, a more achievable goal.
Again, a lesson repeated and learned: Keeping a low profile, not pushing an agenda, and avoiding conflicts are keys to a professionally successful and personally stress-free ten-month stay here in Rwanda.
Intermediate ESOL Course - African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS)
We have started the weekly English language class for at least 22 AIMS graduate students who are eager to improve their English language skills. In June of 2017, they will submit a master's thesis - a research essay - and orally defend it. After a six-hour intensive school day of heavy-duty mathematical science lectures, these students come to our 4:30 - 6 p.m. interactive learner-centered class and actively participate in the listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities.
In order to analyze the needs of our target audience, we observed a class given by a professor from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich on the topic of statistical regression. These lecturers come from all over the world and do three-week intensive courses with the AIMS students. We also collected written samples of text-based (vs. purely mathematical) assignments which these grad students complete.
We also sat in and took notes on two students' 15-minute oral presentations at the end of their module in another class which was facilitated by a mathematics professor from the University of Illinois.
Observations on the class and our visits:
Some students seem to struggle with both English language skills and concepts in mathematics. Both seem to be systemic program problems resulting from a lack of standardized English language AND mathematics assessment tools.
The European/Rwandan model of teaching seems to be focused on lecturing in a model primarily teacher-centered with little student interaction. This does not seem to be the case all of the time as the one university lecturer from the States seemed to use student activities. Our classes are student-centered and interactive and this is a factor we focus on when designing..and teaching...our lessons.
Some visiting professors have problems hearing what some students say in class and understanding their pronunciation and articulation of ideas. We similarly have experienced this and work with all of our students to speak clearly and loudly. This is, in part, a cultural as well as a linguistic issue for Rwandan students and one that we constantly try to address.
Upper-Intermediate, TOEFL Prep, Workshop - Information Resource Center, U. S. Embassy (IRC)
We recently met with the Education Advisor and the Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy to follow up on an eight-week Upper-Intermediate English Language Skills, TOEFL Preparation, and College Application Essay Workshop we had discussed before the 2016 end-of-year holidays.
The workshop outcomes and description of content have been completed. It is our hope that, if accepted, these materials can be shared with workshop facilitators for future workshops. These workshops were originally scheduled to begin in early February, but approvals have not been received at the Embassy yet. We are hoping for an early March start.
Conversations - Information Resource Center (IRC), U. S. Embassy
Every second and fourth Tuesday of the month, the Information Resource Center offers "Conversations with America." We have signed up to do the following one-hour conversations.
March 28 - Gender in the U.S.
May 9 - Culture of Volunteering
May 23 - Sports
We have also once again accompanied former students of ours to the IRC so that they sign can up for free library cards. While there this past week, we all sat in on an English Club which meets on Wednesdays from 3:30-5. Our students participated in the discussions and, hopefully, will become members and continue to attend as this will surely help improve their speaking and listening skills.
Emmanuel, Martin, Mark, Sheila and Ildephonse (former students) visiting us in our semester two classroom
Don Bosco Catholic Church Service Experience
Every Saturday and Sunday morning, depending on the religious denomination, we hear music and singing emanating from our neighborhood churches. These gospel and church hymns can only be described as joyful and lively. We had the opportunity to attend a Kinyarwanda Catholic service after talking to Claire, the person who comes in every day to make up the bed and clean our apartment. Claire sings in a choir at Don Bosco Catholic Church right up the road from us. She invited us to the 10 a.m. service to experience a choir performance. While Mark was putting in a hard workout at Waka Waka gym, Sheila dressed in her Sunday best and followed the better dressed crowd up the hill.
It felt a little bizarre at first being the only musungu (white person) in the packed church. In general, people tried not to stare, especially while Sheila was shooting videos.
Observations on the morning in church:
The service started at 10 a.m. on the dot.
No hymn books were in sight; the choir and the congregation knew the songs by heart and all participated actively.
The children, in general, were very well behaved throughout the two-hour service. Some mothers were nursing their babies, and other children were quietly taking their younger brothers or sisters outside.
The choir, in white robes, was seated at the front of the church. They kept singing even after the priest, the altar boys, and the congregation had exited the church at the end of the mass.
The first and last songs that were performed by the choir had a tambourine accompaniment, clapping and waving hands, bodies moving from side to side, and women ululating. The mood was celebratory.
Traditional coiled-woven baskets called agaseke were used for the collection baskets. Rather than passing the baskets, the sisters and laymen of the church stood in the aisles and people walked up and put their coins in the basket.
Many of the people around Sheila extended their hands for the greeting of peace after communion.
The video which follows is six minutes long and includes images and video clips descriptive of each of the subtitled entries above. The soundtrack is from the Catholic mass service at the Don Bosco church on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017. Enjoy!
Local Flora
Flowers, in all varieties, colors, shapes, and scents, are everywhere here in Rwanda. In the slideshow below, we capture some of the ones that have caught our attention. Enjoy!
Suggested Read
Road Trip Rwanda by Will Ferguson is a fascinating read about the author's travels 20 years after the genocide with his friend and cohort Jean-Claude Munyezamu, a Rwandan-Canadian who escaped the genocide just months before the killings began. This lively tale of two friends traveling all over Rwanda is not only funny and engaging but touching and heartbreaking.
Here is an excerpt from a review in Wednesday Book Review: "Jean-Claude and Will venture into the public sites and the private homes of the new Rwanda, a country that has a growing list of optimistic statistics indicating recovery and new growth. They share unspeakably sad moments, of course, but they share humorous moments involving fire ants, Primus beer, gorillas in the wild and a journey to the source of the Nile. (Ferguson is a descendant of David Livingstone, apparently. No, really.)"
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