About IC

Thursday, June 17, 2010

I do not believe I gave the informational sessions I have had justice.

Jolly is truly a brilliant and expressive woman. She gave us a splendid overview of what IC is all about. I am sure I will see much more of her in the next few months.

Our language lesson was also a good overview. I felt that the lesson attempted to give too much information with too little practice in too little time. Amy and Catherine assured me later that it was only meant for pronunciation training and peaking interest for individual study.

The following is the Luo I have used / understand (Luo is the language of the Acholi people):

Afoyo - Hello, Goodbye, and Thank You

Munu (Luo) / Muzungu (Swahili) - white person

Icho mabey - Good morning
Acho mabey - Good morning (response)

Irii mabey - Good afternoon
Acho mabey - Good afternoon (response)

Kope - good

The discussion about Ugandan teaching was quite informative. The Ugandan school system is heavily influenced by the prior British colonialism and by missionary work from the past. There is not a separation of church and state. They are very formal, lecture extensively, and mostly prepare students for their exams that determine if they go further in their educational career. Teachers do little preparation in the sense of teaching aids and discussion.

The Ugandan teachers involved in the teacher exchange do so voluntarily. They are often open to learning new methods and strategies and sharing their own with the U.S. teachers. Yet, at this moment, it is important to note that the teacher exchange is not, I repeat, NOT about the US teachers being experts who tell the Ugandan teachers how it's done. This experience is rooted in the concepts from Paulo Freire's Pedagogy for Liberation. The program focuses on a paradigm of dialogical interaction and communication, where all individuals are learners and teachers with the capacity to be critical and willing to change and grow. These ideas came out in our discussion this morning centered upon Freire's text. I will talk about this at greater length, as it will weave into our days and discussions as these progress.

The final discussion yesterday illuminated the experience of going to school and teaching during the conflict. The conflict is a difficult topic to discuss in the Acholi culture. "Relative peace" has grown over the past few years, yet the emotional and psychological impact of the quarter century long conflict is apparent within the people.

There is no sure-fire solution to remove the fear and anguish from the survivors. IC has worked to develop (over the past two years) a curriculum called KOBS (Knowledge of Behavior and Self). It is meant to be used for two full years in the schools to build children's awareness of how they interact with their peers in an emotional manner. There is a great deal of emotional instability in the schools , and IC and Ugandan teachers are working toward a more positive social climate for education to occur within.

I will write later about the various programs occurring on the ground here in Gulu by IC. They are fascinating. The more I become involved with IC, the more I agree with and am impressed by their programs.

With a grin,

Karen