Reflections on our first teacher training

Last Wednesday, five months of planning came together and with some nervousness Sue, my co-trainer, and I began the first day.  We found that the teachers were eager and glad to be with us.  Their willingness to participate in the lessons contributed to a classroom culture that was dynamic and interactive.  The teachers came from several different schools and some had taken more than one bus to be with us each day.  Armed with handouts, chart paper, and chalk for the well used black board, Sue and I led lessons on teaching vocabulary, making nonfiction and fiction comprehensible and using graphic organizers to help sort and understand information.  The teachers themselves became writers, as we assigned writing topics and modeled how to create peer writing groups.  The time passed quickly and the days were truly fun.

During the second day, I was demonstrating on the board how to create a concept chart to help students understand a big idea.  From a fictional story, we had chosen the topic of migration.  The concept chart includes examples and non-examples, and one of the examples of migration given was wildebeest.   By accident, I wrote “wildebreast” much to the amusement of all of us.  There is nothing like shared laughter to create a sense of community.

At the end of the training, teachers remarked that they were amazed that Sue and I never “collided” with one another.  What they meant was how seamlessly we work together, taking turns presenting and adding remarks.  The compatibility between Sue and me is a bonus that has added much to this experience.  I didn’t know that coming to Kenya would result in finding a new friend from Oregon.

Sue and I had many opportunities to talk to teachers one on one about their schools and classrooms.  One woman has over fifty 1^st graders, but shared this without complaint and commented that it was difficult, but that the children were good.  Spoken like a true teacher.  In fact, that was the attitude of all the teachers—it is very difficult, but they care for their students and enjoy what they do.

Once again, Kenyans humble and inspire me.  Last year it was the ladies of the Mothers’ Union and their work with orphans that I admired so much, and now it is the teachers and their dedication.  I am grateful for this opportunity to be in Kenya.

Sending you my good thoughts and prayers,

Mary

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