Here are some excepts from my last assignment (write an autobiography from the year 2019, telling what you will have done between 2009-2019) that I found powerful/interesting:
“To help is my favorite verb but help without love is nothing. I love my country. I am not saying, "I am ready to build Haiti, and you?" I am saying, "I am building Haiti, could you help me?" I will collaborate to rebuild Haiti. I will give for free the instruction that I received for free…” (Billy)
“While working, I made many plans to help the children of Haiti. To realize my plans, I started to ask for help because one of my plans was to create an orphanage. Every day, I found new people who wanted to help me accomplish this project. Finally, in 2016, I created the orphanage. This project was very successful, I found many children in the street and helped them. They consider me as a mother. Today, I am still looking at the progress of my orphanage. Today, I can see the children receiving an education like mine. I did what I had to do; I participated in the improvement of my country by helping children. I didn’t stop here, I continued to plan what I should do next. Every day I want to do something else…” (Vanessa)
“Haiti lives in one of the most awful moments of its story. It’s not time for eloquent speeches, but time for lots of feats to save this country. This country needs trustworthy people who drive out violence and injustice, people who sacrifice themselves for the common good. Therefore, I am one of the volunteers. Time is no longer for the troublemakers, it’s for truthful people. Hence I will talk to others about it and make one with them to get solutions for those problems. It is arduous work, of course, but by the grace and help of God, we will overcome…” (Anold)
“I remember that it was a sad day, the day that I was leaving classic school forever. Especially, at Louverture Cleary; it’s a special place. There, it’s a world, a funny and instructive world. To eat, to sleep, to live and to work with people of different nationalities, different talents, is not a simple thing. I can never forget those days.
I had to leave anyway. However, I am still at LCS. I have a history there and great memories are not so quickly forgotten. My spirit is still connected to all the graduates and the Louverturians, whether I knew them or not, because we still stand as a family. We are bound together by our will to change Haiti, the education that we received we are to give freely as a gift. I said earlier, it was a sad day for me when I left LCS…” (Manasse)
Needless to say, I was pretty impressed by the responses. More so, when I remembered that these essays were written in English, the third language of my students (after Kreyol and French).
I am being honest when I say that these kids are special, that this place is special. Sometimes it's hard to have hope, to find hope, in places where problems seem endless and overwhelming. But there is hope here at this school.
Peace.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
School!
So, I finally became a teacher this past week. But first an important announcement:
On Wednesday, September 16th, I spent money for the first time in over a month. Pretty incredible when you think about it. One of the Haitian staff members makes his own Peanut Butter (he's trying to start a small business) and many of the volunteers (myself included) put in requests for our own jars. 100 gourdes, 20 Haitian dollars, about $2.50 USD per jar. And, it was a good choice. Absolutely delicious. A bit sweet with a shadow of spice. Just a hint though. Perfect. Now, if only we can get him to make crunchy peanut butter...
Here are some lessons learned this past week:
-Flag raising just might be my favorite time of the entire school day. Immediately following first period (7-7:40), the entire school assembles on the basketball court for morning announcements, a daily gospel reading, the raising of flags (Haitian, USA, and LCS), and the singing of the Haitian national anthem and the school's alma mater. It is the songs that make this ritual special. The songs are beautiful and the kids are pretty impressive singers. On my to-do list is to take a video of the kids singing before the year is up. Because, trust me, it's worth it.
-Fresh coconut is delicious. In the USA I don't like coconut very much. But when you watch someone shimmy up a coconut tree and use a machete to cut off the top - it tastes pretty good. The "water" inside is sweet and tasty, the actually coconut is pretty good as well. A nice treat for a Sunday afternoon.
-In addition, it quickly became apparent last week that teaching can be pretty intense and often a bit nerve racking. One of the challenging/fun things about my schedule are my triple class days - this means one of my courses meets three times during a single day. Day one included one of these with what ended up being by far my most unruly section. Ah, good times. I certainly wanted to collapse by the end of the day.
-However, learning as I go, I quickly scrapped my initial lesson plans for the week and began to build anew. I figured that since these kids are smart, work would be a good way to keep them busy and quiet. My idea seemed to work pretty well as the rest of the week was much much better.
-At the end of week 1, I have to admit that really like teaching. Odd as it sounds, I really like the sound of my voice lecturing in a classroom. Is this narcissism? A power trip? Perhaps. But it's the truth. The principal observed one of my classes for a few lessons last week and had this advice for me: he told me I should talk louder. Yes, the students could hear me all right but with a voice like mine he felt I should make the students feel my presence. I should note, that the principal has a pretty deep voice himself and I suspect this is how he lectures. Still, it was fun to elicit advice from a smart man who I imagine is a pretty good teacher.
-In terms of content, this past week my older students read Patrick Henry's famous speech:"Give me Liberty or Give me Death." I'm giving them an assignment this week to write their own persuasive speech from the perspective of Touissant Louverture -the initial leader of the Haitian revolution. I'm pretty excited to see what they write. My younger kids began reading and discussing a short story by Roald Dahl, "Poison." Also, all my classes had to turn in an essay this past Friday, "An autobiography from the year 2019." I wanted them to specifically focus on what happened during the years 2009-2019 and how these events connected with the two themes of LCS: What you receive as a gift you must give as a gift; and I'm ready to rebuild Haiti, are you?
Good stuff. I'm actually grading the essays right now and will have some excerpted answers for all my faithful readers next week. But, just glancing through the responses has made me pause. The range in the English skills of my students is a bit scary. Some understood the main points of the Patrick Henry speech and even began linking its themes to larger issues elsewhere in the world. Others, I think, did not understand the speech when they read it and I fear that they can't even understand my lectures or explanations of the text. This is part of the reason why I'm trying to reevaluate and re-plan my lessons.
They are smart kids, they really are. But it is still very clear that English is their second language. My best students still have subject-verb agreement problems on their papers. Their ideas are wonderful and are communicated pretty clearly. But the mechanical mistakes I think will always be an issue. Still, I'm pretty excited about the upcoming week.
Life is busy. But good. And I'm looking forward to the beginning of clubs this week (Chess? Juggling? Hopefully an advanced English reading/discussion?).
That's about it. Take care.
Peace
On Wednesday, September 16th, I spent money for the first time in over a month. Pretty incredible when you think about it. One of the Haitian staff members makes his own Peanut Butter (he's trying to start a small business) and many of the volunteers (myself included) put in requests for our own jars. 100 gourdes, 20 Haitian dollars, about $2.50 USD per jar. And, it was a good choice. Absolutely delicious. A bit sweet with a shadow of spice. Just a hint though. Perfect. Now, if only we can get him to make crunchy peanut butter...
Here are some lessons learned this past week:
-Flag raising just might be my favorite time of the entire school day. Immediately following first period (7-7:40), the entire school assembles on the basketball court for morning announcements, a daily gospel reading, the raising of flags (Haitian, USA, and LCS), and the singing of the Haitian national anthem and the school's alma mater. It is the songs that make this ritual special. The songs are beautiful and the kids are pretty impressive singers. On my to-do list is to take a video of the kids singing before the year is up. Because, trust me, it's worth it.
-Fresh coconut is delicious. In the USA I don't like coconut very much. But when you watch someone shimmy up a coconut tree and use a machete to cut off the top - it tastes pretty good. The "water" inside is sweet and tasty, the actually coconut is pretty good as well. A nice treat for a Sunday afternoon.
-In addition, it quickly became apparent last week that teaching can be pretty intense and often a bit nerve racking. One of the challenging/fun things about my schedule are my triple class days - this means one of my courses meets three times during a single day. Day one included one of these with what ended up being by far my most unruly section. Ah, good times. I certainly wanted to collapse by the end of the day.
-However, learning as I go, I quickly scrapped my initial lesson plans for the week and began to build anew. I figured that since these kids are smart, work would be a good way to keep them busy and quiet. My idea seemed to work pretty well as the rest of the week was much much better.
-At the end of week 1, I have to admit that really like teaching. Odd as it sounds, I really like the sound of my voice lecturing in a classroom. Is this narcissism? A power trip? Perhaps. But it's the truth. The principal observed one of my classes for a few lessons last week and had this advice for me: he told me I should talk louder. Yes, the students could hear me all right but with a voice like mine he felt I should make the students feel my presence. I should note, that the principal has a pretty deep voice himself and I suspect this is how he lectures. Still, it was fun to elicit advice from a smart man who I imagine is a pretty good teacher.
-In terms of content, this past week my older students read Patrick Henry's famous speech:"Give me Liberty or Give me Death." I'm giving them an assignment this week to write their own persuasive speech from the perspective of Touissant Louverture -the initial leader of the Haitian revolution. I'm pretty excited to see what they write. My younger kids began reading and discussing a short story by Roald Dahl, "Poison." Also, all my classes had to turn in an essay this past Friday, "An autobiography from the year 2019." I wanted them to specifically focus on what happened during the years 2009-2019 and how these events connected with the two themes of LCS: What you receive as a gift you must give as a gift; and I'm ready to rebuild Haiti, are you?
Good stuff. I'm actually grading the essays right now and will have some excerpted answers for all my faithful readers next week. But, just glancing through the responses has made me pause. The range in the English skills of my students is a bit scary. Some understood the main points of the Patrick Henry speech and even began linking its themes to larger issues elsewhere in the world. Others, I think, did not understand the speech when they read it and I fear that they can't even understand my lectures or explanations of the text. This is part of the reason why I'm trying to reevaluate and re-plan my lessons.
They are smart kids, they really are. But it is still very clear that English is their second language. My best students still have subject-verb agreement problems on their papers. Their ideas are wonderful and are communicated pretty clearly. But the mechanical mistakes I think will always be an issue. Still, I'm pretty excited about the upcoming week.
Life is busy. But good. And I'm looking forward to the beginning of clubs this week (Chess? Juggling? Hopefully an advanced English reading/discussion?).
That's about it. Take care.
Peace
Saturday, September 12, 2009
And...
School! Tuesday September 15 is the first day of class and I can unequivocally say that I am very excited. I got my course schedule this past week as well as an up-to-date school calendar. Exciting stuff. A bit nervous about my "triple class days" (three of my courses have a single day where we meet for three class periods). Eh, it will work out. Always makes me smile to see some of my classroom locations as "Terrain 1" and "Terrain 2". Ah, good times.
So, I assume that everyone knows that environmental degradation is a major problem in developing countries across the world. Well, it is a major problem here in Haiti. Deforestation is a major problem as only 1% of the original tree cover remains. Similarly, lack of a sewer system and no government coordinated trash program exacerbates the situation. To remedy this situation, LCS has its own incinerator where all trash that can be burned is burned. This past week I had the joy of learning how to operate this fun device (remember, I've known about it at least since the kickball game). Anyways, it is a relatively simple process that involves sifting ash, shoveling in trash, throwing gasoline, and lighting a match. Also, do my best to breath through my nose (or not breath at all to avoid fumes). Metal and glass are thrown into large 6-6-6 pits. We cover them with dirt when they get full and then dig another pit. One of my fellow volunteers and some of the Haitian staff had the joy of digging one of these pits this past week. Funny enough, he's a short guy, so you couldn't even see him when he was in the pit!
Also, remember, don't pick up grass cuttings with your hands. As I learned, they are covered in Fume!
And the other day I was surprised to see a cow tethered to the corner of the soccer field. Silly me, this surprised me. Anyways, apparently they buy cows every two weeks during the school year for the students to eat. It's so practical it's practically blowing my mind.
This week was a slow reading week. I finished Romeo and Juliet and continued the Idiot. Not much else really. Lesson planning took up more time than I expected, so it goes.
Oh, a male student this week asked "Fitzgerald?" when I told him my name was "Mr. Kennedy." Also, a female student addressed me as "Mr. President" the other day. No, I did not start this trend. But I feel like its going to spread without my help.
Also, I got called a good "catcher" by some of the neighborhood kids. I usually play goalie when they come over to play soccer and I guess I impressed them (or they really don't like playing goalie, which is possible).
In other news, Argentina and Brazil are the two most popular football national teams. An informal poll from the other night (cheering sounds when a goal is scored) say Brazil is a bit more popular.
Finally, I've started doing some work for a project associated with LCS: the Economic Growth Initiative (EGI). Here is its website: http://www.mtdn.com/egi
Peace.
So, I assume that everyone knows that environmental degradation is a major problem in developing countries across the world. Well, it is a major problem here in Haiti. Deforestation is a major problem as only 1% of the original tree cover remains. Similarly, lack of a sewer system and no government coordinated trash program exacerbates the situation. To remedy this situation, LCS has its own incinerator where all trash that can be burned is burned. This past week I had the joy of learning how to operate this fun device (remember, I've known about it at least since the kickball game). Anyways, it is a relatively simple process that involves sifting ash, shoveling in trash, throwing gasoline, and lighting a match. Also, do my best to breath through my nose (or not breath at all to avoid fumes). Metal and glass are thrown into large 6-6-6 pits. We cover them with dirt when they get full and then dig another pit. One of my fellow volunteers and some of the Haitian staff had the joy of digging one of these pits this past week. Funny enough, he's a short guy, so you couldn't even see him when he was in the pit!
Also, remember, don't pick up grass cuttings with your hands. As I learned, they are covered in Fume!
And the other day I was surprised to see a cow tethered to the corner of the soccer field. Silly me, this surprised me. Anyways, apparently they buy cows every two weeks during the school year for the students to eat. It's so practical it's practically blowing my mind.
This week was a slow reading week. I finished Romeo and Juliet and continued the Idiot. Not much else really. Lesson planning took up more time than I expected, so it goes.
Oh, a male student this week asked "Fitzgerald?" when I told him my name was "Mr. Kennedy." Also, a female student addressed me as "Mr. President" the other day. No, I did not start this trend. But I feel like its going to spread without my help.
Also, I got called a good "catcher" by some of the neighborhood kids. I usually play goalie when they come over to play soccer and I guess I impressed them (or they really don't like playing goalie, which is possible).
In other news, Argentina and Brazil are the two most popular football national teams. An informal poll from the other night (cheering sounds when a goal is scored) say Brazil is a bit more popular.
Finally, I've started doing some work for a project associated with LCS: the Economic Growth Initiative (EGI). Here is its website: http://www.mtdn.com/egi
Peace.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Mountains and Ice Cream
One of these is entirely expected of Haiti. The other is not. Can you guess which one I've been blessed to experience this past weekend? Yes, you probably guessed correctly: I did both.
First, I had delicious ice cream at the Scalabrini seminary following mass. They certainly know how to make good food. They made this peanut dessert dish to go with the ice cream: simply amazing.
Second, on Sunday we traveled 2.5 hours away from LCS to visit a board member's house in the mountains. An intense drive, with the last hour including surreal maneuvering through a very poor dirt road. Only when we got to the dirt road did the sights and sounds of Haiti begin to mimick the landscape of my home area in Uganda. In fact, I think this road was even worse that the roads near my house in Ugandan, which is saying something.
The view of the mountains was breathtaking: lights and shadows covered the landscape as clouds and fog blew by. We were at an elevation of 6400 feet, which means two things: No mosquitoes and it was cold!! And by cold, I probably mean 70 degrees. But when you haven't felt a temperature less than 80 for a month, 70 degrees feels pretty cold.
The food was delicious, the company was excellent, and the journey was eventful. All in all, a great day and a fantastic weekend.
In other news, this past week work consisted of painting, painting a bit more, and when I got tired of painting I did some touch-up work on previous paint jobs. I painted chalkboards (who knew this was how you get them to look impressively black/green?), buildings, classroom walls, and the kitchen storeroom. It's amazing what I'm learning here in Haiti.
I've also been continuing to work on my lesson plans. I finished reading Cry, The Beloved Country, Animal Farm, and To Kill a Mockingbird this week. I'm about halfway through Romeo and Juliet, still working on "The Idiot" (this is for fun, btw). I figured it just might be a good idea to actually read books before I teach them...
So, I've decided that I'm going to do a little section on U.S. race relations and the civil rights movement in my English class. I'm going to try to connect the works and speeches of Martin Luther King to the words and achievements of Obama today. I'm pretty excited just thinking about playing excerpts from the "I have a Dream" speech one week and then playing parts of Obama's "A More Perfect Union" the next. Fun stuff.
Finally, I have a confession to make: I have personally spent no money throughout the past month. As in Zero USD, zero Haitian dollars, Zero Gourdes. How, you might ask? Simple. I've choose to wash my laundry by hand (so far so good), all meals at LCS are communal and paid for by the organization, and I've somehow resisted the temptation to buy Nutella, Ghirardelli chocolate, and Baguettes. I guess the real question is: how long until I break?
Have I mentioned that Haitians like physical humor? My juggling has been a pretty big hit as people really enjoyed my brief demonstrations after dinner. Perhaps I will bring the clubs after Christmas after all...
Oh, before I go I have one more thing to add. I just wanted to mention to all my faithful blog readers (Dad, Mom, Ginger) that the beginning of the school year is just around the corner and that the yearly budget is still being constructed. Anyways, donations are an essential part of the budget and integral for maintaining the daily functions of the school, the volunteer program, and keeping the school tuition-free for the students. Donating is pretty simple (point and click) and all donations are tax deductible. You can even donate online! http://www.haitianproject.org/donate.htm
Ok, I've done my little speal. But seriously, the kids here are really special and this school is changing Haiti one kid at a time. And it's help from people like you that makes it possible for both myself and the kids to be here.
Thanks again for your help and support.
Peace
First, I had delicious ice cream at the Scalabrini seminary following mass. They certainly know how to make good food. They made this peanut dessert dish to go with the ice cream: simply amazing.
Second, on Sunday we traveled 2.5 hours away from LCS to visit a board member's house in the mountains. An intense drive, with the last hour including surreal maneuvering through a very poor dirt road. Only when we got to the dirt road did the sights and sounds of Haiti begin to mimick the landscape of my home area in Uganda. In fact, I think this road was even worse that the roads near my house in Ugandan, which is saying something.
The view of the mountains was breathtaking: lights and shadows covered the landscape as clouds and fog blew by. We were at an elevation of 6400 feet, which means two things: No mosquitoes and it was cold!! And by cold, I probably mean 70 degrees. But when you haven't felt a temperature less than 80 for a month, 70 degrees feels pretty cold.
The food was delicious, the company was excellent, and the journey was eventful. All in all, a great day and a fantastic weekend.
In other news, this past week work consisted of painting, painting a bit more, and when I got tired of painting I did some touch-up work on previous paint jobs. I painted chalkboards (who knew this was how you get them to look impressively black/green?), buildings, classroom walls, and the kitchen storeroom. It's amazing what I'm learning here in Haiti.
I've also been continuing to work on my lesson plans. I finished reading Cry, The Beloved Country, Animal Farm, and To Kill a Mockingbird this week. I'm about halfway through Romeo and Juliet, still working on "The Idiot" (this is for fun, btw). I figured it just might be a good idea to actually read books before I teach them...
So, I've decided that I'm going to do a little section on U.S. race relations and the civil rights movement in my English class. I'm going to try to connect the works and speeches of Martin Luther King to the words and achievements of Obama today. I'm pretty excited just thinking about playing excerpts from the "I have a Dream" speech one week and then playing parts of Obama's "A More Perfect Union" the next. Fun stuff.
Finally, I have a confession to make: I have personally spent no money throughout the past month. As in Zero USD, zero Haitian dollars, Zero Gourdes. How, you might ask? Simple. I've choose to wash my laundry by hand (so far so good), all meals at LCS are communal and paid for by the organization, and I've somehow resisted the temptation to buy Nutella, Ghirardelli chocolate, and Baguettes. I guess the real question is: how long until I break?
Have I mentioned that Haitians like physical humor? My juggling has been a pretty big hit as people really enjoyed my brief demonstrations after dinner. Perhaps I will bring the clubs after Christmas after all...
Oh, before I go I have one more thing to add. I just wanted to mention to all my faithful blog readers (Dad, Mom, Ginger) that the beginning of the school year is just around the corner and that the yearly budget is still being constructed. Anyways, donations are an essential part of the budget and integral for maintaining the daily functions of the school, the volunteer program, and keeping the school tuition-free for the students. Donating is pretty simple (point and click) and all donations are tax deductible. You can even donate online! http://www.haitianproject.org/donate.htm
Ok, I've done my little speal. But seriously, the kids here are really special and this school is changing Haiti one kid at a time. And it's help from people like you that makes it possible for both myself and the kids to be here.
Thanks again for your help and support.
Peace
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