I'm not entirely sure when I last wrote, but I feel that it has been a while.  My time at Gede Special School has been a black hole into another dimension.  Everyday goes so fast that I hardly know where my day ends and where it begins.  In the past few months I have been teaching grades 4-6 English, KSL, PE, Art and Science. My kids are amazing and I love of every moment of working with them and seeing them start to think outside of the box.  The problem with education in Kenya is that it lags behind by about 50 years.  Every child's future is based on two examinations KCPE which is the primary exam and the KCSE which is the high school exam.  If children don't pass the first exam they are eligible for secondary school and if they make it to secondary school they must pass with certain marks to be able to go to college (which is not affordable) or to get certain jobs.  The lowest marks make you eligible to become a teacher!!!  With such a heavy emphasis on passing exams you can only imagine what a classroom might look like and the quality of education that children are receiving.  Some days teachers just don't show up to and other days they just sleep at their desks if the are lucky enough to have one.  I have made it one of my goals to try and differentiate my instruction as much as possible and encourage creative thinking but it has been so ingrained for them to be single minded that thinking outside of the box is nearly impossible for them.  My hope is that by the end of the year they will be 1/10 better then they are now. 

School ended about a month ago and I have been busy with Peace Corps meetings in Nairobi and designing next terms lessons.  Ideally I would like to have a very regimented term that allowed me to do progress monitoring of each of my students so I might be able to make so suggestions to my head teacher about educational changes that would benefit the students.  One of the largest challenges I face is a lack of care and motivation from my counterparts and the educational system as a whole.  Many times I feel like I am just spinning my wheels and never going anywhere.  I'm hanging in there though.

One of my secondary projects is getting an art coop started that will eventually provide jobs for Deaf students who don't make it to secondary school.  We are looking at targeting the tourist community and making original crafts from recycled fabrics, wire and paper.  If you have any ideas let me know.  I'm also trying to get a small library going at my school to give my students some books to read. I'm looking for culturally diverse books that have simple language and lots of colorful pictures. 

I guess it would be nice if  I mentioned myself.... honestly, I feel so overwhelmed  with everything  I need to do that many times I just shut myself inside my house and read or watch a movie.  The beach has been a lifesaver for my sanity and I am happy to say I just finished my Open Water Certification for SCUBA.  Next season I will be going for my advanced!!!  It has been so amazing to escape to 18m below the ocean.   I will have pictures soon enough.  I'm also spending some reviewing a handbook written by a women who is doing a pilot study on Autism in Kenya and the cultural differences that need to be taken into account when diagnosing.  Her husband is one of the founding researchers and doctors at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KMRI).  We have spent some time discussing my options for after Peace Corps and I feel like I might be interested in helping her with her project.  There was one day that she took me to the hospital to look at a little girl she had just rescued.  Her name is Mpenzi and she is five years old.  Mpenzi had been tied to a tree for years and was left outside like an animal.  When Karren found her she barely alive.  Her parents had left her that way because she was "different" then their other children. Mpenzi was born with Cerebral Palsy and was never given medical attention.  After Karren found her she brought her to KMRI and started her special diet and 24 hour care.  Now that she has gained five kilos her mother doesn't seem to be as frightened of her.  Our goal right now is to get her to go my school so she can start receiving and education.

Wow I went off on a tangent there... ok I'm attaching some pictures of my students and myself miss you all!
XO

Gede Special School

 I know that it has been a while since I have updated everyone, but today I had some free time to take photos and give a brief update.  Today is Saturday and the kids are busy cleaning the grounds of the school.   My days are long and tiresome.  Every day presents new challenges whether it is with my signing or having to defend my sex to the male teachers.  So much is happening all at once and there really is no way to describe it other than to document it with pictures and maybe a few brief remarks.  I am going to give you some bullet points to outline the last month.

-  I teach classes 4, 5, and 6 subjects, KSL, English, Science, Creative Arts, and PE.
-  My children can not read or write above a 2nd grade level if that (some not at all, so it presents many challenges).
-  They have never been taught that they can use their brain to find an answer but rather copy it from a chalk board so critical thinking does not happen with out a lot of prompting guiding and scaffolding.
- 85% of the time the teachers are missing from their classes and the children are left unattended and learn nothing other than to copy from whats on the board.
-  Most of my children want to grow up and work on the beach or clean hotel rooms so we are learning about different options.
-  Tourist regularly visit my school they show up smoking and dressed like prostitutes, throw candy and pencils at the children, take a few photos for next year Christmas card, and then leave helping no one and sending a very bad message about all white people.
-  The best teachers at the school are the Deaf teachers.
-  The female teachers are second best and the male teachers should not be allowed to teach at all.
-  I am trying to teach my children the importance of work ethic and thinking for yourself.
-  My children are so happy and beautiful and I love them very much.
-We look at the moon together and I try to explain that the moon is not a star.
- I spend the majority of my time with the Deaf teachers ( get along well).
- I am starting a project with my children to use left over fabric scraps to make crafts to sell to the tourists so we can build a library.