School



Some info about my school pulled from some of the reports I have to write.

St Augustine’s demonstration school in Butiti, Kyenjojo opened on Feb 1, 1905.  This was the same day that the ‘great teacher Pere Acte’, a missionary, died.  The St. Augustine was a teacher in North Africa.  The demonstration school is affiliated with St Augustine’s PTC and moved next door to the college on September 13, 1955.  This demonstration school was set up for four main reasons; the first two reasons ensuring the students at the PTC had a school to conduct demo lessons and carry out school practice at.  The other two reasons focused more on the families of the tutors.  St. Augustine’s provided a school for their children to learn and their wives to teach. The motto of the school is ‘Towards the Light’.  When St. Augustine’s moved to its current site in 1955 their total enrollment was 208 pupils; however, now the current enrollment is around 700 pupils.  The head teacher, who attended this school from p1-p7, has been trying to organize an alumni group from the school to generate funds in addition to other things, but says it has been difficult, thus it has yet to happen.  The main reason for this being that many pupils don’t make it out of the village.

The head teacher (principal) is Master Basiliza, and the deputy head teacher (vice principal) was Master George; unfortunately he was recently killed in a motorcycle accident.  There are 12 other teachers employed at this school.  All the teachers take on many other roles in addition to be a classroom teacher such as art teacher, teacher representative for PTA, and school practice liaison.

              The campus is on ‘Butiti Road’, next to the Primary Teachers College it’s associated with.  It has 5 buildings, one of which is dilapidated and deemed unsafe; therefore it is not being used, nor are pupils allowed to go in it.  There are 7 classrooms, one staff room that also acts as a library, one room is allocated to storage, and the head teacher has a small office. Students have their own latrines, as do the staff; however it was locked over the holiday and no one can find the key yet, so staff uses staff housing latrines which are right outside the campus. The school has a lot of agriculture, such as matooke, cassava, cabbage; but theft is a major issue as there is never any security at the school so they’ve never incurred profit or food from them despite them being created to generate more funds.  There are also two water sources, one relying on rain water.  Finally, there is no kitchen, and the students are fed sugarcane. #poor

Sugar cane lunch : /

St. Augustine's Buttiti Demonstration Primary School

One of the classroom blocks.

So now about me ; )

What’s your job at the school?

 At Buttiti Demo I am a ‘literacy specialist’ aka I develop the students reading and writing skills in English.  I work mostly with the P4 (4^th grade although the ages range from 9-14).  This is the first grade that instruction is in English, prior to P4 they use local language and English is a subject taught once a day.

So do you teach?

 Yes & no.  I teach ‘model’ lessons for the teachers to observe and learn from, I co-teach with the teachers, and I teach the teachers new methods, techniques, alternative punishment techniques, etc. through workshops, conferences, etc.

FOR EXAMPLE: The other day I held a ‘Encouraging Learners to Use English’ workshop in which I discussed what teachers can do in their classroom (i.e. a ‘word wall’) and what the school can do as a whole (i.e. “English Speaker of the Week” award).

Okay, how do you develop the pupils’ (primary students) English?

Great questions, which can really only be answered through examples.  I work with teachers to incorporate literacy into all of their lessons (science, math, ect). This includes develop vocabulary, reading, spelling, writing, in English.

I will also carry out one on one literacy instruction to 100 P4 pupils.  I just finished the pre-assessment so I will implement the actual instruction next term (ps. There are 127 pupil in my P4, and the room is about 25x40).

Co-teaching

Look at all the literacy in a math lesson!?

Is that all you do?

NOPE.  Despite the recent law banning corporal punishment I see/hear at least one pupil getting beat every day; it’s sickening. SO, I will work with the staff to develop alternatives to corporal punishment such as Positive Behavior Systems (positive reinforcement kinda stuff).

 Uganda is also one of the few countries who have seen an increase in HIV/AIDS cases so I will be promoting HIVAIDS awareness.  Many of these people in the village have never had Sex Ed, so myths about transmission, prevention, even treatment (there isn’t a cure) are passed down and unreal.  For example:  I also held a workshop about different ways to teach the pupils about HIV/AIDS transmission.  One myth that the teachers either believe or heard was: if an HIV+ person has sex with a virgin they’ll be cured . . . yikes.

 I also work to improve teaching techniques. To give you a quick example, the other day I brought up ‘brainstorming’ to the P2 teacher.  She had no idea what they was and when I explained what it was she was fascinated.  Ugandan education is VERY dated; the pupils just memorize what the teacher tells them.  There is actual very little teaching and learning. So teaching techniques such as brainstorming, ‘popcorn reading’ (when there are books available: /), and educational games are so new and interesting, not to mention much more effective.

 

Do you like it?

HECK YES!  My school (staff, pupils, and the few parents that care about their child’s education) and my community WANT me there. This is a huge reason why I’m loving life and will continue to. On my 1k walk to school I get stopped and thanked for my work all the time.  The staff is SO receptive and willing to try everything I throw their way.    Not to mention I love teaching!

But wait, do the pupils understand you?

  Another good question, again yes and no.  I learned the basics of the local language so I’m able to do a little instruction; a teacher is always with me when I’m instructing so they’ll translate.  HOWEVER, I am getting SO much better at the language from interacting with the pupils so in no time I won’t need a translator.

I don’t think I have any more questions but I think I might later… how do I ask?

Email me! I love emails from home, especially curious ones! rmceruti@gmail.com

 

Post HIV transmission workshop!

1 of the 100 assessments I did.

Thanks for reading : )

PS This past Friday after school I organized a futball match between my staff (The Nets) and the student teachers (The Mosquito Killers).  It's World Malaria Month and it's the #1 killer disease in Uganda so at the match I had Malaria awareness all around.  Let's just say it was DOPE!  That'll be my next post, look forward to that!