Never Just an Individual Person

Life in East Africa is pretty communal — family, clan, and village provide the focus of one's life. Not for Africans the high individualism of many Western countries. It seems that a consequence of the communalism is that there is much less a sense of maintaining personal privacy and confidentiality. People know a lot more about each other's business.

Here's an example: our form four students just completed their national exams. After their papers have been marked, all the results will be publicly posted on the website of the examinations council, with the scores of individual students shown for each subject they tested in as well as an overall average. Every candidate is listed by name for every school so you can find out exactly how a particular student did.

There is part of me that likes this kind of transparency, especially because these exams are so critically important and there is always the possibility of cheating. There's another part of me that cringes. Diane and I are only marginally a part of Tanzanian society, so there's not much about us that can be revealed. Nevertheless, living here I often have some feeling of my psychic space being infringed on. For an East African it's just normal life, the social milieu that provides structure, security, and meaning.

What is less normal is being a very visible outsider. On the streets this means constantly being stared at as an "mzungu", which translates as "European". I could take exception to that, except that in this context it is actually ethnically accurate. A few Tanzanians who are more aware will look at me and see Chinese or Korean. Either way, I am presumed to have a mountain of money, unable to speak Swahili, and from alien ways. There's some truth to all of that. As in any simplistic stereotype, though, there's also much falseness.

At school and at church where we are regularly present and not quite such a novelty, there is another facet of how we are perceived. I am always aware that as a teacher I represent the school. And as a missioner I represent LMH. What I say and what I do, any misbehavior and any virtuous acts, almost certainly reflect on these organizations, whether intended or not. In other words, I am never "just me". For a very ordinary, somewhat boring and pedantic geek, being always "on" is one of the demands of signing up for this gig.

I look forward to walking the streets of San Francisco anonymously, sitting in a coffeehouse with a cappuccino, with no one paying any particular attention to me. -Earl

A Few More Photos at Aquinas School

The main entrance by road into the school. Diane and I actually normally enter from the opposite side of the campus on foot. I love this picture of the sky, which is so typical of Mtwara. Imagine the temperature to be about 87 degrees Fahrenheit or somewhat higher, with high humidity. That will give you a sense of the climate.

Two form 2 students at the new classrooms which are to be used for the Advanced-Level courses, which have been postponed until next year.

The plaque on the wall in the background states,

Aquinas High School
was officially inaugurated by
His Eminence
Polykarp Cardinal Pengo
25 July 2011
Thanks to the donors, especially to
  Ein Herz Fuer Kinder, Germany

(Ein Herz Fuer Kinder = A Heart for Children)

Pumping water from an underground cistern just outside of the girls' dormitory. The roofs of many of the school buildings act as surfaces to collect rainwater which gutters channel into the cisterns. It's a really clever thing to do in an area where months can go by without any rain at all and where the municipal water supply is erratic and unreliable.

We should do this in the U.S. even though water is not yet in short supply — but I think H₂O will become a big source of conflict, maybe within my lifetime.

Diane and I love this photo of these two form 3 students who live in the dorm. The colorful cloths are separate pieces that are tied over the blue dresses. The hat is a cute extra that you don't often see. Very, very few Tanzanians wear hats. I wear mine all the time — it keeps my head much cooler than otherwise.

Late afternoon after classes are over. On the far right is a newly-built grotto for the Blessed Virgin Mary, who apparently was a very fair-complexioned European. I have the notion of committing some constructive vandalism in the form of painting her face and arms brown.

[ All photos were taken by Helga Higelke-Mahlke in August 2011. ]

- Earl

Photos at Aquinas School

Form 4 students at morning assembly, practicing an in-place dance number. This kind of traditional movement is done by all students, without exception. I can see in it the origins of some of the entertainment that we have in the U.S.

Correction: Diane tells me that the above form 4 students were not dancing at all, they were doing calisthentics as ordered by the deputy headmaster!

A class of form 1 students. This is entirely typical of what the classrooms look like, except that they are often not this neat! Plain wooden chairs, desks with tops that lift up, concrete floor, and a very large blackboard at the front that is heavily used in what is largely a "chalk and talk" educational approach.

Madam Librarian at her post in the new library. The photo at the upper right is of Julius Nyerere, who is called "Mwalimu" (Teacher) and is revered as the founding father of Tanzania. He was an honest man with good intentions. Much of what is positive about this country is credited to him.

Form 4 students doing group study. As I am writing this they are taking their national exams for the next two weeks. The results will determine what opportunities will be offered for further study. This is a highly centralized country — in the realm of education, the Ministry of Education and the National Examinations Council call the shots on everything.

A group of form 1 students. This being "winter" here in the southern hemisphere, they are wearing sweaters. But I'm sweating just looking at them wearing so much clothing.

It looks like some of these students are eating so it must be during the uji break. Uji is a thin porridge often made from corn flour. Our school cooks up big batches of uji that is offered to students every morning. However, not everyone likes it. So there are outside vendors who are allowed on campus to sell other stuff such as mandazi (like a plain doughnut) and fried cassava.

[ All photos were taken by Helga Higelke-Mahlke in August 2011. ]

- Earl

Diane in Motion

I was fiddling around with our camera and happened to take this blurry photo of Diane moving across the main room of our home. She is turned to her right, wearing a navy blue Tanzanian dress with a matching head wrap. You can see through her to the kitchen where there is a sink.

I like this picture, poorly shot as it is, because it is representative of Diane being on the move so much. She works a lot harder than I do at school and also brings a lot of work home. We are very similar in our work ethic; but I take time to do personal reading, study Swahili, and write this blog.

Life in our town of Mtwara and our neighborhood is slower-paced than in the U.S. Tanzanians in general are not nearly as driven as we are. However, I find that although my life here is not heavily scheduled and planned out it is still full of activity and things that I want to get done. Just like in the U.S.

As the saying goes, "wherever you go, there you are". -Earl

Sitting on Duct Tape

I broke the hinge on our toilet seat by standing on it, so we replaced the seat. That was in February. Less than a week later (!) the seat cracked all the way through on one side. I trimmed two plastic bottle tops and taped them to the underside of the seat to provide additional support. Apparently, the material of the seat is much too thin for the design. My fix held up for awhile. But then another crack developed on the broken side, then another at the very front. Finally, two more cracks happened at the back at the hinges. This left us with a toilet seat in five separate pieces held together with duct tape.

I've since gone out and bought another toilet seat. It's the same model as the old one (we have limited choices in this town, so no snide comments, please). Right away before any cracks developed I reinforced it with seven bottle tops along the underside. We will see how long this one lasts. -Earl

Working at a Secondary School — Orderliness, Planning, Precision

(Continued from 30 August)

When we started working at the school the class timetable was a mess. Subjects were not allocated their correct number of periods for each week, for instance. A form one student in one class might get six periods of math each week, whereas a form one student in the other class would only get two periods. Huh?

Granted, I've come to appreciate what an extremely complex problem it is to make a school timetable. Fortunately, I found a piece of computer software to help create schedules that are complete, correct, consistent and satisfy most of the preferences of individual teachers. Because of the software I can do this work in two days, a task that would occupy months if done entirely manually.

Still, the previous lack of a good timetable is so indicative of the disorderliness that is so common. The class timetable drives the day to day operation of the school. It is essential to get it right even if it is difficult and tedious to do so.

The lack of order appears in a number of ways: the chaotic and uncoordinated scheduling of events and activities; the lack of appointments and advance notice; the scarcity of thoughtful planning; inaccurate, haphazard record keeping; and more. I have to tell our students to use the same name everywhere (preferably with a proper family name) and to always spell it the same way.

There are basic ways of thinking, working, and managing things that I take for granted as second nature. They are not! Some mental habits I have let go of because I've come to see that they don't matter. For example, I've gotten comfortable with visitors who just show up with no notice. I've learned to improvise on the spot what to do to try to meet the purpose of their visit. Since we are given no time to prepare, nothing seems to be expected.

However, if you want an organization (or a society, or a country) that works well, runs efficiently and is productive in the material sense, then some things do matter. So maybe these are what foreigners like us should be not only modeling but explicitly teaching and mentoring: not only knowledge and skills in math, sciences, and computers, but also, the ability to think and work more precisely, to plan ahead, to better organize the use of people, and to pay attention to efficiency; and along with those, an appreciation for why they are important.

-Earl

Working at a Secondary School — Work Ethic; Student Discipline

(Continued from 25 August)

Coming from the U.S. and being of Chinese descent to boot, I have a pretty strong work ethic. Moreover, I regard teaching as a vocation in the sense of something of higher value that you feel called to do. So I expect a level of dedication from myself and my colleagues that is a cut above merely holding a job.

The picture at school is mixed. It's culturally murky and difficult for me to interpret. On the one hand, teachers are habitually late and casual about starting classes "on time". Occasionally they don't go at all. It's common for teachers to show up late for work and to leave early. Only a few of them take work home. On the other hand, there are occasions when a teacher will volunteer to provide extra instruction in their subject because there is material that still needs to be covered or because their students have not learned it well enough. Overall, though, I can't help having the impression that the work ethic is not up to my expectations. I'm not saying that there are not good reasons for that. But I still notice it, and it's bothersome.

A constant topic of discussion in the staff room is student discipline. But first the issue needs to be put in perspective for the people who are reading this. Our students are like those in high school in the U.S. in the 1950's. Violence is rare, close to non-existent. I am never concerned for the safety of my person. That said, truancy, coming to school late, talking during class, losing books and materials, not taking good care of them, not doing homework, etc. are exasperating to us teachers.

Historically and currently in most schools, corporal punishment has been used, sometimes severely in the form of caning. The manager of our school, who is originally from Germany but has been in Africa for a long time, and the headmistress, who is from The Philippines, have abolished these practices. Some of the Tanzanian teachers disagree, feeling that corporal punishment is necessary for African students and is appropriate and effective when used judiciously. They respect the authority of the administration but feel that their hands are tied as far as disciplining students. I sense a certain amount of perplexity and frustration.

I feel conflicted about this myself, but in a different way. Personally, I do not like to use or to witness physical punishment. But then I also do feel strongly that Tanzanians must figure out their own way through this issue (along with myriad others). There has been enough of non-Africans coming here to subjugate, exploit, and dictate to the indigenous peoples. I do not want to continue that pattern.

Student discipline is a dilemma which all the teachers are struggling to find a way through, including me.

A bit more later. -Earl