Pledging to become better teachers

I was all ‘pumped-up’ before this ‘important’ teacher training session which I had prepared during the last few days... Yes, I had ‘important matters to discuss, some very ‘crucial’ decisions would be made together! “See you Saturday at 9:00 AM?!” – “Yes, we’ll be there.” At 8:45, I am there, the first one to arrive, as expected. There is just a lone cow and a young boy running after it on the school grounds. 9:00AM, the cow and the little boy are gone. Now, I am REALLY alone. 9:15, no one on the horizon. I swear inside my head... ‘what if no one comes! I have such important truths to reveal, and no one to hear me! I’ll quit, fly home and go and eat a pizza!!!’ 9:20, three young female teachers slowly, nonchalantly walking up the hills. ‘No worries, mate... she’ll be right’. I greet them as politely as I can, thinking to myself: ‘what if they are the only one to show up? What will I do with the important stuff I wanted to tell them? It would be such a waste on just three people! I want to reach out to the whole Rugerero teaching body! VERY important. The three ladies are so calm, unstressed, soft, Rwandan. I calm down, I breathe...Then, gradually, a couple more teachers arrive. Big smiles. ‘Good morning, how are you? Mwaramutse, amakulu? Apologies for latenesss? ‘Lateness, what do you mean? We are here. 9:45 we start the 9:00 meeting. About 15 teachers have arrived, the headmistress is here too. I can now deliver my very, very important message which will change the Rugerero teaching ethos for ever. History is about to be made!
First item on my agenda: the importance of being on time at school for the children... I spill the bean: (a) ‘good teachers, all over the world, go to school whenever they have to. They just don’t decide: no, I am staying home today, don’t feel like being in my classroom. (b) Good teachers, all over the world, start their classes on time and finish their classes on time. That’s how a good school functions! No ‘yeah, but’, no ‘ifs and buts’. Not negotiable! WE owe it to the children, right? Lots of nods around the room ‘yes, you are right’ I tell them emphatically: ‘Muzungu (white man) time has to apply in this school, for the good of Rwanda, right?’ Nod, nod. I have their full attention now, I am on a roll. Let’s get going, let’s make up for lost time...
Three parts in my long anticipated presentation: (I) How Abana and myself want to help you, (II) my observations over the last two weeks and (III) some suggestions, resolutions and needed changes – NOW.
(I) The priority of Abana is to help you, the teachers, to improve your working conditions to help you teach more efiicently so the children will benefit. ‘Abana’ is the Rwanda word for ‘children’, right? (nod,nod). We want to educate these children, don’t we? Nod, nod! Beauty, mate!
(II) My observations... ‘I have seen examples of professionalism and good teaching. I go and shake the hands of three teachers who have impressed me: Jean Claude, Catherine and John Nepo. I applaud them. I tell them that if all the teachers were like them, the success rate at the national entrance examination to secondary schools would be between 90% and 100%, that there would be no need for external help at this school. Good teachers is what makes a good school, doesn’t it? Nod, nod. I continue, in the same breath: along side this, I have seen things that have truly shocked me... only ONE teacher in the classroom working with the children in period 1, when I came to school early. Not acceptable, right? Head shaking, ‘No’. Too much absenteeism. You know the meaning of the work ‘professionalism’... I write the word on the board, I deconstruct it to explain how this applies to them. I move on: ‘Your classrooms look sad, dirty... Open the shutters, let some light and oxygen in, please. Oxygen, important for the children’s brains? Right? Nods around the room. So you must ‘work’ on these classrooms – bring colours, bring some of your wonderful African material and hang it on the walls, put some pictures, display some of your pupil’s work, some of your teaching posters! Peripheral learning, very important, right? Some necks are hurting from so much nodding; they still nod, though. Point 2.3: good teachers prepare their classes? Correct? They overcome the pain in their cervical vertebrae and, yes, the all nod. I only see a few of you showing evidence of preparing their classes, of having a teaching objective as you enter the classroom.
(III) Now, I want to make a few suggestions, to bring a few positive changes to the teaching culture of this school... I would like us to write a contract between you and Abana – you don’t have to sign it if you don’t want to – but if you sign it and fulfil it, you will receive a generous bonus at the end of the year. Here is a note book for each one of you, it is for your workshop notes. Let’s practice your English, now. Let’s write a dictation! Ready? – Ready!
1. I will come to school every day
2. I will start and finish each class on time
3. Someone will be in charge of ringing the bell at the beginning and at the end of each period
4. I will prepare my classes and think about what I want the pupils to learn
5. I will make sure that my classroom always looks neat, tidy, clean, full of light and happy
This is the first step, guys...
The role of the headmistress will be to monitor all this. It is her duty to check whether teachers are at school working, right? You would certainly deserve some financial reward if you did all this? Let’s do it, OK? One final nod before a group photo... End of my very important message.
Motivational speakers, evangelistical preachers of the Deep South, you have serious competition, right? NO nod...