I have a Good Dream

“Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people”
-Eleanor Roosevelt

The African Culture Research Education Foundation (ACREF) is quickly turning into the favourite part of my placement. I've always known I wanted to teach and I have enjoyed the mentoring roles I have been a part of but now that I am actually in the classroom; planning lessons, marking and giving feedback- it feels like I know that teaching is the right path for me. Teaching English fascinates me. Although I am teaching English as a Second Language to these Swahili and mother tongue speaking students, this is not English as a Second Language. It is just like a regular English class where students learn grammar skills, writing skills, oral communication skills and practice reading comprehension.

Words are the foundation of ideas. We communicate the greatest ideas in written form. All philosophers profess but long after they are gone, their words remain. This helps make English class have the best class discussions. English class opens up students perspectives on life, culture and society. When I think back to my high school days, I had so many good teachers but there was always something about English that helped me open up a world of knowledge and a world of critical debate. This past week at ACREF, I feel as though I was able to crack open just a little piece of that knowledge with my students and help them form their opinions and perspectives on current ethical issues.

It was strange being the moderator of a discussion because for the last nineteen years, teachers have mentored me and helped me open up my eyes to the world and now I had to do this for my students. My role as the teacher is not to tell the students what to think but to guide their own thought processes so that they might arrive at their own conclusions. I think this is what makes secondary school education so fascinating. Students are old enough to start putting their world view together and teachers can act as a major influence on how students will perceive their own lives as well as the world around them. University, I would argue functions as a refining of that skill set. But it is in secondary school that students start to form their own ideas and seeing that formation is highly rewarding.

The students at ACREF are so intelligent. I appreciate even having the opportunity to teach them and be an influence in their quest for knowledge. Retrospectively, its interesting to see students figure out and comprehend the challenges and the real problems in this world. The one discussion we had was on the internal problems within Kenya. The global recession has had an impact on the whole world but I keep on hearing how difficult it is here in Kenya. The students understand that corruption is part of the way of life in Kenya. You can bribe police officers, government officials. Even academics in order to get research permits can bribe government officials in order to further their research. The students believe that in order for Kenya to prosper then corruption needs to be put under control. The students get it and my only hope is that they can be the voice of change. Lessons of course still need to be learned. For example, the students believe that the western world has no corruption. Although, you wouldn't easily be able to bribe police officers in Canada, it does not mean our country is without corruption. Whether its large scale, the sponsorship scandal or the Bev Oda Affair or smaller scale where you cheat the system and bend the rules, corruption happens. Having to break the news to these students was unfortunate but necessary.

One female student in particular, in form one was so brazen when discussing some of the challenges she faces. She talked about the members of parliament who receive 800 000 KSh a month and are tax exempt and compared how wasteful that money is compared to public school teachers who are lucky to bring in 10 000 KSh a month. She is starting to frame her ideas of taxes and economics and its so promising to see. I talked with her about the minimum wage. She is a big proponent of a minimum wage law being introduced. She asked about Canada and I was honest about Ontario's minimum wage being approx. 1025 KSh/hour. She was shocked since low income workers here are lucky to make 10 KSh/hour. We had a discussion about the rights of workers and the need to protect worker's rights. She ended the conversation by grabbing my hand and saying right in my face; 'my name is _________ and in thirty years you will hear about me on the internet.'

Its not even the hope that attracts me to teaching and the hope that made these discussions so promising. Its the vigor in these students eyes and their thirst for knowledge and change. When Guttenberg created the printing press, people had to wait for months for a new book to be published. Today, in our society, a new webpage is developed every six seconds and what's worse is that we often overlook how fortunate we are to have knowledge at our fingertips.

The hot topic in Kenya is currently the nomination of the Chief Justice. Dr. Willy Mutungu is being nominated and confirmed by the parliament in Kenya. Dr. Mutungu wears an earring in his left ear which is a sign of homosexuality in the society. Dr. Mutungu has also been tied to various gay groups. Homosexuality in Kenya is illegal and people are threatened by Dr. Mutungu's status as a Chief Justice nominee. I asked the students what they thought about the issue and about gay rights. Its amazing to think that in Canada our main issue surrounding gay rights is fair adoption practices for gay couples and that for the last 6 years (July 20th, 2005) gay marriage in our country has been legal and there are still countries that have outlawed homosexuality. The students are divided regarding same sex couples and their ability to have rights but are secular when it comes to Dr. Mutungu's nomination and what it would mean for Kenya and its people.

At ACREF, I can feel the wheels of change take place and I can see real progression. The female student in form one said to me, 'I have a good dream.' I was inspired by this comment and hope that all students have good dreams. If each student in the world was nurtured to have good dreams for themselves, think about the goodwill, prosperity and change that could take place in our world. I believe in these students. I understand that it is difficult and I am not putting on the rose-coloured glasses but I believe that these students have more drive to change the world. This brings me to my final point. Al Gore proclaimed in the Kitchener Memorial Complex recently that 'If youth in Egypt are changing the world then youth right here in Canada can do the exact same thing.' I will extend this idea to the entire world. We should not dismiss our youth because they are our greatest asset. I hope to do my part in continuing to frame the student's experience and guide their own thoughts so that they can arrive at life altering ideas and concepts.

The students at ACREF are living out Eleanor Roosevelt's famous quote by discussing ideas and at the same time they are also living out Roosevelt's view on self awareness and self concept, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." I hope these students will never feel inferior because their ideas matter. Period.