The Joys of Teaching: What Success Looks Like

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."
-Chinese Proverb

Its hard to believe that what I have called home for the past couple months is quickly coming to a close. In Kenya, this means that classes are coming to a close for another term so teachers like myself are reviewing as much material as possible to prepare students for exams. Students are getting excited to have an entire month off of school! I am coming to grips that a short time with these students is coming to a close quicker then I ever thought it would and I hope that I have made an impact on a personal level with these students. I also hope that I have genuinely taught them something they didn't know before whether it is related to English or just life in general.

This past Thursday was my final lesson in Lifeskills at a school because they are revising for their exams this Thursday so I reviewed all of the lessons they've been taught this term in life skills. When asking the students what they've learned, the students hands jolted up in a frenzy and the answers started to pour out: puberty: the physical and emotional changes, self awareness and self concept, friendship, relationships and goal setting just to name a few. I was very impressed by the students answers and their vigor. 

Sometimes its hard to navigate the classroom and know when students are actually interested in what they are learning but seeing and hearing the students responses overwhelmed me and made me feel secure that even for so briefly the students have been enabled to make the right life decisions because of Education for Life.

The Education for Life worker who was with me told the students that it would be my last week with them and I had to deliver a good bye message. I spoke from the heart and told all of the students that I believed in them because I do. No matter what obstacles and challenges the students must face each day, I told them to never underestimate the power of one person to make a personal change or to have greater influence. Lastly I told them to look at the role models around them especially the Education for Life workers who come to their classes each week and are the working class professionals who lead the community in which they live.

The Education for Life worker asked me to describe the level of education I have calling me a learned man. Although I don't like using the word learned myself, I can understand the impact and meaning the word has for yougn children who are striving to be educated. I explained that I completed primary school and graduated Class 8 and finished Form 1, 2, 3 and 4 (Gr. 9-12). I told them that my last day of classes will be July 31st to receive my first degree. After this, the Education for Life worker told the students that I would be getting a second degree this year. The students were awestruck. The truth is in our society- having two degrees is not really a surprise. In face all Ontario teachers have at least two degrees but for these kids it was something tangible to look up too.

It made me think about what success looks life. Is success for me personally finishing two or possibly three degrees, being hired on as a full time teacher and raising a good family? Is success for the students I teach just not succumbing to the everyday pressures of having living and growing up in a slum? Maybe its naive to say but I saw success in these students eyes. I saw what I had taught them had sunk in and I saw them applying it to their own lives. You must take education in steps. Reaching milestones with children is incredibly important and celebrating that success is important no matter how little it might seem.

I hope I have done this with my students. I hope I have broken down goal setting in tiny steps. First its about the students doing their homework in class and listening to the teacher then its about revising their homework to hopefully improve 15-25 marks on a 500 point scale during their exams so that they themselves can continue on with their education.

My brief amount of time here has indicated that the measures of success are different for students that don't necessarily have the same opportunities as other students around the world. I think the statement that should be made is a statement of support. Students need to be supported differently depending on the circumstances they find themselves in but the goal should be the same: an equal education that gives students as much of an equal change for success. These statements in many ways are contradictory but if we collectively keep saying these people are different and should be treated differently we are not celebrating and embracing the profound call of humanity.

Going back to the immediate classroom setting I found myself in, I don't pretend to know where the students are going to end up. Teachers often do not get to see the results of their teaching and often times this can be a teachers greatest disappointment. On Thursday, in that time and space and beyond Thursday if the students truly embrace self awareness and confidence; the students will be empowered to at least make the right decisions regarding sexuality, drugs, violence, relationships and money. Hopefully these decisions will result in healthy sustainable lives free from life threatening circumstances. This success does not equal totality but it is a good beginning. This week I saw success in students' eyes and it will be a driving force in my teaching pedagogy going forward.