Monday June 25, 2007

When you walk in the classroom you immediately sense the difference. A unique air not so much caused by the spartan room conditions but by the individuals occupying the rustic desks. When you enter a classroom in Tanzania the students rise and salute you with a short song about how they will respect you and listen because you are their teacher. When I first walked into a classroom like this in Bagamoyo, Tanzania, I was most surprised by the silence that my entrance brought. These are children that thirst for the type of knowledge that quenches western pupils on a daily basis. Most have absolutely nothing, and the supplies they carry with them are a testament to this fact. You will regularly see students chewing pencils in the absence of a pencil sharpener, or using razor blades to achieve the same purpose. While students from America go to school as a right, and from their perspective, a burden, students in East Africa see their education as the key to upward mobility. Without speaking Kiswahili, I have been able to achieve some measure of success with the five and six year old pupils, not so much because of my aptitude as an educator, but rather due to their willingness to accept my lessons in whatever language they can get them. With such a conducive climate for learning, it is frustrating that every child does not have the opportunity to become invested with the tools they need for a better future. Each day is a new challenge, but when I see how my difficulties pale in comparison to theirs, I feel obligated to bestow upon them whatever measure of hope I can.