Job Description

Finally, the school term has started, which means, technically, my job has started too.  Even though the going is still a little slow, I finally feel like I can start to see what my day to day life will begin to look like here.  People keep asking me "So... what do you actually do?"  And honestly, I'm still not quite sure yet, but I'm definitely trying to figure it out.  In the education sector of Peace Corps Uganda, I feel like my position as a CCT is the most fluid, with the least direction, but actually the most potential if you really find your niche.  Well, I'm out looking for my niche nowadays.  As of now, the plan is for me to at least once a week, remain at the center and develop our resource room as best I can.  The resource room should provide teachers with ideas for lessons and teaching materials and inspire them to be creative on their own.  In general, literacy has been identified over and over again as the number one issue children face here.  So many students just don't know how to read or write on their own.  Maybe they can copy what's on the blackboard or read out loud with the entire class, but when it comes to taking a test on their own, they simply can't read or understand the questions they're being asked.  In effort to help the students at my center school and hopefully be an example to other teachers, I've decided to take advantage of their "library hour" to do literacy activities with the older primary school children once a week.  Currently, we don't have a library, so I'm going to need to be innovative in exactly how these activities will be conducted, but I'll figure it out.  If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them!  From there, I'll spend the rest of the week visiting my center's schools, supervising teacher's lessons and providing them with constructive feedback.  I know that not all the teacher's will listen to me, but the hope is that if I could help a teacher improve their teaching, it would affect hundreds if not thousands of students.

While I haven't exactly started on all of this yet, I was finally officially introduced to my center's primary school.  The staff was very excited to meet me, to welcome me to the community and to work with me in the future.  Already, they've asked me lots of questions about America, and seem really eager to share their culture with me too.  Then, I was introduced to the children.  Because only the upper primary students are taught in English, the headteacher gave a lengthly introduction in Lunyole.  When he finally invited me to say my names to the students, he was prepared to translate for me.  Not a chance!  I introduced myself to the large group of 500 students in Lunyole myself!  I even used the conventional Ugandan questioning, which goes something like this: My name is what?  Madam Negesa.  All in Lunyole of course.  Even though the students couldn't stop giggling.  A foreigner speaking Lunyole?  Crazy.  But, I know they really appreciated it.  And the staff was amazed.  Now, I need to learn a few more phrases.  I've mastered "My name is..."