Not Exactly What You Think Of When You Hear "Peace Corps"

Without delving too much into the history of Namibia, pre-independence there was apartheid and Rehoboth (the closest large town to me) was the unofficial capital of the Baster population. Schlip (I’m guessing because of its proximity to Rehoboth) just happened to be the location where the premier Baster junior secondary school was to be built. This is where my school came from. With that being said, this school is amazing. When I met my Principal for the first time he told me that his school was the most beautiful in all of Namibia I just thought he had a lot of school pride and love for where he lives and works. After just walking around the school grounds on my first day, I knew he was probably telling the truth. With three giant blocks of beautiful red brick and an entire lecture/multi-purpose room with a huge performing stage, this school is vastly underutilized. Having only 175 students, I am guessing this school could house over 1000 in just comparing its size and population to my own high schools size and population back in Michigan.  The school is also equipped with an unused wood shop, metal shop, drafting room (I think) and music room. They also have a computer lab and a ginormous library, both with air conditioning. I will have my own classroom more than large enough to fit all the students per class with their own desk and chair.

Not quite the “teaching-English-under-a-tree” or with no electricity or pens and paper image that pops into your head when you hear Peace Corps and I agree with you on that. However Namibia is very unique in its history of education which creates a whole multitude of problems that are not existent in other nations around the world with Peace Corps presence. After the fall of European Colonization and the departure of the Germans Namibia was under the governance of South Africa, its official language being Afrikaans. After Namibia gained independence, they changed their official language to English. Most of the people already spoke English but it was a way to unify the nation and forge them ahead in the global arena. Doesn’t sound too bad except for the fact that every teacher in the Namibian education system went through schooling and had experience teaching in a language OTHER than English. Aside from the fact that many teachers here unqualified to teach, those who are qualified still face language barriers, having been educated in South Africa or Namibia (which I just found out that the University of Namibia is not an accredited university meaning its diplomas and certifications are not valid outside of Namibia). So that is one reason why we are here as native English speakers: to educate not only the students but also other teachers on speaking English.

Corporal punishment, which I touched on in a previous blog post is also another reason why we are here. While it is illegal, it is hard to implement. Not only is it the only way that some teachers know how to manage classrooms, it is very hard to find teachers. Not to go too off track here but the unemployment rate is super high in Namibia. I do not know too much about it, so I am sure I will have more information later on but from what I have gathered there are many, many, many people here in Namibia that work at their jobs to make money (well obviously). But once they feel they have enough they quit and live off that. Once they spend it all, they become poor (once again obviously) and start to look for another job. But just like with any employer who would hire a worker knowing they quit their past couple jobs and are now in desperate need of one. This is not everyone in Namibia but it is enough people to make unemployment and poverty a problem. This also does not make them bad or lazy people, its just not part of the culture or their way of life. Many here do not know about business planning or savings which is why Peace Corps also have small business/community enterprise development people. So going back to my original point, corporal punishment is also hard to implement because schools do not want to loose a potentially good teacher.

To continue with this point of not having enough teachers, many teachers here (I know as well as in the United States) are over worked. Some of the teachers at my school I know are teaching 5 different classes. Not 5 classes a day, I mean the math teacher here is teaching Math, Accounting, and Entrepreneurship  for grades 8, 9, and 10. Not only is that 40 hours a week actively in the classroom, that also includes planning, grading, and he also is a supervisor at the hostel during afternoon and evening study. On top of teachers being overworked, a majority of the Namibian population live in remote rural areas – much like where I am living. Just like in the United States, no teacher wants to be secluded in a small town far away from everything with maybe little to no room for moving up in their field. So here many teachers while they work in these small places, actively look for employment opportunities in larger towns. Who can blame them though? Who wants to be overworked, not make enough money for your work, and live in the middle of nowhere. It’s almost a universal challenge I guess no one wants to be in these situations, but someone HAS to. So while as a volunteer we are not supposed to be seen as just extra help for two years, it is kind of a vital role for us to play if we want to be successful in teaching the teachers about alternatives to classroom management, learner-centered teaching, and the English language. Some of the pressure needs to be released to be effective.

This brings me to the students which is ultimately why we work with the teachers as well. Students here come from a variety of challenges at home. Some of them much similar to those faced by kids in impoverished areas in the United States, some much harsher. Unfortunately the system they are educated through doesn’t seem too user friendly. Failing rates here are astronomical, it is extremely common for a majority of students to have repeated multiple grades before they reach the 10^th grade. This is also compounded with the fact that nationally, the grading scale is as follows:

A – 80-100

B – 70-79

C – 60-69

D – 50-59

E – 40-49

F – 30-39

G – 20-29

U – 0-19

From my current understanding, an F is failing, an E is passing. With 40% of the material understood, the grade is passed. Now I do not fully understand the history of why this is the grading scale but one reason is that it may have at one point helped more kids to pass. Whether this was good or bad at the time, I don’t know but I do think that today it may be causing more harm than good. One thing that I do not know but would help in this observation is finding out what it takes to be a teacher (qualified and unqualified).

One student asked me the other day if failing grades was common in the United States. I told her and the rest of the class that it wasn’t as common as it was here. I then also added that an A is only a 90 and that getting an F at 50% is unacceptable to pass and a D at 60% is pretty darn close. They were shocked. They were even more surprised that I nearly got all A’s all through school. One then raised their hand and asked if I could teach them how to study. What? Study? Teach you? What do you mean? You just do? These were the thoughts going through my head. I never realized that part of my primary schooling was learning HOW to study with taking notes, pre-reading, quizzing friends,  “rewrite in own words”, FLASH CARDS, anything. These kids go to school from 7-1 (8 40 minute periods) straight through (half hour break for tea break) and then go home (or to the hostel to eat lunch) and then come back from 330-5 or 6 for “afternoon study” which is essentially extra class time if a teacher ran out of time or silent study time. The only way these kids know how to study is to re-read their class notes to themselves. Their class notes are just what the teachers write down and they copy. This could be anywhere from paragraph, to examples, to definitions much like in the United States however critical thinking is nearly non-existent here. Relating topics, ideas, themes doesn’t really happen. It’s just memorization. Even reviewing for tests and exams. I do not know what most teachers do but I told my principal that I could do review games with them (like Jeopardy) and he was ecstatic. Yes! Teach them how you study in America! Teach them your ways! They don’t know how to study! It was shocking but exciting because this was something I could really do to help.

So while I am not living in a mud hut without electricity or running water and teaching English to children under a tree, Namibia and its people still needs a lot of help not with material things so much. Just ideas – creative thinking, critical thinking, saving for the future. They are on the right track with enthusiastic people receptive to help and change but I and the other hundred of us in the country are here to teach them. Not your typical idea of a Peace Corps experience, but an challenging experience nonetheless. Well see how it all turns out J