Growing Plants, Hearts, and Minds

It's the last week of school, and honestly I didn't think I'd be writing a blog post this week. Since I will be teaching science to 3rd-5th graders next year, I have been packing up the classroom I've been teaching in for the past 16 years in preparation for my move to the science room downstairs. Monday I did a presentation for our school board on the global service learning activities through which our students have been learning and how they connected to my recent trip to Kenya. I have 3 presentations that I need to prepare for ISTE next week, and a presentation at the University of London next month that needs to be finished before I leave for Philadelphia.  It's been a crazy end of the school year, but after what I experienced this afternoon, I knew that I had to take a few minutes to share.

One of our kindergarten teachers, Lizabeth Conklin, has been working this year to create a community garden at our school. The premise of her project is to have students at the school learn through gardening, and to use the school gardens to grow fresh produce for our local food pantry. Her hard work has resulted in national recognition and grant money which will allow the project to expand next year.

Since learning that I will be teaching science next year, I have agreed to partner with Liz to teach science concepts through gardening. In addition, we have found partners in Kenya, the Dominican Republic, Maine, New Hampshire, Luxembourg, and Nepal for a global garden project next year that will have each group of students sharing their learning through gardening with the others. As a teacher who believes that learning through service projects should be the backbone of what we do in school, I am very excited about the possibilities for this project.

Next to our school is a small building owned by our local Fair Association.  For most of the year it is rented out by the Devereux Foundation as an adult day care center for individuals with disabilities.

As part of the garden project, Liz had contacted the directors of the program and asked if we could put a small garden behind their building so that those in the program could help with the gardening.  Today, I went with her and a group of 5th grade students to help plant a few tomato plants in that garden.

As the students finished getting the plants in the soil, we saw that there was no water source available outside the building. Liz went inside to ask if anyone would like to bring water outside and help water the garden. The response was amazing.

Soon, the men and women from the Devereux were taking turns watering and chatting with our students. both groups were sharing their knowledge of gardening with each other, introducing themselves, and having a great time. It was such a wonderful experience for everyone. As I walked back to the school with the kids I could hear them telling each other how happy they were to be a part of building this garden and collaboration.

Over the next few years, our students are going to learn a lot of math, science, language arts, and other content through gardening.  And, that's wonderful.

But, they are also going to learn a whole lot more about topics that are a whole lot more important.

This is what school should be.

Adventures in Kenya Series - Day 11 - Kwaheri, Kenya

I'm through secuturity at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport waiting for my flight to Paris that will connect with my flight to New York. I had thought that my last day was going to be relaxing and quiet, but like every other day on this trip, it was filled with pretty special moments.

We started by waking at 5:30, taking tea early, packing the van, and heading out on a game drive at 6:30.  The plan was to see as many animals as we could on the way out of the park while the morning light made for good pictures, and then hit the road for Nairobi.  Since it's only about a 2 1/2 hour drive, I had figured that we'd be in Nairobi by 10 or so.  Silly.  I should have learned by now that everything in Kenya takes at least twice as long as you anticipate. Pole Pole.

The game drive was amazing. We saw a few hyenas with a freshly killed ostrich carcass, and a baby rhino that was literally hours old.  We could still see the afterbirth hanging from the mother. A big gross, but very, very cool.  We saw lots of baboons, buffalo, zebra, and giraffes as well.  We didn't have any luck finding a leapard.

We passed out of the park gates around 8:30 and headed back to Nairobi.  About an hour into the drive, we stopped for a car wash since the van was filthy from driving on the paths in the park. Kenyan car washes are different than American car washes.  The car still ends up clean, but it's done by hand by guys with rags, and it took about 45 minutes.  We grabbed a quick snack and more tea before getting back on the road.

Jackson told me that he needed to stop to pick up potatoes for the Havilla school at a market on the way. When we stopped, we were immediately surrounded by a dozen or more vendors shaking their produce at us and banging on the windows. It took Jackson a while to figure out who had the best potatoes at the best price with everyone surrounding him like vultures. This is how it's done in Kenya. He, Livingstone, and I discussed the differences in the American produce purchasing experience when we got on the road 25 minutes later.

At the Great Rift Valley overlook we stopped for 2 minutes for a picture.  There were also a few souvineer shops there.  20 minutes later I was back on the road a few hundred Shillings lighter and loaded with some wood carvings I'm sure I don't need. The Shillings won't do much much more good than a zebra letter opener back home, so no harm done. Jackson got a free soda out of the deal for being the driver who stopped there while the Mzungu spent some money.

We hit a little traffic, and we finally go to the Cheery school around 1PM. When I walked into the school grounds, I was greeted with shouts of "Teacher Mike!" once again, and a few kids came running up to hug me.  That's a little humbling. I chatted with Director Jairus for a few minutes about ways we can continue our partnership in the future, and how the work I've done here over the past few weeks can be leveraged to help these children have the opportunity to overcome the abject poverty in which they are living.

After our chat, the older classes performed a few songs for me, and made me tear up by presenting me with Kenyan bracelets for my wife, my children, and me. I have mine on right now. It is a special memento of the time I had with these children.  Two students also wrote me letters of thanks that I will hold on to and cherish.

When it was time for me to leave, six or seven students held my hands, arms, shorts, and shirt as I walked down the rubbish, mud, and waste filled path to the van.  They didn't want to let me leave.  When I got in the van, several of them climbed into the back.  They wanted to come with me. It pained me to have to make them get out. With a sad heart, we drove away as I waved and blew them kisses.

From there, we drove to Havilla. I stopped into the classes I had worked with and asked them what they had learned this week.  They were also very happy to see me and to show off thier new knowledge.  The first graders told me about the English weather words they had learned in English class, and the second graders showed me the addition they were working on.  Before leaving, the school also sang me a song, the second grade performed a poem about the importance of education, and Head Teacher Domitilla presented me with a traditional Kenyan shirt.

When I left Havilla at 3PM I figured that I had a few hours to charge my electronics, take a shower, and relax before heading to the airport for my 11PM flight.  I chatted with Tracy and Ross from NGGE to catch up on the happenings of the week, and around 5PM I went on what was supposed to be a short walk with Ross.  He took me to an appartment building a few blocks away that overlooked the Kibera Slum, and then to a garden on the edge of the Slum.

At the garden we met Peter, a Kibera resident who is empowering the youth of the slum by teaching them gardening, catfish raising, and other trades.  With the products they sell, young Kiberans are able to make some money while learning important skills and improving the community. We chatted for as long as I could, and then he walked back with Ross and I to Barnabas's house telling us about his passions. He agreed to connect with our students back home to tell them about his work via Skype, and I told him that I would have Livingstone connect with him to show him how to offer learning sessions through Skype in the Classroom.  He is the kind of passionate do-gooder that is perfect for inspiring youth to get involved in service projects.

At 7, I said my goodbyes and loaded into the van with Jackson to head to the airport.  We picked up Livingstone on the way (he had walked home to shower earlier), and set off.  Of course, we hit a traffic jam, and the ride that should have taken 30 minutes took 90. The traffic lights in town were turned off, at every intersection there was gridlock, and there were a few cars stopped in the road. Kenya.

And so now, with both great sadness at leaving and great anticipation at seeing my family, I wait for my plane.  In typical Kenyan fashion, it took forever to get to my gate.  I had to pass through 4 security checkpoints where I my bags were either checked by hand or scanned though a machine.  I'm very sure this is going to be a safe flight.

I'll try and get some sleep on the plane to Paris.  Over the next few days and weeks, I'll be posting some of the many (60+) videos I took during the trip as they get uploaded.

Kwaheri, Kenya.  I leave a little piece of my heart with you and take much more than souvineers with me as I leave.

Adventures in Kenya Series - Days 7/8 - Out of the Mara, On to Kimilili

I'm running out of superlatives to describe my days.

 Yesterday was...

I'll just show you with pictures. I started the day with an sunrise game drive where we saw a whole pride of lions hanging around some termite mounds, and a whole lot more. Here are just a few of the hundreds of pictures I took.  I took more than 1000 pictures in my 30 hours in Masai Mara.

Then, I had a quick breakfast and headed back out on a game drive with a stop at a Masai Village to learn about Masai culture.  Touristy, for sure, but also enlightening.

I had just enough time to jump in the pool and Skype with my wife afterwards to wish her a happy Mother's Day before catching my flight from the airstrip back to Wilson Airport in Nairobi.

After Livingstone and Jackson picked me up we went to Carnivore, a place where they grill all kinds of exotic meats up and serve them to you off Masai swords until you surrender.  Loads of fun.

This morning we woke up at 3:30 and were on the road by 4AM to drive to the HIP Academy in Mukuyuni, a Western Kenyan village close to the town of Kimilili. The ride was enlightening for me for a few reasons.  Since we were all exhausted, I relieved Jackson of driving and drove on the left side of the road for the first time in my life.  Driving in Kenya is part a game of "chicken", part "dodge the pothole", and part "don't get stuck in the mud" all rolled into one.  It took us 8 hours with one stop to "take tea" (have a quick breakfast) in Eldoret. We also had to wait for donkeys, goats, and a cow to cross the road in front of the car at different points. And, when 

When I put on some driving music to keep myself awake, I learned that neither Livingstone, nor Jackson has ever heard of the Beatles.  They both knew Michael Jackson, though.

We got stopped by police checks twice on the drive, both times while Jackson was driving.  This is apparently perfectly normal.  The police just waive you over and see if there's something they can make you pay for.  The first time, the police officer asked me where I was from.  When I told him I was from the USA, he said, "Like Obama!"  When I explained that I had met the president, we waived us along with a smile.  The second stop wasn't as friendly.  The officer asked Livingstone to get out of the car.  He then directed him inside the police office.  Jackson followed to try and talk to the officer.  I was left in the car feeling a little confused.

Two minutes later Jackson and Livingstone came back to the car and I learned about the Kenyan practice of "chai."  What happens is the police officers set up a stop, and then look for a reason to threaten you with a citation. In this case, Livingstone wasn't wearing a seat belt in the back seat. What they really want is some "chai", or a small bribe to make it all go away.  The term comes from it being enough money to buy a cup of tea. This is the way the officers suppliment their small income. The equivilent of a few bucks was enough to get us back on the road. 

Along the drive we crossed the equator back into the Northern Hemisphere. We stopped to take a picture with the sign.

The afternoon at HIP Academy was great.  First, Livingstone showed me around the school and gardens.

I brought a whole suitcase of math manipulatives and hands-on materials with me, so I spent time teaching the kids and teachers how to use the two-sided colored chips, the Cuisinaire rods, and the dominoes. Nobody, including Livingstone had ever heard of dominoes before.  When I showed them how they could be used to set up a chain reaction, they were so excited, and they did a little "engineering" exploration to see what they could create.  

During the afternoon, I was also able to pass out the stuffed animals that my son, Michael Jr., had asked me to bring for the kids. They were so happy!  It made me happy as well, and very proud of him for giving them up.  

We had two Skype calls during the afternoon.  The first was with Anne Mirtchen in Australia. We played Mystery Skype to guess each other's locations, and then the first/second graders used the stuffed animals I had brought to teach the kids in Australia the Kiswahili names of the different animals.  Everyone got a chuckle when they found out that the Swahili word for "Kangaroo" is "Kangaroo." This was the first Skype call for every one of the students in the school.  Learning with others from far away locations was a totally new concept for them.

The second Skype call was actually after the students at HIP left.  Sue Levine Skyped us with a second grade class in Atlanta.  Livingstone and I answered questions about the school and Kenya, and broke into a great duet rendition of "Hakuna Matata" for the kids when they asked to learn a Swahili phrase.  I'm sure sue is going to post that video on Facebook.

After school was out, Livingstone walked me around his hometown, down a dirt road to a path, and then over a makeshift wooden bridge.  I met a dozen people who all wanted to know what a Mzingu was doing in their village.  Some school children laughed and said "Good morning!" to me, even though it was 4PM.  One local climbed a guava tree for me so that I could try guava for the first time (I didn't care for it.)

I also go to meet Livingstone's wonderful family.  His mom and dad were great, and Grandma Dina is simply awesome.  After our walk I came back to find her wearing a University of Scranton hat that I had brought that was leftover from EdCamp NEPA last month.

Then, we drove to Kimilili where we checked into the nicest hotel in town for the night, and where I sit typing this post with the sounds of motorbikes, cows, and chidren in the background.  So far, there was a backout, my light didn't work, Livingstone's wall outlet was missing, and the toilet overflowed in Jackson's room.  But, hey, it's Africa, and it's all good.  Hakuna Matata.  The bed is clean, and there's a lock on the door.  That's about all I need for a good night's sleep, I hope. Still, I'm using my LifeStraw water bottle to filter anything out of the tap before I drink it.  We are spending the morning at HIP Academy where I will show the rest of the math materials, and then we are headed 5 hours back towards Lake Nakure National Park for my last two nights in Kenya.