Saturday, February 12, 2005
3 o’clock in the MORning 2/11
I feel like I am being torn in half, one half at long last on the verge of really accomplishing something that could be valuable and significant, and the other half, my teaching, having all the rank appeal of a cellpool.
Atiba could only spare us one day, but yesterday he gave us the window from his arrival on the first morning flight from Dar es Salaam at 8:30a to his departure on the last flight at 6:00p. I hired a taxi for the day and met him on his arrival. Mama Mtayangulwa and I accompanied him around – although really, I had set up all the meetings – to meet the Headmasters of the schools. To Mwanza Secondary at 9:30, VETA out in Nyakato at 11:00, Lunch at Kuleanas. Nganza at 1:30 got cancelled because A. Lopa was in the hospital with malaria so we went to the University instead so Atiba could pick up some information for his files, then on to Nsumba at 2:30. Finally the important meeting with all the Instructors who will be going to Mbeya for a week of training, Feb 21-25. It was their first meeting together, and I talked about why I wanted to establish the project, then Atiba talked at length about the program and the success it has had. With rapt attention and good questions, the meeting ran until the last minute, and we just had time to get him back to the airport.
Atiba gave a great presentation to the headmasters. Even I was impressed with the scope of TechnoServe and their partner NFTE (National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship). And Atiba was impressed by the lavish support all the headmasters promised. They not only gave us their time freely, but all of them then personally escorted us all the way out of the school while other people who needed to see them sat outside their offices, cooling their heels. VETA expects to use the program as a pilot project and if it works, expand it through the whole Lake Region. Since TechnoServe is already working with another VETA district in southern Tz, this could well expand to include the whole country.
TechnoServe is active with Entrepreneurship programs in Africa and Central America. Hmmmm. Possibility for followup adventures in Central America? Well, first things first, and right now I have teaching problems to contend with.
Somehow, I thought that with my not teaching this week, the way forward would become clearer. Wrong. I think I see some methods I’ve used that were perhaps not wise, and some errors on the part of the students. And there are certainly some students who don’t want to be there at all and should be given the freedom to depart.
But I don’t know how to get things back on track. And what concerns me even more is that I do not see how to present the course material ahead. The syllabus covers too much ground, including as just one part a lengthy section of Qualitative Analysis at a content and detail level that I did not encounter until my Sophomore year at Juniata. This just has to be crazy! Kagua, the Dept. Chairman who last year felt like an adversary, has offered to help me and to work with me on the QA section. Adam has volunteered to teach that section FOR me, in return for my teaching other sections to his classes. Lord, I just don’t know. In spite of these offers of help, I feel like I am stuck in quicksand while the world goes by.
I’m writing this in the middle of the night – couldn’t sleep worth a damn. Bright and early tomorrow (today), I am scheduled to talk with my headmaster Msasa. What to say? What to propose?
I feel like I am being torn in half, one half at long last on the verge of really accomplishing something that could be valuable and significant, and the other half, my teaching, having all the rank appeal of a cellpool.
Atiba could only spare us one day, but yesterday he gave us the window from his arrival on the first morning flight from Dar es Salaam at 8:30a to his departure on the last flight at 6:00p. I hired a taxi for the day and met him on his arrival. Mama Mtayangulwa and I accompanied him around – although really, I had set up all the meetings – to meet the Headmasters of the schools. To Mwanza Secondary at 9:30, VETA out in Nyakato at 11:00, Lunch at Kuleanas. Nganza at 1:30 got cancelled because A. Lopa was in the hospital with malaria so we went to the University instead so Atiba could pick up some information for his files, then on to Nsumba at 2:30. Finally the important meeting with all the Instructors who will be going to Mbeya for a week of training, Feb 21-25. It was their first meeting together, and I talked about why I wanted to establish the project, then Atiba talked at length about the program and the success it has had. With rapt attention and good questions, the meeting ran until the last minute, and we just had time to get him back to the airport.
Atiba gave a great presentation to the headmasters. Even I was impressed with the scope of TechnoServe and their partner NFTE (National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship). And Atiba was impressed by the lavish support all the headmasters promised. They not only gave us their time freely, but all of them then personally escorted us all the way out of the school while other people who needed to see them sat outside their offices, cooling their heels. VETA expects to use the program as a pilot project and if it works, expand it through the whole Lake Region. Since TechnoServe is already working with another VETA district in southern Tz, this could well expand to include the whole country.
TechnoServe is active with Entrepreneurship programs in Africa and Central America. Hmmmm. Possibility for followup adventures in Central America? Well, first things first, and right now I have teaching problems to contend with.
Somehow, I thought that with my not teaching this week, the way forward would become clearer. Wrong. I think I see some methods I’ve used that were perhaps not wise, and some errors on the part of the students. And there are certainly some students who don’t want to be there at all and should be given the freedom to depart.
But I don’t know how to get things back on track. And what concerns me even more is that I do not see how to present the course material ahead. The syllabus covers too much ground, including as just one part a lengthy section of Qualitative Analysis at a content and detail level that I did not encounter until my Sophomore year at Juniata. This just has to be crazy! Kagua, the Dept. Chairman who last year felt like an adversary, has offered to help me and to work with me on the QA section. Adam has volunteered to teach that section FOR me, in return for my teaching other sections to his classes. Lord, I just don’t know. In spite of these offers of help, I feel like I am stuck in quicksand while the world goes by.
I’m writing this in the middle of the night – couldn’t sleep worth a damn. Bright and early tomorrow (today), I am scheduled to talk with my headmaster Msasa. What to say? What to propose?
