Fo Peace oh baby i no go ever taya

Ok so this is an awesome Sierra Leone song that is out right now that I love! The translation is pretty straightforward (for peace I'll never tire...something like that, although I can't tell for sure if he is saying peace but whatever). I think the guy is talking about a relationship and telling his girl he’s never gonna get over it or just get tired of the relationship but will stay around. I haven’t heard enough of this song to know for sure because it’s kinda new still, but I’m working on it.

So that's the song of choice this update mostly because the song itself is so fantastic. I realized the other day after going from the Peace Corps 50th Anniversary Open House in Freetown where they were playing 90s music to a small bar near the Peace Corps hostel that was playing local music that I literally will only dance to Salone music now. It is seriously the best dancing music, ever. And I love how everybody here loves it and can just dance forever, doesn't matter if anyone else is around or what's going on, people here are just so happy to be dancing. I've also been trying my hand at learning the songs (with big help from one of the neighbor girls when I don't quite understand the accent or it’s some Krio I don't know yet). I'm trying to live up to my Peace Corps superlative of "lyrical gangsta", or the nickname "musician" that one of the neighbors gave because I enjoy singing so much.

So hanging out with the neighbors listening to music or going to bars or even a few concerts has been some of the best times recently. One of the other volunteers said early on that her 3 favorite things about Sierra Leone were crazy times with the other volunteers, the absolute beauty of the country, and how much music is just a part of every person here from the time they are born. It interesting to see after we've been in the country for a while now how much I agree with those 3 things.

Other updates of what has been going on out here: We just finished second term, which was extended for 3 weeks so that Easter and the 50th Anniversary of Sierra Leone's freedom would fall during break between terms (that’s right, the Peace Corps and Sierra Leone both turn 50 this year). That definitely made sense, although it meant second term was by far the longest term and dragged on towards the end. Interesting things that happened second term: a teacher's strike that was not sanctioned by the Sierra Leone Teacher's Union (SLTU) for about 2 weeks located only in the Eastern Province (and I think only Kenema district). The teacher's strike (among other things) then resulted in the school canceling the annual "sport" (a really big intra-school track and field event) which resulted in really upset students that threatened a strike of their own. My SS3 students took their Core Science WASSCE (West African Senior School Certificate Examination) that is the only indicator of their school performance and requirements for university, and I also helped administer the chemistry practical for the WASSCE. Basically it was busy and ridiculous…

So I've been spending a lot of time recently just thinking about the school system, how it relates to the culture, and how it ended up the way it is. Just to give a brief background, most Peace Corps Volunteers here are frustrated with the school system we find ourselves trying to teach in. And it’s not because of lack of resources or because of large classes, but something more fundamental than that where it seems that they have missed the point of what education is supposed to be. In my mind education is supposed to be a tool to teach people to think in more complex and sophisticated ways and to prepare them to tackle the problems that occur in their own life, not to mention to make them better prepared for the jobs that exist and are important in their country. I've spent a long time trying to think about the disconnect between that and the system we are seeing here. What we see here is a place where students are taught in their third language (students are infinitely more comfortable thinking in their tribal language or in Krio) where it is extremely difficult for them to learn something well enough to solve problems. We see schools where the primary method of teaching is dictation or writing notes directly from the book to the board to the students’ notebooks with no problem solving or original thinking of any kind. We see classes (like my own Chemistry and Physics) that are not actually relevant because there are no jobs in the country except possibly in Freetown that use the skills or knowledge gained from those classes. We see syllabi that are extremely advanced (beyond what is taught in AP classes) with extremely poor pass rates. We see live practicals (labs) conducted for the science exams in a system that expects and even invites corruption because the students have almost no chance of passing without it. And more than anything we see a system that is not resulting in analytical thinking or the ability to solve problems in the students’ lives (and I am not primarily talking about science problems).

All of this together results in a system with pretty low motivation on all sides (both from students and teachers). I've been thinking about this problem of motivation compared to the really impressive (if not somewhat cliche) can-do attitude of the United States that has allowed our country to achieve so much. I have been thinking about how the can-do attitude is built into our culture at every step. Growing up in America everything comes at you in achievable steps, and you learn to trust the system that if you put enough effort into something you will be able to do it. I knew if I studied really hard I could pass my SATs and my AP classes and do well in college. I trusted that the syllabus was designed in a way that was challenging but not out of reach and that teachers were motivated and trained well enough to get me there. Our whole lives we grow up in this place where it is possible to achieve because someone has thought through every step of the process to make sure of that, and there is continual discussion about the appropriate level of challenging our children that will balance high expectations with achievable goals. That is at least until we graduate college, at which point the new challenges can be frustrating but we have a lifetime of education and self confidence to get us half of the way there. That is absolutely not the system here. Even if I work really hard with my best student for the next 2 years and that student puts in all the effort they are able to, I am not convinced that that student can pass the Chemistry or Physics exam. I don't know if I could be motivated in a system like that, so I absolutely understand the lack of motivation that I see here, although it is super frustrating in trying to do my own job. It is also really difficult for me to let go of my own can-do attitude and realize that most or maybe all of my students will not pass, and also that I don't think these subjects are at all relevant to them. I know there are pieces of the subject that are important, like for example how chemistry relates to nutrition or to agriculture, but I cannot justify to myself the chemistry we are teaching these kids here.

So you might want to know a few things at this point: my recommendations and thoughts on how it got this way. Well I don't claim to have answers but I can just let you know what I've been thinking. First recommendations. If I was in charge, I would make school in Krio to give students the chance to actually understand concepts and try to apply them to learn more complex ideas and solve problems. I would change the syllabus to match realities of school here and try to make them more relevant to the students’ lives and the realistic development of the country. For example in math class focus on the math necessary to be a trader, a banker, to start a new business, or as it relates to vocational work. I'd make agriculture class focus on the agriculture that will develop a country and make history focus on the past of Sierra Leone and the choices that it has moving forward as it develops. To give credit where it is due they are doing some of these things and there has been an effort to put emphasis on local situations and local problems, so I definitely want to recognize that.

On to the reason why I think the system is the way it is (and why I won’t actually recommend these really to anyone). I think the school system is a great example of the problems that come from the international community coming with an idea that we think is important and trying to push a country to meet those goals. Education is important. You will never see me argue against that. But there is something that fundamentally doesn’t work when (well meaning) people that don’t exactly understand the situation in a place come and say you should focus on education because it's important, instead of letting the value of education grow organically. It resulted in a system that doesn’t make sense where people do “education” because they are told it’s a good thing to do but they only make a half hearted effort. Basically it resulted in a system that doesn’t work well or produce results. It actually sometimes makes people resentful when they are told to do something because it is “good” and will “develop” the country, then don’t actually see the benefits of it or receive any benefits from it. I understand (somewhat) the motivation of each player in the school system here and how the system managed to be what it is. The students go to school because they’re told it’s important, but school isn’t run well so many aren’t motivated and see it more as a status thing or a time to hang out with friends. The teachers teach but again many aren’t motivated because they don’t truly understand the value of education and the system makes it impossible for them to feel like successful teachers. Also teaching is viewed as the least desirable profession here for a variety of reasons. The parents send their kids to school because everyone tells them it’s important, leaving the parents to do all the hard work (subsistence farming, house work, hard labor stuff, being a trader, etc.) without the children that traditionally would be helping with all of those chores. Most of the parents are not very educated if at all, so they are working super hard to give their children an opportunity that they don’t understand, but unfortunately in a system that doesn’t actually do much for the majority of students. All of this is why it’s so difficult to push an idea that doesn’t just grow organically and then to really get people to understand that idea (and also why it wouldn’t be useful for me to pass along the recommendations…those are ideas they need to get to on their own to ever make any effective or lasting changes). There are similar problems here with democracy and human rights. Again both fantastic ideas and invaluable in making America what it is today. But not something that you can just tell someone how to do or tell them that it is important and they should change their whole system. Both of those ideas here have taken on a really strange shape probably unrecognizable to the people that came trying to pass the ideas.

So being Americans I’m sure you are all asking, so what now? What would be a more effective system? Or am I suggesting that we just leave those ideas behind? Yeah, I’m American so I’m asking those questions too. The problem is I don’t have an answer. Like even a little bit (which as an American and an engineer is absolutely killer). And I’m starting to get convinced that thinking there are answers to every question is also a super American thing that might not actually be real.

Ok so a pretty heavy post today. If you guys are as tired reading it as I am writing it right now, go back to the top and read about music again and let that be your lasting memory from this post :). And if you can try to look up sawa sawa, old firewood, I done fall in love, or the title song for today to find out what I mean. Seriously, the jams here are amazing…

I miss you guys and hope you are all doing well and taking care of yourself. I also wanted to let you all know that while I am thinking about serious stuff I am in no ways unhappy here or regretful of anything. And on those rough days I got my Salone music and the newest anthem of life here “taya taya, I no get fo taya, taya taya, I no get fo taya” (literally I don’t have to tire, but really translated I can push through anything and I’m not gonna get worn out or give up).

Love from Salone,
Konya