The Halfway Point

I’ve been in Sierra Leone for  5 months and one week – just over halfway through my time here. I recently completed a required “Interim Survey” for Fulbright. It had questions about my preparations before leaving and challenges I faced at the beginning of my experience. It also included a checklist of possible grant activities where I needed to indicate which activities I have engaged in so far and which ones I have not. Completing the checklist was a good reminder for me to celebrate what I have done so far and get going on the things that are still on my list. 

The halfway point coincided with the end of UNIMAK’s first semester, so I celebrated with two of my classes. It wasn’t a celebration so much as an exam review, but I think everyone had a good time.

This (above) is my M.Ed. Educational Psychology class. This was the class I had the very first time I stepped foot in a classroom here at UNIMAK. I was nervous and I think they were too. One of my favorite memories of my time here was with this class on that first day. After introductions and some light conversation, I told them we would be using Google Classroom for the course. They looked unsure. I pressed on. I asked them to download Google Classroom and I walked around to help. Eventually, enough people found their way into the class so we could look at the syllabus together. As we were reviewing the syllabus and discussing Google Classroom, one person (an already self-appointed class leader) raised his hand and said, “Professor – I don’t think this teaching method is going to work here.” I said, “Well, I would like to give it a try anyway.” And so we did. And now they are all quite proficient with Google Classroom (and more).

This is my B.Ed. Introduction to Inclusion & Special Needs Education class. All bachelor-level education students will take this class. This is one of the classes in the program that I developed for UNIMAK so it was really important for me to do a good job teaching it. I had two goals for this class: first, I wanted students to examine their attitudes about disability; and second, I wanted students to understand that every person with a disability is different and we don’t know what they need or what is best for them until we talk to them and their caregivers. I think I accomplished these goals with the help of Andrew Smoley, who was a guest speaker for this class during his visit. Andrew shared about his brother, John, in a way that helped students to see John as a person they could relate to and care about. 

These students increased my understanding of Sierra Leone culture and the culture of education in Sierra Leone exponentially in a short period of time. As class topics guided us, I was able to ask them direct questions and have frank conversations about what I was seeing in schools (e.g., no books). My class sessions here have included some of the most down-to-earth and practical discussions that I have had during my time teaching higher education. It was a genuine pleasure to teach these students.

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