AFRICAN REFLECTION 34

24/12/2011

We are well into the annual break at the end of the year and an opportunity for some belated reflection upon the past six months but especially as I come to the end of my time as Headmaster!

At present, I am the only brother at home in the community - the others have gone to their homes to share the spirit of Christmas with their families. However, all is not quiet as there is a constant stream of people to the school seeking enrolment forms for the new year and the normal home duties still need to be done – feeding the poultry and the new chickens (kept separately for the present) as well as keeping an eye on the dogs while trying to revive pour community lawn; we have also started a banana plantation which is slowly making progress.. and will provide an opportunity for some other gardening developments! Not quite what I would be doing in Australia but a bit of a throw-back to my early experience of family when the backyard was occupies by a chicken house, the growing of vegetables and the playground for the family dog – Player being my first memory but followed by others! There was also a bit of back lawn for games, etc!

So, I think it best not to give a history of the past couple of months, but rather to reflect upon the past four years as an experience and a challenge.

In many ways, I have mixed emotions about finishing as Headmaster, some centring upon what has been achieved along with the challenges ahead and others emphasizing that it was a good decision for me!

The basic reasons for being ready to hand the leadership on (to a Tanzanian brother currently on the staff) centre on personal experiences, two in particular, one being my very significant lack of language skills in learning to speak Kiswahili and the other being significant frustration with local (meaning Tanzanian) customs that are in sharp contrast to my own beliefs.

With respect to the first, I have to admit that a significant part of the problem is my own lack of commitment to battle with developing the appropriate skills despite a demand that English be the language of the school and administration as it is the language of secondary schooling including examinations – there is repeated feedback from examiners that poor language/English skills are a reason for significant failure! So, the dilemma for me became an insistence on English in my dealings with staff and students while many of the parents/guardians have no such skills and express disappointment that someone who has been here for a significant time has such poor Kiswahili skills. So, the change out of the role of Headmaster should relieve some of the pressures of dealing in a language in which I have minimum skills.

While, generally, I have survived the first principal difficulty – language – I do have to admit to being unable to deal with the second to the satisfaction of the locals particularly the staff; this is obviously a lack of cultural adjustment but it also became a personal challenge as to why staff (though not exclusively) demanded money for any and each extra piece of work that they did – as a matter of fact, it was made clear that we do nothing without additional money being paid; in other words – and in my opinion - there was very little commitment to students and to teaching but a huge commitment to personal advancement/reward for any and all activity. Coming from a previous experience of teachers being committed to school and students, I found myself frustrated by the demand for reward over any commitment to teachers. It started when I was asked what extra payment there would be for doing a ten minute class teacher period ( an expectation I have always had for teachers) and was constantly emphasised when teachers were unable to know the students in their class remaining silent when evaluations were done on students who had performed poorly or were in disciplinary trouble! Similarly, there was no commitment to the maintenance of the school – no staff member ever closed a window or a door at the end of the day – on some occasions, they were at the bus stop before their students!

I am sorry if the above sounds very negative but I doubt that it is far from the truth and reality for most of our teachers. Fortunately, there are the exceptions, some of whom share my frustrations!
I think the added pressure in this area was my own commitment to the school, its staff and students, and a seemingly lack of sharing of that commitment. It seems to be a good time to move on to some of the positives!

The school continues to have a fine reputation for its environment, its care of students and especially its commitment to teaching and learning. This latter may seem at odds with what is written above but, in contrast to the staff, the students are committed to learning and do so despite the various barriers that hinder success in that area. While teachers, in most cases, teach just one subject, the students have to study at least nine and without the help of any textual material other than through reference in the library or, more recently, the information technology rooms of the school. There is little doubt that the syllabi are significantly more difficult than for the equivalent Forms/Years in Australia and yet the school rates well nationally - generally just behind the exclusive private schools and select entry government schools! This is a tribute to the students who know that success for them is a significant step to opportunity for their future. So the features of any group of successful students include copious note-taking, shared discussion and regular examination/testing; discipline is not normally a problem – classes often study for the hour-long period even when no teacher is present (if one is absent for any reason, there is seldom any replacement or expectation of such).

And one could go on in similar manner about the way in which the students take responsibility for much of what happens at the school – in many ways making up for the lack of leadership and commitment of staff! But the students are not perfect either! The idea of care for property, personal and school, seems to have low priority – otherwise how does one explain the regular cases of ‘borrowing’ from others (and not returning!) or poor appreciation of the facilities of the school. I was told that there is no Kiswahili word for ‘maintenance’ and this may signify why things can be used until they are broken and no longer of use rather than consider repair in the first instance of breakdown.

But the real feature of the students is their friendliness and respect that constantly encourages one to work to improve their opportunities into the future. They appreciate what they have but do not always see it as a responsibility that it be there for future students/generations. I have certainly enjoyed their confidence and maturity – it can be difficult for some as they see the Headmaster as a very respected – but sometimes with a disciplinary role – position. They may not always understand me (my idiom is not always in line with formal taught English) but there is generally a very positive response and some remembering of key ideas!

As an example of the commitment to development by the school, the school is currently involved with three ‘new’ developments: 1) the purchase of a school vehicle (used Toyota Kombi-van) to enable travel to Arusha for those needing hospital treatment, shopping for the school and occasional transport to meetings; 2) the introduction of a data base to enable the keeping of school records, etc; and 3) the paving of the main drive and some pathways to enable ‘clean’ movement around the school! There should be no doubt that development of the facilities of the school has continued in recent years and the introduction of a Strategic Plan 2012-2016 should see further developments in the years to come.

Obviously much is to be done but progress is obvious – and one could expect that the school will continue to be a beacon for others! Interestingly, in my four years here the number of Catholic schools has grown from 5 to 14! While in the last couple of months two other private schools have announced closure due to financial pressures.

And this might bring me to my last point of reflection for the present – the management of finances is a significant task for administration. Remembering that the recurrent running of the school is almost entirely dependent upon school fees – and these have constantly increased in recent years – the financial management of the school is paramount. When I came, one brother managed all aspects of finance and business; now we have four staff in that area and it still seems to be insufficient. I expect that one of the areas I might be asked to continue to work with is in this area of finance. The school does not currently have any loans or need for overdraft on its accounts; however, I would expect that this may change in the coming years as the school looks to expand. But it will all depend upon the successful management of finances and this is not straightforward in a mainly cash economy! I seem to be back to money – so it is time to stop for the present.

In closing, I should say that I continue to be fortunate with my help – the only complaint might be the occasional back pain that must be a sign of aging or inappropriate sitting and standing. Though I have reduced my walking, it has been replaced by the farming tasks. The appetite is still very good (probably better than I need) and I do get to see some occasional sporting activity from Australia – watching the afternoon session of the cricket at 8 am is somewhat disconcerting.

At this stage, I plan to take my home leave late next year hopefully being there for Christmas and the holidays … but it is a bit early yet! While I have offered to stay and help in a variety of roles, it is not yet clear what they may be and therefore not yet clear as to what demands will need to be met at what times! But I am hoping that late in the year will be a good time to get away for a couple of months!

I hope the coming Christmas season will be full of the spirit of Christmas – peace, joy and blessing!

PS: For Christmas Day, we will be having a gathering of about 16 from about six nationalities, both African and ‘mzungu’ (white or non-African!) with myself having taken on the roast – pork and chicken!



This post was made by BR L C Barrett cfc on Saturday, December 24th 20111