MODEL SCHOOL

            It has been a while since model school and soon I will be starting real school but model school was a pivotal part of our training so I thought it was important to share. At that point we had been talking about teaching for weeks but had yet to practice our new knowledge. It is also a nerve racking thought when you know you have to teach a class in sign language so to have mock classes all in sign language eased the anxiety somewhat.

            We had model school at Machakos School For The Deaf and the kids were chosen to stay behind to participate in model school. In return they were given all meals for free and a certificate at the end of the session. It's amazing how many people love certificates in Kenya both big and small. Many of the kids were also pretty excited to stay at the school because back at home not many people sign and so they don't communicate as much as they would in school.

            The children are unbelievably well behaved at this school. It is one of the oldest schools for the deaf in Kenya and has a lot of funding unlike other school. The children who attend this school are from families who have the money to send them to a good school and each child has at least one person who believes that they can make something of themselves despite being deaf. Therefore there are some of the best teachers and the principle is very involved in advancing education and life for the deaf. He was part of creating KSL and making KSL recognized as a language in Kenya.

            We had four PCV's there to watch us teach and give us feedback. They were extremely helpful and the two PCV's created an anxiety free zone. It was great having my fellow trainees around because we would help each other lesson plan, change our lesson plans or create new ideas on how to teach a subject. We have many good teachers in our group, who are patient and willing to teach those of us who haven't had as much experience a few tricks of the trade. Which was greatly needed because when teaching children who are deaf, you have to take a different approach especially because most of them struggle reading and writing English. Making it so that you have to explain everything in pictures. KSL (Kenyan Sign Language) being a pictorial language on top of the children not grasping all of the English language makes it so that you can't describe anything in words. Also, such words as Cash Crops and Food Crops, which was a topic that I was teaching, doesn't have a sign for it (which is what you find in KSL many times because it's a developing language) and them reading Cash Crop and Food Crop doesn't mean anything to them. So you have to break down all concepts, describe a few different scenarios and show pictures for the children to understand and then revisit the concept a few times in different ways for it to stick. For example when I was teaching cash crop and food crop, I first started off asking, who has a shamba (garden) at their house? Then I asked...whose family eats what is grown in the shamba? Whoever raised their hand I said well you are eating a food crop because you grew it and then you ate it. Then I asked whose families sells what is in your shamba? Those who raised their hand I said this is a cash crop because you went to the market and received money for the food that you grew.  It is a much more complicated concept then what I just described and my kids didn't get it at first so I had to review this topic and describe cash and food crops multiple different ways but you understand where the bases starts. You do this with hearing kids as well but with hearing kids you have a few more outlets to explain a concept. You can write it in their mother tongue, the spoken language is a little more developed then signed language, then you also have the pictures, etc. to help explain. A child who is deaf, if one picture doesn't work you have to find another picture to help you explain or you give them multiple different scenarios. You just need to be creative with how you explain things, which can be challenging but a lot of fun!

We also had to stay over one night to see how teachers on duty works. In a Boarding schools always have a teacher on duty stay one night a week to watch over the kids. We chose a P.E. type activity after school and then a fun activity after they had dinner. Mackenzie, Elizabeth and I decided to have the same night and chose to do freeze tag with all the kids, then show them how to stretch and do exercises, such as pushup and sit ups. One of our KSL teachers joined in on the sit ups, she could barely do 2 before she started complaining and joking around saying I need to be her personal trainer. After our little exercise show, we did relay races. All three of us participated and quickly were lapped by these kids. Kenyans truly are naturally speedy gonzolaus's. They all had their shoes off and I could barely see their feet hit the ground they were so quick. The three of us had no chance. After we had dinner we put on a movie for them, which was a big treat and we got to know the other PCV's as the kids watched the movie.

All the PCV's that came to help us in model school were staying at the school and they were with us that night. They shared some insights into what life was going to be like and we got to know more of the 130 PCV's in Kenya. 

One of the best parts of model school was at the end of the week when all of us got the kids together and taught them the Macarena. They got it down quickly and then broke out their own dances. Break dancing, 3 adorable girls showed us their own dance, moves I can't even describe other then Elvis meets a more traditional jumping dance. Every child was smiling and all the PCV's were laughing and jumping around right beside them. It was the perfect ending to our Model school experience.