Below is an adaptation of an article my students compiled for The Eyrie school newspaper. It is extremely detailed and helpful for sharing the nuts and bolts of my trip in terms of what people most want to know. For original article, click here. Please note, the photos that went along with the original article will be published in a separate post.
From April 17 to May 2, my students experienced the conspicuous two-week absence of their teacher. Where was I, and why was I gone for over two weeks in the middle of the school year? Did I die? Get kidnapped? Contract some serious sickness? No, I was in Senegal, Africa for the field experience component of the Teachers for Global Classrooms fellowship.
The TGC fellowship, under the auspices of the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is a year-long professional development opportunity that brings teachers from around the country together to learn skills and strategies for opening their students eyes, minds, hearts and hands to the world. Rather than produce students who are fearful and hateful towards others, the fellowship hopes to inspire curiosity and compassion towards all humans and the desire to teach the lesson that we must work together with people from around the world to solve the world's problems.
After completing an intensive, essay-driven application with principle's recommendation, 75 teachers from 40 states were chosen from nearly 500 applicants to participate in the 2016-2017 cohort for the fellowship, which includes four components: (1) a ten-week, rigorous online course through George Mason University on global education theory and praxis, (2) a symposium on global education in Washington, DC, (3) the 2-3 field experience in a foreign country, and (4) the creation of global education guide that can be used by colleagues to teach themselves about how they can make their own classrooms more global. To learn more about the TGC fellowship and other exchange programs, click here.
As for the field experience, fellows were sent in groups of 10-20 to one of six countries--Morocco, Senegal, Philippines, Indonesia, India, or Colombia--for the field experience component of the fellowship. As you know, I was sent to Senegal. The goal of the field experience was to see with my own eyes how the education system and culture of a foreign place work in order to better contextualize and possibly improve the way things are done in the US or at least within my own classroom. While there, I served as a citizen diplomat with the goal of promoting a positive image of the US to Senegal and vice versa; I toured about a dozen schools of all types; I met with teachers, administrators, and government officials; I taught and co-taught lessons; I established a connection between my students and students in Senegal via a postcard exchange; I experienced the local culture; and U improved her understanding of what life is like for people in sub-Saharan Africa. I hope the lessons I learned from this experience trickles down to the students of Airport High School in some way, maybe by making my students more curious about the world themselves or at least more sensitive to the unique struggles of others.
To learn more about my trip, the staff of The Eyrie (the school newspaper that I sponsor; click here to view our site!) decided to put together a Q&A article. Each staff member crafted a question that they most wanted to know about my trip, and I spent quite a bit of time thoughtfully responding. What follows is this Q&A process.
Q. How might you compare and contrast our classroom in America to the classrooms in Senegal? What was the general atmosphere/feel of it, and how did the students perceive their education and school experience? --Rose B.
A. The biggest difference between classrooms here and in Senegal is the number of students in class and the resources provided to the teacher. The legal limit for class size is 90, but I walked into classes as small as 35 and as big as 110.
The other difference is that teachers don’t have their own classrooms; instead, the go from room to room each day. So, there are not decorations on the wall. Also, the only materials that the teacher has is a chalkboard at the front of the room; no television, no SmartBoard, no Promethean, no Apple TV, no overhead projector--nothing.
Regarding instruction, almost all lessons we observed followed the same structure: teacher-guided reading of a passage followed by question-and-answer with the students. There does not seem to be an emphasis on student engagement or creativity with instructional strategies as there is in the US, yet most students were quite participatory. It's actually somewhat funny how they get the teacher's attention, too. Rather than merely raise their hands or shout out answers, they actually snap their fingers or call out "sir" or "miss" over and over again!
As far as students’ perceptions of school experience, it was similar to here although middle and high school are not required by the government, and I was told that only about 40% attend. Most students are at school because they want to be there or because their parents make them.
It might be important to note that the biggest competition to the formal education system are the daaras, which are informal Koranic schools. They are problematic because they are more like defacto foster care facilities or group homes, and often time the teacher takes advantage of the students and forces them to beg for money and meet quotas, and their are reports that the male students are mistreated or beaten if they fail to meet their quotas. The students of the daaras are called talibe, and many Senegalese look down on them or call them "street kids." Some teachers express concern that the lack of parental supervision of these ferrel children makes them susceptible to Islamic extremism also. Senegal is notoriously peaceful and welcoming towards the Western world, too, so it would be saddening to the population as a whole if this were to happen.
Q. How are the teachers in Senegal? --Jaylia H.
I guess the biggest difference between teachers in Senegal and teachers in the US is their level of training and the instructional strategies they use. You do not have to be specially trained or go to college to become an elementary school teacher, and the requirements for teaching middle and high school are similarly minimal. While you do have to go to college to be an upper-level teacher, you do not have to go to a specific training school for teachers although they do have one in Dakar, and going there is tied to an increase in pay.
The other noticeable difference is the use of instructional strategies, which I already somewhat touched upon. It is very teacher-centered as opposed to student-centered.
Q. How many classes did they have each day? --Rachel S.
A. Great question! The simple answer is that it varies from school to school and is very complex. To keep it simple, I'll answer based on how it is at the school where I spent the most of my time. Each day of the week, the students follow a different schedule, so everyday they go to different classes or classes in a different order. On a given day, however, they had four classes: two in the morning and two in the afternoon, and each class was two hours. They attended school from 8-12 and then from 3-7. The long lunch break has to do with their prayer schedule and lunch culture, but more on that later.
Q. How did the students react when you gave them the postcards? What type of questions did they have for you? --Emily O.
A. The students looked a little confused at first just because I don’t think they were expecting it, but once their teacher explained what was going on, they seemed excited but a little nervous, I think maybe about their English skills and ability and whether or not they would be able to understand what you wrote was giving them anxiety. However, they did not disappoint. Even though I was worried I would not get anything back from the students and that our writing of the postcards would reveal itself to be a waste of time, as you know we got over 35 responses. I gave the postcards to two different classes--the middle school students where Fatoumata worked and the members of the English Club at Lycee Charles de Gaulle--and I was surprised that it was actually the middle schoolers who fulfilled their commitment and responded to you. Even though the English Club students appeared more enthusiastic at first, like many older teenagers, they dropped the ball. I do know some of you established connections with them via social media, so overall I think our goal of establishing a connection with students in Senegal was a success, and I hope you all continue to stay in contact with them in some capacity.
As for your second question, Emily, the types of questions they asked, no matter what school we visited were things like what do we think of President Trump, is America as violent as media and film suggest, are people still racist there, and what are people's religion. They were surprisingly interested in American cultural and sociopolitical issues.
Q. What are the similarities in culture in Senegal and America? Is there diversity in religion, language and ethnicity? --Nia S.
A. Great question. The similarities between Senegal and America are that humans are humans no matter where you are, and kids are kids no matter where you are. Everyone has feelings and hopes and dreams and fears no matter where you live on earth, how rich or poor you are, or what color your skin is. As for the things that make the Senegalese unique, 95% of the country is Sufi Muslim, so that is very different from the US, which has TONS of religious diversity, but they are not very devout, so you only sometimes see women in head scarves, and almost no women in burkas, although many women do wear traditional pagne dresses, which speaks to some sartorial differences between the US and Senegal. Language and ethnicity are very interesting in Senegal. There are about a dozen ethnicities, or tribes, in Senegal, and each one has their own language, although all people speak the language of the most dominant tribe, Wolof. Then, if they attend school, they are taught in French and required to take English plus an elective language. Then, if they attend Quaranic school, kids will learn some Arabic. So, if you graduate from high school, in theory you will know Wolof, your tribal language, French, English, a second foreign language of change, and possibly Arabic. Being trilingual or more make the Senegalese, and people in other places where I've visited schools (e.g. Czech Republic, Iceland) extremely unique.
Q. What was their reaction when you had to speak their language? --Marcus G.
A. They were very entertained by our efforts to speak Wolof. Due to the fact that none of the schools we visited had wifi or projectors, while I did not get to show the video we had made as class, where each of you said a short phrase in their language, they did really appreciate that we tried. I can tell you that we mispronounced EVERYTHING in the video, though, but that I did learn the correct way to say the phrases when I was there.
Q. What were the communities and homes like in Senegal? What are similarities and differences? --Jasmine T.
Most buildings are essentially cinderblock or concrete squares. Wealthier families will paint or tile the walls, but most do not. In fact, the buildings look rather unfinished by our standards, as we don’t just leave the concrete exposed.
The first major city established in Senegal was actually Saint Louis, where Matt and I were based, and it was colonized/established by the French, so like the food, which has some overlap with French food, so is the architecture.
In villages, people make shanties or huts using wood, mud, straw, and palm fronds.
Q. What were the city and environment like there (buildings, roads, etc.)? --Katie K.
A. Other than what I have already mentioned in response to Jasmine’s question, the roads were pretty good, for the most part. There were paved roads within and between major cities but dirt roads out to more isolated locations.
Perhaps what should be mentioned here are the unique modes of transportation that the Senegalese use—well, not that unique. Besides plain old ordinary cars, which they do have, they have cheap city buses (called “car rapide”), which look like really old beat-up VW buses that pack as many people into them as possible and are painted with rather psychedelic insignia; modern buses called “car tata” that are really more like tour buses and transport tourists or commuters between cities; taxis, which only differ from those in America by their quality and driver’s brazenness (no Uber here yet); really raggedy station wagons called “sept place,” which the locals joke are “sept place, sept mort” (which means “seven seats, seven deaths” based on how dangerous they are; and of course the scooter, or “djakarta” in the local lingo, which seem to be ubiquitous in all non-American places I’ve visited.
What’s also unique is the blend of old with new when it comes to transportation. On the same street, sharing the same road, you are likely to see any of the abovementioned modern modes of transportation side-by-side with horse- or donkey-driven carts. Never mind the inequity in speed!
Another unique thing is the hiring of personal drivers. For the week that my partner teacher and I were in Saint Louis, we had a private driver named DouDou, and we LOVED him.
For more about modes of transportation in Senegal, as I didn't get probably as many pictures of it as I should have, check out my cohort Gina's post on her blog!
Q. What kind of government does Senegal have? - Nathan S.
A. Senegal has one of the most stable governments in all of Africa, and most Senegalese have a positive perception of the four presidents they’ve had since gaining their independence in 1960. On paper, they have a democracy, and citizens choose their leaders through fair elections. Of course, like anywhere, there are accusations that political leaders are corrupt and manipulate ballot results, but these reports are largely just rumor. Senegalese people do feel free to express themselves, practice the religion of their choice (although most choose to practice Islam), and so forth; they just complain, like we do in America, that politicians are often self-serving and fail to reflect the average Joe. But, to answer your question, officially they have a democracy. The current president is Macky Sall.
Just to illustrate how nothing is perfect, a relatively recent political scandal involved the previous president’s creation of a large monument in the middle of the capital city that cost millions of dollars to build, was built by North Korea, and shows a scantily clad mother in an otherwise mostly modest country. Some citizens complained that the money used to build the statue could have been better spent improving schools, developing infrastructure, etc. Compared to other African countries, where corruption, genocide, terrorism, and worse occur, Senegal is actually quite peaceful, stable, and safe.
To be fair, the monument is quite beautiful and provides unequaled panoramic views of the city. There is also a museum inside which features information about the history of Senegal as well as artwork by prestigious African artists.
The monument is also symbolically significant, with a mother holding her arm back towards the ground, to represent the country’s ties to its past, and the child pointing towards the future, which represents the country’s urge to progress into the modern era.
Q. Are women and men equal in Senegal? Do the women there protest their rights like the women in America? --Jasmine D.
A. Gender equity is probably the biggest social issue in Senegal right now. We heard about it a lot when we were there, especially from teachers who do such things as making sure they call on both boys and girls equally in class and from those who oppose the cultural ritual of female genital mutilation, but compared to America gender inequity is a major problem, although not all Senegalese perceive what is there traditional way of life as necessarily wrong or damaging to women. However, it is true that most women are housewives and are responsible for domestic chores--cooking, cleaning, child-rearing, etc.--and receive literally no help from men in doing so. While many women do work outside of the home, it is by no means ubiquitous, nor does it mean they are exempt from household chores as a result. Another major limitation to gender equality is the Islamic-based tradition of polygamy, which is legal up to four wives and remains widely practiced. In fact, my host teacher had two wives. Whether or not polygamy relates to gender equity is debatable, but most people say it does. Actually, the most famous book written by a Senegalese women, So Long a Letter, is about this exact issue. Fortunately, with a growing presence of strong female teachers, along with non-profit organizations such as FAWE, Senegal is moving towards gender equality. However, in terms of protesting, I was not made aware of any marches or things like that like we have had here lately. In fact, many women seem to be complicit in their role.
Q. Do the women wear makeup and dress the same as we do? Or are they more conservative than we are? - Pazzion R.
A. Overall, it depends on the person. There is an equal blend of people who wear clothes just like we do in America and those who wear traditional clothes. Among the traditionalists, both women and men wear clothes made of pagne or batik, which are both wax-based printed fabrics, although the styles are different. What is unique is that the traditional clothes are often handmade by local tailors.
As for makeup, that was very similar, for the majority of the population, at least. Almost all women wear the same kind of makeup as we do here. They wore mostly eye makeup—e.g. eyeliner & eyeshadow—but less foundation, brozer, and blush than girls here.
One really unique thing they do there, though, is gum tattooing. Women will tattoo their gums black. Not all women by any means, but some, particular those of a certain ethnic group, will tattoo their gums black. They claim that it not only makes them more beautiful physically, but also emotionally, as it is a very painful process that only “strong” women can survive. We saw vintage tattoo equipment at a women’s museum we visited, and our house teacher, Aissatou, actually had the process done herself. Fun Fact: The museum is named for a famous Senegalese female journalist.
While the gum tattooing is relatively mild, it was of several things known to the western world as “hurt culture,” which refers to any cultural practice that involves pain. Gum tattooing is one example, as is female genital mutilation (or FGM for short), which I have discussed elsewhere in this post, but there are other forms as well. For example, some tribes will brand its members along the temple with a certain line. In some tribes, it’s one long line; in others, it’s two short parallel lines. This custom varies tribe to tribe and from family to family, depending on their interest in doing it, and while I did see people of both genders with the brand, I did not feel comfortable asking anyone to take a photograph of it.
Q. What kinds of meals did you eat? How do they differ from food in America? --Kaitlyn Z.
A. The types of unique Senegalese food I ate were thieboudienne, yassa, maafe, couscous, beignet and a variety of fresh fruit. We also ate lamb (baby sheep) and mutton (adult sheep). Thieboudienne, which translates to rice and fish, is the national dish, and most Senegalese people eat it every day. I think my favorite food that I had there is maafe, though, which is meat served with rice and a spicy peanut butter sauce. I also really liked fataya, a fried dough filled with meat and/or vegetables, similar to an empanada in Mexican cuisine or samosa in Indian; the one I had was filled with caramelized onions and boiled egg dishes.
We also had some unique juices, bissy and baobab , which they drink for desert. Bissy juice is just juice made with hibiscus flower, which we can get in the US too, but baobab juice is unique to Senegal. It's made from the fruit of the baobab tree, a tree that is special and sacred to Senegalese people because it can be used to sustain all aspects of human life--shade, shelter, clothing, medicine, water, and food. It is white and milky in consistency but tastes somewhat like pineapple, coconut, and banana mixed together. I brought some back as gifts for teachers, friends, and family. I even made some for my students during my Senegal presentation day along with couscous and attaya, which by the way is their style of tea, which is basically just chai with tons of mint and sugar, which looks and tastes somewhat like flat diet coke with mint flavor if prepared correctly.
The other noticeably unique thing that goes along with Senegalese eating habits is that of dining on the floor. In fact, I did not see a single table (other than a coffee or side table) in any of the homes I visited. What happens is that the wife clears a space, places an intricate dining sheet on the floor, serves the meal in a single dish, provides guests with an eating utensil if you are lucky, and then invites all to gather around.
Q. Do the students like to go fishing like I do? –Karson M.
A. While I did see a few boys fishing for fun, the main way they catch fish—which is the Senegalese people’s dietary staple—is with boats and nets. Commercial fisherman work on small, canoe-like vessels called pirogues and cast nets to capture fish deep out at sea. I am not sure what methods are used for river fishing, as I did not see this with my own eyes, but it might be with hook & line.
Q. Did they use different techniques with food and hunting? How did the animals differ from animals in America? –Aleah T.
A. I don’t think that Senegalese people really hunt like people in the US do, either for food or for sport. The meat they eat—chicken, beef, lamb, and goat—are farmed. In fact, you see goats (and sometimes sheep) EVERYWHERE, roaming in and out of people’s homes like children!
As for animals that we don’t see in the US, while crocodiles, flamingos, pythons, antelope, lions, and manatees are known to exist there in some parts, I only saw pelicans, monkeys, and warthogs.
Q. What did the students say when you gave them grits? --Scott P.
A. Hey, Scott, you read the email I sen you on the day I delivered your postcards! I had mentioned that I shared with the students grits, since that is something unique to South Carolinian cuisine. Even though they have something similar to grits in their own culture—a type of porridge made with millet and sour milk—they were totally confused by the concept of grits. Corn does grow in Senegal, so they knew what the main ingredient was, I just think grinding it and boiling it with water to make a mushy substance was weird to them. Hopefully, though, they tried it!
Q. What do the Senegalese people like to do for fun or in their free time? --Sydney M.
A. Some hobbies that Senegalese people have include soccer and just sitting around socializing. They are pretty busy with working, hustling, doing chores, and so forth that there really is not much time leftover. They do watch TV and listen to music on the radio, like we do. People don’t knit or read for pleasure or collect stamps or coins or anything like that. They just sit, visit with each, and maybe play on a smartphone if they have one.
Another really popular hobby is exercise, especially in the capital city of Dakar. At around dusk each evening, thousands of young people go out running and working out. There is even an outdoor gym, donated by the Chinese, I believe, that exists along about 1,000 yards of the coast. At dusk, all of this equipment is being used. They are very into physical fitness.
Also somewhat related to hobbies is the concept of pets. While many Senegalese raise goats and chicken, very, very few people keep pets in the sense that we do here in the US. While I did see cats and dogs all over the place, they were all strays.
Q. How is soccer viewed in Senegal? --Jose V.
A. Soccer is ubiquitous in Senegal. People of all ages play it, watch it, follow it, and so forth, just like in much of the world. I didn’t get to see any games, but I did go to a stadium as well has have a chance to talk with the local pro-aspiring goalie. Senegal does have a national team as well as a pro league within the country.
Q. What type of music do they listen to mostly in Senegal? --Niah
A. Music is a big thing there. Like many places in Africa, drumming (with djembes, not bongos!) is widespread and many towns or villages have local drum circles that meet regularly to jam. There is also an instrument called a kora, a guitar-like device. The most popular type of music is called mbalaax, which is like a blend between jazz, R&B, pop and reggae. Jazz is also very popular, and Senegal hosts an annual international jazz festival that draws tourists from all over the world. Strangely enough, it was going on when we were there, but it started VERY late, and we were so tired from teaching and working each that we didn’t get a chance to enjoy it.
Q. How many different races did you see in Africa? --Bre J.
A. I saw people whose skin was black, white, and brown. While most of the people in Senegal are of sub-Saharan ethnic groups, meaning their skin is very dark, because the capital Dakar is quite metropolitan, there are white people from Europe and the US who live there. There is also a strong Turkish population as well.
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Well, phew! That’s it! If you would like to ask me anything else about my trip, feel free to drop me an email!