Labor Camp Experience

I really miss my learners especially after the first class. I was really enthusiastic and I could not wait for the next class. I had so much energy and I was well prepared to teach the next class. The next class meant so much for me, because it is the chance to fix the previous mistakes. The next class was the chance to start the real teaching, with the actual content we were developing. The next class was next big step, because our journey with these learners is quite short and every class is a big step for both of us. However, we missed a big step due to the sudden changes enforced by the CMU administration. The changes suggest that we are no longer going to teach in the labor camps, instead we are teaching in CMU. I was not happy with changes, and the way it have been done. I felt that I am missing big part of the teaching experience due to these new changes. I am not resisting change here but I am really missing something big.

When we used to teach in the labor camps, it was more challenging and interesting. The interesting and challenging part starts with the resources. In the labor camp the available resources were very basic, in comparison to what we have here in CMU. We as students are used to these advanced resources such as power point, projectors and internet, however the story is different for us when we go there and we do not have any of that. This fact was my major concern when I took this class in the beginning. Because when I am teaching anything, I always think in terms of technology, what sort of technology I am going to use and how I am going to use it. These are the questions I always to try to find an answer for. Power point and a project were vital tools that I always make the assumption they were there. Now I go the labor camp I only have a small white board and few small printed papers with me. Here there is a huge gap, of what I am used to have and what I have there. This gap in fact is one of the greatest aspects of this experience and personally I can relate to this because my previous teaching experience in Rwanda.

Last summer when I was in Rwanda I never thought I will be able to teach the basics of programming to kids, without a projector. It was something almost impossible to do because how I am going to show them how to add something to the program? It is a very hard question to answer. Yet, I was able to answer this question in a way I did not imagine. I was teaching kids programming on software that they have never seen in their lives, without a projector, and they were able to do everything I taught them to do. The results were surprisingly amazing. Now if we try to apply the same principle in our teaching in the labor camps, I think each of us, as students, will have his own creative way addressing this issue. Because each of us is facing this issue and have to address it to make his learners understand what he says. I believe each of us will be a better teacher than what he/she thinks. I believe that if you are a good teacher with basic resources then you can be great teachers with advanced resources.

In a brief, what I talked about is just one aspect of the labor camp experience. I did not talk about how the labor camp experience could make us appreciate what we have, makes us humble people and create adaptable individuals. I think the labor camp experience specifically and what we do in this class aligns with what CMU wants us to do and it helps in creating the person CMU wants to see.