Teaching In Uganda



A typical scene where a teacher will enter the classroom, copy an exercise on the board and leave the students to finish. I was baffled that this could be classed as teaching.

Cassandra with the P3 students.

The students were extremely interested and keen to learn, an absolute pleasure to teach and spend time with.

Each morning we would begin with physical education - at the time we didn't know there would be some 90 odd students but could there be a better way to start the day? 

Cat & Mouse: The students loved this game where one had to chase the other and the circle surrounding could trip up or closeline the cat who was chasing.  It was a throwback to a bygone era before health and safety got in the way of good old fashioned fun activities!!

Even a basic warm up is fun as the children are so naturally strong and agile.

I'm pretty sure they enjoy P.E.

Cassandra teaching gymnastics.

Just one of hundreds of smiles which light up the day.

The kids always wanted to know what was going on and often would want to join the lesson. 

An example poster from a P4 class - it is worth remembering that the students could barely count to 10 in English or even greet the teacher.  The vocabulary for health looks like a recipe for a horror movie.

Today's extra curricular activity will be collecting firewood.

P3 - Possibly the coolest class ever!!!!

A typical P.E class. 

The more fortunate students who have porridge for lunch.

The whole trip to Africa was tailored around our teaching experience in Uganda and although we had no idea what to expect, we were incredibly excited to meet the students and spend time teaching.

  Usually after a trip, one of the first questions people like to ask is 'what was the most difficult thing you encountered?'.  The answer for me on this trip was a cold and wet friday when we entered the P3 classroom to find the students alone, shivering and looking a little bewildered.  The students are around 8 or 9 years old and are sitting in a classroom which is dark, dank and just about as unhospitable as one room could possibly be.  It was probably the lowest point of the three month trip to see students who had walked 3 or 4 kilometres in the pouring rain have to sit unattended, not learning and with no lunch until they return home several hours later.

  However, time and time again we would enter the classroom and see bewildered faces give way to excited expressions because the students really want to do something and are extremely keen to learn.  It is impossible to forget the enormous smiles and rythmical clapping that the students use to welcome teachers and it is portentous of the energy and enthusiasm that they use in any activity or task. What is even more difficult to forget though is how many bright, intelligent and talented individuals are being failed by the school system.  At the school that we taught, we had to watch students try and take exams which are written in English, when they could barely understand or even read the language.  Other than the organisation's sponsoring scheme (which allows for the children to go to school on the mainland) I honestly can't fathom how the students will become educated and improve their lives.