1. Her friend Shawn wants to know what the consequence is for hunting for ivory:
I just finished a great article about poaching that might give you a good idea of what that scene is like. Poaching is a HUGE problem. We bought the girls a soccer ball and proceeds went to anti-poaching agencies (the ball is printed with the slogan “alive and kicking”!). Compared to what the poachers can provide in bribes, the game wardens are paid a pittance, so it a testimony to their integrity that they are still on the job!
2. John wants to know if everyone runs to work since Kenya produces many great runners?
Haha. No, but people walk EVERYWHERE. Even across the highway. Cars are a luxury many cannot afford and walking is a natural alternative. I was just thinking about how in America everything is about arch support and proper cushioning, but here people walk a lot farther in flip-flops or other shoes that lack the “proper” support.
From Carolyn:
3. I'm curious about school supplies and clothing. Do they have separate classes grouped by age or by ability?
Kenyan schools are much more “British” in many ways (being a British colony, that makes sense). The students all wear uniforms, you can tell which school children go to by the color clothing they are wearing. The learning is much more rote memorization (we are constantly impressed by Kenyans’ ability to memorize things!) and reciting things back to a teacher as a group (unlike the focus in America on class debates and discussions, open-ended questions, and problem-solving skills). While this seems maybe “boring” from an American perspective, it can be practical when only the teacher has a book or classes are so overcrowded that not everyone can have a chance to speak.
They pay for school, as well. Technically the lower grades are supposed to be free, but there are always “fees” of some sort, for uniforms or supplies. The names for classes are different too: class 1- class 8 is like 1st through 8th grade and is for everyone. After class 8, you take a test in each subject to see if you have enough points to be placed in a secondary (high) school, (Form 1- Form 4). The higher your scores, the better the school you go to, the highest scores go to international schools, where the government may pay for some of the tuition (it depends on your family’s circumstances). However, if you do not have high scores, or enough money you may be done at class 8. After Form 4, you take a test again to see if you qualify for university, if you do less well, you go to college (more like Community College, or trade schools), if you do poorly, you start looking for a job. Essentially your chances for education boil down to two major tests, so imagine the stress if you are sick that day or don’t test well.
That is all we know so far about the Kenyan national schools, I am hoping someday to be able to tour some of the nearby schools to see for myself. However, Kirk’s school is a private school and it uses American curriculum so that transferring to American schools or going to American universities/colleges is a possibility for students whose families live here. Rosslyn runs very much like an upscale school in the States, has extremely impressive scores on all types of standardized tests, and offers a pretty wide range of extra-curricular activities as well. The major difference is that they experience power outages every day or so. The outages only last about a minute until the generator kicks on, and the students are completely unimpressed by them. However, our girls love it when the power goes out, and are convinced that if they yell “Lights!” enough times, the lights come back on.
4. Who supplies the schools with what is needed, and do they have any technology? Or is it like chalkboard or…? Do they have pencil and paper or textbooks?
As for how Rosslyn is supplied, most of the things that the school needs come on a twice-yearly container from the US. We get everything from seats for the auditorium, to textbooks, to furniture for classrooms and staff houses. Apparently a lot of the times there is extra room in the container, and we can buy stuff online and have it sent to the container (as long as we don’t need it within the next 3-5 months).
For school supplies, there are lists [link] of what each student has to supply each year. Some things are the same, but the paper is a different size (A4 instead of Letter), and the binders are two-ring instead of three-ring.
As for technology, one of the reasons that Kirk was hired was to help train teachers to use tech tools effectively. There are SMART boards in almost every Elementary classroom and many of the Middle School classrooms. Kirk’s classroom is a computer lab that has about 25 new computers.
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