READING IN RWANDA By Lexi Ferguson Sixteen students, both education majors and non-education majors, boarded an airplane to Kigali, Rwanda, on May 9, 2016, where they taught English to third- and fourth-graders for three weeks through a nonprofit program called Africa Reads. The Africa Reads program was started in 2008 by Ken Stamatis, assistant prof('Ssor of education. Adam Baker, director of middle child education and the executive director of Africa Reads for the past three years, said tl1at the program had mree purposes in Kigali. The first was to teach English, the second was to build classroom libraries by taking books over and delivering them to schools, and the third was to provide professional development for teachers. "Though Africa Reads is opened up to all majors, the majority of the students that go are education majors," Baker said. "One or the pitches that we make is if you can teach in a classroom with chalk and no technology, and all you've got is your brain and creativity, then you'll survive in an Ame1ican cl assroo 111." Senior M adi.on Stone, an early childhood education majo1~said she decided lo take the trip to ee what it would be like to teach third-and fourth-graders since she had always liked teaching kindergarten and first grade. She said after going to l(jgali, she realized teaching in Afiica was something she would love to pursue in the future. "It taught me perspective more than anything," Stone said. "Thinkjng about all of the things that I complain about in life and then going over there and seeing how happy they arc, despite how much worse off they have it, is crazy. There were some ki ls lwho] had water bottles as hoes because they couldn't affrffd real shoes. Their soccer balls were plastic bags tied together with string. It was crazy because they were all so happy, and yet they were playing with plastic bags that we throw away and water bottles that we recycle." The Harding students were put into the culture and the classroom as soon as they arrived in Kigali. Baker said the hardest part for him was pushing th<' student to eJq)erience Rwanda on their own wid10ut him there to hold their hands. Sophomore Emily Inwards, a psychology major; said the first couple of days were especially hard for her since she was one of the few non-education majors on the uip. "I usually pick up on tlungs after I see [them] for the first time, so I just watched th education majors do it once and we'd talk about it after class, and th<'n it was good for me," Inward said. "We also didn't know how rough the language barrier would be, so it was a little discouraging the fir t day." Stone said the most rewarding pan for her was making a difference. She said when they first aniwd in Rwanda, the third-graders did not know any Engli ·h at all, but by the time the three weeks were over, most of them could say simple words and sentences in English. She said she also loved the teachers there and described them as being ve1y helpful. Baker said the students went on a safari, visit d rufferent churches and participated in Umuganda, a sen ice day in Rwanda, where they repainted chalk boards at a local school. He said it was very rewarding for lum and his student, to get to know the people of Rwanda and build relationships with them. "I think, again, that one of the biggest things that they get from the trip is perspectjw --being able to see ]jfo through a djffer<'nt lens tl1an we do in America,·' Baker said. "If they leave with that and ee the blessings that tl1ey have and how Christ works notjusl here but in Rwanda, I think that makes it a successful trip." Senior Stephanie Gra ber lea rn s an Af rican handshake du ring a break from classes at Gro upe Scholar Kicukiro in Kigali, Rwanda, on Nlay 15, 2016. While in Kigali, Harding students learned Rwandan dances, songs and handshakes to immerse themselves in African culture. I Photo courtesy of Alex Valdes Rwandan students show respect to their teachers at the Groupe Scholar Kicukiro on May 15, 2016. Groupe Scholar Kicukiro was the largest public school in Kigali. I Photo courtesy of Alex Valdes Junior Riley J ones gets to know the students on a personal level outside of the classroom. Eager to learn, the Rwandan students paid close attention to all that was said in and out of class. I Photo courtesy of Alex Valdes rm C \TIO\ ~ 81 ) •
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