More than the Elephants

By Dr. Kathy Rowlands

Less than two hours into our safari to Tsavo I asked Brian, “What does it tell you when seeing herds of elephants becomes commonplace?” We shook our heads in mutual bewilderment. Upon reflection, I have come to think it shows how your understandings of the world may have changed dramatically.

Although I have worked with teachers throughout the United States, and in Bangkok and American Samoa, and although I have presented at conferences to educators from all over the world, I have never been fortunate enough to be invited into classrooms as I was at Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa. Working with the students and teachers there, both reinforced, and expanded, my views of what is productive and possible in classrooms. As an International Baccalaureate school, the Aga Khan Academy curriculum at all grade levels is project-based, using large themes such as natural disasters or world exploration to focus student inquiry. These themes are broad enough to allow students many choices as they decide precisely how to focus their inquiries. For example, working with natural disasters, third graders explored topics as diverse as tsunamis, wild fires, and Kilauea Volcano in Hawai`i (a topic chosen before the current eruption).

This approach has great value. Giving students choices is well-known to be motivational, increasing their interest in learning. In addition, this approach takes a broad view of what it means to be well-educated, focusing on giving students experiences with asking questions, seeking answers to their questions, and assessing and synthesizing their findings. Why is this important? As Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google, noted in at the Techonomy Conference in 2010, humans now create as much information in two days as we did from the dawn of humanity through 2003 (https://techcrunch.com/2010/08/04/schmidt-data/. The implication, of course, is that knowing particular stuff has become less important than knowing how to find that stuff, understand its value, and perhaps create our own stuff. This is precisely what Aga Khan Academy students learn through their inquiry projects and through presenting their findings to broad audiences.

A number of teachers in both the Junior and Senior Schools welcomed me into their classrooms. There I saw evidence of many of the same pedagogies effective teachers in the United States use. In one classroom students were given images and asked to respond to the prompts, “What do I see? What do I think? What do I wonder?” In another, students planning their inquiry projects began by generating a number of questions around their topics. They were then asked to create a diamond chart ranking their most important question at the top. Spider maps helped student explore abstract human characteristics such as “principled,” “ethical,” and “reflective.” In all instances, the emphasis was on students generating and capturing their thinking.

A central characteristic of the Aga Khan Academies—and one that could be implemented in schools world-wide at no cost—is that all curricular and instructional decisions are guided by an overarching vision. As presented on the school website, that goal is “to develop young people who have strong local roots and are also globally minded. They should be able to become leaders in whichever fields they choose.” At Mombasa in particular, the mission is to create ethical home-grown leaders for the developing world and the African continent, who will work towards the goal of sustainable development. This vision helps teachers, students, and parents understand the purpose of all educational choices made at the school and helps focus both curriculum and pedagogy.

The five Aga Khan Curricular Strands—Ethics, Pluralism, Governance and Civil Society, Cultures (with an emphasis on Muslim civilizations) and Economics for Development—are woven throughout the curriculum, reinforcing values beyond the specific content of the lesson. For example, an English teacher using The Tempest to engage her students in Shakespeare’s often difficult work, questioned them about the ethical principles of various characters as they identified key plot points in the play. The Junior School translingual teacher combined work with Kiswahili and the theme of economics for community development in a fifth-grade class by having students work with the book One Hen.

Based on a true story from Ghana, this tale is of a poor boy who borrows enough money from his mother to buy a hen and who, by selling the hen’s eggs and saving his money, eventually is able to buy more hens, then a flock of chickens, and finally a chicken farm that employs many others. After summarizing the story in Kiswahili, the students discussed it as a group, examining the themes of saving money, planning for an enhanced economic future, and helping others succeed as well. Of course, the Academy is a private school and able to provide small classes for a select group of students. Still, similar educational goals and cultural values could be developed in larger, less selective educational settings.

Aga Khan Academy students are engaged and eager to contribute to class conversations, either in whole group or smaller group settings. They are curious and polite. In every classroom I entered, students acknowledged my presence with smiles and nods of greeting. One young man offered to give up his desk when I headed toward the back of the room until I assured him that I was quite comfortable in a chair the teacher had provided. In another class, a dozen students lined up to shake my hand in greeting. Knowing I had taught in Hawai`i for twenty years, and that I have friends living on the Big Island near the currently erupting Kilauea, the third-grade teacher introduced me to her two students who had studied volcanoes. We had a delightful conversation, sharing information and experiences.

I had been asked to work with the Mombasa teachers on writing, writing instruction, and literacy development. Knowing what a difficult time of year it was to take time for professional development (the week before final exams!) I was uncertain how receptive the teachers were likely to be during our four two-hour sessions together. However, I needn’t have worried. In spite of their many additional obligations, the teachers were engaged and happy to participate. One wrote, “I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and got immersed in the workshop. It was a great get-away from the hum-drum of what we keep doing in the classroom. It was a privilege for my department members to be a part of this workshop.” 

Participation is key because successful professional learning experiences are interactive. When teachers experience the kinds of work they will be asking of their students, they can be more certain in its implementation. During the first two days, the group included many content area teachers (math language, and science), so I focused on using writing as a pedagogy. I wanted them to see how writing could help them teach and help their students learn. I wanted them to understand that writing in content subjects shouldn’t be thought of as an extra requirement added into an already full curriculum, but as a tool that they and their students could use for thinking and learning.

At the end of the first session I asked the teachers to tell me what they had learned and what questions they had. The comments were insightful. Many wrote that focusing on developing student fluency first before working on mechanical correctness was a new idea for them, but that they understood its logic. One teacher indicated an openness to offering additional genres in which students could present their understandings, noting, “I should not always have students write essays as summative assessments; I could give more options—maybe a speech here, a sonnet or a diary entry there.” Another noted, “My main focus shouldn’t be teaching only the content but also how to put that content on paper.” Several expressed the realization that students are often reluctant writers because they feel vulnerable. One wrote, “If my students know they will not be labeled ‘stupid,’ they will write.”

Overall, I was impressed with the teachers’ openness, willingness to examine new ideas, and their honesty when they felt uncomfortable or challenged. During the final session when we were examining how to implement Donald Graves’s Writer’s Workshop (1983) in English classes, one teacher worried to the group, “I don’t know…. maybe I am just too conservative….” Later I was able to take her aside to comfort her. “I’ve seen your class,” I reminded her. “You like the kids, and they like you. They are learning. Don’t try something that makes you uneasy. Think about what you’ve experienced this week, and think about trying out one new thing. See how it works. Play with it until you are comfortable with it, then try something else. There are lots of right ways to teach.”

At the end of the fourth session, I once again asked for feedback. By this time most of the content teachers had moved to other obligations and the group was comprised of members of the English and Humanities departments. The “Key Takeaways” that the teachers listed assured me that our time together was well-spent. They recognized that they had to give time for writing as well as model what good writing looked like. They realized that writing can be fun. One wrote, “Writing is messy, but the final outcome is classy.” Several recognized the value of student choice as part of writing instruction; one teacher observed that students “should own their learning and choice keeps the students engaged and excited.”

Several left with a clearer understanding of how to deal with grammar and mechanics. They recognized the importance of integrating correct language instruction into writing and reading instruction. A teacher wrote, “Grammar has always been a challenge. I have always used worksheets in the hopes of getting it right. How wrong I have been!” Another commented, “It has been a mind opening workshop for me as regards writing in all aspects of the curriculum. I now know what to focus on in my students’ writing and ‘correctness’ is not the major focus.”

The introduction of Donald Graves’s writer’s workshop was well-received by many in the group. Several noted that they were already using some of these practices in their classrooms but hadn’t realized it and now felt more comfortable expanding on their implementation. I was surprised—and pleased—that one Junior School teacher envisioned using writer’s workshop in Kiswahili as an additional language class.

I have led a lucky life in terms of seeing much of the world and having three foster kids (adults now) from Cambodia and Vietnam to teach me additional human perspectives, but this trip, this school, this experience—all have enriched those perspectives. CSUN is a diverse university, and fortunate in its diversity. I can walk from my office to the library only halfway across campus and hear half a dozen languages (not of all of which I recognize). Still. That’s different. Travelling half a planet away from the familiar teaches unexpected things in unexpected ways. I was in college during the Civil Rights Movement. I have read Malcolm X, and James Baldwin, and Alice Walker and Ta-Nehishi Coats, and Toni Morrison and many others. I am currently reading Jacqueline Woodson’s Black Girl Dreaming.  But I had to go to Africa to better understand the strong cultural backgrounds of many of my fellow citizens.

This experience has reinforced my belief in the importance of my work with issues of social justice—in my classes where I have been integrating it into the instructional content, as Director of the Cal State Northridge Writing Project, and in my personal commitment to provide more equitable educational opportunities for all students.

Seeing herds of elephants on safari never really became commonplace. But I became more discerning. I began to recognize typical behaviors. I realized that each animal has unique personalities. Individual animals become memorable, such as the large bull flaring his ears at us and taking several threatening steps towards our van until our guide put the truck into neutral and revved the engine, persuading the animal to turn away and join his herd.

Similarly, three weeks at Aga Khan Academy helped me begin to understand the school and its values. I learned that even when things look different, they are more similar than I might at first think. Particularly important, I learned that racism can be overcome. Respectful contact and interaction is a key. Knowledge and acceptance of difference is a key. Learning to see beyond skin color and dress is a key. Seeing a blue-eyed blond from Tajikistan, an African from northern Kenya, and a Muslim girl wearing a hijab crossing campus, arms linked, chatting happily provided me with hope for our human future.