There is a reason Peace Corps advertises that this job is “the toughest job you’ll ever love”; this job is incredibly difficult. But sometimes I wonder what makes it so hard. Of course I miss my friends and family back home, but not to the extent of tainting this experience. And I miss several luxuries I had back home, but I have indoor plumbing that works most of the time, the public transportation in my village is easy, and I have good quality clothes for the winter weather. So what’s the hardest part of this job?
To me, the part that makes this job so difficult is that I’m working to inspire change within a foreign system that is somewhat restraining. I have to work with poorly designed textbooks that we must teach by and we can’t stray to far from. And I try to work with it. I can see that the textbooks are poor, but complaining about them won’t make positive change. Instead, I work with my partners to make the best of the situation.
Teachers here don’t have previous pedagogy training that is current. So I work with them to include new pedagogy and teaching methods in their lessons. Additionally, I hope to inspire them to enjoy teaching with these up-to-date teaching techniques.
There’s also corruption in the system. Nepotism is often overlooked, despite the evidence of poor performance. Moreover, many college professors allow students to pay for their grades. It’s difficult to teach the value of honest and not cheating when this is allowed later in life.
Furthermore, I’m not causing direct change. When you have money to donate, you can see the products bought with said money right away. When you volunteer to build a school, you see the physical structure. But I work to inspire change. I work to teach my partners how to be better teachers, and that’s not something I can see right away.
So it’s that leap of faith that makes this so hard; hoping and trusting that the work I’ve done is a positive change that remains once I’ve gone.
To me, the part that makes this job so difficult is that I’m working to inspire change within a foreign system that is somewhat restraining. I have to work with poorly designed textbooks that we must teach by and we can’t stray to far from. And I try to work with it. I can see that the textbooks are poor, but complaining about them won’t make positive change. Instead, I work with my partners to make the best of the situation.
Teachers here don’t have previous pedagogy training that is current. So I work with them to include new pedagogy and teaching methods in their lessons. Additionally, I hope to inspire them to enjoy teaching with these up-to-date teaching techniques.
There’s also corruption in the system. Nepotism is often overlooked, despite the evidence of poor performance. Moreover, many college professors allow students to pay for their grades. It’s difficult to teach the value of honest and not cheating when this is allowed later in life.
Furthermore, I’m not causing direct change. When you have money to donate, you can see the products bought with said money right away. When you volunteer to build a school, you see the physical structure. But I work to inspire change. I work to teach my partners how to be better teachers, and that’s not something I can see right away.
So it’s that leap of faith that makes this so hard; hoping and trusting that the work I’ve done is a positive change that remains once I’ve gone.
No comments:
Post a Comment