It was an opportunity to hear more about the project from Sosthenes, more about Tanzania and Dodoma from both of them -- and for them to hear from me what my interests, background, skills, and dispositions are (along with my excitement and apprehension, too).
I was moved by the story of the generosity of the Doherty family, the benefactors supporting this apostolic venture. Their own involvement in the education of children in Dodoma is its own story of getting caught in the crosshairs of providence -- all starting with hearing about the establishment of a primary school in Dodoma at Mass in Arizona. I have not met them yet, but it is clear that St. Ignatius Loyola's prayer to be taught how to be generous is a prayer that's been answered in their own lives.
I was surprised to learn that the high school will be a boarding school. Yikes: I have no experience with the administration of a boarding school. The reason for its being designed as such is clear: Otherwise, the girls will be disadvantaged because of the expectation that when they return home from school at the end of the day they will devote themselves to assisting with domestic duties.
I had a chance to articulate how unrealistic a mid-January 2010 start is from my perspective. Here is my reasoning in part. First, the medium of instruction will be English, but that doesn't mean that it will be the only language spoken otherwise outside of classrooms: especially given that it will be a boarding school means that Swahili will be spoken a large portion of the day outside of classrooms -- and that means I should have some facility with the language, which in turn means some months of intensive language preparation. Also, I need to get to know community members involved in education in Dodoma. This will be essential in terms of hiring, recruiting students, etc. As I mentioned to my companions at lunch: Starting a school is not a matter of "just adding water and stirring!" It will take time. The proposal is that we start the school year in 2011 but that we have a pre-session beginning in June 2010 to sharpen the skills for those students who might need such sharpening -- this will be an opportunity to "test" the structures before the official start, too.
My own reading of the Secondary Education Development Plan (SEDP) of the Tanzanian government makes it clear how needed the OLQP center is. The country's successful implementation of such a plan for primary schools has created an "upward demand for access to secondary education." As well, it is clear in the 21st century that secondary education will play an important role in improving the country's economic and social development. (Incidentally, a lot of the information about the current state of educational affairs in Tanzania comes from what seems like a very important voice in such matters: Hakielimu -- www.hakielimu.org)
The enrollment in secondary schools went from 350,000 students in 2003 to 675,000 by 2006! It has been noted that this increase has not been without problems, especially a detrimental change in student-teacher ratio. OLQP is meant not only to address the need but also to help serve -- in the fashion of the Jesuit school in Dar es Salaam (Loyola High School) -- as an exemplar for what might be done.
I envision the school taking up the government's mandates with a "Jesuit twist." For instance, the SEDP calls for a new curriculum that is "focused and streamlined" and which addresses the development of analytic skills. There is a great desire in Tanzania to move from reliance on rote memorization and on "chalk and talk" to a more inquiry-based curriculum. Among the skills that alumni of Jesuit schools often note about their education is that they had a chance to develop analytic skills, to develop critical faculties. To help to build a curriculum based on inquiry is an exciting thing.
This will all depend on high quality teaching, of course. (The national need for good teaching in the face of the almost exponential growth in the number of schools is the reason for opening a teachers college as part of the OLQP center in a few years.)
In a separate post, I'll share how happy I was that Sossy and Deo agreed that this school should find its foundation not only on Ignatian pedagogy and principles of Catholic social teaching but also on the philosophy of education of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, the first president of Tanzania (who had been a teacher himself) whose ideas about the role of education in society are very important to attend to (not only for Tanzanians but for anyone dedicated to education as it relates to democracy and justice).
In the meantime, here's something from Decree Three of the Jesuits' 35th General Congregation that's been commended for the reflection of Detroit Province Jesuits during the Fifth Week of Lent:
While respecting provincial or regional priorities, these [apostolic] "preferences" indicate apostolic areas requiring "special or privileged attention." In our present context, we may confidently say that they offer areas for the realization of the mission orientations provided by this decree. In consultation with the Conferences of Major Superiors, Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach decided on the following apostolic preferences:
(i) Africa. Aware of the cultural, social, and economic differences in Africa and Madagascar, but also conscious of great opportunities, challenges, and variety of Jesuit ministries, we acknowledge the Society's responsibility to present a more integral and human vision of this continent. In addition, all Jesuits are invited to greater solidarity with and effective support of the Society's mission of inculturating faith and promoting more justice in this continent.Caught in the crosshairs of providence...
Our Lady Queen of Peace: Pray for us!
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