I was principal at the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy at the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the new century.
As I watched this video of the school, I couldn't help but be proud AND be hopeful that we here at St. Peter Claver High School might enjoy some measure of the success of U of D High.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Fixed an Important Link
But it still needs to be oiled.
I just tried the link to the Chicago-Detroit Jesuits under the "You Can Help" section to your right. It was broken, so I repaired it. It needs a little oil, however.
I just tried the link to the Chicago-Detroit Jesuits under the "You Can Help" section to your right. It was broken, so I repaired it. It needs a little oil, however.
Monday, August 15, 2011
An Important Interactive Map
Please click here to see a very interesting interactive map regarding spending on food.
A one dollar bag of rice in the U.S. is not the same as a one dollar bag of rice in Indonesia. For an American, who, on average, devotes about seven percent of his or her spending to food, it won’t matter that much if the price of rice doubles to two dollars. An American can likely take the money that would have gone to a “non-essential” item and put it towards food instead. But for an Indonesian, who devotes 43 percent of his/her spending to food, it could mean less to eat.Tanzania is not listed, but I can tell you that nourishment is what most people spend most of their money on.
EE-I-EE-I-O
My sister Toni along with some great friends in Toledo had a fundraiser last night for us. It was held at one of the great watering holes in greater Toledo -- Dale's Bar and Grill in Maumee, OH (thanks to Bill and Liz Anderson, owners, for hosting the event). The goal was to raise funds for our agricultural project.
Initial reports are that we'll have a few moo-moos here, baa-baas there -- here a cluck, there a quack, etc. My friend Mary Russell (buy her book!) donated enough money for 4 milk cows with the provision that we name them -- Mary, Donna, Jessie, Danielle. Happy to do such (it is less attractive to name animals raised for slaughter, though!).
I just completed a call with my oldest friend in the world, Rob Loeb, who co-chaired the event with Toni. He reports that folks had a marvelous time.
If you weren't at the event and would like to help, feel free to head over to Chicago-Detroit Province of the Jesuits site here, and donate what you can. Please choose "Eastern Africa" as your designation, and write "OLQP farm" in the comment section of the on-line donation form.
Thanks to all for your continued support!
*****UPDATE*****
I just heard from Toni that $8,455.00 has been raised so far. Can you help us hit $10,000.00? You can click on the link above.
Friday, August 12, 2011
A Sad Day
Today is Scholastic Martin Waweru's last day among us. He'll be leaving to make his annual retreat and then heading to Kenya to visit his family before starting a program in educational leadership at the University of London.
Martin has been a great companion, and I shall miss his presence here in Dodoma immensely. Last year at this time I was having a particularly
tough go of it, and he was there accompanying me every step of the way through that dark valley. And before that when there was a bit of tension in our community it was he, so much junior in this Jesuit life, who called his elders to face the issue and to forge a way through the difficulty.
In late December I discovered a teacher whom I'd employed was not going to show up, so I had to re-arrange the schedule. I asked him if he would be available to teach mathematics because he is trained as a maths teacher, and he agreed on the spot.
And what a maths teacher he's been. Recently a visitor asked five students who their favourite teachers were, and 4/5 mentioned him (and the fifth had a different teacher for mathematics). He exhibits just what you want to see in a good teacher: very high expectations and a willingness to support students in every way possible to help them meet those expectations.
Just two hours ago at our weekly baraza, I announced his departure, and along with Mwalimu David and the Headboy and Headgirl bade him farewell. Oh the tears among the students! -- and a few discreet ones among some sc
hool employees, too. His own words of farewell to our students were spot on, encouraging them to shoot for the stars.
In a couple of hours the Ivrea sisters will join us SJs for dinner to bid Martin farewell, and later some of the lay teachers living on campus will join us to lift a glass or two; and then tomorrow he departs.
We humans are not the only creatures who will miss him, either -- Chui our cat prefers Martin to everyone else.
Fortunately, I will have a chance to visit him in London when I pass through in November! Already I'm saving my shillings so that I can take him to a nice place.
Karibu tena, Waweru!
Martin has been a great companion, and I shall miss his presence here in Dodoma immensely. Last year at this time I was having a particularly
tough go of it, and he was there accompanying me every step of the way through that dark valley. And before that when there was a bit of tension in our community it was he, so much junior in this Jesuit life, who called his elders to face the issue and to forge a way through the difficulty.
In late December I discovered a teacher whom I'd employed was not going to show up, so I had to re-arrange the schedule. I asked him if he would be available to teach mathematics because he is trained as a maths teacher, and he agreed on the spot.
And what a maths teacher he's been. Recently a visitor asked five students who their favourite teachers were, and 4/5 mentioned him (and the fifth had a different teacher for mathematics). He exhibits just what you want to see in a good teacher: very high expectations and a willingness to support students in every way possible to help them meet those expectations.
Just two hours ago at our weekly baraza, I announced his departure, and along with Mwalimu David and the Headboy and Headgirl bade him farewell. Oh the tears among the students! -- and a few discreet ones among some sc
hool employees, too. His own words of farewell to our students were spot on, encouraging them to shoot for the stars.
In a couple of hours the Ivrea sisters will join us SJs for dinner to bid Martin farewell, and later some of the lay teachers living on campus will join us to lift a glass or two; and then tomorrow he departs.
We humans are not the only creatures who will miss him, either -- Chui our cat prefers Martin to everyone else.
Fortunately, I will have a chance to visit him in London when I pass through in November! Already I'm saving my shillings so that I can take him to a nice place.
Karibu tena, Waweru!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Home Again
I just returned home about one half hour ago.
I was so happy to be greeted by our students returning from an outing to the NaneNane grounds (tomorrow, after all, is nane nane or 8/8, the national holiday honouring farmers). They raced up the road to greet me and refused to let me carry my own luggage (I had taken the bus, the driver of which kindly dropped me off at our corner rather than making me go all the way into town to the depot.)
I enjoyed my holidays immensely (and in many ways wish the time could have been longer), but I am indeed happy to be back home.
A highlight yesterday was the chance to spend time with my friend Veronica Sarungi and her parents, the Honourable Professor Sarungi, retired member of parliament, and Mama Sarungi. It really was a delightful time. Veronica was concerned that I had been taken hostage by her father because of the two hours I spent with him. For me it was fascinating -- he was TZ's first orthopaedic surgeon; served as the defense minister, the education minister, and the minister of health; and has countless stories about Nyerere, my hero.
I was so happy to be greeted by our students returning from an outing to the NaneNane grounds (tomorrow, after all, is nane nane or 8/8, the national holiday honouring farmers). They raced up the road to greet me and refused to let me carry my own luggage (I had taken the bus, the driver of which kindly dropped me off at our corner rather than making me go all the way into town to the depot.)
I enjoyed my holidays immensely (and in many ways wish the time could have been longer), but I am indeed happy to be back home.
A highlight yesterday was the chance to spend time with my friend Veronica Sarungi and her parents, the Honourable Professor Sarungi, retired member of parliament, and Mama Sarungi. It really was a delightful time. Veronica was concerned that I had been taken hostage by her father because of the two hours I spent with him. For me it was fascinating -- he was TZ's first orthopaedic surgeon; served as the defense minister, the education minister, and the minister of health; and has countless stories about Nyerere, my hero.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Time to Think
These days at the beach have been restful, even retreat-like. I've managed to read a lot, to sleep a little more than usual. But they have also provided me a chance to really think about some short-term and long-term issues facing SPCHS and OLQP.
I have been thinking in particular about Loyola Teachers College and just what a difference this could make for the TZ. I'm very thankful to my friend Professor Vicki Graf (who recently visited us) for an an article she sent me that confirms not only my concerns about the present state of things here but also some of my initial thoughts about what's to be done relative to teacher education.
But I've also spent time thinking about how it is I can help our present teachers imagine different ways of being in the classroom, imagine different ways for their students to be in the classroom. That is a more immediate and more pressing concern -- and not an easy one. I think having teachers here who could model different possibilities would be a tremendous help, and I'm hoping the imminent arrival of a volunteer professionally trained as a mathematics teacher might be a good start. I'm also thankful for the kind offer of JP Morrison, the headmaster of St. Ignatius College, Enfield, London, UK, to have some of his best teachers come during the time the students from his school are here so that they could provide demonstration lessons.
It is hard for people to change without models for such. As I used to tell folks in my leadership classes, change for teachers is analogous to 19th century America -- no settler would leave the comforts of, say, Albany to settle in the West until the trailblazers had trailblazed and the pioneers had pioneered and a certain number of trustworthy settlers had settled and had written accounts assuring those they'd left behind in Albany that it was all worth the risk. I have to figure out a way to do this for our teachers, who for the most part are content with providing instruction the way it is customarily done here. And what does a typical classroom presently look like in TZ? According to a recent UNICEF study, something like this:
I have been thinking in particular about Loyola Teachers College and just what a difference this could make for the TZ. I'm very thankful to my friend Professor Vicki Graf (who recently visited us) for an an article she sent me that confirms not only my concerns about the present state of things here but also some of my initial thoughts about what's to be done relative to teacher education.
But I've also spent time thinking about how it is I can help our present teachers imagine different ways of being in the classroom, imagine different ways for their students to be in the classroom. That is a more immediate and more pressing concern -- and not an easy one. I think having teachers here who could model different possibilities would be a tremendous help, and I'm hoping the imminent arrival of a volunteer professionally trained as a mathematics teacher might be a good start. I'm also thankful for the kind offer of JP Morrison, the headmaster of St. Ignatius College, Enfield, London, UK, to have some of his best teachers come during the time the students from his school are here so that they could provide demonstration lessons.
It is hard for people to change without models for such. As I used to tell folks in my leadership classes, change for teachers is analogous to 19th century America -- no settler would leave the comforts of, say, Albany to settle in the West until the trailblazers had trailblazed and the pioneers had pioneered and a certain number of trustworthy settlers had settled and had written accounts assuring those they'd left behind in Albany that it was all worth the risk. I have to figure out a way to do this for our teachers, who for the most part are content with providing instruction the way it is customarily done here. And what does a typical classroom presently look like in TZ? According to a recent UNICEF study, something like this:
Obviously something must be done.Teacher-directed activities (explaining, question and answer, writing on the chalk board, reading to the class, asking pupils to read, lesson summary) took up over half (55%) of the lesson time. Individual seatwork, where pupils worked on exercises from the chalkboard or textbooks and teachers marked the exercises, accounted for 25% of the lesson time. More pupil-centred forms of learning (i.e. paired or group work, pupil demonstration) accounted for just 14% of the lesson time, with paired/group work making up 6% of the lesson time. Non-curricular activities (i.e. administration, no teaching activity taking place) took up a further 6% of the time.
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