Ben Teaching Standard Six Social Studies Class
Teaching Kenyan Social Studies to Standard Six was an interesting experience today. The textbook covered how peace in a country can be attained, and also how it can be threatened, but despite it being a very important topic to discuss, the students did not show much enthusiasm. It wasn’t until Emily and I started to to list differences and similarities to the United States and Kenyan Constitutions that the kids pricked their ears up, especially when we talked about President Obama.
Standard Six Student Drawing the Kenyan Flag
The headmaster, Mr. Peterson, gave me a copy of the government-issued revised edition (2011) of the Kenyan Constitution to keep and to use while teaching class. The kids did showed some interest, but going through all of the ways the two constitutions were similar was definitely more interesting to Emily and me.
Social Studies Class
What got the kids really excited was singing the national anthems. They sang the Kenyan anthem in English first, and I noticed that some of the students seemed less eager and less confident to participate. When they sang the same anthem in Swahili though, every single kid was giving it their best. It was pretty heart-warming.
Fun at the End of P.E.
In response, Emily and I sang the U.S. national anthem, “God Bless America” and recited the Pledge of Allegiance. It was a really moving instance of cultural exchange between us, and was neat to see how much we held the students’ attention just by sharing some of our national traditions with one another. Before we knew it, though, the 35 minute class was over, and we were on to our next group of eager learners.