Africa: A Different Perspective

My students study Africa.  It is in the Eastern Hemisphere.  My curriculum covers World Cultures of the Eastern Hemisphere.   It sounds  simple.... It is NOT.  Africa is a CONTINENT, not A country.  It has more than 53 countries.  It has beauty, struggle, war, and it is complicated.  From governments, to culture, to needs.... it is complex.  Today my students got a rare glimpse at Africa from another perspective:  an actual person who lives there.

There is something magical about a guest speaker.  When someone from another place opens up about their life and their story.... it is simply breathtaking.  Even more breathtaking is the look on students' faces.  When close to 600 students are hushed listening to someone other than themselves....well, it is remarkable.

Today Invisible Children visited our school.  They shared a lot of the history of atrocities happening in Central Africa, and they shared the history of how they came to be where they are today as an organization.  They gave students a glimpse at our political process.  Middle School students maybe can't vote, but they sure can talk.  They have a voice.  They have LOUD voices and they can use that voice for something other than recreation.  Today students  viewed a short video, listened to speakers, and wrote letters to their Senator encouraging the continued support of ending atrocities committed by the LRA in Central Africa the past 26 years.

Throughout the day, our guests complimented our school on having such great understanding of what was happening.  They appreciated the background knowledge students exhibited, and they were impressed with the mural project from last year.  After photo ops, autographs, lunch, snacks, and such, they packed up their van.  I'm quite sure our halls will never be the same.  At least, I'm hoping they WON'T be the same.  I know I am NOT the same.

I had the rare privilege of hosting our speakers for dinner and as overnight guests.  I sat in awe of their normalcy.  I felt as if I was having dinner with someone I had known my whole life. As the evening progressed I looked around my living room to see us all curled up on couches, watching the Presidential Debate.  It was a perfectly normal night.  The differences between our worlds seemed minimal and I was awestruck by the fact that if I can sit down at the table with my whole family and strangers, and offer them a chance to curl up in a sleeping bag on my living room floor, surely we can all work together to end a war?

Pharaohs, Mummies, and Revolution, OH MY!

My students have spent the past few weeks studying Egypt long ago and Egypt today.  When we talk about Ancient Egypt my students are thrilled by the thoughts of mummies, and pyramids, and the stories that go with the topics.  It was very interesting learning about the mummification process, the rulers of Egypt long ago and how progressive they were as a civilization.  Many of my students were shocked to find out that women of Ancient Egypt were business owners and could buy and sell property!  What happened from the fall of Egypt in 669 B.C. to 2012 is a mystery to me.  Many citizens in Egypt have found themselves fighting for a better life, and a better country since January, 2011.  My students viewed some great stories from 60 minutes about the Revolution from January, 2011, and more recent footage from the Fall of 2011.  Here we are almost two years later and Egypt is not quite where they want to be.  What an awesome thing for my students to view and realize that Changing a government and promoting Democracy takes TIME.  I fear that people want things fast, quick, easy and life is anything but, quick and easy.  Yes, Egypt began a revolution with Facebook and Twitter and it lasted 18 days.  But their dream of having  a democracy is just unfolding and that could take years to resolve. 

The Revolution in Egypt began by some ordinary people who chose to be activists and seek change.  Imagine what  our students will be accomplishing in the next 30 years?

We had some fantastic conversations about how that connects to our world, as well as what our founding fathers felt like when our nation was struggling to be a Democracy.  How did they feel writing the first Constitution?  James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin didn't tweet their proposals or location of town hall meetings, but I bet they experienced some of the same thoughts and feelings as the revolutionaries in Egypt.  I bet there was fear, struggle, and they were not where they wanted to be in two years.  In fact, I bet some of our leaders and politicians today would say we are not where we want to be, TODAY!! Democracy isn't perfect, and it does take time! How lucky we are that our founding fathers signed that Constitution 225 years ago!

As my students complete their Egypt studies and projects I hope they begin to see and connect that all countries struggle to find a government system that works and serves the people.   There are good leaders and not so good leaders.  Some people understand how to use their power in a positive way and others use it for things almost unspeakable.  I hope they see that even our own country can struggle, but thankfully, WE HAVE DEMOCRACY and WE CAN VOTE.

Below follow some Egypt Projects we have completed: