Evan and I add the unenviable task of being “on duty” this past week. Duty, in its boiled down, no bullshit, unadulterated state requires two teachers to control the movement of one thousand students for an entire week. Fortunately, most students at our school are boys….and my students. This means I can actually track them down at their dormitory (I cannot, for obvious reasons, track down dozens of girls in their dorms on a whim).
Duty starts early. Before the first class at 7:00 am, teachers on duty must round up all students and ensure their punctuality. After break at 9:30am and lunch until 1:00pm teachers on duty must do the same. If there is an assembly after classes, the hunt begins anew. After dinner students must go to their classes for two hours of preparation time (like study hall), so again we drive the errant ones to classrooms.
Many of our students are unversed in the fine art of punctuality. They expect to roll into class fifteen minutes late or more. Or they simply skip class (dodge class) for no good reason. If we happened to catch one out and about without permission, they sputtered the most incoherent lies and fabrications about their tardiness. It was if they just had to keep trying various justifications until one stuck…it was more than a little pathetic. They’re simply really bad liars (and cheats for that matter), which I guess is not terrible except that I think they believe they actually are good liars. Their modicum of deceptive skills doesn’t carry them far, but they just plow ahead anyways.
Constantly hounding and herding students is a physically and mentally exhausting task. I now understand why most of the Rwandese and Ugandan teachers just half-ass their duty (with predictable discipline results). If you are not on your feet teaching a class, you’re outside patrolling for wanderers. On top of the physical strain, students are constantly trying to outwit you and sneak off to play hooky behind the toilet or water barrel. And they lie. And they complain, and bitch, and moan. And they’re completely disrespectful. And they don’t LISTEN! For whatever reason, many students seem to think that walking away as if unaware you are calling them will absolve them of responsibility…wrong! Those are the ones who are punished more severely.
Punishment, inevitably, is some form of cleaning. Our method of choice last week was a long, bent end machete used to slashing grass. Carry one with you at all times and you are ready to dole out some quick justice (and keep the grass a respectable length at the same time). I don’t take pleasure in punishing students because it wastes my time and their time. Plus Nyagatare was hotter than hell last week. However there is a certain satisfaction knowing that some smug fourteen year-old didn’t pull a fast one on you or any other staff member.
After a week of 5:00AM wake-up calls I was ready to sleep in on Saturday, but it was not to be. Out of the blue, we were told Friday that the district office was holding an awards ceremony for the best performing girls in S1 and S4 at our school on Sunday. What’s more, Janet Kagame, wife of President Paul Kagame and First Lady of Rwanda, was rumored to be attending. Well, the school went into DEFCON 1 alert, and all students were conscripted to clean and manicure the school grounds in anticipation of her arrival.
So on Saturday morning, after a really trying week and more than a few cold beers the night before, I found myself standing in the welcome shade of a cassia tree watching students slash grass and sweep pathways at 7:00am. I was so completely exhausted and sick (bad head cold) that I stayed home all day Sunday to sleep and watch movies…and no, I didn’t care about missing duty on Sunday. Evan and I had already so outperformed our colleagues there was no need. Bleh.
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