A Clash of Cultures—What to Compare?

Chisuma School near Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Last week you were immersed in studying the educational system of a country somewhere in the world. I've started reading/viewing/listening to your reports and enjoy learning about these very different views of education. Sometimes we forget the our system in the U.S. is not the one that everyone uses.

On our recent trip to Africa we visited the Chisuma School, a small, rural school just outside Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Victoria Falls is a tourist area with visitors from around the globe there to see one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

We arrived in the afternoon to find 75 of the school's elementary students outside waiting to greet us. Various grade level groups welcomed us with poems, songs, and performances. All of the students  walk to school, some several miles each way. Parents pay $10/term for each student and even at that modest cost, many students need help with the tuition.

This elementary school has a special and very dedicated group of high school students who live too far from the local high school to attend that school...so they attend this school closer to their homes. In one room at least 55 students were crowded together in a hot, stuffy room with few textbooks available. The teacher wrote the lessons on the chalkboard. But still, these students are committed to their studies and realize that education is their pathway to a better life.

Education in Zimbabwe has suffered terribly as has the entire country during the economic crisis of the last 15 years. Once known as the breadbasket of southern Africa, with one of the highest literacy rates in Africa, the country now has an 80% unemployment rate.

While in 1980 an average of six dollars was allocated per pupil, in 2009 this amount had dropped to $.70 per pupil. As a result, the pupil-textbook ratio in urban schools has dropped to one textbook for every 10 pupils while in rural schools there is only one textbook available for every 40 pupils. The deterioration of the education system and the political tensions in the country have also caused an exodus of teachers.

The Zimbabwe Teachers Association (ZIMTA)  estimates that in the past decade more than 45,000 teachers have left the country. A recent estimate indicated that 35% of the teacher posts in primary education and 33% in secondary education were vacant. 

We have so much and they have so little.

What I did on my summer vacation

Hwange National Park

July 7, 2013. Monday morning, 3 am Eastern time. 

Sunrise on the horizon three hours out from our JFK destination. This 16 hour flight began at 9 pm in Johannesburg, South Africa last night  and we'll arrive in NYC at 6:15 am, wait several hours for our daughter and son-in-law to arrive from their flight through London, jump in the car and drive 8 hours to Orono.  A relaxing day or two!

Our first four days in Zimbabwe were on safari in Hwange National Park in the northwest part of the country. Two hours into the bush by an open air Land Rover at no more than 30 miles an hour. Absolutely incredible. We saw hundreds of elephants, giraffe, buffalo, birds of all types, warthogs, ostrich, kudu, Impala, baboons, crocodile, zebra...and yes, several lions. Our last morning in camp we woke up to a lioness not more than 50 yards from our lodge. Because elephants were everywhere we could hear them at night rubbing up against our buildings, eating the vegetation, and trumpeting frequently. In the dry season they come right down to the small swimming pool to drink and actually empty it every night.

The last half of our holiday was spent moving around a bit more. We stayed in Victoria Falls to see the falls (one of the 7 natural wonders of the world). It makes Niagara Falls look like the Kenduskeag Stream. We drove into neighboring Botswana to overnight and take a great cruise on the Chobe River where we saw many hippos and two groups of elephants swim across the river; a spectacular sight with the baby elephants being towed by their mamas. We stayed away from the crocodiles!

The last day we spent in Johannesburg and Soweto touring and visiting two museums including the Apartheid Museum, a sobering and astonishing experience. I had no idea how great a role education played in this critical period of history. The curriculum that the Afrikans imposed on the native population caused the protests that led to eventually overthrowing apartheid. The power of the curriculum.

Many, many highlights, but the absolute best part of this experience was the fact that our group of ten was our family—our four adult children and their spouses. What a great opportunity to spend that much time with each other and share these amazing experiences.

And not insignificantly, thanks to all of you students in EDC 533 who were patient with my absence. My ability to stay connected while in Africa was about what I expected, not much access. A bit of email, but connecting to Moodle didn't happen. I promise to get caught up in the next couple of days.

Now, back to EDC 533 and the excellent work you all are doing.