Even you are not saying it’s bad. I have no idea what the consequences of it might be. The consequences of every choice we make in life **might** be bad. OK Im making a judgement about Consolata’s fear. I admit that. In the immediate environment of being in school, and especially where I am the teacher, it would be of some benefit for her to have confidence in her own ideas.

As I said in a previous entry, maybe it’s none of my business. Chris’s comment there is relevant here too: Then why not leave? If it’s not my business to be here interfeerig with people’s minds then I should bugger off back to… my home? England? Maybe I shouldn’t be allowed to teach at all. Maybe I shouldn’t be allowed to live outside Lowestoft.

Some people involved with VSO clearly believe that just having us all (in the world) know more about each other is a good thing. In that respect, this blog is doing its best to help. Perhaps "the much I can do" (as they say here) is to offer that "I **think** its better for her to have confidence in her own thoughts. But she can’t really make up her own mind until she has tried it…

Oh bleah! ITs ash wednesday and all the catholic students are off getting litte soot marks on their heads. Hey ho!

But I am also one of those people guided by a "do no harm" mantra rather than a "do good" one. Do gooders are bad! With huge arrogance and the best of intentions, they reek havoc in this country. By presupposing they know best, they know the way. You don’t do that. Thank the goddessess, you’re NOT a do gooder Mark. You are a master of reflective practice. And you care enough about understanding how your presence here impacts your students that you think and write and share about it. And your friends who aren’t here care enough to listen and think and share with you. That may not be everything…may not be perfect…but it is important.

And those whispering, eye-avoidant students…I don’t know how you do it! I don’t know why they do it. But I’ve seen them here in Nanyuki. Whispering, avoiding eye-contact, and all but disappearing as they approach their Kenyan teachers. Ah, we still have so much to learn. One year and counting.

Love C

This is clearly the problem. Look at the damage The Darkness have done… :doze:

Seriously. One thing I wanted to share was that I had some similar experiences not long before I gave up lecturing for a while. I had a class of unmotivated, low-ability students who drove me crazy, not because of their lack of ability, but because of their lack of drive to do any learning.

These students were really frustrating, and I started to hate turning up to teach them. In the end, I’m not sure what triggered it, but I managed to changed my hate into compassion (in the Buddhist sense I guess) — I realised that it wasn’t necessarily their fault they were like this, but it was a result of all their life experiences and challenges up to that point.

After that I adopted a "we’re all in this together" kind of attitude and I was much happier. I realised that the particular part of The System that we all found ourselves in wasn’t really working, and it was far from ideal, but it was our challenge to get through it as best we could. I realised that my insistence on "educating them regardless" was arrogance on my part. I became much, much happier when I redefined my criteria for success.

You could argue that I was weak, and that I "gave up", but I think chilling out a bit with them probably made me a more effective teacher in that environment.

You could also argue, as you possibly would if you’ve done ISA or something similar, that it *is* their fault that they were like that. To which I would say: give them a break.

Love, chris

Take care,

Sophia

If I ever had any doubt that this blog was useful, this page alone can rest my fears. Thank you all **so much** for all your kind and helpful thoughts.

Chris, whats the budhist take on compassion? I’m holding on to your earlier comment that when I feel anger I should try to be compssionate.

Can’t write too much right now as there is a Cisco class going and I have some young minds to meddle with

But thanks again to all of you!

Sophia