Malawi, a small, impoverished African country, constrains its people to a life of farming and lack of science. William Kamkwamba recollects on the adversity that he faced growing up in this community in The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, in which he, like others, suffers from a lack of education, money, and food. However, William is able to find opportunities to improve the situations that he is forced to deal with. Unable to afford schooling, he studies in the library instead. He uses what he learns to take what most would consider junk, a create a windmill. Also, throughout this time, the famine forces him to look in unlikely places to find food sources. Similar to him, the teachers in his community endure a lack of supplies and continue to …show more content…
Along with bettering himself using the library, he utilizes his creativity to make his own toys from objects that others consider junk. “Since we had no money for a real ball, we made our own using plastic shopping bags[...]we [built our trucks] from Shake Shake cartons and pieces of wire. To us, they were just as beautiful [as the expensive toys]” (24). He seizes the opportunity enjoy his childhood using free materials, one that many others would not. To gather the components for his windmill, William “[spends] the next three weeks sifting through the grass [of the junkyard] like a bomb-sniffing dog, turning over every piece of metal in hopes of uncovering a generator [he] may have missed” (183). Despite his inability to purchase expensive, pre-made parts, he is able to create his own by searching through the junkyard. This perseverance leads to his success in not only having a windmill as a power source, but also as a booster for his education later on in his life. William has trouble accessing the proper tools to build his windmill as well, but instead of admitting defeat, he made his own when he went “into the kitchen and stuck the cob-handled nail into the fire, and once it glowed hot, [he] bored a square pattern [into the blades]” (188). His determination and ability to use materials that others considered …show more content…
As a young boy, William went to school at Wimbe Primary. There was no money available for books, “The teachers always ran out of chalk, and most students never owned a pencil” (58). However, the teachers, working with the limited materials, were still able to teach sufficiently. Students, though lacking materials like books and pencils, would still, “scribble the answer in the dirt with their finger” when asked to do math or spell their names (59). The students and teachers were able to find opportunity to teach where many wouldn't. As William continues through his schooling experience, he encounters other teachers who are able to seize teaching opportunities despite working in poverty. At Kachokolo Secondary, the conditions are just as poor as in Wimbe. On the first day of school here, William has to sit on the floor. “‘The government sent no money for desks and chairs… or anything else, for that matter’” (108). Lacking many materials considered necessary in first world countries, however, did not prevent the teacher from successfully teaching. “Despite the poor conditions, Mister Tembo wasted no time starting our lessons. Right away we began studying history” (109). Even with having to use subpar materials, Mister Tembo is able to find a way to teach even in the poverty he is forced to work with. He turns trash into treasure by allowing kids to
This is the setting, background, and characters of Mike’s tale of “the struggles and achievements of America’s educationally underprepared”. Through this book Mike constantly emphasizes three main themes. First, the importance of an educational mentor; later in this article we will examine several of Mike’s mentors. Second, social injustices in the American education system; specifically the lack of funding and bureaucracy’s affect on the public educational system. Third and lastly, specific teaching methods that Mike has used to reach out to kids on the boundary.
The first reason I agree with Matthew Miller’s “A Deal for Teachers”, is that something needs to be done about good teachers not being treated or paid right. I know many (in my opinion) great and intelligent teachers. They are working hard all the time to teach children everything they need to know. Meanwhile, they are getting paid the same as their coworkers who are doing nothing. In poor schools this might be even more important. In some cases, school might be the only place some children are getting taught important life skills, and their teachers might be the only good examples they have. I know a teacher who works in a poorer school. She’s told me about how hard it is to work at a poor school in general, with a lot of children who don’t respect teachers or adults and parents that also don’t respect the teachers. Couple that with low income and awful coworkers. If we keep giving our good teachers reason to leave by not treating them fairly, then we will never fix the problem of having so many bad teachers in our
Toni Cade Bambara wrote the short story “The Lesson”, and in this story she writes about a teacher who not only teaches her students educational things, but she also teaches them the ways of life. Or another way to put it, she teaches them that they must get a good education in order to make something out of themselves. The class that the story is based on is mainly poor children and some wealthy children. Miss Moore is the teacher and she takes the class to a “rich people” toy store, and she lets the children walk around the store. When the children find something that interest them, Miss Moore will teach them accordingly to what the item is.
Timeless themes of equality, truth and perseverance are presented in this heartwarming tale of one courageous softball player and the wiffle bat that she adored. It all begins one summer day shortly after Tegan's sixth birthday. The scene opens with the young girl enviously watching a group of children play wiffle ball in the park across the street from her grandmother's house. She furtively glances behind her at the kitchen entrance and listens to the sounds of lunch preparations while contemplating the distance to the door. With a determined look in her eye, she takes a shaky deep breath and dashes out to the park to join the game, all the while looking back and wondering what her grandma would say. She approaches the field and stands by the rusty fence behind the plate. One of the older girls – she looks about ten or twelve – spots Tegan and invites her to join in. The kids show her how to swing the bat and the pitcher starts to toss the ball in her direction; they let her keep swinging until she hits one. When she does, the light wiffle ball catches the wind, floats high in the air, swirls around a bit, and lands two inches from Tegan's feet. After staring at the ball in wonder, she looks up and a slow smile spreads across her face. The other kids laugh and Tegan joins in with glee. The boy at first base looks at his watch and yells, "Hey, it's lunch time," causing all the wiffle ball players to scatter and race home in search of food. The girl that invited Tegan to play tells her to come back tomorrow in the morning to play a game with them and Tegan agrees with an enthusiastic nod of the head. She turns to run back for lunch, and sees her grandmother waiting by the fence.
Conversely, Albanese (2010) and Bergsma (2014) stepped into the same thought of how poverty affects student learning and participation in school activities For example; Children are at the most vulnerable stage of upbringing. Mainly this stage of vulnerability occurs outside of the home and possible in school. Many children face the problems of being teased because they are poor and secluded from the main stream children at schools. Children begin to believe what others constantly tell them and live under the pressure of conforming to the other school kids. Simple items such as clothing and accessories are the greatest status symbols in school. Often the penniless children feel embarrassed because they do not have the clothing and t...
“All Kids Should Take Poverty 101” could have been a wonderful piece if the age of those taking Poverty 101 had been older, and if the focus had been more on how those in poverty can end the cycle on their own. However Beegle’s desire to teach children empathy and awareness is a noble
Reading this novel, I was able to discover two major themes: connection and disconnection. Mike talks about how he experienced many things an average person would have never experienced if they never went to a third world country, such as Priests who walk on hot rocks, daily funerals, the over-the-top generosity of the people who were less fortunate, and the need of Fufu in every dinner table. After reading the novel, I was able to compare some of the encounters the Kalambayi people faced with those taught in class. During class, I realized that globalization affected the people of Kalambayi drastically when it involved the diamond minds and cotton farming, yet Kalambayi is still alienated on the conflicts and the lives of the outside world. On the other hand, Mike Tidwell was still able to carry out his mission of teaching the villagers about fish culture while facing the truth behind globalization in a third world
She challenges the audience’s intellectual capacity through the use of rhetorical questions, inquiring, “is it really impossible for these privileged students to imagine such bare poverty?” which fortifies her argument and provokes the audience’s thoughts, persuading them to take action to transform the current social issues present within
A simple fix may be to require pre-service student teachers to have some level of training or observation in disadvantaged areas (Capra, 2009). Since there is no simple answer to the issue, it is necessary that teachers work to develop effective pedagogy that combats the ills of poverty in minority students. The fact remains that the topic of poverty is one that must be addressed in order for the classroom environment to function. Many researchers contend that students from impoverished and minority schools in the U.S. are more likely to be taught by teachers that are underprepared, that lack experience and that are minimally qualified to even teach. Additionally, teachers that instruct in low-income minority areas have less supportive work environments and few professional growth opportunities than their counterparts (Borman & Ranchuba, 2000).
In many low income communities, there are teachers that are careless and provide their students with poor quality education. These teachers are there just to make sure that they keep receiving their monthly paychecks and act in this way because they believe that low income students do not have the drive, the passion, or the potential to be able to make something of themselves and one day be in a better place than they are now. Anyon reveals that in working class schools student’s “Work is often evaluated not according to whether it is right or wrong but according to whether the children followed the right steps.” (3). This is important because it demonstrates that low income students are being taught in a very basic way. These children are being negatively affected by this because if they are always being taught in this way then they will never be challenged academically, which can play a huge role in their futures. This argument can also be seen in other articles. In the New York Times
Growing up, I contemplated a future in the education field; I enjoyed my experiences volunteering with children and I have always been intrinsically motivated to learn. When I started college, I decided to delve into the social sciences, but I never forgot about my interest in education. The summer of my freshman year, I joined the education team through the University of Arkansas’ community development program in Belize. I worked with my co-teacher (a senior education major), and education and literature professors to create creative writing lesson plans and methods to improve literacy for underperforming children. In Belize, my co-teacher and I facilitated daily literacy skill small groups for 2nd and 3rd graders and taught creative writing lessons with 4th and 5th graders. This experience not only strengthened my desire to work in education, but also awakened my awareness of how different levels of educational privileges affect students. I recognized, however, that while I was energized by this experience, I still lacked the skills and training that would allow me to most efficiently help
Kozol perceives a war waging between teachers and the public school system (Kozol, 3). Teachers are trapped victims confined to the two purposes public school is attempting to accomplish. Those two goals include “class stratification and political indoctrination” (Kozol, 7). He believes that students should be aware of what is really being taught so they can react accordingly (Kozol, 9).
Valued educators have become enforcers of colonial ways; some don’t even know that they portray that function, the content within textbooks have become common knowledge as the truth and the truth in turn must be spoken o...
Greene, Maxine. "Teaching as Possibility: A Light in Dark Times." (n.d.): n. pag. Web. .
When William was a young boy, he and his family moved to Malawi in order to join a family business. Soon, William and his father begin to help his Uncle John and his cousin Geoffrey run the family’s farm. In his spare time, William, his cousin Geoffrey, and their friend Gilbert tried to start a radio fixing business. The business eventually allows William to realize that he wanted to be a scientist when he grew up. William begins to try to shape his life around his goal. However, Malawi begins to experience a tough, long famine with the promised government aid never arriving. The famine prevents William’s family from paying for his education. However William doesn’t stop his education there. He begins to study, almost daily, in the library. With the help of friends and family, William builds a functioning windmill, giving his town free power and giving himself tons of recognition. Someone from one of the top schools William wanted to get into comes to check out his windmill,introducing him to a journalist and launching himself into the world. William soon makes it to the US, where he is introduced to the internet and other things we take for granted here in the USA. Throughout his life William ...