Reflections

My contract with Abaarso Tech is fast coming to an end, and I am headed home for a brief sabbatical, before returning to work in civil aviation in Somaliland. Some have asked that I share some reflections on my year:                                                                                                                                                             On teaching: I no longer believe in the “weed out” method of teaching science that I experienced in my science courses. I now believe that it is up to the teacher to ensure a student's growth. A motto of a colleague here is this: If the student hasn't learned it's because the teacher hasn't taught. Certainly through the high school and perhaps the first-year college level, I think teachers would do well to embrace this maxim. Even while the goal is to enable students to become independent lifelong learners I think we should emphasize the teacher's role in facilitating this development more than the culture with which I was familiar presently does. My new sentiments comes in in contrast to my prior experience of educational institutions, whose philosophy seemed to be that some students would grasp, while some students would fail, because not all students could be fated to reach the same goal.  We don't believe in letting kids fail at AT – this is a no-fail school, not in that we set a low-bar, but in that we reach out to a student in every possible way to find and address any issue that may be holding that student back. We look for every option to enable the student to earn his/her success in the most just way. If the student is failing, we evaluate what we could do to change the situation first, and consider failure the last possible option.  This is not to say that we haven't failed students who refused to toe the line - we will absolutely enforce that consequence if necessary, this is really a top-notch school and all of our students have worked hard to get here; we make sure they continue to work hard to stay here.

 I think this standard, which is an exceedingly high bar compared to my own formative educational experience, is probably the most honorable and yet fundamental goal of “teaching.”

On Somaliland, the geographical site: This place is a natural scientist's dream. In its unexplored territory, unexamined geological history, undisturbed nature, it is beautiful. Before Somaliland I had only fantasized that one could run out into the desert, find a rock in the middle of nowhere, and meditate on an untainted vista laid out around you. I thought that was reserved for movies and exclusive resorts and Prophets. But I have found it possible here. One particularly lovely evening comes to mind: Some weeks ago I was meditating while perched on a weathered rock on an eons-old hill at sunset. The air and everything felt completely still – until I heard a rock fall somewhere a few meters behind me. I turned, startled and a little frightened at first, only to see a young and healthy camel grazing on shrubbery, having kicked a stone out of its way. The camel looked up to acknowledge me before going back to the apparently more interesting business of finding roughage, and I offered it my thanks for that moment of clarity.                                                                                                                                                        On (cringe) personal development: I came to Somaliland seeking a respite from popular routine in the US, a new and different place to love, and meaningful work. I wanted to make sincere connections, and I wanted to be in a place disconnected, in some sense, from the outward modern world so that I might look more deeply into self. Yet I also came here to feel more like I was of the world, to wise up about the way of things, to get my feet on the ground I defined as “the real world” as my first move out of college. I came here in the role of teacher, and having listened to the counsel of others, expected to learn more than I could possibly teach.  It is said that we only ever find in a place that which we bring into it; I've found that to be true. Here in Somaliland I found that whenever I internalized feelings or ideas of lack, “3^rd world” (or “developing” as the more pc term is now) I saw evidence of that manifested as the reality around me. When I remembered the positive, creative nature of being a human, remembered that where there's a will there's a way, I found that I had everything I needed right before me. As true for me now as ever, our thoughts define our reality.                                                                                                           I also came here with an innocent curiosity about the place, a playful, lighthearted desire to ask questions and just see. I credit that gentle questioning with opening doors and quickly inviting strangers to become friends, teachers. Keeping that childlike enthusiasm, then, really is the most important thing.                     I am grateful to this country and to this organization for inviting me in, allowing me to grow through these experiences here, and allowing me to become part of the land, to put down my own roots.                                                                                                                                     I have a future in Somaliland – not only in my own work, but in the students who have honored me with the opportunity to teach them.  May it be a bright future, bringing the highest good for all involved.