Tim Hartigan, Ph.D.

Language & Learning

Wednesdays are an easy day for me this term – just two classes and they begin after lunch. Since I haven’t had a day off in forever, I lazed around my house in the morning and charged into school around 12:30 to eat lunch and then deliver my classes to 10th graders who are studying Early Childhood & Lower Primary Education. I returned their Unit 7 tests to them and was preparing to have them practice two dialogues, one between a teacher and a parent and the second between a teacher and an administrator about problems with a student. No sooner had I modeled the dialogue with a student when Jean de Dieu, a biology teacher, came and asked if he could borrow my students for 20 minutes to take them outside to do a science experiment with Tutor Alice and Tutor Matara from Zimbabwe. (As you can see, we have no science lab.) 20 minutes turned into 2 hours and there went my class. As this is the end of the semester and school year, I understand that everyone is vying for time with the students to finish the curriculum. As a Peace Corps Volunteer, you learn to let go and not get upset. Personally, I just can’t get mad at Rwandans – they are too nice of people!