Senegal Field Experience

SENEGAL 2023 - International FULBRIGHT Field Experience

What's included on this page? 1)Photos 2)Written Daily Blogs 3) Random Reflections 4) A Few Final Photos

Disclaimer: This is not an official U.S Department of State website. The views and information presented are the grantee's own and do not represent the Teachers for Global Classrooms Program, IREX, or the U.S. Department of State.

Ndar (St. Louis) is full of people, goats and energy!

Fellow Fulbrighters Melisha, Sara and I enjoy dinner with Senegalese Fulbright host Assane and his cousin Aminatau.

I enjoyed dancing at the music/dance show in Gandon. Huge thank you to our Senegalese Fulbright partners that organized the event for us!

Fulbrighter Clarice and I teach students basic English greetings in Dakar.

Dance Music Show Senegal.MOV

Incredible drumming, music and dancing at our surprise event. We were honored by the entire Gandon, Senegal community.

Pop up Griot Party in Tailor Aminatou shop.MOV

Impromptu dance/rap show created by local griots in the tailor's shop!

twitter.com/annemichele/status/1655220324533694476?s=46&t=Yfj3niyzQNaCKMjD4s8kJQ

Click on the Twitter link to see and hear 22 seconds that illustrate the energy of St. Louis (Ndour), Senegal! These 22 seconds feature a lot of people because the fishing neighborhood in St. Louis has a high population density! The fishing families all choose to stay in the neighborhood because their roots are here. Most of them have homes elsewhere that they rent out.

Drinking freshly cut coconut juice at the start of the National Bird Park

Host Dinner with Assane's Family - the ND Wrestling & Bulls gear was a hit :)

Ousmanne from WARC excitedly talked to us about Senegalese wrestling.

Goat on Goree Island

Ndar (St. Louis) Fulbright Teacher Partner Assane and I hold a Whitney Young Dolphin flag! So grateful to Assane for making our experience so memorable!

photos.app.goo.gl/pu9ZCApeEz6xNjDm7

Ousmane teaches us about the importance of professional wrestling in Senegalese culture.

These brightly colored local fishing boats are all over Ndar (St. Louis), Senegal.

When walking past these boats, I said aloud, "Hmm, I wonder why there are these USA themed boats." Dominique responded, "We love the USA."

The Door of No Return - Goree Island. Enslaved people were forced to walk through this door to get onto ships headed to the Americas. This was the last time they would ever be on African soil.

The finish to a morning bridge jog with Rebecca in Ndour/St. Louis.

Teaching 12th grade at Lycee Cheikh Oumar Fouriyou Tall School.

Eating in Senegal.MP4

I was encouraged by my host family uncle to eat with my hand. It was fun and messy. Here's a few second video of me eating with my hand :)

Talking about the city that I love to students in Ndar/St. Louis, Senegal!

Presenting CPS gifts to the outstanding Principal at Lycee Cheikh Oumar Fouriyou Tall School

Lunch at the Fulani Eco Village Guelakh. Photo Cred: William McMurray

Assane family photo including me, Sara and Melisha.

Warthogs at the Djoudi National Bird Park. Photo Cred: Rebecca Smith

The sandy, energetic city of St. Louis!

Fulbright group dinner at La Terrasse Terroubi in Dakar

Photo with Dr. Sokhna, Senegalese Ministry of Education

Fulbright group photo at the Black Civilization Museum

Thoughtful art about the Berlin Conference is featured at the Black Civilization Museum in Dakar.

Djeebee (pronounced Geebee) and family with our full St. Louis Fulbright cohort at the end of Labour Day filled with sun, sand and teranaga in Gandon.

Dominique, Melisha and I enjoying a ride on Djeebee's fishing boat in the Senegal River in Gandon.

Before every lesson, we gave a presentation about ourselves, our school, school district and city. Students at Lycee Cheikh Oumar Fouriyou Tall School and every other school especially enjoyed hearing that Michelle Obama graduated from Whitney Young High School.

Artist Abdulaboufall and I are posing for this photo in his shop in Dakar.

Starting a class with "aSalaam Aleekum" was always greeted by smiles. This is at the start of our Gaston Burger University lesson that included students brainstorming issues in their community that they want to solve.

After Melisha, Sara and I showed a map of the US and talked about our cities and regions, we asked students to use English to talk about where they are from. This is 10th Grade English at Lycee Cheikh Oumar Fouriyou Tall School.

Students and teachers loved receiving Chicago Public School stickers, pens, etc after learning about the district. Big thank you to CEDO of CPS for these items.

Host family cousin Aminatau is a talented seamstress. She had me try on the dress she created.

School lunch for faculty at Cheikh Oumar Fouriyou Tall School is sooo good. A family lives on school grounds and the mom of the family prepares all dishes, as well as coffee, tea and juices in morning. Sara, Melisha and I enjoyed the spicy, peanuty mafe with Assane and colleagues in this photo.

Sara, Melisha, Assane and I pose for a photo at cousin's house during dinner, after our music/dance filled evening.

Fulbright partners Abdourahmane, Assane and I enjoy the incredible music/dance show in Gandon.

Sara and David peeking into a classroom at our first school visit in Dakar.

Another outstanding dinner with Assane and family.

This Chicago poster featuring bagpipers at the annual St. Paddy's Day Parade hangs on a wall at the St. Louis Chapter of ATES (Association of Teachers of English in Senegal)

Senegalese teacher partners and I are pointing to the St. Paddy's Day Parade bagpipers featured on the Chicago poster at ATES St. Louis, Senegal. I showed a video of my mother-in-law and and father-in-law leading the Shannon Rover Pipe Band at last year's parade. Everyone enjoyed learning a bit about Irish American culture in Chicago!

Melisha, Sara and I pose with host cousin and tailor, Aminatau.

Picking out our fabrics with Assane & Cousin Tailor Aminatau.

Principal of Alie Codoue Ndiaye Primary School with Rebecca and me in Dakar.

Photo with talented artisan that I befriended, and purchased some earings from on Goree Island.

A typical page in the English language workbook of the private French School.

The only page in the English language workbook of the private French School that featured a non-white person/character.

Sara and I ask students at the public school in St. Louis if they prefer football (soccer) or basketball.

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Elementary school students in Dakar singing to prepare for an upcoming national exam.

Sara teaching students at the private school in St. Louis

Ataaya ceremony! I will miss ataaya and the required socializing that comes along with it when I return home.

St. Louis!

Milk Sales in St. Louis!

*This is my first time writing a blog. I tried to neither romanticize nor exotisize, but simply and honestly share my experience. I recognize that there is way too much detail included in this blog; I learned so much and do not want to forget anything. I wrote 17 additional pages of notes so this is actually the condensed version, ha. I also included "Random Reflections" at the end of this page to articulate observations and thoughts that didn't neatly fit into the daily blog posts. Photos are mostly at the top, and a bit at the bottom of this blog.

This trip was a life changing experience. While I have traveled to many countries before, these trips were filled with touristy activities. The opportunity to immerse myself in Senegalese culture, spend time at new friends' houses, observe and teach in countless classrooms and just do “regular” day-to-day activities was life changing. Despite the need for improved living standards like increased access to clean water/sanitations systems, the country is the wealthiest that I have ever visited in terms of the people, their social bonds and their outlook on the future. The energy, positivity, love, hope, and endless Teranga (hospitality) that I experienced every day in Senegal is a testament to the awesomeness of the people and the amazingness of the country. I am overflowing with gratitude for having had this experience. Here’s a snapshot of my journey.

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4/21/23

Met a great group of fellow Fulbrighters at Frontera Grill in O'Hare Airport before jumping on our flight!

4/22/23

Walking off the plane and into the Dakar Airport, it was clear that we weren’t in the West because of the uniquely Senegalese fashion that abounded. I didn’t see a single woman that wasn’t dressed in a gorgeous bright, colorful baubou. Many of the men were also dressed in mbubbs, neat kaftans similar to North African throbes.

My new Fulbright friends that I had met 8-18 hours prior, at either ORD Airport or the Brussels airport, and I walked out to the sunny, loud parking lot and found our IREX /Fulbright host Richard!

On the drive, we saw gorgeous baobab trees amid the sand and swaying palm trees. The sun was shining! Beautiful topography! We also saw hundreds of multistory (usually 3, sometimes 4 floors) homes that appeared unfinished because of studs sticking out of the top of the concrete structures. One of my new friends inquired - Many Senegalese build one floor at a time over many years. Also, many Senegalese men have multiple wives so need a separate floor for each wife and set of kids. Men can have up to 4 wives if they can afford them and treat them equally.

Dinner was traditional Senegalese food - lots of yummy rice, chicken and vegetables sauteed in savory, garlicky deliciousness in the hotel lobby restaurant!

4/23/23

I smiled as I woke up at 5 AM to the deep, distinctive sounds of the morning call to prayer from the local mosque. What a beautiful sound!

Fellow Fulbrighters Amy, Luke and I went for a morning jog and found the ocean. The ocean was a beautiful sparking blue. We looked at it from the green cacti nearby and large black boulders. We were standing on trash that seemed to be scattered everywhere. I realize that trash collection services are a privilege that isn't ubiquitous globally.

We spent the morning learning about the culture, history and education of Senegal from our new friend Mouhamadou. His knowledge, passion for Senegal and love of teaching and education made him an excellent presenter. Interspersed between our lectures was the “bahhhh bahhh” of nearby goats above the din of cars whizzing by. What a cool sound! Here are the major takeaways from the presentation-

Foundations of Senegalese Education by Mouhamadou Sadibou Diouf

All schools are taught in French at every level, despite the fact that Wolof is the primary language spoken at home. Very few people speak French as a first language. First/home language is Wolof, Pular, Mandinko, Jola or another indigenous language. There is a movement to get rid of French as the language taught in schools. Local languages are not taught at any formal school.
Teachers are well paid today as compared with others in the workforce because of union wins a few years ago. High school teachers are paid $600 per month. The majority of government spending is spent on teachers. The next biggest workforce is security. This is especially important because of the terrorism next door in Mali.
Education is not mandatory.
- Primary education has partnerships with USAID, World Bank, Etc.
- Religious schools are informal, with no legal papers, but now the government is looking more into Modern Daaras - limited Quranic Schools. Quranic schools only teach the Quran. Marabouts play an important role in politics & society.
  - Marabouts (Islamic leaders) are also the main peacekeepers in political conflicts. Last March we had political unrest. Marabouts settled the issue.
Lots of primary teachers make kids hate math so then they don’t choose math. Need better teacher training quality.
Equity, quality, more science, more tech, and more women in leadership thru positive discrimination - this is what we need for the future.

We spent the afternoon on Goree Island, the largest place in Africa where millions lost their lives to becoming enslaved people in the Americas. Walking through the slave quarters and the “point of no return” was difficult because the horrifying tragedies of this historic place still felt alive. The Portuguese, Dutch, English and French put millions of African people on boats headed to the Americas at Goree Island, thus beginning the next stage of unimaginable trauma, the Middle Passage. I teared up thinking about the millions of mothers that were ripped apart from their husband and kids, never to ever see them again at that point. I can’t imagine how much more difficult this experience was for my Black friends visiting this place.

Dinner was at a beautiful, very high-end restaurant, La Terrasse Terroubi on Corniche Oust Martin Luther King Boulevard. A security guard wanded us before allowing us on the property. The restaurant had a gorgeous view of the Atlantic Ocean, an Olympic size pool, and palm trees everywhere. It reminded me of exclusive restaurants in Miami.

When I was walking back from the bathroom, three girls age 17ish, dressed beautifully with flowing scarves were taking selfies. They stopped me to ask my name and where I was from and if I would take a selfie with them. I did. We were all laughing. Then the one girl turns to me all seriously, and says, “give me all of your money” and the other one laughs! I laughed and said no, hahaa and walked back to the table.

4/24/23

After another delicious breakfast of strawberry yogurt, pineapple slices, a chocolate croissant and baobob juice, we walked over to the conference center for a presentation on culture from our guide, and now friend Ousmane Ba.

Here are some highlights of Ousmane’s presentation on Senegalese Culture:

It is essential to have a full conversation first thing in the morning with any family or friend you see. Nellow unga bu ba (how did you sleep) Respond: Wow newlow naa bu baa (yes slept very well).
Household of a Senegalese family: 17-20 in one HH. “My house, uncles, aunts, parents, grandparents are all in my house”.
How do young people interact? Oldest person is the leader. “My mother is the leader in the house. I have to follow what my mom says even if I disagree. There is a trend recently of people moving out of the home.”
The Quran says date for 3 months, then get married. This is usually how it works.
Food: share everything in the bowl. Oldest are in charge. Only use right hand to eat.
Morning is working or begging for money or getting food. The Quran says give something to beggars, so this is important.

Key Values of Senegal!

Kolere: Keeping relationships forever - appreciation!!!
Mun- Patience, resilience and accepting suffering. “My aunt kicked me out of my room when I went to teach at university. Aunts can make people suffer every day. I came back from school and aunt put two house girls in my room. Then I had to spend 7 nights outside. But I could not let anyone know of this. I slept in school. I didn't tell anyone.”
Sag - “Even if I am poor, I will be respectful and treat others well. “You have nothing but don’t show others you have nothing” always show positive things about yourself.
Yitte - Need to know this as you go to your site. Take time to greet everyone for 1 minute. Show you have passion and greet everyone. Yitte is important.
Things to remember - Handshake. Do not make eye contact. Left hand holds right arm.
The Brotherhood has own way of greeting. Different brotherhoods have different greetings. You will see this. “Boys don’t typically shake hands with girls. As an American, people will shake hands with you though.”
Maslaa - you are a victim and have power to punish but you negotiate. Way of living in peaceful atmosphere. At home and workplace. So important to know when to give feedback. Keep the peace and stay calm.
Satura - Your husband doesn’t have a job. He went out to find something for me. Wife went to pay for something for me without husband. We eat. When my guest goes back. When I ask my wife where you get, she will say , idk. That is respect. If you are in a bad position, it is important to know how to hide it. Everyone has a problem. Keep what people tell you in secret.
Teranga - Hospitality!!! We are the land of hospitality!!! You will see this everywhere!!!
Kersa - When you are talking to an older person, you can't shout; show respect. If women dress in a bad way, they don’t have respect, they don’t have kersa.
What is mother’s responsibility? Cooking, take care of husband, husband’s mother, husband’s sisters. Look after kids, HH and children's education.
What is father's responsibility? Earn/give money, Rules the family, Provides food. Looks after the family harmony.
What are children’s responsibilities? Run errands and receive gifts. Everyone can discipline them; the neighbors are responsible for protecting them.

Next up – US Embassy Visit

After going through security, handing over all electronic devices and walking through the flower-filled courtyard to the main building, I was struck by how similar the layout and process of arrival was to the only other US Embassy that I have ever visited, the embassy in Panama City, Panama. (I asked- evidently for the last 20 years, all new embassies are built with the same layout.)

John Fisher, Deputy Chief of Mission warmly welcomed us. He informed us of the 22 agencies that are part of the US Embassy in Dakar including USAID and the Millennium Development Corporation, which is working to improve electricity in Senegal.

Mark Kehoe, Security Officer for the US Embassy presented to us next. He strolled in with a Starbucks coffee and reminded me of a typical dad from my neighborhood. He was stationed in Calcutta, India prior to this post – the people in Senegal are much friendlier and it is a much safer country. He scared us about being out when the sun goes down and being dragged along the street by our cross-body bag – don’t wear a purse/bag across your body and don’t be out at night.

Next the public affairs officer presented it to us. She was friendly, smart and from Minnesota. She talked a little more about the Millenium Development Corp and their school feeding program in Senegal. She got a special extension to stay in Dakar for an extra four years which isn't typical as a foreign service officer, but she got the okay so her daughter could finish high school. They move to Casablanca next.

Our last presenter was Dr. Jay Lee, Medical Officer for the US Embassy. Despite his calm demeanor, he scared us about malaria, TB, diarrhea and the biggest killer, car accidents. (Wear seat belts and pay attention when being a pedestrian!)

Lunch Conversations

At lunch, I had another great conversation with our outstanding guides and new friends, Ousman and Mohamadou. Becoming a principal in Senegal is much different than in the US. It is a national competition. The teachers with the most points in the competition become a principal. Working at a rural school for a number of years will earn you more points than working in an urban area. Additionally, being married is worth more points than being single. This is because you are viewed as more stable if you are married. This national competition was a big win for the union even though it is flawed. It was a big win because before the teachers union fought for it, all principals were chosen by the national government.

School Visit

After lunch, we visited Mansour Middle School in Medina Fann, Dakar. Principal Diakhate and his teachers kindly hosted us. We visited a music class. The wooden desks were curling up, the walls were crumbling and there was trash in the corners of classrooms, yet in the music class and all of the classes, students were all fully engaged in the lesson. The teachers were teaching and 100% of students were learning.

Unfortunately, I got my period today. (Yes, some readers that I am closest to are cringing right now reading this, but 50% of humans get this so in an effort to destigmatize and normalize, I am including it in my blog.) I was very uncomfortable and anxious during this time because I am used to the privilege of toilets that always flush, sinks that always work, soap, toilet paper and available trash cans.

Wrestling is our Culture

Back to our conference room, we enjoyed another culture-focused presentation from the intelligent and kind, Ousmane. Here are some takeaways!

Wrestling is the most popular sport, besides football (soccer)
8,000 private wrestling schools in Senegal
Mysticism is a big part of in Senegalese Wrestling!

○ Marabouts are spiritual guides who step in to provide protection for wrestlers during matches. These holy men are important members of Sufi tradition.

○ On the day of the match, the wrestlers enter with their coaches, team members as well as marabouts who provide “Gris gris”. These are amulets with verses from the Koran inscribed on them. These are ritual objects for protection during these matches.

○ (Sidenote- Marabouts are very powerful people in Senegalese society. If you want to get married, you and your fiance need to see your marabout to get marriage approved. Marabouts are for animists and Christians too. A large number of marabouts are fake. The authentic marabouts do a lot of good for society.)

4/25/23

School Visit: Alie Codoue Ndiaye Primary School - 391 students: 10 teachers

Similar to the school that we visited yesterday, it was open air with a large sandy courtyard in the middle, and the Senegalese flag being proudly waved in the center. All of the classrooms open onto the courtyard. As we entered the courtyard, we saw groups of girls sweeping the sidewalk outside of the classroom. There were goats tied up in the corner of the courtyard. I observed a 5th grade language arts class and was amazed with the students. They were totally silent except when called upon. When the teacher asked questions, ⅓ of the class would quickly raise their hand and excitedly start snapping to get called on. Students used chalkboards to respond to each of the teacher's questions. It was awesome to see total student engagement. I wonder if students are asked to do a think-pair-share or anything that gets them to collaborate with their classmate? We met our first and 2nd female teacher! It has been only male educators up until this point. My cohort friend and I got to teach a mini-lesson on simple English phrases which was fun! After class, we spent time in the courtyard. It was so awesome to see a class of 4th graders energetically march and sing to prepare for a big upcoming test. They were dressed in uniform, smiling and singing proudly. After their standard songs, they sang William happy birthday! What an incredible day!

Takeaways from the faculty meeting that followed:

Schools were closed for one year because of Covid. No remote learning.
National assessments happen every 3 months; these are very important.
Teachers are forbidden by law to get another job. Teachers can do private tutoring though.
Students with disabilities- “teachers trained with (...) students (with disabilities) can teach them, but many parents prefer to keep those kids home, so most don’t go to school. Some schools are made specifically for these kids, though the attendance is not high."
I asked if students ever do projects. No, they don’t. There are a lot of standardized tests. Projects can happen in clubs, but not in class.

After lunch we visited the Fulbright associated organization, WARC! Our presenter was the definition of charisma. His elocution was spot-on phenomenal. Here are some major takeaways from Ousmanne’s lively presentation at WARC as he sipped his traditional Senegalese tea:

"We only salute one flag. No coup has ever taken here. Election is always on a Sunday. Democracy!"
"Before colonial times we sat under a baobab tree and we all negotiated to decide who was fit to lead us."
The Serar (Ousmanne is Serar) are especially passionate about wrestling ! We even have poems about wrestling. Cultural expression of group! After rainy season and farmers have harvested peanuts and other graineries, time for wrestlint. Competition between villages . No blows. That is new Dakar thing. Not in villages, blows to head , not cool. Once you fall you lose. Drumming and dancing are a big part of wrestling. Style, loin cloth full of adornment - aesthetic ! Women and men also meet at wrestling competitions and develop love story until 3 years and then parents agree. Platonic until approved.

The Black Civilization Museum was fabulous. Great art that made you think.

After dinner we went to a market in Dakar with Ousmanne to visit his friend’s fabric shop in a south Dakar neighborhood. We were about an hour south of our hotel. It was crowded and getting dark as we were trailing Ousmanne. My new friends Brenda, Martha and I were getting a little nervous as we tried to keep pace, not lose anyone while simultaneously paying attention to our surroundings as the sun was setting.. As per the instructions from the Embassy, some of us left a little while after shopping. That said, none of the taxis seem to have seatbelts here so shifting that mindset was a challenge. We got home fine! Those of us that returned enjoyed a quality dinner at the restaurant in the hotel.

4/26/23

Teacher Training School Meeting

Cheikh Anta Diop University

We heard from outstanding, engaged presenters including Dr. Sokhna (Ministry of Education) and Dramamane Dembele, phenomenal teacher.

Here are some of the major takeaways from the presentation:

During colonial times (pre 1960), public school was only primary grades. After independence, West African leaders met to establish education beyond primary.
Challenges include the fact that students take English for 7 years, yet many are not proficient.
Students must pass A levels to go to college. It is very difficult to pass. Approximately 50% of Senegalese students attend college because there aren’t enough colleges. Virtual education is starting to change this.
English language teachers have collaboration with US Embassy and British Embassy.
Teaching and learning is classical style. Rare for student projects, collaboration in class. That can happen in English Clubs.
ATES very important
English Clubs are essential to English learning in Senegal
- Weekend competitions, activities always
- 60% of schools have English Clubs.
Dramamane Dembele’s English Club is powerfully changing learning because interactive with music. In 1999 he was in HS and uninterested in English until his teacher brought rap music to class to get him into English language (Mohamadou was that teacher!)
Teacher Dramamane Dembele surprised us with spoken word performance of his students! It was so inspiring! (Our friend Mohamadou has positively influenced thousands of Senegalese students and hundreds of Senegalese teachers!)

HS visit

After our teacher trainer meeting, we visited a high school and observed an English class that was being taught writing skills. After the class, we had a meeting with faculty. There is one woman in the English Department at the school. She shared that some girls in Senegal don’t finish high school because of early child marriage and was wondering if we had similar issues. One of my colleagues responded that we do have an issue with students dropping out before graduation.

Soumbedioune Market

I met a talented, kind artist named Abdulaboufall in his shop in the market and bought two beautiful paintings from him as well as a dance ceremony mask. After purchasing a few items, his neighboring vendors started to swarm to get to me to come over and buy stuff from them.

I met back up with the group and walked through the fish market. There was soooo much fish being sold!

For dinner, we returned to the classy restaurant that we dined at on day two, La Terrasse Terroubi. One of our fellow Fulbrighters noticed that famous musician Akon was sitting at the table across from us so we went over, introduced ourselves and took a photo with him. (I subsequently did a little Google search. Evidently, he is trying to start his own city and currency in Senegal.)

4/27/23

Lunch at Mohamadou's House

We (the teachers assigned to St. Louis - Sara, Melisha, Brenda, Rebecca, William and Jim) said goodbye to our other Fulbright friends, departed Dakar and drove 5 hours north to the former capital of French West Africa, St. Louis. St. Louis is called Ndar in Wolof, the primary language spoken in the region. The highlight of this day was our stop in Thies (pronounced Chess), for lunch at Mohamadou's house. We pulled up on the narrow sand road to colorful, beautifully carved, adorned double doors, and was greeted by Mohamadou's wife. Mohamadou, his wife, son and maid exemplified teranga as they welcomed us to their home. We took off our shoes and stepped onto the colorful rug. We were treated to sweet juices, followed by an outstanding traditional Senegalese lunch. After washing our hands in the hand washing bowl, we sat around the big bowl. Charcoal grilled beef and chicken were in the center circled by fries, sweet onions and peppers in a 20 inch diameter bowl. This was served with freshly baked French baguettes. Lunch was delightful!

Our St. Louis Fulbright teacher partner Assane and the two other teacher partners, Dominique and Abdourahmane were at our quaint, bougainvillea filled hotel La Poste, waiting to greet us when we arrived. They had patiently waited for us for several hours at the hotel so that they could welcome us! We went out for a pizza and pasta dinner.

4/28/23

Breakfast, similar to the last hotel, offered a nice spread of croissants, baguettes, cheese, salami, yogurts, mangos, bananas, coffee, tea, baobob juice, bissap juice and ginger juice (every day). Have I mentioned how much I love the ginger juice here? It is spicy and tastes similar to a spicy ginger beer at home, except that it is more flavorful, and juice. It is phenomenal.

First Day at our St. Louis Public School

Sara, Melisha and I met Assane at his public school, Lycee Cheikh Oumar Fouriyou Tall School. The school building is three stories high with a lovely courtyard featuring a basketball court! Each story is for a different grade, 10th graders on the bottom floor and 12th graders on the 3rd floor. (Every school that we have visited including this school has had a courtyard, crumbling walls, some trash in corners, beautiful natural light from the sun, boundless energy of intelligent, passionate teachers, faculty and students.) Our morning started with a meeting with the head master and administrators in the head master’s office. Her office looked like a standard American principal’s office with a big leather couch, her big desk with a computer and photos hanging on the wall. I noticed a big blue globe on her cabinet and wondered how many principals/school leaders feature globes. (I don’t think many American principals have world maps or globes in their offices so I was really excited to see it!) The headmaster is a woman! This is not common in Senegal. She was welcoming, bright, kind and passionate about education.

After learning about her school and talking a bit about each of our schools, we headed to the school computer lab for a presentation from the English Department. Here are some of the major takeaways:

COFT (Lycee Cheikh Oumar Foutiyou Tall School) was the first high school established by France outside of France, in 1884.
Much of African elite attended here- Leopold Senghor went here!
In 1984,school was renamed Cheikh Oumar Foutiyou. He was an important Muslim West African leader of the 1800s.
School Infrastructure: 1800 students, 85 teachers
Public school is free – university too (besides $20USD registration fee
Time table of teacher – 21 hours to teach, maximum
English Language Library (2 shelves of books)
School Uniform: pink uniform for girls, blue uniform for boys.
Member of ATESAs, Association of Teachers of English in Senegal
English class is required and starts in middle school.
National Syllabus must be adhered to
Culture to know: Wrestling (Balla Gaye 2 vs Modula), Soccer (World Cup 2x) Youssou Ndour music, circumcision ceremony (10-20 kids together age 6ish. Boy is taught to be a man.) False Lion

o False Lion: Man dresses as a lion. Kids come running at night. Tradition. You buy tix to attend. If you don’t buy your ticket, he can "cut you" if he catches you. It’s part of the game, so kids run to avoid him. Legend has it, a man was bitten by a lion and magically he got attributes of lion. When he is angry, his hair grows and he gets aggressive. This is cultural to region, not related to Quran. (My thoughts - OMG, did Teen Wolf movie writers rip off Senegalese culture? It wouldn’t be the first time Hollywood has done something akin to this…)

Assane’s colleague said that we must be named! I received my Senegalese name! My name is Aissatou –(prounounced, Ice - ah too) La too doo Aissatou Ice - ah too)!!

After the presentation, Sara zoomed with her students in New York! Then I did a Google Meet with my 4th block AP World History students and we finished with Melisha Google Meeting with her students in North Little Rock!

My Chicago students asked about food and interests. Assane’s students talked about their favorite foods including Yasa, Thiebou Dieune and Mafe. Students saw commonalities in favorite sports such as soccer and basketball!

Despite the tech issues that we all started with, the exchanges were great! We enjoyed these exchanges in the computer lab of the school because it is the room with the Internet for the school. The computers in the room were not working, but Assane's computer works as does ours, so we plugged the computer into the projector and projected our home classrooms onto the wall.

Assane’s students all willingly chose to participate as they were officially done with school because the morning was standardized testing. It amazed me that the classroom was full of eager students ready to learn, and that they opted to stay after school for this activity.

In between Sara’s Zoom and my pre-arranged Google Meet, students had time to do what they wanted because the call to prayer had happened. A number of students left to pray, but returned right away even though they didn’t have to return for another 25 minutes. They broke out in song for us that was so beautiful tears came to my eyes! One boy, the president of the English Club, started it off with “We are the World”, and then the students sang the popular American pop song that my daughter listens to, “Someone You Loved Song” by Lewis Capaldi.

It is clear that Assane’s students have a deep respect for him. He is clearly an outstanding educator! I am grateful to have him as our teacher partner in Senegal!

Despite the crumbling walls of the school, it is filled with eager students that are excited to learn. I love that the teachers lounge is always buzzing with conversations during breaks and before classes begin. Even in the school setting, there seems to be community. The barista/cook mother stands behind the bar to provide teachers with fresh bissap juice, baobob juice, coffee or tea in the morning.

On Friday evening, the full St. Louis Fulbright cohort of seven, plus our three teacher partners, Assane, Dominique and Abdourahmane toured the city. We stopped at a professional basketball practice and enjoyed the lively atmosphere of the fishing neighborhood. We learned that despite the high population density, the fishing families choose to continue to live in the neighborhood because community is so important to them. Most of them own homes elsewhere and rent those homes out. We saw a huge pile of fish on the road that is likely being exported to Italy!

4/29 Notes (Saturday)

We drove two hours to Djoudi National Bird Park! It would have been a one hour drive, but the driver driving the car in front of us didn’t know the directions. Assane knew the correct way, but in Pular/Senegalese culture it isn’t the way to point out mistakes while occurring so we drove an hour extra and waited for the other driver to realize it. He evenutally stopped and asked Assane for help with directions. I think I could learn a lot from this value of Maslaa and instill the patience and calm into my life.

Once we reached the park, we had to wait a few hours for the boat to arrive. We have a great group that exemplifies quality travelers as nobody complained! We enjoyed a lovely boat ride on the Senegal River Delta! We saw dozens of warthogs, a multitude of cows, a crocodile, a couple monkeys and thousands of birds! It is the first source of water for birds after crossing the Sahara Desert. Speaking of desert, on our drive home, I experienced my first quasi-sand storm. I don’t know what specifically qualifies as a sand storm, but the sand was flying so strongly that it was difficult to see in front of us as we drove through a certain area. Because of climate change, the Sahara is encroaching on Senegal from Mauritania. We were less than a mile from the Mauritania border.

Dinner at Host Family’s House!

Assane’s cousin hosted Sara and Melisha and me for dinner! Teranga abounded! We started with coconut pineapple juice, then had a traditional meal of grilled sheep on top of garlicky-spicy seasoned onions and peppers on rice that was topped with olives. Yum! As always, this was served beautifully in a large bowl that we sat around on their dining rug. The food was soooo good. After our meal, we had ataaya, the sweet minty-lemony tea in shot glasses. Cousin’s nieces had already eaten, so it was just us, Assane, Assane’s two boys, his 15 year old nephew and other cousin Aminatau. After we ate, we showed our appreciation of their Teranga by giving all of our gifts from the US. The boys especially grinned ear-to-ear when I gave them the Chicago Bulls hats. They also like the ND Wrestling gear and thought it was cool that my son wrestles and brother coaches there. They loved the soccer balls that Sara brought and the million items hat Melisha brought including fun floating balls and sugar.

Every day on this trip, I have used the few Wolof terms that I know at every opportunity; I have said Jerejeff (thank you) hundreds of times at this point. At dinner, I was profusely thanking Assane’s cousins for the amazing meal by saying jerejef. Assane’s younger son looked at me and turned to Assane and said, “what does she mean Jerry Jeff?” Bwahaahaha! Assane, the boys, Sara, Melisha, and I laughed so hard. This whole time, I think my Chicago accent was making my jerejef incomprehensible!

ATES (Association of Teachers of English in Senegal) Meeting

Teachers in Senegal are the hardest working teachers in the world. Who else holds 2 hour teacher meetings that start at 7:30 PM on a Saturday night? I was excited to see that 3 of the 6 posters that were featured in the ATES Office were of Chicago, and one of those featured bagpipers at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. I used that opportunity to show everyone a video clip of the Shannon Rovers performing at last year’s parade. When I articulated that my husband's mom is a bagpiper and that my husband's dad is a drummer for the band, everyone was amazed. I ended up giving a little history on the Shannon Rovers, my in-laws involvement, the St. Paddy's Day Parade and a bit about the Irish American community in Chicago. Everyone we have met seems to find it interesting that so many Americans also have connections with communities tied to their ethnic background.

Once our meeting started, we got into some excellent conversations about professional development, assessments, etc. Many of us American Fulbrighters shared how impressed we were with Senegalese students’ focus and drive. None of us have witnessed any students off task in any of our classroom visits. Additionally, despite the fact that the majority of the high school students have cell phones, we never saw them*! Some of the ATES leaders asked about resources and I shared a bit about my favorite go-to, the Pulitzer Center. Rebecca suggested that they reach out to a publisher and could likely get free books mailed to them - great idea! Several of the teachers articulated that their students are much better at writing than speaking. I introduced them to DuoLingo and showed them how I am using it to learn Spanish and that there is a lot of listening and speaking components of this free app. Melisha brought up an outstanding point that STEM needs to be taught more in a hands-on way, instead of theory, and that painting the schools would be a great exercise in science and English. Science - students would research and assess different types of paint to choose which would work best for them. Students could write letters to admin or officials to get the okay, as well as the paint and paint brushes. Then lastly, as a volunteer activity, the students could paint all the walls of each of their schools. Melisha’s idea is fantastic! I added to the conversation by saying that even though I am a social science teacher and a lover of the humanities, I encourage my kids and students to strongly consider fields in STEM because that’s the future of jobs. Additionally, at the crux of economic development is technological innovation; you need strong STEM education because that increases the likelihood of job creation and stronger economic development. Rebecca brought up an excellent suggestion of career days and the role they play in introducing students to careers that they hadn’t previously considered. William brought up the importance of revolutions and how teachers hold all the power and can make change by banning together to demand it. I am in awe of the intelligence and passion of all of the teachers that I now call friends.

(* Two primary reasons for never seeing students with cellphones during classes - 1. Students have deep respect for teachers here. Looking at a cellphone during class would be disrespectful toward teachers 2. At many schools, student cell phone use is strictly prohibited. If students are seen using their cellphone during class, teachers are supposed to take it away and give it to principal. Principal keeps the cellphone until the last day of school.)

Custom-made dresses & Impromptu Rap Show at the Tailor’s Shop

Senegal is truly the land of Teranga! (Wolof term for hospitality!) Fulbright host Assane treated us to dresses that his cousin tailor Aminatau sewed for us. After our ATES meeting, we went to Aminatau’s shop so that she could measure us. She also showed us her Instagram account featuring the beautiful dresses that she has made for others. Her talent is astounding! We picked out our favorite cut/style from her Instagram photos. Just as we were exiting her shop, after getting our measurements, four teenage boys walked toward us and started rapping/singing. We all move back into the shop and a full dance party ensued! It was an incredible experience that will forever be indelibly etched in my memory! Evidently they are the neighborhood griots; they were rapping about us! Their skills were incredible! (See above for video clip.)

After their music performance, Aminatau led us through the side hallway past a few bedroom apartments to the back room to use the bathroom. The bathroom at the end of the open air hallway is for all of the residents of bedroom apartments. I had to go to the bathroom badly and was grateful to her for taking me there!

Next, we drove back to the fisherman’s neighborhood for some late night shopping at the fabric store! The fabric store had thousands of designs and colors to choose from! Each of us picked out our fabric as we heard the sounds of an outdoor marabout meeting with a hundred young men. I picked out a lovely and colorful floral designed fabric. I avoided the geometric patterns because those looked more traditional African and I didn't want to be considered engaging in cultural appropriation when I returned to Chicago.

4/30/23

Alas, we had a 10 AM start time today so I was able to start the day with a jog with Fulbrighters Rebecca and Jim! Also, I finally had time to briefly work on this blog while enjoying mango, yogurt, coffee and a chocolate croissant in the hotel restaurant decorated with early 20th century French aviation décor.

Great Learning Even In Car Rides

Our drives with Assane are so enriching as we (Sara, Melisha & I) learn so much. Here are some things we learned in no particular order:

We love Fulani music. Assane is always playing it, and it is amazing. (Baba Mar needs to be added to my Spotify account! All of the music -- is sooo good!)
Fulani ethnic group has more people, but Wolof is more prevalent because they are interspersed throughout Senegal. Wolof is the Lingua Franca of Senegal.
50ish Talibe for every marabout. Marabout teaches kids for 10 years starting at 6-7 so boys can memorize Quran and understand it. Boys sent by families aren’t poor -they are sent to learn the Quran. Talibe have set hours of begging/getting alms for their marabout. Families send boys to be talibe, but without money so kids have to earn their living. After they make 250 CFA per day, they can keep additional money for self. Maybe someday after ten years then they can become entrepreneur because they have been able to save.
Imam leads Koran. Imam could be a marabout . Many imams are marabouts.
Pular= Fulani. Respect. Don’t ever look person in the eye. Show respect and look down
Serar- rank is most important in family . Marabout needs to be consulted for all things because he can cast spell .

On our way to the Fulani Village, we pulled over at a gas station and then spent two hours there because guide Dominique told Fulbrighters Jim and William that they had to move to our hotel. Ha! Our group continues to impress me as patient travelers!

Village of Sustainability

We visited the Fulani eco-village, Guelakh. It was totally sustainable! They have a revenue stream from tourism (inn, marmalades, apparel). They have cows, goats, etc in pens. They sell yogurt and cheese too. (It was delicious!) With that, they fund a well resourced school and maternity/health clinic! Solar panels and biofuels provide energy! The school was the most well stocked, colorful, cleanest school we had visited thus far! What a model of sustainability!

We enjoyed another delectable and traditional Senegalese meal at Guelakh. There were a few rugs set out in the lunch room because our entire St. Louis cohort was together for this activity. A few of us sat with Dominique, one of our Senegalese teacher partners. Dominique is gregarious, confident and jovial. I sincerely appreciated his candidness as he spoke about his two wives and plan to add a third wife. While I don't agree with polygamy, I tried really hard not to be judgmental and to think about it in a cultural historical sense that this has been happening in this region for thousands of years. I especially appreciated his openness to answer our questions as I think others in our larger Senegalese group also practiced this, but didn't share because they knew most Americans see polygamy as another example of patriarchy and sexism. (Only men can have up to 4 wives; women can only have one husband.)

VIP Politician Visit

Mansour Faye, Minister of Infrastructure, Transportation & Economic Development of Senegal (also mayor of St. Louis & Brother in Law of the President of the country) kindly hosted us Fulbrighters at his modern, sleek house. His house was beautiful; his overall grounds included many palm trees, perfectly landscaped flowers, shrubbery and a lovely, almost complete built-in pool. I felt like I was in a tony North Shore suburb like Lake Forest. His art was surprising given the conservative culture we had thus far witnessed in the St. Louis region of Senegal. There was a room divider art piece that featured a blonde girl dressed in Native American attire with her left breast exposed. I noticed that of his two shelves of books, I have the same International business book that I used in college! I asked him about it. It’s one of his kids. He has four kids in college, Maryland, Ohio, American University and University of California SD!

At our visit, we all shared the importance American-Senegalese friendships and connections. Sara did a great job officially presenting him with the Fulbright certificate. I enjoyed telling him about Whitney Young/CPS and also presenting him a bag and sticker from Chicago Public Schools. Our visit was great; this whole experience happened because our host teacher Assane is friends everyone in the country. Mayor Faye was incredibly welcoming and we all very much enjoyed our visit.

5/1/23

Beach Day in Gandon

Our larger St. Louis Fulbright group spent the day at the beach and beach house of Geebee, Senegalese teacher partner Dominique’s friend in Gandon. At the location we visited, the beach was clean and the water was crystal clear. It was interesting to notice approximately 30 kids, ages 5-15, and about 12 women spend several hours walking back and forth to the beach with large sieves. They stood in 6 inch deep water, pulling the sieve through the wet sand and then shaking the sand out. When the sand was mostly out of the sieve and it was just broken pieces of seashells, the women and kids would walk up to the beach and make a pile. Once there were 20ish piles, the transport guy shoveled the piles onto the back of his horse drawn flatbed. Evidently, transport guys takes the shells and sell them so that can be mixed with cement for construction projects. This is how some women of this community gain income.

After an hour or so on the beach, we walked back to Geebee’s for a traditional lunch - rice, onions, peppers and chicken in a big bowl! The food was outstanding. The seasonings that are used in Senegalese culture are sooooo good. Geebee's first wife performed the ataaya ritual making ceremony in front of us. It was neat to see this process first hand and made the ataaya that much more refreshing! Geebee, the family friend that hosted us, typified Teranga. He kept joking with us that we needed to eat more food and drink more tea! “Eating is for eating. Drinking is for drinking” Interestingly, in Senegalese culture, you don’t drink before or during a meal. You eat your full meal, and then you drink your beverage. We laughed about our different take on this! Our host took us on a lovely boat ride on one of his traditional fishing boats.

After our boat ride, the children of the host brought out more platters of food! This time it was fish with tomatoes, lettuce and fries. Another amazing meal! After dinner, coffee was served! I dropped the sparkly sugar cube in my coffee cup, enjoyed the beverage and hoped it wouldn’t impact my sleep - you can’t say no to food or beverage in Senegal!

We thanked our host profusely and joked with him some more. Melisha even joked with him that he should only have one wife, instead of two. As William accurately pointed out, this day was a joyous and relaxing day reminiscent of family parties that we all have attended on a summer holiday at home.

5/2/23

Private School Visit - 3 blocks from the public school, but a world away…

As soon as we arrived at the private French school, Ecole Francaise Antoine de Sainte-Exupery, it was clear that this school was much better funded than the public school three blocks away. The campus looked at the ocean, was pristine, well painted and had tall palm trees and colorful flowers. Before entering the campus, I noticed the barbed wire fence separating the school from the neighborhood. Additionally, two security guards greeted us as we entered.

Teacher partner Assane’s Tuesdays start at the private French school. He scheduled a meeting with the principal to start our day. We learned that every grade is taught with the French curriculum. Every French school in the world (including the one in Chicago) uses exactly the same curriculum, text books etc. Principals rotate on a 5 year basis. If a principal wants to extend for one additional term they can. The principals are from France, but rotate to different schools in different countries. The principal was kind, intelligent and shared her desire to improve technology at the school.

We observed Assane’s 6th grade English class. I noticed that the text book features only white people. There was only one non-white person/character in the entire textbook and it was "Mowgli," the Disney character from The Jungle. I understand that parents choose (and pay a lot of money) to send their children to this school knowing that it is French curriculum with French resources, but it still frustrated me that in West Africa, in a school that seems approximately 95% Black, the entire book features white people and cartoons, with the exception of one non-white cartoon, that is pushing a negative stereotype. See photo above.

Assane’s students at the French School were as eager to learn as his public school students. Instead of 45 kids in a classroom, there were 6 students. Unlike the public school, none of the female students wore anything covering their heads. Additionally, most were dressed in Western attire of ripped jeans and t-shirts. Unlike the public school, he majority of students at the private school had traveled or lived outside of Senegal at some point. One student moved to Senegal from Mauritania, another moved from Portugal. Despite the freshly painted walls, book shelves and well-maintained areas, the classrooms did not have whiteboards, smart boards or projectors that are commonplace in the classrooms in the US.

After our private school visit, we taught at the public school and had another incredibly inspiring day. The students again stood as we entered the room. The students continue to amaze me with their strong love and desire to learn.

We finished the day by teaching at the Gaston Burger University. There were over 100 students waiting for us when we arrived. After our standard presentation including slides on us, our schools, school district and cities, we asked students to brainstorm different problems that they would like to solve in their communities. Students brainstormed and shared that they would like to improve water systems, poverty, education etc. It was interesting because we started our observations in Senegal thinking that teachers should consider less lecturing and more student collaboration and engagement. Whelp, asking students to do this in a hot, crowded classroom without a microphone made us rethink that. While it was a great topic and conversation, I was sweating profusely and wondering how on task students were and if we were losing the room. That said, I now understand why so much more lecturing seems to happen in Senegal - large class sizes make small group work and partner collaboration very difficult.

Teacher partner Assane’s energy continues to amaze me. My teacher partners and I were exhausted at the end of the day and in awe of Assane and his demanding schedule.

5/3/23

Most Challenging Emotional Experience of Trip

I burst into tears on the walk to school today. Teacher partner Sara and I popped into the convenient store to buy bottles of water for the school day. As it happens every day, four scabbed, bald, barefoot Talibe boys ages 5-7ish years old, dressed in tattered, dirty clothes asked for money. I pointed at the refrigerator of juice, nodding my head, indicating that they should pick out juices. They nodded no and pointed to light brown packages behind the counter. I said okay, but didn’t know what I was buying. They were very eager to get these packages, pushing each other out of the way. They were packages of dried, fortified milk. We stepped outside the store and I couldn’t hold it in anymore. It was the 7th day of seeing these cute Talibe boys begging all over St. Louis. The fact that they wanted plain, nutritious fortified milk and not candy or juice hurt my soul. They knew that they needed the fortified milk to survive. The first day that we saw them on the street, I recalled a Human Rights Watch report that I had read, as well as a UN article on the topic; I didn’t give them any money because I felt like I was contributing to the overall problem. After the first day, I emotionally couldn’t not give them something so I tried to have small bills (100 or 500 CFA) or coins to share with them. I kept thinking of my own kids at home and their privileged lives as compared to these kids that won’t get hugs from their mom or dad, except for 2 weeks every year for the next chunk of years. I thought about their hunger as an illustration of extreme poverty that is common in most of the world. Also, I thought about their long-term futures. A lot of our Senegalese friends have told us that many of the Talibe boys become successful entrepreneurs because they can keep the extra CFAs (Senegalese currency) they earn after they earn their daily quotas of about 250 CFA. The 250 CFAs is handed over to their marabout for the cost of their housing, food and education. Some friends told us that good marabouts are understanding if the Talibe boys can't raise the required quantity. I am glad that they are taught to memorize, interpret and understand the Quran as it is a beautiful holy text with so many good messages, but I wish that they were also afforded an education that included math, science, reading, writing, critical thinking, etc. so that they had more options in the future. I think that most governments including the Senegalese government, recognize that people with strong math, science, reading and writing skills are key to innovation, and innovation is key to economic development. I think about societies from Mesopotamia (the invention of the wheel!) to today, and think about how innovation led to productivity, productivity led to economic growth and economic growth generally has led to quality of life improvements, in the long-term. I feel like Senegal would be so much stronger if they got all children to attend schools and put more of an emphasis on STEM teaching and learning.) That said, public schools are already over crowded, so there is also a need to build more schools.

The last thing that I want is to be the American pointing out flaws in this beautiful country full of Teranga. I see the larger systemic issue as extreme poverty in rural Senegal, although our friends here have said that it isn’t poverty pushing families to send their boys to the cities to become Talibe, it’s family’s desire for kids to become experts in the Quran with a marabout. Each marabout has about 50-60 Talibe boys that learn the Quran with them for about 10 years. I appreciate that the Senegalese government is working with Marabouts to try to bring formal education (math, reading, etc) to the Daaras (Quranic Schools of the Marabouts) and hope this happens soon. Seeing the hungry Talibe boys every day in St. Louis has been the most challenging aspect of my experience in Senegal.

Last Day Teaching at Lycee Cheikh Oumar Fouriyou Tall School -

As usual, we entered the classroom, and every single one of the 45 students stood up to greet us. The appreciation for teachers in Senegal is incredible. Students have the utmost respect for educators and education. (I wish American students had this much respect for teachers and appreciation for education.) Since we were teaching in classrooms today and not the Tech Room that has Internet, we were glad that Melisha had brought a flash drive for the trip! We plugged it into the laptop, the laptop to the Acer projector and projected our PPT slide show to the wall! Of course first we greeted the students with the customary “aSalaam Aleeukum” and received the smiling response of “Aleekum Salaam.” Sara, Melisha and I started with a map of the US, talked a bit about our country and then featured a map of northern Senegal for slide two. Students were excited to stand up, go to the map, point to the region they were from and talk to us about it. It amazed me that some students travel great distances. A number of them live with cousins in Saint Louis during the week and return to their homes in villages on weekends. Some walk an hour to get to school.

The next part of our lesson was our intros, which at this point, we had done dozens of time! We each talked about our families, schools, school districts and city. Because of Melisha’s presentation of “the Natural State” of Arkansas, I now want to plan a family trip to see all of the waterfalls, state parks and mountains! I am also reminded of the fabulousness of NYC every time Sara presents.

After our intros, we had students do a writing and speaking exercise. The best part of this lesson was the singing! We taught them the “Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes” song as well as the “Hokey Pokey." We had so much fun dancing, laughing and singing. The students here are so engaged and fabulous.

During the 20 minute passing period, we went to the teacher’s lounge and were formally recognized by the faculty and staff. The principal gave us each a certificate and a school uniform! We shared items with them. I passed out Chicago Public School teacher pins to each of the teachers and faculty members. They were grateful to receive them. I am so glad that CEDO Dr. Chkoumbova shared so many CPS items with me so that I could share with Senegalese students and teachers!

After our 2 hour grade 10 English class, we then taught a similar lesson to Assane’s 2 hour grade 12 English class. The students were cordial and eager to learn – love it so much!

Alas, we had a 20 minute lunch break and whoa, another outstanding meal. Similar to our last school lunch at Lycee Cheikh Oumar Fouriyou Tall School, the family mom and cook that lives on campus prepared an incredible platter of mafe. Mafe is a rice dish featuring roasted carrots and sweet potatoes with beef in the center, and a rich, spicy peanut sauce topping everything --- oh my word --- (That’s a Melisha word that I am adopting :), another outstanding meal. I shared with Assane and the other host teachers that in 17 years of teaching, I have never eaten a meal from my school cafeteria. They found that fact interesting, but had heard that American public school cafeterias had a less than stellar reputation for food quality.

After lunch we headed to English class, and again were blown away! The instruction happening at English Clubs across the country is teeming with critical thinking, thoughtful discussions and engaged learning.

English Club: Celebrating Press Freedom

Mr. So, English Teacher Club Sponsor, started by asking a student to volunteer for a game. A student came up and faced his classmates, while Mr. So wrote the word, newspapers, behind him on the chalkboard. Similar to the cellphone game “Heads Up,” students had to provide hints (in English since this is English class!) to the student standing at the front of the room until he successfully guessed the word newspaper correctly. Then Mr. So asked for another volunteer, and this time the word was journalist. There were several rounds of the game featuring terms such as online and freedom on the chalkboard. Teacher Mr. So asked students to make connections among all of the terms that he had written on the board. Then he shared that we were celebrating World Press Freedom Day today! As a person and teacher that is passionate about media literacy, I was ecstatic to see this topic being taught, and in such a fun, engaged way! (I was especially excited because when I inquired with the Ministry of Education about the extent to which media literacy is taught in schools here in Senegal, I learned that the national curriculum dictates classroom learning and that doesn't specifically include media literacy. The national curriculum does include political history (not current politics) and civics which is connected to media literacy. From the Ministry of Education, I learned that media literacy could happen in English Clubs, and here I was witnessing exactly that!) Wahoooo!!! Sorry, I digressed!

After the game, Mr. So divided everyone into groups and had each group write four adjectives describing a journalist. Then he collected the pieces of paper and redistributed them among the groups and asked each group to write a poem including the four words featured on the paper! Each group wrote a poem and then performed the poetry! I was jubilant experiencing creative, fun, engaged, learning on my favorite topic, media literacy! English Clubs are incredible in Senegal! Especially this one!

Gratitude

As the club meeting was concluding, an alum that’s now a freshman in college, but often returns to English Club, gave a beautiful speech thanking Mr. So and us American teachers . The alum's message of appreciation, plus his passionate delivery made my eyes tear up with emotion. After the eloquent speech, one of the students came up and gave each of us three Fulbright teachers a large envelope thanking us and OMG, included in the envelope were dozens of Senegalese post cards! Each postcard featured a hand-written note to my students! Now, my teared up eyes turned to full ugly crying of gratitude for this beautiful experience. Oh, I love Senegal and their teranga so much.

Magical Night of Music - Wow, So Grateful

After school, we took showers, got ready and donned the beautiful tailor-made Senegalese dresses that Aminatau made us, thanks to our generous friend Assane. We got in Assane’s car and drove to Sara and Brenda’s host teacher’s school in Gandon, Senegal. I was expecting a couple drummers and maybe 20 family members joining in the show, but noooo. We walked into a space of hundreds of cheering people, all there for us seven St. Louis Fulbright teachers, Jim, William, Rebecca, Brenda, Sara, Melisha and me. Partner teachers Dominique, Assane and Abdourahmane instructed us that the front row was for us. The drummers were powerful and the rhythm made everyone move. The singer started singing and then kids and adults would each come to the center to dance. I was sitting front and center between the mayor of the town and Fulbrighter Jim when the singer pulled me into the main area to dance. He subsequently and purposely pulled each of my 6 partners down to the center area to join in the dance party at different times. The kids and adults that jumped from the sidelines into the sand “stage” area exuded tremendous talent. The entire program was sublime. When the show ended, the musicians invited us to play on their drums and dozens of groups of teens snapped photos with us. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. What an unforgettable evening of music, dancing and community. I will never ever forget this.

Last Family Dinner & Family Photo

Our last family dinner at cousin’s house was so memorable. We started by enjoying ataaya with the Manchester United game playing on the TV. I will miss the minty sweetness of ataaya when I return to the US. Cousin made us an incredible platter of beans, sweet potatoes, couscous and fish, served with French baguette. Dad and mom of house insisted that I eat with my right hand so despite the hot temperature and being forced out of my comfort zone of eating with my hand, I did it and enjoyed it! We took some final “family” photos to finish and sang happy birthday so that Sara and I could record for her husband and my son, whose birthdays were the following day.

5/4/23

We drove home (home! ha!), back to Dakar. We visited the African Resistance Monument and Museum. It was built by a “private company in North Korea” (read North Korean government) and is all about freedom featuring paintings and quotes of Dr. King and President Obama and others in African and African American history. It felt ironic knowing that North Korea is the most authoritative government in the world and no person in North Korea has any freedom that this museum espouses. I took a couple photos of powerful art there, but won’t be sharing them because it feels uncomfortable given the ironic Kim Jung Un connection.

Another great Senegalese dinner.

5/5/23

Debrief reflection meetings and discussions. See below for highlights of this.

TamTam Drums & Dance Lessons

Oh my gosh! This was so much fun! A drumming group performed for us, while a dance instructor taught us different ethnic Senegalese dances. Here's a short video that Amy Samson took: https://youtu.be/IxQuwz2Knwg

Dinner was at Jet Cafe, a gorgeous restaurant on the ocean that had a very Miami-beach vibe with white couches, white gauzy drapes, open air looking at and hearing waves crash below.

5/6/23

Orphanage Visit

I missed half of this experience. Although I woke up feeling good, jogged with Amy and had my usual breakfast, on the bus ride to the orphanage, my stomach started feeling queasy. I spent half of the orphanage visit throwing up in a trashcan filled with discarded, eaten mangos. I skipped the market visit too because I was feeling so miserable so didn't purchase anything I had planned to. This was an additional bummer because I wasn't able to properly convey my appreciation to everyone during our final activities.

Reflections & Thoughts

One part of our debrief session was a small group activity to discuss the strengths, challenges, etc. of the Senegalese Education System. Here’s what our group discussed:

Topic: The structure of Senegal’s education system

Strengths:

Culture is included in curriculum (and has positive messages)
- Push toward gender equality. Workbooks talked about how women are now educated. Famous woman. “It’s okay for women to run” “Abuse of women happens after weddings. It doesn’t have to be this way.” Some schools didn’t have workbooks.
Strong desire (will of) of students to learn (students are engaged, keep cells away, etc.)
Will of teachers to teach
Passionate teachers
Tremendous respect for teachers (kids stand up when kids walk in).
Knowledge of multiple languages.
Free university.
Autonomy of teachers in terms of time (no swipe in/outs required), but not curriculum.

Challenges:

Not enough university spots. Too many students (Half the population that wants to go to college) are shut out of higher education
Teaching to the test of the national curriculum.
- Teachers had the test, but lack of curricular resources to prepare students
- In terms of English teaching, over emphasis on grammar for test, so this is what is taught at the expense of improving speaking and listening skills.
- To what extent does test include critical thinking; are students taught this?
STEM - Need for more STEM education in schools. (This is important as a foundation for larger economic development of community and nation)
Getting all kids in schools. Too many students don’t attend school.
- But if students all attended school, there would be lack of space! There are already 50 students in small classes, with 3 kids to a bench.
Desire to invest in community. - aware. Persuade successful Senegalse to stay in Senegal.

Contributing Factors

Poverty
- Lack of funding for schools. (Overcrowded classrooms, dilapidated buildings, very little technology).
- Large chunk of kids don’t attend formal school because of poverty (kids need to fish, farm, work with fam) or kids are sent to live with marabout and getting Quranic education, not formal (math, science, reading, writing).
Government Corruption
- More money needs to be invested in education at every level.

What can we as US educators learn from Senegal:

Perseverance!
Creativity of teachers!
Community respect for teachers!
Appreciation for education!
Knowledge of other countries, geography and languages. Senegalese students are much more knowledgeable about these topics than American students.
Sharing mindset!!!! Community!!!!

Another portion of our meeting required us to reflect on takeaways for our teaching:

Professional Reflection: Education at Home

Adaptions: What would you do differently? How would you teach this unit differently?

Students: What kind of impact do you hope it will have on students? What are the outcomes you want? What would you like students to do differently? How will you engage student voice, choice and reflection?

For my environmentalism/climate action unit project, I have students create a project that positively impacts their community. Many of them organize neighborhood clean ups and use that Nat Geo app Debris Tracker to identify areas that have more trash density which then results in them contacting local politicians or businesses to fix said issue. For example, one group picked up trash around United Center. I think this would be a great global collaboration.

Same idea for my Media Lit Unit Project. This will be more challenging to implement because teachers in Senegal will have to also teach the skills first, but the impact could be tremendous.

Nat Geo/ Pulitzer Out of Eden Project Home Stories - global connections! This is my favorite of year - I can improve it by connecting my students with Senegalese students! I can also connect my students with Fellow Fulbrighter students across the US to get our students to better understand the US.

Other Random Reflections that I am Still Pondering:

Learning from Fellow American Fulbright Teachers about their School Districts

In addition to learning a great deal about Senegalese education, I learned quite a bit about American education from my Fulbright cohort/friends. There were 15 of us American Fulbright teachers in Senegal, all from different states. While I knew that every state dealt with education differently, I didn't realize the extent to which these differences existed until getting into conversations with my American colleagues on this trip. In addition to differences state-to-state, there are great differences within districts and of course, between private and public schools. As a CPS teacher, I am thankful to be part of a district that promotes anti-racism and pro-LGBTQ rights. I appreciate that we/CPS seem to administer a lot less standardized tests than most school districts in the US and am also grateful for my higher pay scale as compared with many school districts. On the other hand, as a CPS teacher, it became even more apparent what an outsized role our legal department plays as compared with other districts. For example, my colleagues from other states were shocked to learn the process CPS teachers must go through to plan a field trip. They couldn't believe that we were required to report additional income to our district. They were confused to learn that even virtual speakers are required to get a basic background check with registration and were dismayed that teachers swipe in and out like 1950s factory workers.

Senegalese Kids Actively Enjoy the Outdoors

I have never in my life seen so many kids, and so many kids actively enjoying the outdoors every minute of the day that school isn't in session. Every day in St. Louis, Senegal, I saw hundreds of smiling kids being active from 2pm until 9pm. Kids were playing soccer on the side of the street or on the sandy beach; kids were playing basketball. None of these were "organized" sports with coaches, referees and overly involved parents. These were all organic "pick up" sports activities where kids were in charge of everything and parents were elsewhere. If kids weren't playing sports, they were creatively making up games like the group of boys we saw pretending to dive off of docked fishing boats on the beach. (See video below.) These kids weren't being supervised. They didn't need the supervision. Older kids took care of younger kids. No kid was ever alone. All of the kids were being physically active every day for a number of hours. Kids were being creative. Kids were being leaders. Most kids have smart phones in Senegal, but they weren't on their phones. They were enjoying the great outdoors in an active, engaged, social way. We (Americans) need more of this unstructured, activity, especially for our children!

Children & Human Rights

Education is a human right. Too many Senegalese boys are shut out of the formal education system, never having the opportunity to learn to read, write, do math, etc. Read above entry on 5/3 titled, "Most Challenging Emotional Experience of Trip."

Senegalese Contentedness - Significantly Less Depression & Anxiety than in the USA

In all of the conversations that we had with educators in Dakar and St. Louis, on the topic of student challenges, neither anxiety nor depression was ever brought up. I asked our teacher partners. They are aware that depression is a disease, but have never to their knowledge taught a student that has depression or anxiety. When I shared that I have students every year that not only battle these issues, but that every single year for the last 8 years, I have had 1-2 students hospitalized because the depression is so significant, they were saddened and stunned. I shared that this isn't unique to my school and that it is major problem in our country. Our Senegalese partners were shocked. After asking about this with Senegalese teacher partners, I was told that the reason that there is likely much less depression here in Senegal has to do with the strong role of Islam and the tremendous focus on community. In terms of Islam, our partners specifically referenced marabouts and the brotherhood because they work to ensure that people deal with negative thoughts in a productive, positive way. (As a secular person from a secular country, perhaps I over exaggerate the positive aspects of this value? A strong sense of religious identity seems to be connected to stronger sense of self worth, and thus an overall, less depressed population.) Additionally, the Senegalese value of community that is perhaps so ingrained in the culture, it's often overlooked is key to Senegalese contentedness. This sense of community and belonging is essential in the equation of decreased depression and anxiety. As I mentioned earlier, I never saw kids alone. I never saw adults alone. Kids don't have their own bedrooms. They don't have their "own sports" They share everything. The connect. Family is at the crux of life. I can't help but think that us Americans were more like this 40 years ago when I was a kid, but have lost a lot of this to our obsession with individualism, preference for being alone and our addiction to being sedentary and playing on our "smart" phones. We were more physically active, had a better sense of community and had stronger social bonds several decades ago than we do today.

On the other hand, 40 years ago, we (Americans) didn't talk about mental health, and less laws existed to protect marginalized groups so perhaps we don't have a full picture. Mental health is complicated - chemical imbalances, trauma, stress, genes, etc... The more I know on all of these topics, the more complicated my views become!

Gender

While all countries in the world have problems with patriarchy and discrimination toward the LGBTQ+ community, the extent to which these issues are prevalent in Senegal seem significantly more. I noticed significantly more boys playing outside than girls which suggests that the girls were at home. Girls raised their hands less than boys in the classroom. Only women ever prepared our meals. Women are rare in teaching and administrative positions. Men are allowed to have up to four wives, but women can only have one husband. When I asked about LGBTQ rights, I was told that this was a topic that isn't openly discussed or acknowledged. People are born being LGBTQ, so I wonder what challenges Senegalese LGBTQ people experience?

Peanuts & Allergies

We were served a bowl of peanuts or a meal that included peanuts every day. I know a hundred kids with a peanut allergy in Chicago so it struck me -- are there any peanut allergies in Senegal? It didn't seem like it, but I needed to look into this further. I asked around. Nope, there are virtually no peanut (or tree nut) allergies in Senegal. Assane, my teacher partner, doesn't know a single child, student or person with a peanut (or any nut) allergy! Perhaps the omnipresence of peanuts (and tree nuts) from birth are the reason that these allergies are non-existent? The peanut and tree nuts had me further wondering about allergies, in general. Anecdotally speaking, it sounds like allergies (food and seasonal) are significantly less common in Senegal. I wonder if our overly "clean" way of life is connected to our higher rates of allergies? Everyone in the world is experiencing the effects of climate change, but is everyone experience higher rates of allergies? I am not a scientist, have never taught science and know little on this topic, but I am curious to learn more.

Food & Nutrition

Nobody eats fast food in Senegal! How glorious is that? Every meal is homemade and includes a protein (fish or meat), cooked vegetables on rice or potatoes. Everyone in Senegal seemed healthy, but I need to do further research on this. I hope as Senegal's economy continues to grow, they don't adopt the American unhealthy habit of fast food.

View toward non-Muslims

Senegal is 95% Muslim. I only met Muslims. We were told to cover our knees and dress conservatively before departure. This is my first time traveling to a country with a majority Muslim population. I was grateful to notice that although religion dictates most aspects of life in Senegal, everyone in Senegal seemed to be tolerant of all non-Muslims. I noticed this in a variety of ways including the easy-going perspective toward the nightclubs and bars wherein people were imbibing in alcohol until late into the night on weekends. I also noticed this in the way that many of our new Senegalese friends asked us about our religious affiliations in an accepting, understanding way. Additionally, while we were advised to dress conservatively, it seemed that people were okay with foreigners dressing less conservatively.

Politics

It was interesting to listen to our various Senegalese teacher partners openly talk about politics. It was awesome to see freedom of speech being practiced as it pertained to political discourse. Everyone is keenly aware of the 2024 presidential election and has a strong opinion on it. Some of our partners view the current president, Macky Sall as an excellent leader that has significantly improved infrastructure (especially roads and sports arenas) and markedly improved quality of life for people living in rural Senegal. Others (seemingly more of them, but we met such a small sampling of people that it is hard to actually say) view Sall as corrupt. One example of the alleged corruption that people shared with us was Sall's recent offshore oil and gas deal with BP that will garner only a small percent for Senegal, but is making Sall's brother a lot of money. They would like to see opposition leader Ousmane Sonko win and do not believe the charges against him are true. While everyone when in unofficial capacity was eager to share their political perspectives, when I inquired about civics, current politics and media literacy in the classroom, it sounds like the national curriculum is strictly followed does not include these topics. That said, perhaps English Clubs sometimes include these topics? The English Club that Sara, Melisha and I joined on Wedensday explored the vital role that journalists play in society, so that suggests to me that other related topics are also likely covered in extra-curriculars.

Reflecting on my Guiding Question

My guiding question before departing for Senegal was to explore the extent to which media literacy is taught in Senegalese high schools. Regular classroom instruction in Senegal does not typically include media literacy education. Classroom instruction follows the national curriculum which does not include media literacy. English language classes focus mostly on reading, writing, grammar and mechanics. Social scinece classes like geography and history follow the national curriculum which is similar to classical geography and history courses, none of which include media literacy. That said, media literacy is taught by many teachers in Senegal, but it is taught in an extracurricular setting, mostly within after school English Clubs. English Clubs are very popular among high school students in Senegal and include regional and national competitions that assess far more than reading, writing, grammar and mechanics. Critical thinking skills including medial literacy, analysis, synthesis and overall speaking skills are taught in English Clubs throughout the country and assessed at national competitions. English Clubs are essential to effective teaching and learning in Senegal because of the skills they teach, in addition to the project-based, engaging approach teacher sponsors take. Additionally, the teacher to student ratio in English Clubs in any given day is significantly lower than the 45:1 ratio that is common in public high school classrooms. This allows for more individualized learning which always improves teaching and learning.

Community

I am in deep admiration of the Senegalese people for their sense of community and the collective spirit that seems to guide every aspect of their lives. Their close knit social ties make them the richest people in the world. We as Americans have a lot to learn from Senegal and their collective spirit.

FINAL TAKEAWAY

Senegal was an experience that will forever change me for the better. I am so grateful to the Fulbright program, IREX and the US Department of State. I am also grateful to our IREX point person Richard Felty who led our Senegalese Fulbright group with professionalism, kindness, calm and brilliance. Big Jerrejef (thank you in Wolof) to everyone at Fulbright, IREX, and the US Department of State that made this happen.

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This blog and website are required as part of my Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Capstone Project. This is not an official U.S. Department of State site. The views and information presented are my personal views and do not represent the Teachers for Global Classrooms Program, IREX, or the U.S. Department of State.

Full Fulbright group with State Department Officials at the US Embassy in Dakar

Assane, me and Melisha at the beach on May Day. Photo Cred: Jim

Melisha, Sara and I enjoying lunch with Djeebee (pronounced Geebee) and family in Gandon, Senegal.

IMG_9358.MOV

Click on video to see kids playing a game that they created in Ndar/St. Louis. Kids were always actively enjoying the outdoors with friends/family.

St. Louis crew posing for photo at Jet Cafe in Dakar on May 5. From left to right (Jim, Sara, Brenda, Rebecca, me, Melisha, William)

Photo Credit: Amy Sampson

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