Youth Leadership in Mauritius

Students learn best through discovery.  Such a simple concept, yet so chronically absent from Africa’s continually traditional, test-bloated, teacher-to-student educational system.  While visiting Mauritius over the past few days, a small French-speaking island off of Eastern Africa, I had the awesome pleasure of visiting the ALU, African Leadership University, a recently established institution devoted to shaping Africa’s future business and social leaders.  This was one of the coolest, smartest things I’ve done since landing in Cape Town.  Carolyn, who has befriended several accomplished people in South Africa’s education world, helped set it up.  Arriving early at the front gate, I was greeted warmly by Shamima, a bubbly, efficient administrator, who graciously handed me a detailed agenda for the day. 

From there, I was eagerly swept up and given the grand tour, starting with a two-hour campus walk-through and an animated explanation by my new BFF, Dougy (spell?), a supremely bright, articulate, optimistic 22-year-old Nigerian, who has twice interned at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  I loved this kid!  The way he described the ALU, especially its mission of fostering conscientious, savvy, proactive thinkers for Africa’s growing challenges, inspired me immensely.  It wasn’t just what he said; it was the way he embodied the enthusiastic young leaders of tomorrow.  At one point during our jaunt, I asked him what he viewed as the main takeaway from his experience at the ALU.  He half-smiled and said, “the ALU realizes that only Africans can fix Africa, so, by throwing us into complex internships situations and rigorous academic scenarios, we come out hungry to do just that.”  Stopping to think about his answer, he then added, “I also love the way this school gives power to us; we are never spoken to.  Rather, we’re made to feel that we are driving the ship of our own learning.  That is why graduates from the ALU do make a difference.  They know how to get things done because they’ve been allowed to do that here.”  Judging from Dougy’s wonderful wherewithal, I could see exactly what he meant. 

Ten minutes later, I was treated to an amazing lunch and a fascinating conversation with six graduating seniors, all echoing Dougy’s sentiments between animated mouthfuls of food.   Beyond being some of the sharpest students I’ve ever met, what struck me most was their extraordinary sense of purpose, their commitment to making Africa a better place.  And we wasted no time discussing some of the big questions, like what makes a good leader (Trump???), and how can education impact social change?  Needless to say, their answers were better than mine and got me thinking about ways to bring such purpose to my own teaching practice.  In short, as a high school English teacher, how can I do what the ALU clearly does so well, to empower young adults toward self/ academic discovery and heightened social action?  How, for example, can I use timeless texts to illuminate current issues and to motivate problem-solving and student leadership?  To awaken them to their important role in today’s shrinking global society, especially if they want to have a say in what that world looks like down the road?  Granted, these are ambitious questions, but I see them as nothing short of keys to unlocking a far more meaningful, invigorating learning experience in my classroom. 

My visit also demonstrated how small the world truly is.  One of the more impressive ALU administrators, Amayo Bassey from Nigeria, revealed that she was a Villanova grad whose favorite professor was none other than my brother-in-law, Steve Liedtka.  Among all her professors, she identified him as the most energetic and committed to his students’ success.  Way to go, Steve!


At the end of my visit, I sat down to speak with Seth Trudeau, the Stanford-educated ALU’s VP of Product.   Serving as the perfect exclamation point to an unbelievably interesting, enjoyable day, Seth made sure that my impression of his school would be a lasting one.  Sharing his thoughts on the American education system, which he evidently navigated with ease, he expressed his faith in “discovery” as the best means of fully educating students.  In his words, “throw them into the water and let them figure out how to swim.  The antiquated way of teaching, perpetuated in too many classrooms across the U.S. and certainly here, fails to empower and prepare lifelong learners and activists.  ALU wants to make sure that its students can take care of themselves in challenging work environments.  Learning here, in other words, is not about a multiple-choice exam at the end of the semester; it’s about skill development and social awareness for a better world.”  Rather than hug him on the spot - which I seriously considered, I opted to shake Seth’s hand on the way out of the school gates, promising him that I would do my utmost to exact similar gains in my own future students.  Smiling, he left me with a perfect ALU line: “the world depends upon it.” 

Lunch yesterday, with the principal of a nearby township high school, reminded me of how lucky I am.  For over an hour, Mr. Kutu described a school so riddled with challenges that I could hardly eat my meal.  The list of problems was endless – orphans, drugs, violence, pregnancy, young and inexperienced teachers, etc.  When I asked him how he reached out to the community, he simply laughed and explained that there was almost “no communication to speak of.”  According to him, because the government pays for his school, families in the community don’t feel “invested” in the educational process.  They remain oddly disconnected.  What’s more, he added, many of his students’ families are so “broken” that their socioeconomic obstacles render education a peripheral issue at best.  And though I have heard of schools in the United States with similar profiles, they are certainly not near Arlington, MA.  We are blessed to work in a town that clearly respects education and can provide the proper resources with which high-level learning can happen.  Teachers do not have upwards of 40 students in the room, a low estimate in Mr. Kutu’s world, nor do we have a prevalence of teen pregnancies.  Granted, AHS has been looking slightly weathered for a while, but the government schools here in SA are lucky if they have running water.  And then there’s the issue of language; half of Mr. Kutu’s students do not speak English, and another sizeable percentage is illiterate.  So, as Mr. Kutu and I finished our meals, we discussed ways in which I could potentially contribute to his school, perhaps helping some of the younger teachers with classroom management or offering an American Studies elective to seniors - all mildly daunting, but exciting prospects, nonetheless.  While mulling this over on my drove home, I suddenly realized how thankful I am to work in a place like Arlington, MA.  In spite of our minor list of challenges, which many commonly voice, our system is a terrific one, filled with exceptional people and a fortunate infrastructure.   Most importantly, we work in a community that is highly educated, with strong families that love their children and invest actively in their academic welfare.  What a true blessing! 

Last Thursday, I agreed to speak with a class of twenty or so quirky 9^th graders about how “America saw its role in the world.”  And even though I’m not nearly qualified enough to speak to such a massive question, I thought the conversation would serve everybody well, so in I went, metaphorical flag in hand.  Within minutes, the students had bombarded me with a battery of questions about Trump: “Is he really as bad as the news says?” and “Is America really not interested in helping the world?”  At first, I struggled to come up with a reasonable answer, so I decided not to try.  Instead, I asked the students what they thought, and why.  This turned quickly into a great look at media and how it drives our sense of reality.  At one point, one girl pointed out that her mom viewed everything she saw on television as true, which infuriated her father.  From there, the discussion took off; by the end of the class, the students were clamoring to express their thoughts on the media’s role, asking themselves whether their view of America, as well as their own culture, was largely defined by the screens that filled their hands throughout the day.  After class, I high-fived as many kids as I could, telling them how much I loved the talk.  And then it dawned on me: why don’t we rely more heavily on technology to regularly connect students from around the world?  Shouldn’t students in South Africa be able to communicate with students in America on a reasonably consistent basis?  Wouldn’t such a system enrich learning way beyond any isolated classroom or textbook, helping them to discover truth beyond media and screens?  The answer is a giant yes.  So that is where I would like to explore in the coming weeks.  Can I pave the path to an interactive, innovative curriculum that allows students from distant cultures to choose, analyze, discuss, and debate various issues that interest and excite them?  As an English teacher, can I rely on multimedia devices more creatively to connect and motivate students to better learn from one another, only serving to facilitate and guide that conversation when necessary.  Of course I can, and I should.  And so, for the next month or so, I intend to dive into social media options that best empower students to communicate and interact from around the world.  If I weren’t so behind the technology train, I suspect I’d be half way there by now.  No problem.  I’m psyched to learn and to connect! 

How can I teach beyond the four walls of the classroom?  I’ve mulled this question over long before I landed in South Africa, but far more seriously now that I’m here.  This experience has exposed my family and me to an unimaginably rich culture, rooted in complex and beautiful literature, art, and history.  I certainly didn’t know 1/10 of it before I arrived.  Why?  Because I grew up learning about my immediate, small world, mainly through textbooks and worksheets, and I was never urged by my own teachers to look much further.  But as a teacher myself, I want to provide my students with a much broader perspective, to teach well beyond the confines of the high school.  This demands considerable creativity on my part.  How can I best engage students at AHS so they feel that what they learn bears upon their lives and their world in profound and relevant ways? 

Teaching here in Africa has opened my eyes to such possibilities.  My students, both here in Arlington, clearly want to learn at a high level – especially about their role in the world.   To ensure that, I need to give them a sense of ownership and connectedness to global events.  They need to understand others’ perceptions and cultural contexts in relation to their own.  Using literature, history, art, and popular and social media as a platform to engage students to think about their world could be an exciting way to achieve that.   Interestingly, I am currently working with a few junior classes in SA to incorporate popular media analysis into traditional learning.   This realm appeals powerfully to them, and through it they are able to more fully grasp the different ways in which people from around the globe relate and communicate with one another. 

I’m also exploring ways to connect students here in South Africa with those in Arlington. This might include Skyping over mutually selected texts in both the English and History departments. Even more promising is the prospect of integrating opportunities for students on both sides to address and debate issues of considerable global gravity – climate change, human rights, social justice, access to water, etc.   This venue will undoubtedly transform learning in my classroom, further motivating students to govern the momentum of the curricula and setting the foundation for proactive, collaborative experiences in the future.  Most importantly, such a dynamic approach will hopefully convince my students that the world is smaller than they think, that their voices indeed matter, and that change is possible if we collectively work together for it.

Beyond the classroom, I am pursuing opportunities to better understand how public speaking – which has strong and growing cultural importance in the fabric of South Africa – empowers and excites leadership and civic engagement among adolescents and young adults here.  More to follow…

My very best to all of you, and Happy Halloween!