Parents Day!

After the holidays I hear talk that this term we will be having 'parents day', this is mentioned interchangeably with 'academic day' and I find myself wondering what exactly this will entail. Students are told to inform their parents to come on Friday of week two for consultation about 'academic matters'.

I ask one of the teachers what will be happening and he says he is not sure, perhaps the parents will come around to see the subject teachers or the maybe the class teachers, one thing he is adamant about- parents will arrive by 9 and therefore we will not be undertaking any regular teaching. I tell my classes that we will not be meeting on Friday and try to cover extra work to make up for it. 

Friday arrives and I head over to school at 8. Students are all over the place, half in uniform half not. There is obvious confusion about proceedings, this is soon addressed by the teacher on duty who wields a large ruler and demands everyone goes to class. I ask what is happening and someone tells me that teachers have decided to teach this morning. I check the schedule but my lessons aren’t until later on in the day. Some students are sneaking out of class and around the back of the building I assume to try and get properly dressed. The bell rings but it isn’t time for a lesson change or break.

Marquees and chairs which arrived late last night are stacked in a pile outside the principals office, there are no parents in sight. 

I again ask what the plan is and am told things won’t start until 10.

A few students come into the library and loiter. I ask them what they are doing and they say they have been locked out of class because they were late. I tell them they can’t just hide in the library and they need to go to class and wait outside. I soon see them walking the corridors looking for a class without a teacher in which they can seek refuge until they are permitted back in class.

Around 9:30 some students wander over and start to set up chairs and the marquees. A few parents have started to arrive and sit near the gate looking a little lost.

It is getting closer to the time I am scheduled to teach but I am not sure if I should prepare a lesson or not.

Suddenly a bell rings and assembly starts. I stand on parade still a little confused as to what is really happening. Various announcements are made about collecting forms and students accompanying parents to consult with teachers.  Then I am told its time for tea break. I don't feel like I have done much work yet but am happy to sit down to tea and white bread- until a crying students comes to me, someone dropped their boiling tea all over her and now she is burnt. My tea break is taken up treating her burn.

I emerge from the library and notice that there appears to be movement over at the tuition block- I head over there to investigate and realise parent teacher interviews are in full swing. I sit at an empty desk and am soon swamped by parents and my students. Unfortunately most of the parents have little English, so our interviews are somewhat challenging to say the least.
Watching the students bustling around, proudly introducing their parents to their various teachers, I feel a tug at my elbow. One student has come around the back of my table. I look up to see one of my form three boys, Amos. He wordlessly hands me the consultation form and I see that there is a blank space next to 'parent/guardian'. He has no parents. Not wanting to stand out he has still picked up a consultation form and is just going to the teachers by himself. My heart bleeds for this lad and I feel like taking his hand and going to visit the teachers with him, playing the role of guardian and congratulating him on his efforts, encouraging him where he could do better...

But I am a teacher and I am swamped by parents so I can't do any more than write an encouraging comment on his form and hand it back, then turn to deal with the parent in front of me who wants an explanation of why her daughter is failing physics (the fact I don't teach physics- or even her daughter in any subject seems to be a little difficult to communicate). 

After a hectic whirlwind of meetings we head to the marquees for introductions and some speeches. Being Kenya, this lasts for many hours and is mostly in Swahili. The principal introduces me and informs the sea of parents that I speak good Swahili and also run very fast, I find this slightly amusing that these are my outstanding features but then I guess I'm not completely sure thats what he said anyway (my Swahili really isn't all that good). 

I had thought I was just a passive participant and was enjoying watching a toddler blow raspberries on the side of the marquee until I was sharply brought back to reality by the MC announcing 'swahiliwordsidon'tunderstand MADAM TABBYmoreswahiliwords' and I realise I am being requested to give a speech about the library and computing matters! I decide to go against the flow and keep my speech down to around 5 minutes (not difficult seeing I had nothing prepared and suspect most don't really understand what I am saying anyways).

After several years the speeches finally finish and I breathe a sigh of relief- I can go and get some lunch! It is past 5 pm... However I am soon stopped by a random man I have never seen before. He throws tinsel around my neck and starts snapping photos. A few students run to join in and stick their heads through the tinsel wreathes as well. I am slightly confused- until the man starts asking for money so he can print the photos and bring to me- this is a common thing at events like this and I try to explain as best I can that I really don't need photos of myself as a human Christmas tree, return the tinsel and escape. 

I am stopped again by several students who want me to meet more parents and guardians. Some of the 'guardian's are barely older than the students themselves and I find out many are actually older siblings or relatives. 

I walk past the staff room and realise another meeting is taking place with the form four parents- however I don't have any energy left for more meetings so I excuse myself on the basis of needing to attend to students- a genuine excuse as considering I haven't been around all afternoon the crowd at the library door is quite large.

The day finally ends and as I watch the motley collection of grandpas, siblings, relatives and parents leave the school I feel a rush of affection to these people, it was a confusing day for them as well, many haven't had an opportunity to be educated themselves, but they recognise the importance of it for their children. They have put in the effort, scraped together what fees they can, walked the long distance to the school and shown these kids that they care about their future.