Overcoming the Odds in a School through Farming: Personal Experience as a Head Teacher

Presentation:  Philip Karangu

Session F | 11:50- 12:30 | Location: Room 1004

Abstract:

This paper focuses on my personal experiences as head of a charity-run school in Kenya. Basically, I will share on how students’ freedom (aided independent) at school helped them to become more creative in handling their personal problems as well as providing solutions to the school management in regard to handling their problems through farming (in a semi-arid area). In this case I will be arguing to support Carson (1965), in the book The Sense of Wonder, she noted that, if a child is to keep alive his/her inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him/her the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in. For the audience to better understand this topic, I intend to utilize the hidden curriculum theory to expand on various aspects of the discussion in the paper. According to Ashley Crossman (2013), a hidden curriculum is a term that describes the often unarticulated and unacknowledged things that students are taught in school. Finally, I will seek to hear from the audience on how students can be empowered according to Rachael Carson’s notion (above), in a context where the education system is heavily oriented on standardized national examinations.

Return to Presentation Schedule