June 19, 2019 -- In April, Heights High science teacher Jim Miller traveled to Senegal, in western Africa, as part of a two-week Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms program. He taught and observed in classrooms in the coastal capital city of Dakar and in Kaolack, a regional capital city 100 miles southeast of Dakar. He also toured important cultural sites and exchanged best educational practices with teachers from Senegal and the United States.
The Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. It is a year-long professional development opportunity for U.S. elementary, middle, and high school teachers. The program equips teachers to bring an international perspective to their schools through targeted training, experience abroad, and global collaboration. Mr. Miller was one of only four Ohio teachers selected for the program and one of 75 nationwide.
Part of Mr. Miller’s preparation for the trip included discussions with Senegalese AFS exchange student Adja Gueye, who attended Heights High during the 2018-2019 school year.
Mr. Miller appreciates international experiences and has participated in six other teacher training programs in South America, the Caribbean, southern Africa, and Mongolia. He is also a graduate instructor for Miami University in Belize and Borneo and has conducted research in Alaska.
On his trip to Senegal, he was with a group of 13 other Fulbright program teachers from around the US. They participated in cross-cultural activities and visited eight schools, both private and public.
Some of the schools in rural areas had dirt floors and were made of sticks. The desks were broken, included 50 students in each classroom, and regularly had cows and goats walking into the classrooms. Because the midday temperatures were so hot, the school day was divided into two parts. Students attended school from 8 a.m. to noon and 4 to 6 p.m. The school was closed during the hottest part of the day. The school buildings did not have electricity or WiFi, with the only technology in the classroom being a chalkboard.
“In one of the rural middle school classrooms, the students were working out molarity equations the long way - with no calculator!” Miller said. “Students here in the U.S. always use a calculator for these type of equations.”
“This moment inspired me. These students were so motivated to come to school every day, were energetic and engaged, and completed difficult math operations without technology.”
He was also inspired by the Senegalese people and their “teranga” sense of hospitality. “Everywhere I went, the Senegalese people wanted to make sure I was fed and had a roof over my head even if there was not enough food for themselves or a place for them to stay,” he said. “On more than one occasion, people in the street with very little money were offering me the shirt off of their back and food out of their bowl.”
“The people are genuinely happy and want everyone else to feel welcome. They truly value their culture and community,” he said. “Of all of the countries I have visited, Senegal was the place where I felt most welcomed and part of the family of everyone I met.”
Besides visiting schools, the Fulbright award winners also visited the U.S. Embassy, the African Renaissance Monument, the Bandia Nature Reserve, and the Great Mosque of Medina Baye Kaolack. They also visited Goree Island, the last stop for the slave trade before the Africans were shipped to the Americas. “The visit to the island was very powerful, especially going through the 'Door of No Return' and imagining the people who passed through that door to slavery and much hardship,” said Mr. Miller. "Just standing in the doorway was so moving, the silence was deafening."
