untitled.

today we finished the two-day program at a school (i don't remember the name of it). on the last day that we teach at the schools, either two-day or three-day program, we always do mens and womens empowerment discussion, where we split the kids up by gender and the teachers discuss gender issues.

during these times, the differences in our culture are so clear that it is sometimes difficult to know how to teach them when the difference is so large. in malawian culture, men are still the decision makers, which ultimately makes them the deciders of whether or not to have sex. women generally have little or no say in this, which is so interesting because in the states, you could say that women are the deciders of whether or not to have sex. i watch my friends go to parties and try and hook up with girls and in the end, it is the girl's decision whether or not to go through with it.

and so, its difficult to teach when our views on this single issue differ because we want to teach the importance of gender inequality and specifically, the shared decision to have sex, yet at the same time, we don't want to be imposing on their culture. i am learning the being a good teacher means having the right amount of respect for your students so that you teach what is right, yet you don't condescend on what we may think to be wrong.

i sometimes wonder if we have the perfect amount of respect. obviously we won't be able to see the results of our work here immediately, but it is always comforting to know that students are making lifestyle choices based on our curriculum.

it is interesting to think about how i choose my courses based on the prof that is teaching the course. and i know that often a good prof can make the difference between a good course and a terrible experience. and these students here clearly dont have a choice for their instructors. and i wonder if the material that we are teaching is strong enough to stand on its own regardless of how it is presented.