ADVENTURES IN TEACHING.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
Ken Mukai knew he was going to face a big challenge last year when he went from Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies (also Sherman Oaks CES or SOCES) is a (magnet) public school in the San Fernando Valley, Southern California, United States. in Tarzana - one of the top-performing public high schools in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. - to Nsalamanga High School, one of the poorest campuses in the Manguzi region of South Africa South Africa, Afrikaans Suid-Afrika, officially Republic of South Africa, republic (2005 est. pop. 44,344,000), 471,442 sq mi (1,221,037 sq km), S Africa. . But the 35-year-old science teacher didn't know how big of a challenge - or how great the experience - would be. ``I knew there was no electricity in the school, but I didn't know there was no running water, that bats would be living in the cracks in the schoolhouse ceiling, and that all but a few of my students spoke only Zulu, which I didn't understand a word of,'' said Ken, who returned last month from the Fulbright Teacher Exchange program. ``I went from 10 years of teaching in a classroom filled with some of the best chemistry equipment a science teacher could want, to a classroom with one blackboard (1) See Blackboard Learning System. (2) The traditional classroom presentation board that is written on with chalk and erased with a felt pad. Although originally black, "white" boards and colored chalks are also used. , one piece of chalk, and dozens of students who didn't understand a word I was saying. ``And you know what? It was an incredible experience. I know it's made me a better teacher and person.'' Bob Weinberg, principal of SOCES SOCES Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies , stayed in touch with Ken via e-mail throughout the 2004 school year. ``Here's a great teacher who had everything going for him here, and nothing there but a chalkboard. No books. Nothing. It was like hitting a wall. He was wondering what he had signed up for. ``But after a few weeks, you could tell Ken was getting excited about teaching these kids as much as he possibly could.'' While Ken was teaching in South Africa, the Manguzi region's science teacher of the year came to SOCES. ``She was a wonderful woman who knew so much, but nothing really,'' Weinberg said. ``It was all rote rote 1 n. 1. A memorizing process using routine or repetition, often without full attention or comprehension: learn by rote. 2. Mechanical routine. stuff out of a book because she had no tools there, nothing to work with. She was like a sponge here. She learned so much.'' Meanwhile, Ken was sitting under a tree, drawing pictures on a chalkboard, trying to explain complex scientific principles to kids who didn't speak English. When that failed, he used body language and anything else he could think of to connect with his students. ``It was about a month before I realized these kids had nothing to do when they got out of school at 2 p.m.,'' Ken said. ``I needed to find them an opportunity.'' With more than 12 percent of the people ages 15 to 49 infected in·fect tr.v. in·fect·ed, in·fect·ing, in·fects 1. To contaminate with a pathogenic microorganism or agent. 2. To communicate a pathogen or disease to. 3. To invade and produce infection in. with the AIDS virus AIDS virus n. See HIV. and many teenage girls forced out of school when they became pregnant, Ken know he needed something special. ``I noticed that the last piece of open land on the school grounds was just the right size for a few basketball courts,'' Ken said. ``I had coached for years and knew the value of sports in keeping kids busy and out of trouble. ``But these kids had no background in basketball, had never played it. They didn't even know what a basketball was.'' Soon word spread that the exchange teacher from the U.S. was trying to build basketball courts for the kids in his school. The U.S. Consulate Consulate, 1799–1804, in French history, form of government established after the coup of 18 Brumaire (Nov. 9–10, 1799), which ended the Directory. kicked in supplies to help him build the courts, and Principal Weinberg told people back home about what Ken was up to. More than $15,000 was raised to build the courts and buy equipment, including the only pair of shoes many of these kids owned. The NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= got wind of Ken's project and donated do·nate v. do·nat·ed, do·nat·ing, do·nates v.tr. To present as a gift to a fund or cause; contribute. v.intr. To make a contribution to a fund or cause. basketballs. And when Ken called his first basketball practice last March, 150 of the 500 students showed up after school. ``After a few months, we got invited to play in a tournament in a big city, Durban, four hours away. We took two teams. My kids had never been there. They were so poor they never had left their area.'' This is where Hollywood would have Ken's kids winning the tournament, and carrying the coach out on their shoulders. ``We got clobbered,'' he said. ``The other schools had been playing for years. We didn't stand a chance. But my kids were all singing and so happy on the drive home.'' That's the memory he cherishes the most - the lesson some of the poorest kids in the world taught the science teacher from the Valley. ``These kids taught me that life can be nice, and you can be happy without having all the nice things. If you asked them if they're happy with nothing - no money, wearing the same clothes, nowhere to go - they say yes. ``It was tough to say goodbye to them. I went to South Africa to teach them science. And they wound up teaching me to be a better teacher.'' Dennis McCarthy, (818) 713-3749 dennis.mccarthy(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Ken Mukai of Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies has returned from a year in South Africa's Manguzi region. David Sprague/Staff Photographer |
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