DIY Chronicles # 1: Keep Me In School

Komo’s Do It Yourself (DIY) Clubs create inclusive spaces for students to meaningfully participate in improving their schools and communities. Through student-led service projects, members are tasked with identifying the most critical challenges in their schools and working together to design and implement creative solutions. Our ‘Chronicle Series’ shares their stories.

 

A group of 75 students from Nateeza Secondary School in Lwanga District (school and district names have been changed) were concerned about their classmates. Too many of them had dropped out of school, never to return. As DIY club members, these students had a clear mission: find out what was causing students to leave and determine what could be done about it. In DIY, students are completely free to address any challenge they feel passionate about–and Mentors from Komo Learning Centres provide support in realizing their vision for change.

 

At Nateeza Secondary School, the students’ research revealed that one of the key reasons their classmates were dropping out was because they did not feel safe or valued by teachers. To address this issue, they designed a project called Keep Me In School. From advocating for more support and attention for students struggling with their academics, to recommending that administrators work with teachers on creating more engaging and participatory classrooms, these DIY Club members were committed to improving their school.

 

In the workplan that the students developed for the Keep Me In School project, one activity in particular stood out that epitomized the DIY spirit of shifting power dynamics – a stress management session for their teachers. They observed teachers coming to work tired, irritable, and cranky – and as teachers suffered, so did the students. Acting with newfound agency nurtured by DIY lifeskills sessions, Club members flipped the script and decided that to and create a safer, more engaging, and more conducive learning environment, it was time to take care of their teachers.

 

When asked why the DIY Club at Nateeza Secondary picked this activity, one member shared: “Our teachers looked frustrated, had mood swings and they wouldn’t concentrate…  Sometimes they would just move out of the class in the middle of the lesson without saying anything.” Another student related a story in which a teacher began to beat one of her classmates because of incomplete homework. The student narrated: “The teacher didn’t ask for the reason as to why the girl had not done the work. After the beating, our teacher said,  ‘You are disturbing me and yet I haven’t paid my rent, I don’t have what to eat, and even my husband doesn’t sleep at home.’  The girl picked her books, and got out of class. She never came back to school up to today.” The students explored the reasons underlying the stress so evident in their teachers, and identified common causes like not earning enough money, late salary payments, family issues, and teaching at a school far from their homes due to government pressures. As students began to see things from the perspective of their teachers, they grew more determined to do something about it.

 

The Head Teacher of the school met with the DIY Club members and was surprised by what he heard. As he described in an interview: “Yes, it was the first time students talked to me about something like this in our school. It was a boy and a girl. It challenged me, since I didn’t expect learners to come and ask me such a question. The DIY students are totally different from the rest… When I heard that the students stepped in and suggested that training [for their teachers], I was very happy. Ever since that training, I have been taking time to check on all lessons to see how teachers are relating with students—and I am seeing a lot of differences. At least now, some teachers spend time on the compound with students. Now you can even find students coming for consultations with teachers in the staffroom without fear, and the teachers receive them well. The DIY students particularly no longer fear their teachers.”

 

One teacher interviewed discussed the many challenges that she and her colleagues face, saying that “As teachers, we have so many problems, and many of us do not know how to handle them… You find yourself mentally unstable. You come to the school, you don’t like it, and come directly to class, so already, your brain isn’t settled to do what you are supposed to do. Most times we just tell the students to go and do research without teaching them, and we leave the class.”

 

Another teacher expressed surprise and appreciation that students would take the initiative to organize a stress management session. As she explained, “At first I was angry and even arrived late for the session. But during the session, as the counsellor talked, I realized that there are things that are not going well in my life, and it is affecting the students. At the end of the training, I realized it was the right thing to do, even if it was suggested by the students. I have spent seven years at Nateeza Secondary, but we had never had any workshop or training for the teachers. It has made me happy that students have thought about their teachers. Now I have a question for you, how are you grooming these students. For a student to sit down and think about the teachers!? It means students have identified problems we face, even before us who experience them.”

 

Irene Abenakyo, the Mental Health Manager at Komo Learning Centres, conducted the stress management training. She said, “I realized that the teachers were very raw in information pertaining to stress and stress management. The mood at the beginning of the training was very low compared to the mood in the middle and at the end. I used real-life challenges faced by teachers, but also engaged participants as parents and generally as human beings. The stress management techniques unwrapped and brought smiles to most of the teachers in the room – they seemed to have hope again. Teachers committed to managing their stress and supporting their students to stay in school and thrive.”

 

DIY is currently in 30 secondary schools and the Komo Learning Centres team is dedicated to their mission of facilitating radical change in the Ugandan education system. Students at Nateeza Secondary showed the true spirit of DIY, taking care of their teachers and—in the process—helping to make their school a more welcoming and supportive place to learn.