"art is an expression of language--

an expression of sensations too subtle for words."

~robert henri

half-and-half

"americans have so much but they insist on seeing the glass as half
empty instead of half full. to extend the metaphor a bit, when I lived in kakuma i didn't even have a glass."
[john bul dau, 2007 in God grew tired of us]

seeing the glass half empty is not peculiar to the americans. its all too easy to focus on what we don't have rather than what we possess now in our hands. having just passed the halfway mark in our school year,

it's so easy to see how we take education for granted.

some of our students had very little education. school is like manna from heaven and they treasure each day they are in the classroom. their eagerness is admirable but at the same time telling. where else would you hear students not too keen on being away from school during the winter break?

some of our students have never been to school. at the beginning of the school year it was astounding to find high school aged kids that were still developing simple motor skills such as colouring, writing and handling scissors. instruction evolved over time and over the reality of our students' literacy levels.

some of our students have high aspirations. but their low level in english imprison them and they are watching their dreams slowly float away from their grasp. reality check can be a painful process and yet, they may meet opportunity disguised some other way.

some of our students have never even dared to dream. night time is associated with dark memories - there is nothing to look forward to. until, someone showed them to look beyond midnight, look up to the stars and claim one as their own.

education and a new life in america is the next hurdle our students face in a journey that some may have not voluntarily chosen to take. people sometimes speak as if we only serve to hand out glasses or to top up half full or half empty vessels. what they don't realise is, the students hold a different cup altogether.

teach-somnia

teach·som·ni·a /tEEch-som-nee-uh/ –noun
inability to obtain sufficient sleep, esp. when chronic; difficulty in falling or staying asleep; sleeplessness due to constant thinking and reflecting on one's own teaching, students or classroom.

[adapted from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/insomnia]