“In Africa, for the first time, I got a glimpse of the sort of pattern my life would take...that it would be dominated by writing and solitariness and risk...I learned what many others have discovered before me, that Africa for all its perils represented wilderness and possibility...School teaching was perfect for understanding how people lived and what they wanted for themselves. I never wanted to be a tourist. I wished to be far away, as remote as possible, among people I could talk to.”
-Paul Theroux

Yet another adventure beckons. An entire year passed in the blink of an eye. I sit and reflect on the moments, which have faded into a fondness, a nostalgia, a hankering for more; yet, we cannot accumulate experiences, only have them; only understand their transience, appreciate their beauty, and then, let them go. 

I will be moving to Senegal in September for what promises to be yet another interesting chapter in this mosaic quilt of a life that I have been weaving over these years. Back to teaching, back to the engagement with students, the critical reflection, the exhausting, demanding beauty of facilitating knowledge, not for oneself, but for others, a striving for selflessness. 

But first, 6 weeks in Uganda, traveling, writing, photographing, living, breathing, experiencing. People ask, "why are you going?" and the answer I give never quite matches what is moving in my heart..."Life." 

Educational Diagnostics

     What is needed to progress the aims of primary and secondary school education in the developing world is an anthropological approach, complete with the same expert intervention, analysis and diagnostics that have been recommended for programs in the health field, as well as with macro-level economic policy.
     The tools currently exist to improve schooling outcomes; what is needed now is diagnostics to see where exactly the stumbling points lie (as these are extremely context specific), which needs to be undertaken through a participative, anthropological, diagnostic approach. Innovation has been occurring in this area, through the proliferation of educational randomized control trials; however, these trials are not firmly embedded and do not become entrenched or scales once completed. Shining the light is very important; actually implementing change, scaling change, and sustaining change is another matter all together.
     Change is possible. As Banerjee and Duflo state in their masterpiece, "Poor Economics," "...concrete, measurable programs can be implemented to improve the lives of the poor, even in areas with poor institutions."