Peace Corps Ghana. Menji Agric Senior High. Chemistry. Friends. Cooking. Volleyball. Running. Animals.

17 March 2011

Aspiration Statement

Here is the Aspiration Statement I wrote and sent to the Peace Corps Country Center in Ghana.



ASPIRATION STATEMENT
Betsy Conway
Ghana
June 6, 2011

My primary aspiration over the next 27 months is to build upon the amazing legacy of the Peace Corps in Ghana.  The bond between the United States and Ghana is a relationship I don’t yet comprehend, but the magnitude is something extraordinary.

A:  What are the professional attributes you plan to use and aspirations you hope to fulfill during your Peace Corps service?
Since my assignment is high school science, the professional attribute I plan to use most is my broad and thorough academic background.  Science is my passion, and I have spent years gaining knowledge of biology, chemistry, and physics.  There is still so much in every area of science I have yet to learn, but I have a strong foundation to support me in teaching. 

I consider myself creative, and I plan to use creativity to my advantage in the classroom.  I know in Ghana we won’t have the luxuries of an American high school, like fancy lab equipment.  I plan to use my imagination and ingenuity to give my students the absolute best learning experience possible.

My primary goal in teaching is to make a positive impact on my students.  Some teachers in my past, I learned little from and barely remember.  On the other hand, a particular few teachers stand out in my life as having been a major mentor, friend, and role model.  I want to be that kind of teacher; the kind of teacher that teaches in a way that students remember.  The teachers I loved best share characteristics: charisma, love of knowledge, kindness, and reliability.  I want to bring those things to my teaching.

B: What are your strategies for working effectively with host country partners to meet expressed needs?
 Although I have read and reread all of the materials with which the Peace Corps has provided me, I think it is impossible to fully understand the “expressed needs” of my community until I experience them.  I have to be honest, I’m unsure of what to expect as a teacher in the Peace Corps.   Though, from what I’ve learned teaching teenagers in America, the only one thing you really can expect is the unexpected!

I do, however, have a few specific strategies for myself in approaching this assignment:

1. I expect myself to approach every day and every task with a positive attitude.  I am a naturally a positive person, and I want this quality to shine every day.  It’s easy to lose a positive attitude under stress, but I will overcome whatever difficulty no matter how great and remain true to myself.

2. I will give the people I work with and the things I do 100% of myself.   I didn’t sign up for this to do it half-heartedly.  I feel I have a lot of energy, skill, and passion to give, and I plan to share it all.  If I fulfill this expectation, these next two years should be the most exhausting of my life. 

3. I will remain flexible.  I don’t think this goal will be as challenging as the first two, because I am not a creature of habit.  In fact, I dislike routine.  I am always opening new doors and trying new paths.  Regardless, I expect myself to be ready and willing to embrace change.

4. I expect myself to always strive to move forward.  A good friend of mine regularly reminds me, “If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward!”  And he is absolutely right.  There is no standing still in this world; there is only forward and backward.   No matter the challenges I face in this assignment, I expect myself to always push on forward!

I do actually have one expectation of my assignment as a Peace Corps teacher.   That is challenge.  I expect to encounter challenge, whether great or small, every single day.  Challenge is having new experiences and walking difficult or untrodden paths.  I know that might be my every day as a Peace Corps volunteer.

C: What are your strategies for adapting to a new culture with respect to your own cultural background?
My main strategy for adapting to a new culture will be starting this experience with no presumptions or bias.  I should not spend time my time creating expectations, but rather preparing myself for change and challenge.  I am an amenable, adaptable person naturally, but I know this experience will test just how far I can flex. 

While I learn about a new culture, their customs and norms, I will practice what I learn.  As I learn a new way of saying “hello” or eating supper, I plan to practice it.  I might make mistakes, but I will not be timid, and I will certainly not give up!

There is something that is both a strategy and also a very important goal to me during my service in the Peace Corps: friendship.  I think the best way for me to adapt to a new culture is through friendship.  I want to be a friend and an integrated part of the community.  I don’t want to be “the new Peace Corps volunteer,” I want to be “Betsy.”  I’ll need open communication, honesty, dependability, many hours getting to know my new friends, and many hours of letting them get to know me.  I feel and function best in life when I am a friend and have a friend.  

D: What are the skills and knowledge you hope to gain during pre-service training to best serve your future community and project?
I imagine the pre-service training will be a flood of information and advice. As far as training to be a teacher, I am not worried.  I want to focus on culture and language study.   I want to know the people as well as three months of exposure and study will allow, so that I may serve them better.  I want to be a part of my community in every way possible. 

E: How do you think Peace Corps service will influence your personal and professional aspirations after your service ends?
 I don’t want to just be alive. While I am here on earth, I want to live life. And I know, no matter what happens while I am in the Peace Corps, that the next 27 months of my life will be living.  In that way, I was made for the Peace Corps.  The Peace Corps has a simple but challenging mission statement, demanding only the best of performance of their volunteers.  I have made these goals my own, and I will strive every day to accomplish them.  What I mean to say is that if I give this experience my all, when my service in Peace Corps ends, I will leave with greater expectations for myself professionally and personally than I am now even able to conceive.


01 March 2011

Birthday Post

Thanks for the Happy Birthday's, everybody!

Today at the office we got a REALLY big box.  Kelley told me there was a man, also known as a stripper, in the box waiting to pop out and dance.  So I got scissors and busted into that thing... turns out it was actually just an extra wide (we're talking 3 feet) chair for Urgent Care. In fact, this chair is so wide that Cara and I can sit in it together quite comfortably.  This is a shout out to you, America, the fastest country ever.

When I got home back by the pool Chuck the peacock was giving a mating display for Lilly the cat.  He splayed his tail feathers, lowered his wings, and his whole body sort of vibrated.  Over the winter they have become very good friends, and apparently now they are lovers.

Tonight I am going to write my "Aspiration Statement" to send to the Peace Corps center in Ghana.  They'll use it to get to know me better and begin matching me to my future school.

Since I've known that I would be a teacher for the PC, which is a few months, I've been doing a lot of thinking about high school education.  I immediately thought of the two teachers that made the strongest impact on my life: Mrs. Hines and Mr. Schuley.  Mrs. Hines left her mark on my personal life and Mr. Schuley his on my academic life.  Mrs. Hines taught me independence, drive, I-don't-take-no-shit-attitude, and how to be a strong woman.  You don't really have a choice but to listen to Mrs. Hines, and you sure don't think about messing with her.  Mr. Schuley on the other hand taught me how to be a study, discern what matters, pay close attention to detail in my work, and be an overall kick ass student.  Thanks Hines and Schuley.

So, I've been sorting through all these reasons why Mrs. Hines and Mr. Schuley in particular made such strong impressions on me.  I want to bring those qualities to my teaching.  I want to be the best I can be at this!  Isn't it funny when you think back to elementary school, and you can't remember much of the particulars about your school work, but you know exactly how your fourth grade teacher sported that large, ridiculous hair style...  I think teachers make a greater impression on us than we know.  Some teachers I will remember and admire for the rest of my life; others I might as well never had.

I am excited and nervous about the challenge of being a high school teacher... it will definitely be a challenge.  Weren't we all assholes in high school?  It's such a vulnerable, exciting, stupid age.  At seventeen, you are so malleable and naive, a fact which I plan to use to my advantage.  I feel that I am fresh enough out of my teens that I can I identify with both children and adults.  It's a weird but awesome perspective; hopefully it turns out to be a benefit.

Ok bye, I'm hungry for dindin.

Betsy