Margaret Curtis has the distinction of being the first person in our district to apply for and receive an educational grant. She went to an area in Western Turkey decimated by a 1999 earthquake that killed over 25,000 people in 45 seconds. Her focus was teaching English to grade school and middle school kids with assistance from her "Team Rotary" which consisted of high school and college age young adults. I have reproduced the letter she distributed at our 24 October meeting. (from the Editor Ken Embry M.D.)
Margaret's Newsletter "The pencil is above the table."
"I think this would be easier if she learned to speak Turkish", a bright 12 year old commented on day one of my four week program teaching English at Sarayli Primary School, Degirmendere, Turkey.
The classroom was hot with temperatures between 90 and 100 degrees every day. Only the smallest breeze found its way through the open windows. Occasionally the loud bleating of goats drowned out my carefully enunciated words. More often, on those first days, the loud voices of energetic 10 -13 year olds performed the same function. The prayer call from the mosque sometimes interrupted the flow of ideas. Once or twice a bemused parent entered the room, asking why I had come from America to teach a summer class in this primary school, half way up a mountain.
Why indeed? Because a very small Rotary Club, Kocaeli-Golcuk, in Rotary District 2420, had vision enough to make a positive impact on the lives of children in this village community. The area is close to the epicenter of an earthquake - a terrible upheavel that took 25,000 lives in only 45 seconds on that darkest of nights, August 17, 1999. The children that I taught survived that earthquake. They were too young to remember the horror of it all, but the lives of their families were forever changed. The volunteer activity that evolved from this event is geared to give these children some small enrichment in their task of learning English. The goal of the project is to show the children that learning English can be fun, that there is a right way to pronounce the words, and that Rotary really does care about the quality of their lives.
I normally teach university students who generally sit in straight rows and pay attention. This new situation was a challenge. The students were divided into two classes with about 18 students in each. The younger ones came in the morning and the older ones in the afternoon. I planned the lessons accordingly. However sometimes the younger ones had Arabic class in the mornings so they showed up for the later class. Or maybe they slept late and couldn't make it in until noon. And sometimes the older ones came in earlier. Sequencing the instruction proved difficult.
I was grateful for the advice I received before leaving the United States. The person in charge of planning English as a Second Language instruction for immigrant children in my local school district, Bowling Green, Kentucky, had spent time with me talking over the methods used in the schools here in the United States. I immediately put this guidance to use, and planned the class sessions using every tool I could devise. My home Rotary Club, the Rotary Club of Bowling Green, District 6710, Kentucky had donated many helpful teaching items, posters, activity books, felt tip pens, and stickers. I made plans to put them all to good use.
In the beginning I noticed that several sixteen year old girls were hovering in the background, wanting to listen in on the class. I invited them to attend both class sessions and to help with the younger students. In addition, the Kocaeli-Golcuk Rotary Club had provided me with one or two young people who were my official helpers. Together we called ourselves "Team Rotary", and each day we worked to make the time fun and helpful to the children giving each child individual attention acting out learning strategies, working on group projects, and listening to each child read.
It became a slick operation with helpers and children all joining in enthusiastically and everyone benefiting from the learning process. To my amazement the methods worked, and the children started to speak very nice English. Some were bashful and some were bold. Some were just confused. When we were talking about feelings, for example, "My name is Murat and I feel excited", one girl spoke brightly and said "My name is angry and I feel Aysenur". The class was completely silent for a moment and then everyone, including Aysenur, laughed. I realized they really knew what they were doing. It was a good moment.
The Kocaeli-Gulcuk Rotary Club did more than arrange a volunteer program. The members welcomed me into their homes and shared a part of their lives with me. "Service above self" is a simple phrase, but it is worked out in the many dimensions of every day life in unmistakable ways. I am proud to be a Rotary Volunteer. I have experienced a camaraderie and warm fellowship that extends way beyond language and culture. I understand more clearly that a person cannot be everywhere and do everything that needs to be done, but a person can find one small thing and do it, if the opportunity is provided by a Rotary Club such as this one in Kocaeli-Gulcuk, Turkey.
