Back to Work....

The last week before we finally swore in was called Supervisors’ Workshop, even though our supervisors were only there for two days of it. This was time set aside to, first, get ready to meet our supervisors again, and second, plan out the first three months of service. It honestly had a lot of repeat information since we had a mini workshop back in December, but we were the first group to do that, so it’s understandable. We talked about things we as PCVs should and should NOT be doing, upcoming large-scale literacy events like Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) Day and Uganda Spelling Bee, among other things.

For me and for many of the PTC PCVs, this was a bit awkward because our supervisors were not there. Test scores for incoming first year students had just come out, and so they were busy, busy, busy. My supervisor is the Deputy (i.e. Vice) Principal of Pre-Service Teachers, or DPP, but she sent the Deputy Principal of Outreach, or DPO. Although my official supervisor wasn’t there, I still got to meet and know my DPO a bit, and I learned about what I will be doing the first three months at site.

That’s about all I have to say about Supervisors’ Workshop. It was just training! I do, though, want to explain the DPP and DPO positions. To understand these, you first have to understand the structure of my college. I am at a core PTC, which means my PTC is in charge of sending Coordinating Center Tutors (CCTs) to primary schools in the area to perform workshops with in-service teachers. These tutors don’t usually teach at the PTC, but rather their whole job is to keep in-service teachers up-to-date on teaching methods, curriculum changes, etc. (Quick note: In Uganda, there is a distinction between teachers at a primary or secondary level and tutors at a post-secondary level. I will be a tutor, not a teacher. Similarly, I will be teaching students, not pupils. My students will teach pupils.) The DPO is in charge of the CCTs. The DPP, on the other hand, is in charge of all the pre-service teachers, or the students at the PTC. I will almost exclusively be working with these students, though I may visit some of the local primary schools to host workshops if they are needed. Since I am not a CCT, my supervisor is the DPP. I feel like this needs a diagram. It makes more sense visually.

(EDIT: I'll have to inset this later, because I thought it posted, but it's just a blank picture. My apologies!!)