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I found my time in Afghanistan to be a pretty worthwhile experience, on the whole. I was there to spend two months with the social science faculty at a fairly new university. They already have courses up and running, so I wasn't really there to help with the curriculum. Instead I was teaching them how to teach, which was harder than it sounds. The younger faculty members were mostly recent college grads (a bachelor's degree was typically all they had) with no teaching experience, while the older instructors grew up in Soviet-style and Taliban-era educational systems. As is often the case, the younger guys have the motivation to change things for the better, while the older guys -- who are in charge -- are afraid of change and try to block new ideas. I pointed out that maybe the Soviet and Taliban systems weren't that good, seeing as the Soviet Union doesn't exist anymore and the Taliban were bastards. But yeah, I had my work cut out for me.

My goal wasn't to get them to teach American-style, but instead, get them to find an "Afghan style" that was right for them. We needed to find techniques that took into account the poor elementary and high school educations the students had, the relatively low level of education the instructors had, the expectations they have for graduates, and of course, the stresses of an ongoing war. So yeah, the teaching styles of the University of Virginia probably wouldn't work so well.

The work was interesting. I spent a lot of time observing classes and working one-on-one with the instructors. I taught a few seminars for the department and also taught a few economics and international relations classes. I was happy to see some of the instructors using the techniques we talked about, adapting them to their own needs. I also "adopted" one particular class of juniors and kept going back there. They were really bright and asked a lot of very insightful questions about US policies...I wish my students at my old university would have seemed so interested. They have some odd views of how things work in the world but at least they're open minded enough to ask questions and learn.

So, yeah, the work was good. And I noticed a big difference between this experience and my time in Iraq a couple years ago. In Iraq I worked at the Embassy and when i left I only said goodbye to Americans and other coalition partners...no Iraqis. But this time around, when I left I was saying goodbye to Afghans, and not so many Americans. Yeah, this was very different.

That was the upside. But I found a downside to Afghan culture. This sounds demeaning, but they seem like children. Children who want you to give them things, who act grown up when they aren't, who are capable of violence without realizing the effects of it, who want authority without responsibility. This is not a good thing. This country has been at war of one sort or another for 30 years and it cannot continue...we saw what happened the last time it descended into a totally failed state, and as one instructor told me, "you need us, you cannot afford to walk away again." Unfortunately, I think he's right. But I feel like they'll say what they think we want to hear, then as soon as we are gone, move on their own way. Which is fine, until their way doesn't work and they come back to us to fix it.

The younger generation has the desire to do great things and the passion -- for the moment -- to make positive changes. But many are getting frustrated and trying to leave the country. The brain drain is incredible, and the government is taking steps to slow it, but these steps are reducing the chance for overseas training. I hope some of them will stay and fight through the frustration, taking the baby steps that are needed to move the country forward.

The Dean told me they cannot measure themselves against the US, they must measure themselves against their neighbors. Good call. Unfortunately, we seem to be pushing them toward a US standard, all in the name of "setting the bar high so they have something to reach for." Considering how many people are living in mud huts without running water, we may need to rethink that strategy.

Labels: Teaching, Work