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Words by Kamau Kamau, Metis Communications Lead “I see something in you.” These are words that I have heard countless times throughout my life across multiple environments and perpetually, I only took them with a grain of salt. I was born in the Eastlands area of Nairobi and spent my formative years here too. My childhood was full of adventure, thrill and of course, a hint of mischief. One avenue however that has (and still does) had a lasting impact on my life is the school environment. At school is where I made my first friends away from home, where I uncovered my talents, where I gained literacy skills, where I learnt to co-exist with and accommodate people from different backgrounds. Beyond academics, school has been a constant test of my humanity, faith and values. It has chiselled me to become the man I am today and I am grateful for it. A young Kamau ‘practising‘ his photography skills. I have always associated school leadership positions with the A-students. It is no surprise then, that I was baffled when called upon to be a class monitor back in primary school even when my grades weren’t the best. I wondered to myself “There are dozens of more students with better grades. So why me?” The answer from my class teacher was quite simple, “I see something in you.” Those words were not enough to convince me, I turned down the position. Even when I later transferred to another school, by the first year the headmaster himself pulled me aside in the middle of a school assembly to offer me a bell-ringer position. I wondered to myself the same thing I did 4 years earlier, “Why me?” History repeated itself once again and he looked me straight in the eye and told me the exact thing my class 2 teacher told me. “Is this something teachers globally are trained to say?” I wondered while still plotting on how to politely decline the position. Daily habits may appear seamless but once you take a step back and zoom out, the pattern becomes clear. (Image credit: @visualizevalue on Twitter) On the frontline of duty: Kamau posing for a photo during a prayer day ceremony as a KCPE candidate. This pattern repeated itself at least thrice in my high school through to university, escalating to strangers and friends too. My response all this time has always been a resounding “No.” When the opportunity to join Metis came calling earlier in the year, my usual response was at the tip of my tongue. This time, however, I took a step back and wondered. “What has declining leadership positions brought me?” After a quick self-audit, I realized that it has cost me more than it has benefitted. This is when I decided to break the pattern. Try new things, scale new heights and be bold enough to fail and learn from my mistakes. As Dean Koontz once wrote, “Patterns exist in our seemingly patternless lives, and the most common pattern is the circle.” More often than not we find ourselves smothered in the patterns of imposter’s syndrome, self-doubt, fear and other self-destructive loops. When patterns are broken, new opportunities emerge. You unlock potentials you didn't know existed in you and enter new worlds connecting you to larger than life experiences. This is evident in the education world where innovators and educators are constantly breaking the traditional methods of learning and devising new ones which have proven to be more effective, fun and impactful for learners and teachers alike. Kamau sensitizing parents and children on how to use the Metis Home Learning Guides in Kayole, Nairobi as part of his role as a Communications Lead.

Victor training youth on sustainble developement during the Internation Youth Day Kennedy is only 25 years. As a firstborn in a family of seven, he started working at the age of 16 years to support his parents in providing for the family. Kennedy’s parents earn a weekly allowance of $8 which is not enough to support his five siblings. In April 2020, Kennedy was rendered jobless because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a youth who only studied up to high school, he is currently not able to access formal employment. Kennedy is just an example of millions of youth around the world who have been rendered jobless because of Covid-19. What started as a global health crisis has now turned into an economic crisis with millions of people around the globe being rendered jobless. A report by the Africa Union estimates that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 20 million jobs, both in the formal and informal sectors, are threatened with destruction. Most of these will be rendered jobless are working youth between the age of 15 and35 years. Today there are 1.8 billion people in the world between the ages of 15 and 35 — a quarter of the global population. This is the largest generation of youth and young people the world has ever known. Young adults are the backbone of every society, providing energy, ideas, and investment potential. As of June 2020, over 770,000 youth in Kenya had lost their jobs due to Covid-19. The Government estimates that the numbers will rise to 1,000,000 by December 2020. This number is different from the 800,000 youth who were initially jobless in Kenya before covid-19. Effect of unemployment among the youth Kenya is currently witnessing a high rate of crime among the youth as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. When the rate of unemployment among the youth increases in a country, the result is catastrophic. The youth are likely to engage in unhealthy activities including, but not limited to crime and violence, drug abuse, an increase in unplanned pregnancies and poor leadership choices. The lockdown and quarantine measures imposed by different governments have also resulted to a high level of stress, depression and anxiety. The current environment has left little room for creativity and innovation among many young people. It is important to note that the unemployment challenge did not start when the pandemic hit. The problem started way before that. How do we ensure that we create sustainable unemployment opportunities for youth? Garden of Hope Foundation Model The leadership development and entrepreneurship project started by theGarden of Hope Foundation aims to equip youth in rural communities and urban slums with sustainable social entrepreneurship skills. The current education system does not leave much room for creativity and innovation. In a society where some careers are more “glorified” than others, it is very difficult for young people to pursue their ideal passions. Since founding Garden of Hope Foundation, Victor and his team have been able to reach over 20,000 youth across 5 counties. Garden of Hope Foundation allows young people in people in urban slums and rural communities to create their own employment opportunities by looking at challenges in their communities and developing solutions to those challenges. Using design thinking approach, the youth are exposed to all sustainable development goals. They are then encouraged to pick goals that resonate with them and challenges they face in the communities. They are then taken through a rigorous process where their ideas are refined to meet the social entrepreneurship aspect. Once they are good to launch their ventures, Garden of Hope Foundation, through support from other stakeholders, provides funding and continuous mentorship to the learners. Since we started, over 200 diverse ideas have been developed by the youth. These ideas have created over 500 employment opportunities. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we have seen youth develop several ideas to respond to the needs in their various communities. Our commitment to decent jobs is to support 2,000 youth by 2024. The youth will be supported through creation of employment opportunities, financing their business ideas and mentorship. Challenge to the government and other stakeholders A section of the youth that Victor helps equip tech skills Radical changes in the education system: The current education systems leaves no room for students to explore other interests apart from what has already been defined for them either in the books or by those ahead of them. Deliberate radical change is needed in the education system to allow room for creativity and innovation. This will encourage the students to start developing world class ideas at an early age. Leveraging on Partnerships: In order to ensure sustainability of the education system, we must clearly understand our strengths and weaknesses as stakeholders. This will ensure that we share knowledge and resources with others who do not have. Every stakeholder has a role to play to ensure that more youth around the world get access to sustainable employment.

Words by Lilian Oloo, Cohort 4 fellow. In her element: Through play learning, Lilian is reimagining the traditional chalk and board teaching method with toys as a way to make learning more fun and engaging for learners. Imagine a world where every child has equal opportunity and access to quality education. Research has it that a child’s social strata are a significant predictor of his or her educational success. The environment a child grows around shapes their success in the future. This means that children’s performance gaps due to social class can be traced way back in their earliest years of life. Most often children who start late tend to stay disadvantaged as they may not be able to cover the lost ground. The potential of millions of young children therefore remains unexplored due to failure to provide families access to quality early childhood and learning programmes. My journey as a play advocate and play-based learning promoter was informed by this reality. As the second born in a family of six, I had to work twice as hard as my counterparts to attain post-secondary education. This inequality became more evident as I began my teaching career in a moderately endowed school while interacting with underprivileged learners. The learning outcomes and progression were clearly different and it was obvious that the gap created at their formative stage was big. I felt the need to positively disrupt this trend. I founded theToy Library Association of Kenya (TLA-KE), an NGO that supports early childhood development using the toy library concept. The toy library concept makes quality early learning opportunities and information more accessible to all children, their families, early learning facilitators and ECD practitioners in order give the underprivileged and marginalized children an equally good start in life. The Toy Library A child interacting with some of the toys at The Toy Library Association of Kenya (TLA-KE) founded by Lilain. A toy library is a high impact, a cost-effective, non-centre based programme that gives children, their families, early learning facilitators and ECD practitioners access to a collection of carefully selected educational and play materials, play sessions and training on how to use the toys to encourage development. At the toy library, play is made intentional, with objectives making it the best venue to promote children’s holistic development. To make play learning more accessible and impactful to many, TLA-KE had developed the following skills-based training courses; Children playing in their neighbourhood through the toy library’s outreach programme. Toy Library Set up and Administration Play-based Learning with Toys Material Development from Waste Developing Birth to 2-Year-Olds. Playful Parenting The idea is to enable the replication of the toy library concept throughout the country and in Africa. It is my vision to have a toy library within the reach of every child. Cognitive, creative, emotional, physical and social skills are interconnected, making children’s development and learning complex. This is what constitutes a holistic view of child development. What better way to achieve this development than through PLAY? Research shows that playful learning experiences are more effective in developing these interconnected skills. These five skills are essential for a child to thrive in a dynamic and uncertain world. When children acquire cognitive skills, they learn how to solve complex tasks in their life. This ability is transferred to situations to do with school, their future work and private life. Creative skills enable exploration of possibilities and evaluation. They support in identifying the best solutions and transforming ideas into reality. When children develop strong emotional skills, they are able to manage and express their emotions. This helps them to handle impulses, tackle life challenges and relate meaningfully with family and friends. Children attain strong physical skills by being physically active and practising sensory-motor skills. Lilian conducting training on Toy Library Setup and Administration The early childhood space necessitates innovation with regards to how programmes are delivered. If every child had access to a toy library that offers high quality early learning play opportunities, he or she would have the required foundation to make it through formal schooling, continue with their studies and make it life; therefore breaking the poverty cycle. Working together with other organizations to establish toy libraries will result in cost-effective, improved learning outcomes for marginalised children. “Play is not a break from learning. It is endless, delightful, deep, engaging, practical learning. It’s the doorway into the child’s heart!” ~ Vince Gowmon

Words by Hemanshi Galaiya, Cohort 4 fellow Education is considered as the critical software for development as it shapes the destiny for every society. As a fundamental human right, every child is entitled to an education. This is critical, not only for the development of individuals but of societies. Today, 796 million people in the world are illiterate. Staggering isn’t it? Yet, there is an even scarier truth that over two-thirds of these 796 million illiterate people are women. Despite females accounting for over 50% of the global population, only about 39% of rural girls attend secondary school, and data from 42 countries show that rural girls are twice as likely as urban girls to be out of school. Hence, we are forced to reflect upon our ideologies and promises of gender equality and the accessibility of quality education for all. When this grim reality set in, I felt an innate obligation to inquire about the reasons for such a disparity. What I uncovered was not only shocking, to say the least, but also overwhelmingly depressing. Today, in Kenya alone, young girls are faced with not only barriers to accessibility but also socio-cultural biases that have prevented them from seeking their right to education. In the empathize phase of my METIS journey, I had the opportunity to interview 6 students in high school and university to understand their views about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education and gender disparity in these fields. Not surprising at all, most male participants felt that the biggest barrier in their STEM journey was access to more materials and better facilities. On the other hand, female participants highlighted deep-rooted socio-cultural issues that were walls they had to break through even before they could get to the barriers of access to school and other challenges described by their male counterparts. As a child, I enjoyed playing cooking as much as I did pretending to be a mechanic with my brother and opening up random appliances to investigate their internal contents. Unfortunately, however, over 90% of girls across the world, and unsurprisingly even in Kenya, are conditioned from an early age towards activities and hobbies that reinforce gender biases. They are encouraged to pretend their dolls are their children whom they have to look after. They are groomed to be responsible for the welfare and upbringing of not only younger but sometimes even older male siblings, and time and again they are conditioned to believe that they're greater and often the only obligation is to build a family and look after a household. In this manner, the only science young women are exposed to becomes the so-called home science. Despite free primary education for all children in Kenya, additional costs like uniforms alone force families to prioritize educating male children over female ones. If and when these young girls do get to school, their struggle only builds up; widespread period poverty and over 30.5% of girls getting married below the age of 18 results in unwarranted withdrawal from schooling. Yet, that is the least of the story. For the less than 39% of girls that do make it into high school, they are fed malicious biases that prevent them from pursuing careers in STEM. In my own journey, despite being an academically inclined high achieving student, from a household where gender biases were not a norm and despite attending a private school in the city, the biases of a single male teacher did convince me that ‘Physics was not for girls.’ Fortunately, I came out at the end of that situation as a proud engineer, years down the line, with the support of other empowering teachers. However, this is not something we see often in the real world. A lack of role models, poor crediting of achievements of women in STEM, and working policies that hinder the progression of women in academia and industry have, for a very long time, convinced girls that they do not fit into the prestigious STEM narrative. I know several readers might be questioning this with comments like, ‘Surely, this isn’t true, we are in the 21st Century now’, ‘A girl child can be anything she wants no one can stop her’ and ‘These are tales of the past’. Yet, these words are far from the reality on the ground. And so, we must ask ‘What can I do to change this narrative?’ At the turn of 2015, 193 nations, both developing and developed countries, agreed to a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future; with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the heart of this framework. Wherein, Goal 5 is aimed at ‘Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls’. A Ghanaian educator once said, ‘The surest way to keep a people down is to educate men and neglect the women.’ We have heard many that ‘If you educate a man you simply educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a family’. So, when we ensure that every child has access to a rights-based, quality education that is rooted in gender equality, we also create a ripple effect of opportunity that impacts generations to come. Hence, as individuals, as members of society, and more importantly as human beings, it is our obligation to practice, preach, and promote this goal in our day to day life. Collectively supporting organizations and initiatives that tackle any barrier in the journey of a girl child’s education is a contribution. A simple gesture like donating a pad, fundraising for school fees, or even educating a single person in your family or circle is a step towards solving one piece of this complex puzzle problem. With that in mind, I want every reader to be bold and unstoppable in this fight against inequality.

Words by Albert Nashon-Cohort 4 Fellow One of the most talked-about young people during this COVID-19 pandemic who has been featured on multiple news platforms such as The New Yorker stating; The High Schooler Who Became a COVID-19 Watchdog saying, “while his friends are worried about whether the prom will be canceled, Avi Schiffmann and his coronavirus-tracking site are navigating global fame. Schiffmann goes to Mercer Island High School and began teaching himself to code when he was seven, mainly by watching YouTube videos”. Early brain development has a lasting impact on a child’s ability to learn and succeed in school and life. The Stages of brain development from birth to 6 years are key for voluntary movement, reasoning, development of emotions, attachments, planning, working memory, and perception. By age six, the brain is 90 - 95% of its adult weight and peak of energy consumption. These formative stages can only mean all kids are brought up in their most basic brain development period by Parents or Caregivers whom if they do not provide that nurturing environment and daily individualized communication, may not raise a child properly. Experiences and happenings (negative or harsh) during this time may lead to emotional, esteem, judgment, or intellectual consequences in the future. BIRTH ENVIRONMENT AND PARENTING. The big question would be how many parents and caregivers understand this basic concept as a child’s most important period of growth? Most children are therefore taken to trained teaching facilities after the age of 6 which means over 95% of their brains have already been configured based on the prevailing circumstances such as care of the pregnancy, home circumstances, neighborhood, affirmations, hygienic tendencies, post-birth observations, exposure, language, relationships, and play. What kind of upbringing then do we accord the young ones intentionally and consciously? What role does early exposure have on childhood development? Healthy brain development doesn’t just happen, it takes keenness, interaction, stimulation, love, and care which lead to safety and security, such kids become better in language and skill towards greater communities and lifestyles. Poverty, distress, family violence, nil communication, and lack of access to quality early learning experiences build traumatic and toxic stress conditions that interfere with this process and increase negative connection on brain development. This negatively impacts a child’s early brain development, and subsequently, their long-term success. FLATTEN MY WORLD When Thomas L. Friedman wrote: The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century, 2005 after an extensive tour of the journey to Bangalore, India; put to perspective a few concepts including The New Age of Creativity, Connectivity, Power of Communities, Work Flow and informing which could only mean more unlimited exposure, connecting the world very uniquely and without barriers of time, geology, culture, and race. So now that the aspect of time as relates to the window of exposure and personal development converge, what value has the flattening of the World added to the human growth process? How has it been on the metrics and parameters of inequalities, global goals, and politics of economic inclusion policies worldwide influenced the speed of such a change? This perspective can be cascaded all the way from the global, continental, regional, national to local levels based on a few fundamental best practices and aspects of change. #LeaveNoOneBehind and Why Slumcode innovations and Creatives Hub in Kenya A Summary from the UN Committee for Development Policy states, “Many countries, in particular the least developed, still lack the productive capacity necessary to set them on a path towards sustainable development”. Aspects of Economic growth remain shrouded on bottlenecks based on the reduction of inequality, poverty and deprivation, and the creation of decent jobs. This pledge to leave no one behind, contained in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which is just about 10 years away remains almost incorrigible based on the time frame. The key to this campaign includes trends on poverty, education, housing, demographic imbalances, such as rapid population growth and disease control particularly in low‐income countries;To add our voice to the collective approach, we have been on a mission to increase, improve and enhance early and inclusive childhood development through the creation of an easily accessible safe space, equipped with tools and resources to necessitate and facilitate mind development for future growth. The case of one Haniffah Krissette a child born in the heart of the east side of Umoja estate – Nairobi. Today at 5 and half years, is fluent in spoken English, highly ambitious, able to express herself confidently, questions literally everything e.g. Why did they park wrong, why are people trashing, why did they use that kind of language, why are people not social distancing, why did you walk past the red light? So in nutshell behaviors and attitudes of adults are deeply frustrating her and she wants a Youtube Channel to begin airing her views. Daring Mt. Longonot at 22months and finally going round the crater at 40 months. Haniffah Krissette, barely 2 years at the time, scaling Mt.Longonot- a favourite hiking spot for experienced hikers all over Kenya. Her spirit of intuition and desire to tackle challenges to date remains insatiable. And it’s now upon the parents to match her at her game. Do they blame the neighborhood? No way – they create the desired environment with the available resources and invest time and effort – leaving the rest to God. WHAT IF we created multiple spaces to have 10, 100, 1000, or 1,000,000 Haniffah’s – couldn’t we bring meaningful change to the future we seek starting with the spaces and capacities we each have.Changing the World is all about the learnings we affirm at child growth. We will conquer the global goals if we emphasize Learning Spaces and Education. Little Haniffah will not conform but reform her society and space. If our World is flat – let’s get resources to match that call and start with our key growth trajectory – the young minds.

Words by Kenneth Monjero, Cohort 4 Fellow In his element: Dr.Fun during an interactive session with his students The year 2020 struck different than expected. life was going on smoothly when all of a sudden, a pandemic ensued. Total confusion engulfed all places of work including mine. Schools were closed down and everything came to a standstill. It was a very uncertain moment. Well, I decided to take up my Dr. Fun shoes and put them on. I had to come up with something creative and fun out of all the mess. That was the birth of Fun & Educational Global Network (FEGNe) Kenneth in conversation with a student. As a science enthusiast, I have come to appreciate the informal side of science. Over the past few years,I have carried out a number of science-related events, attended conferences and organized science fairs. Since I love informal education, I decided to incorporate kids into science by changing their education from books to hands-on to develop skills needed in this 21 st century. I have carried out all these activities under the Science Centre Kenya until the onset of the pandemic Work of my little hands! A student shows her hravest courtesy of FEGNe The frustration that caught parents and children when schools closed down was intense. I decided tocome up with a solution that would lighten up parents’ responsibilities for continuously watching their kids as well as engage the kids so they do not get idle. That is how I began the project – Fun & Educational Global Network (FEGNe) FEGNe is a global network program for linking up students to mentors and engaging them in science and agricultural programs that will keep them busy, help them develop skills, open up their creativity, get exposure, and interact with other children globally during the pandemic. Design for Change (DFC) Program We have inculcated design for change (DFC) program where children go through Feel, Imagine, Do and Share in design thinking. They come up with products and ideas to improve and widen their design thinking. At Metis Empathy stage, parents & children are interviewed to really get the need before starting design for change program. When handling projects, parents are called in to assist and monitor the children so that they do not harm themselves and help them manoeuvre through any hard tasks.

Words by Dr. Christine Owinyi, Cohort 4 Fellow Play and exploration are what makes children grow. Making mistakes is part of learning and also part of growing. I keep reflecting on my childhood days with a lot of nostalgia, some of the things we did with my siblings in the early 80s still perturb me till now. In most occasions, we received structured strokes because both our parents were teachers and so to say, disciplinarians. No mischief was overlooked. One day my kid brother and I started asking ourselves how chicken did go for short-calls because we could see how cows did relieve themselves same to other animals like dogs and donkeys, but never did we see chicken do it except for the dung. Dr. Tina with children from her initiative-GLG My mother was a good poultry farmer and there were so many chickens at our home and all of them had the same colour, we saw our mother collect so many eggs from the chicken house every evening and this kept surprising us. One day, my brother thought; “what if we helped these chicken get some water and have them go for short-call?” Although younger than me, I had always seen my brother as a genius and so all his ideas were great. He sent me to get a ‘Cofta’ bottle from the house, when I came back I found that he had already fetched enough water ready for operation. We filled the bottle with water and picked one chicken after the other and poured all the water in the bottle into the chicken from behind as we set them free. Since it was a lot of water we poured into each chicken, we hoped to see water coming out but that didn’t happen. When our mother came back in the evening, our old grandmother who was watching us all day without saying a word reported to us. I still remember the strokes I received till today. I cried the whole evening and was even not able to eat dinner on that day. Thinking about this incident rings a bell in my head as I keep pushing the 21 st Century skills agenda forward for Education for Sustainable Development(ESD) which I am promoting is anchored on having everyone take care of themselves others and the planet and the 21 st century skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, reasoning, analysis, interpretation, synthesizing information, research skills and practices, interrogative questioning, creativity, artistry, curiosity, imagination, innovation, personal expression, communication and collaboration are of focus. Instead of the strokes, our mother could have supported us to understand the digestive system of chicken whenever she slaughtered one since we were trying to explore to discover the unknown. Instead of fault-finding, our grandmother could have seen what we did in the positive light and stopped us from what we were doing by correcting us and explaining the repercussions. Children grow and learn better through experiments that is why all adults should be positive towards competency-based learning which encourages learners to explore different means of getting results. Probably if I and my brother lived as children now and our parents having to go through some sensitization on parental empowerment and engagement, we could be the best scientists in the world. Children should be allowed to experiment on various means of solving problems for them to grow knowing that there are different ways to approach a challenge and the motivation should be at the final results. Encouraging recycling at an early age, kids make paper mache using old newspapers. When I see young children today, I keep imagining the number of things we can do together to enable them to develop the 21 st Century skills and this is the main reason behind my initiative of the Pick Up Trash campaign that I am engaging learners in my neighbourhood to pick up trash not just to keep the environment clean but also to learn how to take care of themselves, others and the planet by giving love hoping to get love back. The reason for the Pick up trash campaign is to sensitize everyone to pick trash and dispose of it in the right place to make it possible to Refuse; Reduce; Reuse; Recycle; repair; Rethink and Reconnect trash. The GLGL Kids have started to learn how to apply the 7Rs of sustainability by preparing paper mache from old newspapers and reusing wastewater bottles in gardening as shown in the pictures. By initiating this campaign, I aim at giving learners to explore and in the process explore the 21 st Century skills. “What if all learners in the world were supported to take care of themselves, others and the planet?”

Words by Doris Kiogora, Cohort 4 fellow What’s the most important thing you could do to influence the life of a child? There are a lot of things that we think of as important for a child’s success. Of course, there is no single thing that would be the only important. It has to be a combination of things with parental love and support prioritized on that list. In Kenya today, parental participation has not received much attention leaving most passive as they are unaware of what to do. Education and learning have been left for teachers and schools, with undefined roles of parents in their children's education. Based on observations, reports and research, parental participation remains low especially in the rural areas and fast-paced urban settings. Most parents/caregivers have made the assumption that if they provide shelter, food, clothes and send the child to school then they are set to succeed. But that’s not enough because that is not all that’s needed. There’s still a gap. It has taken Covid 19 pandemic for both parents/caregivers and teachers to understand the critical role that the other plays in advancing the child’s learning. When teachers reach out to parents and parents reach outback, that connection makes a whole difference in the kind of support a child has access to. Regardless of the economic background or the kind of school a child goes to, when they have great support at home from the parent /caregiver and in school from a teacher, they develop holistically. It’s the network of schools, parents/caregivers and communities that make the difference in the life of a child. Teachers help build the bridge across the education gap by creating opportunities for a child to succeed but they can’t solely do this and most times even with all the hard work in the classroom, they are left feeling the weight of this responsibility. Imagine if the teachers worked with individual parents and students to get across this gap? Last year Jane was in grade 6 in one of the most populated public primary school in Nairobi. She is a bit shy, an average performer and does especially well in English. Halfway through the second term, her English Mr. Mwangi realized that Jane wasn’t as active in class as usual and even after talking to her he was worried. Mr. Mwangi took a step of reaching out to Jane’s mother and after a bit of a chat, she revealed to him that there had been kids from church who attend more affluent schools that Jane had been comparing herself with. This had really affected her self -esteem and confidence over the holiday despite her mother’s effort to help. Together Mr. Mwangi and Jane’s mother decided that for the rest of the term they will work at providing Jane with various opportunities to build her self-esteem including connecting her with good friends at school, complimenting her and Mr. Mwangi gave Jane’s mother ideas on practical ways she could create a supportive environment at home. They checked in with each other weekly for the rest of the term. By the end of the term not only was Jane back to her usual self even more outspoken than she’s ever been, she was also top 10 in her class and continues to do well. There was a positive turnaround for Jane because her teacher reached out to her mother and together they figured a way to help her. It took collaboration and initiative from each of them to see this through. What if this was a reality for each child throughout their schooling? So here’s one way to build a bridge across the education gap. The teachers can structure a way to work closely with the parents/caregivers to help the child succeed. They can provide a clear understanding of what can be done at home to reinforce the great work they are doing in the classroom. If each week the teacher sent a message to the parent saying I really like how your child participated in school this week, here are some ways you could engage them to help strengthen this or would you be able to come to school to speak about your child? On the other hand, parents/caregivers reach out to teachers with details of how the child is doing outside of school that could help them best support them while in school. At the end of the month, we have 40 of these positive conversations that reveal to both parents/caregivers and the teacher details that they need to help a kid and make a difference in their lives. As American historian & social activist, Howard Zinn said “We don't have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.” Yes the economic backgrounds may not be great, the school might not have enough resources but the way parents/caregivers and teachers choose to engage, even in what may seem like small ways changes quite a deal. They have a powerful opportunity to make decisions that impact their chance of being successful. What a powerful gift for the student to know that my teachers and parents/caregivers are working together. They want the same success for me. When we combine the power of parental love and the professional expertise of a devoted teacher we can get our children across the gap. We can create a collaborative community that transforms our schools and put the child’s success at the heart of all that we do. Through the METIS fellowship, my team atPACEMaker international and I are working on a strategy to facilitate opening these lines of communication as well as amplifying the need and role of this critical area of collaboration in bridging the inequality gap in education. Every child deserves the right to be supported to thrive both in school and at home.

Words by Peter Wairagu-Metis Cohort 4 fellow Peter Wairagu is the Principal of Africa Digital Media Institute (ADMI) Kenya. In the year 2011, I was tasked by the management of the institution where I worked then to look into the possibility of introducing online learning. We had been receiving training enquiries from people far from any of our campuses and online classes looked like the way to go. After consulting widely and studying the market trends in different countries, it was obvious this approach to learning could not make a cut in the market and the whole idea was abandoned. Fast forward to 2020 and Covid-19 came calling. Institutions of learning at all levels hastily adopted online learning to keep their students on track, some albeit to avoid losing business, others to try and cover the syllabus among many other reasons. While some institutions had the requisite infrastructure in place and seamlessly migrated their teachers and students to online learning others had to try all means to put in place a semblance of the same through SMS, WhatsApp, email, etc. That which a few years back had looked like a pipe dream has become the saviour in the hour of need. Schools have been able to keep in touch with their students through online classes. A student in an online class session. However, there has been both comical and the annoying side to online learning. There have been those students who will be the first to log in, are engaged and actively participate throughout the session. On the other hand, there are those who will show the teacher they are outrightly bored and fed-up with whatever the teacher is teaching. Some students will log in, mute the microphone and the video and go back to bed. The teacher may not know this, especially when one has large classes until the teacher asks the specific student a question. The shock on the teacher and the other students if the student heard the question being directed to him/her and decides to unmute, but unfortunately puts on the video. As a parent of three children at different levels of schooling, I was very keen to see how different institutions adapted to online learning. The primary school child was the first to be called back to school in May. For seven months now, their school has been conducting classes online with minimum hitches. When the high school child joined the online class, one could quickly tell things were not the same. Some students unmute their mics in the middle of a session and there is all manner of noise; from TV in the background, noisy siblings, falling kitchenware, etc. Quite often, the classes have been stopped midway as the teacher gets disconnected due to data or power failure. The university student managed to connect a few times to their online/virtual classes before they were called back to school. Most of the time, PDF notes would be shared through email or WhatsApp. When some of the teachers would hold online classes, one would see a group of three or more students crowding in front of one laptop screen. The problem is not only with the students and institutions but the teachers have their part too. Some of the older teachers and those who are less tech-savvy do all manner of things as they try to navigate around the various online platforms. Sharing documents, writing on the whiteboard and muting students’ microphones and videos have been a great source of amusement to students. A teacher preparing for an online class. As a teacher, it is not easy for teaching students who you cannot see. We are used to seeing our students faces and therefore, one can tell when a student is in class or not through their body language. Unfortunately, this is not possible with online learning. One teacher shared the shock of the first day of class – upon logging in, she saw these many peering eyes of the students and she did not know what to say at first. When she regained her composure and made attempt to talk, there was this chorus of ‘unmute’ ‘unmute’ from several students, meaning she was talking with her mic muted. Despite the challenges, online learning is booming in current times. Even without Covid-19 forcing people to adopt online learning, it is expected to grow in leaps and bounds in the near future. This is supported by the fast-evolving high-speed internet, availability of computers and smartphones, 4G technology and in the near future 5G technology. Statistics indicate that e-learning market is projected to be worth $325 Billion by 2025. While students’ retention rate in schools is declining in face-to-face learning, online learning is estimated to increase the retention rate by 25% to 60%. While college-level student enrollment has been declining by an estimated 1% - 2% yearly, online learning uptake continuously grown by 5% annually before the pandemic. In one of the interaction sessions with my students, I had asked them what they think of online learning. The majority indicated they enjoyed the experience especially not commuting and spending time in the jam. Many thought it is great just waking up and getting to class without much preparation. The working students thought this is the best thing to happen to them. The fact that they can join a class from their offices after work, or as they had coffee in a hotel, made learning so much fun. When the same question was directed to teachers, the answers were not so different. Teachers expressed the flexibility that comes with online learning as they can do many things without wasting time travelling. Increasingly, we will see many working people, college and university students opting to take their studies in the comfort of their homes or offices rather than being confined between the four walls due to convenience. That’s what everyone is looking for - convenience. The other benefit that comes with online learning is that it is more affordable compared to face to face. There is an old saying that says, “If you cannot beat them, join them”. Online learning is not only here to stay but it is thriving!

Words by Samuel Wang’ombe-Cohort 4 fellow Technology in Kenya is taking a different shape in the 21st century. The national government had foreseen this when it promised every learner with a laptop. The project was fruitful but the delivery of the gadgets was done towards the end of the year and enrolment in schools increased tremendously. They had targeted the then Class One pupils and this resulted in more enrolled learners to public schools. Private schools could have adapted the idea and implement the same project and be funded by the parents. They could have set a very good precedence. To some areas, it was a blessing in disguise as this helped to transform learning gradually. In addition to the tablets not being enough, the distribution to schools took long. Now that the country is experiencing challenges during COVID-19 pandemic, teaching learners while at home was and is an issue to enhance remote learning. In arid and semi-arid areas enrolment in public schools had increased drastically and most of the teachers used to teach with technology on market days to attract learners in schools. Use of tablets during the market days helped me as a school administrator to entice the learners and indeed turn up is always 100%. The most fascinating moment was to expose the learners and the teachers to Skype in the classroom whereby they could feel the virtual visit to oversees countries and shared educational matters with learners of the same level. Teaching with technology in the classroom was a challenge to most of the teachers in primary school when the tablets were issued to schools. Training of teachers was done countrywide targeting 12,000 teachers who were guided through an online course in the Microsoft Educator Community. They had to sit for an online exam on Technology Literacy in Education by Microsoft. The pass mark was 70% and most of the teachers scored between 60% and 80%. Educators who have undergone this training and got certified, feel empowered while teaching with technology in class. Their creativity and innovativeness stand out. Virtual Learning Solutions team Creating awareness on Technology Literacy for Educators - 21 st century learning designs to secondary school teachers at KICC during a science. As a teacher coach and ICT champion in Laikipia County, I have learnt a lot from both teachers and learners. During C0VID-19 pandemic, I have tried to reach teachers empowering them to transform learning using Microsoft Teams and Google Classroom. If teachers felt empowered, rather than scared of technology and equipped themselves with technological skills, they could reach a multitude of learners virtually. Working closely with I Choose Life Africa (ICL) and Virtual Learning Solution (VLS) a Microsoft Global Partner, I have been able to reach more than 500 teachers countrywide. The main focus was Laikipia because ICL as a project has empowered teachers by offering pieces of training Remote Teaching while VLS trains and offers online Exam on Technology Literacy for Educators-21 st Century Learning Design. In Kenya, the Competence-Based Curriculum (CBC) unlocks learners and promotes their critical and creative thinking. For a teacher to rhyme with the CBC system is highly advised to undergo a Teacher Professional Development Course on Technology Literacy for Educators- 21 st Century Learning Design that focuses on the following Collaboration, Skilled communication, Knowledge construction, Self-regulation, Real-world problem solving and Use of ICT for Learning. The course is self-directed and it’s online, the user gains experience interacting with the system which is Hands-on, Minds-on (HoMo). In-depth understanding of Rubrics is real and practical in the course undertaken. Samuel guiding teachers on use of tablets and accessing content from the Content Access Point and The Rachel Server.

Metis hosts quarterly events. Stay tuned for the next one! COVID has highlighted what many of us have suspected. There is a parallel, often invisible, mental health pandemic impacting many learners and leaders. In light of this, how can we support mental wellness in and out of schools? Metis hosted 50 practitioners, educators, and advocates to discuss this on April 8th. The gathering featured four diverse panelists: a student activist creating mental wellness clubs across Kenyan universities, the co-founder of a dance-based life skills organization in Kibera, a public health expert, and a leadership expert at KEMI, the agency of the Ministry of Education tasked with training education leaders. Participants brought a wealth of knowledge and experience. There were lively debates, sometimes opposing opinions, and a great sense of energy towards working within and beyond government to build resilience, awareness, and holistic wellness for learners and teachers alike. In the chat, people exchanged tools, resources, and contact information. "There are so many of us who care about this topic. There is actually a lot going on in this space, but I just didn't know, so it's great to be a part of this forum to gain more knowledge,“ shared, one participant. Participants agreed that one key way to improve mental wellness is authentic relationships between learners and teachers. Pictured here, Dennis Omollo and his learners (pre-COVID). His organization, Teaching Well, aims to equip teachers to do just that! If you weren't able to join, take heart! Here are some key takeaways from the discussion: Small changes can make a big difference. Mindfulness activities, body scans, simply asking "How are you, really?" and listening to the answer can build awareness and wellness. We need to equip teachers... Teacher training at the national level should extend beyond academics "Teachers can't pour from an empty cup", said one participant. We need to support educators to take care of themselves. Optimal learning can't happen if young people are struggling emotionally and socially. ...but not overburden them or make them play the role of mental health professional. Over 50 participants engaged in a lively discussion on how we can support mental wellness. Counseling services need to be more widely accessible for learners Idea: psychologists should be at every school Question: how can we reduce the stigma associated with counseling? We need to demystify mental health. How might we combat stigma and raise awareness about the commonality of mental health struggles? How do we help people get the help they need? How do we as Africans reconcile our cultural identities with all of this? We need to create safe spaces. Students and teachers need safe spaces to relate as humans and to connect with each other authentically. Mental health clubs can play a role On the flip side, many struggle in silence-kids and adults alike. We need to reimagine masculinity. Often boys are raised to "just be strong" We can leverage technology. Apps and hotlines can enable access to mental health support in times of crisis. Technology can also help kids practice mindfulness and meditation in and out of the classroom. We need to continue learning from each other and collaborating for greater impact. We need to contextualize our approaches to our situations and schools, but we can adapt from the work of others to avoid reinventing the wheel. We have the opportunity to reorient our school systems towards greater mental wellness for all. What role will you play? At Metis, we hope to connect you to the tools, resources, and most importantly--the COMMUNITY you need to innovate with impact in your community. Join a supportive community of education innovators in our Facebook group here. Apply for the Metis Fellowship here To learn more and have all your questions about the Fellowship answered, register for our Live Q+A on April 15th here.

I have recently learned about ‘The magic school bus. It is an old show from the ’90s where a teacher, Ms. Frizzle, takes her students on field trips. Facilitated by a magic school bus that guides them through topics from friction, digestion, basic chemistry, food chains, and all that good stuff, each episode presents an opportunity for the students to learn a specific new topic. If you have not seen it yet, I believe it is still available on Netflix. Watching it as an adult made me wish we had a show like this for our Kenyan kids; relatable, real-world application of learning. Our current education system does have many bright spots championing education that makes a difference and goes beyond the “almighty pass mark.” My wonder is, when did education become only a matter concerning educators? When did the burden of education fall solely on them? As it is, many teachers are stretched thin. We have demanded of them the work of a parent, caregiver, mentor, therapist and saddled them with the responsibility of supplying the workforce pipeline with the best students the education system has to offer. It is not working! Despite having their hands full, many teachers have gone above and beyond to do all this and more. It is high time we joined them as co-educators. It does take a village to educate a child. Policy change is a long and tricky process. It can only be accelerated when the environment shifts and renders archaic policies obsolete. Only then can radical change be effected. The call to action here is to take charge of what is going on in your child’s/youth classroom. To care about it enough to support the efforts of the teacher and of the young person. Here is a challenge for you, in your sphere of influence, what can you do to show support? Create a show for Kenyan kids to learn in a relaxed environment? Teach the child in your space the song or the trick that helped you learn something difficult? A great way to start is by safely exposing them to how what they are learning is being applied in your home, neighborhood, workplace. Listen to their struggles and allow them space to grow from them. Taking the example of Dr. Waangari Maathai, while we actively work towards broad-spectrum solutions to the issues in our system, let's take accountability and do #ourlittlething in #ourlittlespaces. In time, together, we will see the fruits of creating the environments we and our next generation can thrive in. I am Julie, a youth trainer, yoga teacher with the Africa Yoga Project, and proud alum of Metis Cohort 3.