Duane Karlen is the kind of teacher who looks for creative ways to help his students understand complicated scientific topics. On this particular day, though, his students ask to share their knowledge of thunder and lightning.
This was my second year teaching science in Gahonsahor, an agricultural village two days' walk east of the Pokhara airport. My command of the local alphabet had grown to where I could write on the blackboard to illustrate my diagrams, and my ear for the hill dialect allowed me to follow their discussions about what we were studying. So I was delighted one day when a student bravely asked me, "Sir, would you like to hear our explanation of thunder and lightning?" There was an expectant pause, with all attention on the teacher.
"Yes, tell me!" I replied, making no attempt to act like the traditional teacher who strives to be the sole source of all knowledge and academic wisdom.
What followed was one of the most exciting conversations I have ever heard in a classroom. Students eagerly took turns telling me about Indra, the weather god who lives in the sky. Interrupting and correcting each other in their enthusiasm, they explained how Indra occasionally becomes angry and throws "thunderbolts" down to Earth. These flash brilliantly through the sky and strike the ground with a thunderous crash, shattering anything in the way.
Next, Karlen explains how the people in his students’ village think about thunder and lightning. And he uses the objective, observation-based language of science to do so.
These bolts are triangular pieces of rock, rather like very large arrowheads. Usually they are smashed to dust by the impact, the students told me, but once in a while one is found where lightning has struck: black, very hard, smooth like glass on the outside. They are hard to crack, but if you can break off a piece and grind it up, it's a powerful medicine that can cure many problems of the body and spirit.
I asked if anyone had ever seen such a thunderbolt. Most had only heard of them, but a couple of students knew someone who knew someone who had found one, and one student even had an uncle who might actually have one!
I was astonished the next day when one of the students returned to class with a small piece of rock, broken from the original triangle. He excitedly showed it to the entire group, then presented it to me as a gift from his family, to take home and use when necessary. Twenty-five years later, I still keep this treasure in a special brass bowl by my bedside, strong medicine for when I need it.
The science unit on weather had taken several weeks to cover, much longer than the four or five days I had originally scheduled. I was not sure exactly what my students had learned. I would find out from this exam. However, I certainly came away with a feeling of satisfaction that something important had happened.
Question
What clues tell you that the essay’s author jumps way into the future?
The essay continues, but first the author brings readers back to the present moment―the one described at the start of the essay.
But now the class was waiting for my answer to Ram's question, and I felt as if I was the one being tested. My reply would tell them how much I understood their culture and accepted what was important to them. Who is "right" here? If the students accept "my" scientific concepts, are they turning their backs on their own heritage? Is my work here then undermining the very cultural uniqueness I have learned to respect? On the other hand, if they assume "their" answer is correct, are they really learning science? I needed a flash of inspiration.
I focused again on my students. There was no ambivalence in their faces. These children were easily able to grasp both sets of beliefs without a problem. One they explored in their classroom, the other was a part of their religion and folklore. Both made sense, both were acceptable. At this moment all they wanted to know was: Which would be the correct answer on the test?
I spoke without further hesitation. "Since this is a science exam, give the scientific explanation. In Hindu culture class, you could give the explanation that involves Indra. But here let's use the one that comes from our textbook."
Relieved at having the issue clarified, the students resumed writing, concentrating on their sentences, occasionally gazing out the window to gather their thoughts. I sat quietly, watching them with fond amazement. Far off in the mountains, signaling the development of an afternoon storm, there was a faint rumble of thunder.
Question
By the end of the essay, you should understand why Ram’s question was difficult for the author to answer. As a Peace Corps volunteer, what did he want to avoid, and why?
