Landenberger uses crosswords to connect
By Suzanne Werre
Editor
Abby Landenberger doesn’t plan on becoming a teacher, but she just returned from a three-week stint teaching science and English in Kenya, and she would do it again in a heartbeat.
Landenberger, who is majoring in Psychology at the University of Jamestown, was one of a group of college students who finished their spring semester at Jamestown, then hopped on a plane to Kenya. They had the option of either working with the Hope Corps, which distributed fresh water to the area residents, or teach elementary students at the public school.
She chose to teach.
She and her fellow students stayed at the Natua Guest House, and Monday through Saturday they would go to the school in the rural town of Chogoria and teach from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.
The students all speak their native dialect, Swahili, and English, and it was her job to help them improve their English. She taught fourth and sixth-grade English, as well as fourth-grade science.
"Going in, I guess I didn’t really know what to expect," said Landenberger. "I was really nervous about teaching because I had never taught before, and I know kids here are kind of unruly sometimes – I didn’t know if I would be able to control the classroom.
