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Trevor Njeru
Prof. Blair
05 December 2016
I Endorse my Discourse
My experience in Kenya served as an opportunity to learn and explore the world and my
heritage through culture shock while at the same time providing benefits associated with
mastering a secondary discourse. James Gee defines a discourse as a combination of acts:
saying, writing, doing, being, valuing (Gee) also mentioning that in order to master a
Discourse, one must go through an intensive process of enculturation or apprenticeship where
there is a focus on social practices and supported interaction with people who have already
mastered a Discourse (Gee). I believe that this succinct definition summarizes my experience
with education in Kenya.
The first stage of my education in Kenya was the stage where I was completely
unaware of everything, all my surroundings, a total culture shock. I did not know the language, I
did not know a single person, and my parents were paying money for a very good private school
so I knew I needed to perform well.
When I started school at Makini Academy (private school) I had a lot of specialized
language to learn in order to understand, even just everyday conversation. One of the main
reasons for this was because I did not know Swahili. For example, there was a language called
sheng which was basically Swahili slang or a mixture of slightly improper Swahili mixed with
English. However, even in English, there were words I was still very new to. Words like kipsa
which stood for KPSA or Kenya Private Schools Association. KPSA was a group of education
curriculum writers that prepared exams for Kenyan private schools, they were known by the
students and even teachers to be extremely hard because they were designed for private school

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students who society typically expected higher performance from. My school gave exams every
month and randomly gave about 3 or 4 of the KPSAs every school year. Students used to dread
and anticipate the kipsas arrival even by studying many extra hours. KCPE and KCSE where
more examples of specialized terms, standing for Kenya Certificate of Primary Education and
Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education respectively. These were the equivalent of a
graduation certificate from middle school and a diploma from high school. These certifications
were obtained through a series of exams divided by section at the end of primary and secondary
education, it was kind of like an ACT on steroids.
In my school in Kenya, there were very many regulations on appearance. Basically, all
schools in Kenya wore a uniform and had rules about appearance so this was normal. My
uniform was a blue shirt with a white collar that was tucked into gray khaki shorts, if it was cold
you could purchase a blue knit sweater that had the school logo and name on it, this was worn
with dark gray socks that had blue and red strips as well as black dress shoes. Girls wore a red
dress that went down to the shin with a white collar with the same socks and female dress shoes,
they also were expected to use the same blue knit sweater if the weather required it. As well,
guys were expected to keep their hair neat and at a decent length. Girls were not allowed to do
too much with their hair, they were allowed to keep it straight or braid it like cornrows onto their
heads. Beads, extensions, and colors were not allowed, they would actually be sent home.
Makeup and jewelry were not allowed. Teachers and administration did not tolerate violations of
the dress code they provided punishments for violations on a situational basis.
The next stage was a point where I knew my way around, understood the systems in
place and I had made good friends which developed many experiences wit. My exam scores
were improving and I started to enjoy going to my new school. Two people, I would say I

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became the closest with were Chris Mingala and Steven Nyaga. Chris was a short light skin boy,
quite popular in school, he performed decently in class and was liked by basically everyone.
Steven was taller and darker than me and Chris. He always did really well in his exams and
wasnt as popular, actually, he was kind of shy, but he was loved by everyone he knew especially
his teachers. I grew very close with both because of our extremely similar personalities, sense of
humor and especially our shared interest in the genre of hip hop and many of its top artists. I
remember us walking around the school during break and lunchtime reciting lyrics to our
favorite songs, recommending new songs and socializing about current events as they pertained
to the artists we loved to listen to and their art. Through this constant walking and circling
around the school socializing I actually lost like twenty pounds in the term.
There were many key incidents that occurred in my time at Makini Primary School, my
most favorite to reminisce on was my first exam since coming to the school. We were tested on
eight different subjects. These subjects were math, English, science, history, Kiswahili, religious
education, English composition and Insha. These were all 50 question tests, the English
composition and Insha were written prompted compositions in English and Kiswahili
respectively that were graded out of 40 possible points. The highest I ever heard anyone get was
like a 36. All these scores were combined some and converted into the point system that
basically the whole country used called marks. These exams were an exact replica of the
format of the KCPE and KCSE with content related to what we had learned previously. The total
possible marks to get was 500 marks, it is basically impossible to receive this score given that it
is not conventional to receive a perfect score in the written parts of the exam. It is because of this
that anyone who scored close to or above 400 was considered to have performed very well, my
personal best was 389. I had never heard of anyone at my school getting above a 460, however,

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exam scores are so public that students who perform extremely well (460 and above) on the
KCPE, KCSE from all over the country get featured on the news. I remember a few of the scores
from significant times in my life. My private school always performed well and many of our
students made national news for their success.
My first exam, fresh off the boat I scored a 289, I remember I completely failed, my
Christian religious education and Kiswahili exam and Insha. I remember getting an 8 out of 40
because I was only able to write one sentence. This was also only because the teacher left the
room briefly and I asked students in the class for translations. In the end, I surprisingly wasnt
last in the class, I had done better than one student. This information was posted on a chart on the
wall for the whole class to see, the boy I beat in this exam never lived this down. Many teachers
were proud of my attempt and encouraged me to work harder which I did and I never performed
that poorly again.
Another key incident in my time at Makini was at the very end of my experience in
Kenya. My completion of Standard Seven. Throughout the year when we took our exams they
were recorded on a chart in the classroom as well as a personal grade book. At the very end of
the year after the final exam, that next day of school class was canceled, teachers congregated in
the cafeteria with all their students grade books and waited for the student's arrival to school with
their parents. At this time, we received our grade books which our teachers had been keeping for
us all year and had a detailed view of our academic performance for the year. Our parents got to
meet with some of our teachers one last time and listen to any comments about their child and
their performance. It is a frightening thing honestly to be the student in this situation. I remember
being anxious not knowing what my teachers would say to my parents despite being a good
student. I did not contribute much to any conversation made because my teachers ended up

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having many good things to say to my parents while I was there. It is actually quite common for
one of your teachers other than your home room to come talk to your parents if they were not
busy with a parent of their own. Many of my teachers actually came to say positive things to my
family.
The final stage was at the end of the year and a half when the school year was ending.
Time was coming for me to leave and head back to America and everyone was aware. It was a
very puzzling situation, I had become attached to the life I had made there and despite my
dreams coming true and finally being able to go back to my life in the USA I didn't know if I was
happy or sad. I knew it was best to go back, and did not hesitate to do such, but I felt terrible
about leaving all the friends I had gained. I left having learned every system and process in my
school. With a complete transformation on my work ethic, many new developed values, a new
language learned and a slight accent.
The values implied in the exams were keenness and critical thinking, something I heard a
lot in my time there. All the students were expected to improve with each exam, this required a
lot of studying and test practices. I don't believe the parent teacher meeting required too many
values, it was really contingent on your performance and behavior of the entire school year. It
could've been a very pleasant and easy thing like mine was or it could be the worst way to start
off your holidays as it was the end of November. In the exams, students were ranked by
performance and that created a hierarchy of its own.
I must point out that public school education in Kenya was not as beneficial to students as
private schools. This is due to a lack of resources due to financial constraints and lacking quality
education regulations that support and keep a school accountable. Arguments have been made
that private school education is at fault for this as it absorbs the best teachers, private and public

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funding as well as community support. I agree, but I also must say that public schools in Kenya
are still a relatively new (free education through public schools introduced in 2003) and needs
time to grow as it has the potential to do so.
Looking back, I now realize that the higher performing students did not associate with
lower performing students as much. However, it was harmless as it went unnoticed by everyone,
I am just now realizing this, five years later. With the parent-teacher meeting, there were a few
power relationships but it was mostly based on the position held by the people my parents talked
to, for example, conversations with the Deputy Headmaster vs the Head teacher of my class. It
did not influence much however as all adults respected the same high respect which they did
receive. On my last day in the school, I got to say goodbye to many of my friends for the last
time. I was days away from returning to my home in Raleigh for the holidays. Likewise, my
parents were very proud of me from what the teachers had to say about my academic
performance. It was a very great ending to a long experience.
With all this being said I come to the conclusion that primary education in Kenya is
very effective. I learned so much from this huge culture shock that has turned me into the person
I am today. I am very proud of where I am and where I have come from in my life and I must say
that I do not believe I would be here without this experience. Coming to school in Kenya was
one of the best things my parents ever forced me to do. It is to the point that I almost feel I need
to do the same with my future kids when the time comes. In the end, I enjoyed it and I will
forever remain grateful to them for giving that experience.

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WORKS CITED

Clark, Nick. "Education In Kenya." Mobility Monitor (2015): 24-33. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.

Gee, James Paul. "Gees Discourse." Re-Reading English. ELA TEACH, 04 Sept. 2007. Web. 05
Dec. 2016.

Lucas, Adrienne M., and Isaac M. Mbiti. Access, Sorting, and Achievement: The Short-Run
Effects of Free Primary Education in Kenya. American Economic Journal: Applied
Economics, vol. 4, no. 4, 2012, pp. 226253. www.jstor.org/stable/23269748.