Parent Visitation Day | Greening STSS

1.5 Parent Visitation Day

Class: S.5 Chemistry

Four students were nominated to speak, and each gave a five minute lecture on their specific fertilizer, how to prepare it, apply it, and its specific benefits. Each presentation was given in English and then Ateso, the local language spoken by the majority of parents. They incorporated demonstrations, showing how to prepare bones for roasting and how to use plastic bottles to apply a drip station to administer a fertilizer over time.

The parent response was overwhelmingly positive. They were actively engaged as their students presented, shifting to get a better view and taking notes. Parents and teachers deeply appreciated new ways to use materials that were formally just tossed aside “waste. Even the fertilizers that required urine. It was a fresh idea that things like bones, urine, and food scraps could be turned into rich nutrients for the soil.

Each presentation was given in English and Ateso, the local language spoken by the majority of parents.

The National Fertilizer Policy (2016) from the Uganda Ministry of Agriculture backs up why this was such an important information to share. Uganda has some of the most nutrient depleted soil in the world, and they also use the least amount of fertilizers when compared to other agriculture-dominant countries. Previously, Ugandan soils were renowned for their high fertility. However, the depletion of soil nutrients continues at an exponential rate that is not recorded elsewhere in the world.

Of the estimated loss of 80 kg of nutrients per hectare per year, farmers are adding only between 1-1.5 kg, making Uganda the least in fertilizer use almost in the whole world. Smallholder farmers lack capacity and knowledge on how to replenish the lost soil nutrients. There is also a myth that Uganda’s soils are fertile (as recited in the National Anthem) and do not require fertilizers, while still others have the erroneous perception that fertilizers “spoil” soils.

While students are learning basic agricultural theory at the secondary level, they are not applying these skills at school or at home. When the parents had an opportunity in the meeting to respond to the different aspects of the meeting, the feedback on student presentations confirmed that this project was addressing a pressing need.

Additionally, flipping the script and having students present the information rebranded students as “learners” and empowered them as “teachers of their community.”

Parents were proud that their students were capable of lecturing and sharing important information with the community. One parent commented, “I have visited some of the most prestigious schools in Uganda, and I have never seen a project like this, where students are applying and teaching the knowledge to others.”

Finally, the presentations reflected positively on the work that this school is doing. The demonstration of innovative learning brought a deep sense of pride and accomplishment to the administration and teachers of Serere Township Secondary School. A rural, low-resourced school was an unexpected place to pioneer this type of learning.