David Letitiya

David Letitiya

Title:  Deputy Head Teacher

Subject:  Mathematics, Standard 8

Hometown:  Ndonyo Wasin, Samburu, Kenya

Bio: 

Unlike many of the teachers at Ndonyo Wasin, David is Samburu and grew up in Ndonyo Wasin.  He attended school in NW until 8^th grade in 1988.  He then went on to secondary school and then onto Teacher Training College.  He currently lives near the school in a large minyatta with his family.  He and his wife, Lucy, have three children: two sons (1 baby and 1 preschooler) and 1 daughter (aged 7) who is in standard 1 at NWPS.  David and Lucy knew each other when they were younger as they both grew up in NW.

(Kristen and Maria met his wife and were welcomed into his home).

Like many Samburu, David comes from a large family.  David has 2 bothers that are elders who are married and have families (post warrior years), 3 brothers who are warriors, and 2 sisters who are married.  Two of his brothers (Tringus and Francis) helped take care of us at the camp.  A third brother, the youngest, acted as one of our guides and translators as we walked about the village.

Career:

When David finished teachers college in 1996, he immediately came to teach at NWPS. Typically, the Kenyan government appoints teachers to schools.  Often theses appointments are not in the same some districts of the teachers.  David was fortunate to be appointed to teach in NW because there was a shortage of teachers at the time.  David also feels that he may have been appointed to NW to demonstrate the importance of education to the Samburu community.

Originally, David taught all the subjects because there were only 3 teachers and 36 students in the NWPS in 1996.  There was only 1 preschool at that time.  Since 2001, more preschools have been introduced into the community.

David is the first teacher in his family.  Many of his family members live the Samburu way of life.  Some are employed by Jane Newman to run the visitors’ camp near the school.

Q&A:

Why did you want to become a teacher?

“I enjoyed teaching.  So my interest was in teaching.”  David said that he also liked to show people how do things correctly and to make the right choices.

What was your first day of teaching like? 

David expressed that he felt confident because he practiced for three months in teacher training college.

What do you want to know about the teachers at Packer?  What are you curious about?

David expressed that sometimes students/people have an aversion to math.

“How do they teach math so that all the learners understand it?  How can I make them like math throughout their schooling and also get them to perform well?” 

David feels very proud when the students perform well.  He likes handing out A’s.

Is there anything that you like or dislike about teaching?

David feels that one is “always occupied.”

“You feel like you always have something to do at the end of the day.  You need so many things as a teacher.  Needing of resources and materials.  Resources are lacking in math.  Measurement materials because they support the learning.”

David knows that children learn by doing.

He is very excited about sharing ideas amongst the teachers at Packer.

Click here to listen to the interview.