No, we are not practicing martial arts (although, when Shelbi told someone we were joining the Peace Corps, she was asked if we'd have to fight; alas, our time has not yet come). I just returned from Chişinau where I attended and helped conduct a seminar about successful project design, proposal, implementation, and evaluation. I think it will be very formative for my PC experience and possibly the rest of my life, so I began thinking of the skills that we might not even realize we are adapting. This took me to the Napoleon Dynamite quote which stole the title of the post. Instead of listing all the skills we're developing (it would be pretty short, actually), I'd rather relate to you the basis of this seminar and the exciting things it means for anyone wanting to quantify their purposes.
The origin of the information we presented comes from Peace Corps in Washington, D.C. "Washington" has been collecting information from PC posts all over the world for years and has compiled many trainings that are used now internationally. It has been a great effort of international and inter-post collaboration to improve systematic approaches to education and improvement. Washington has recently released a whole new bunch of information and trainings which we are (having to) implement(ing) in Moldova. It's not really a huge obligation because the information is so useful.
The basis of this last seminar is all about conducting successful projects. "Project Design and Management" kicked off with why do we need this information? In an effort to be as sustainable as possible, the basis of PC is transfer of skills, in which volunteers share more "how to..." in a "give a man a fish/teach a man to fish" philosophy. To conduct a successful project, the first step is to prove the necessity of the effort. This can be done a variety of ways and we were taught and shown a few tools to help. Some basics include surveys, comparison charts, and expert suggestions along with more. At the basis of this whole process is an integral role of the community. One or even two people heading up a project are more likely to fail than a whole community working together towards a joint goal. The group-approach also offers more talent and a wider-range of capabilities than just a few. The group should also be responsible for the direction of the project, including making big decisions and such.
With the group's approval, after identifying the need, strategies for meeting the need are presented and discussed. Sometimes a project can have multiple strategies that could lead towards the goal. The group's responsibility should be to allocate roles and tasks and oversee the monitoring of the implementation of the project.
To ensure accuracy and completion as well as meeting the need and seeing the vision through, the group must have "indicators" which will be met. Once these indicators are met, the group can conclude that the objectives or strategies were effective and the group must re-evaluation the situation. This cyclical system can then be replicated to ensure consistent improvement of the community.
I've identifying my two objectifiable goals while working with our school as the following:
1. To help my partners improve the quality of the English learning (making materials, improving planning, teaching and using super-strategies in class, sharing evaluation techniques, and promoting student-based efforts).
2. To assist in the creation of a group in the school community which can assess, plan, implement, monitor, and evaluate a project to positively affect the school's situation.
Although I've outlined two items as my goals, these items can be large and daunting. The most important thing for me to remember is that they are based on education and learning new skills often is founded on attitude more than anything else.
Attitude-changing reminds me of Aristotle's Rhetoric. Although I can identify a couple of goals that I can evaluate, the "attitude" part of this service reminds me that some things are more difficult to decipher and I possibly won't even see some of the changes while I'm here. I suppose that's where faith in God really applies. Ultimately, I can't objectify everything in my life, but I can realize that some things are not meant to be objectified, but simply trusted. It's a real reminder that the world, my community, my life, and the affects of my effort are not in my control. It's a comforting feeling, and I like it.
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