In Front of the Classroom Again
Mitch Odera, a longtime friend of TICH, was editor-in-chief of The Standard Newspaper, one of Kenya’s two national newspapers, for many, many years throughout President Moi’s tyrannical rule. Now serving as chairman of the Kenya Media Council, Mitch also runs a media consultancy service and teaches part-time at TICH. I’m thrilled (and lucky!) to get to co-teach with Mitch one week on Communication and Advocacy.
Mitch and I are tasked with instructing our master's students on how best to work with the media when promoting causes and community work. In addition, we’ll expose the students to persuasive theory and public speaking practices to ensure their messages are constructed properly for their audiences.
Mitch lives in Nairobi but travels to Kisumu. We have tea at St. Anna's Guest House and discuss content for the course. Mitch and I are the only people in the dining room until Jacquie, a student nurse from Canada, stops by to say hi. The windows behind Mitch are open, allowing a cool breeze to lift the lacey, white curtains up and up throughout our conversation. No lights are on in the room, but filtered illumination comes through the windows. Sitting opposite Mitch in this comfortable environment feels like home.
Mitch is only slightly taller than me, but is solidly built, with a strong face and kind eyes. His hair, I notice, is slightly long for today’s fashion and is going gray around the edges. I guess Mitch to be in his early 50s, but Kenyans age well and it’s hard to pinpoint their years. Tea consists of traditional East African tea (tea, milk and water boiled together and then strained), along with sugar (sukari). But Mitch is diabetic so he pulls out a small bottle of artificial sweetener tablets. The waiter brings out four pieces of bread, untoasted, and softened butter.
As we butter our bread and prepare our tea, Mitch tells me about his background as editor of The Standard and his current trials with Lucy Kibaki, President Kibaki’s wife and Kenya’s First Lady. During Moi’s years as president, he ruled Kenya by intimidation. It’s hard to believe his reign of terror ended only three years ago with the election of President Kibaki. Stories abound of people being pulled from their office or home or off the street by Moi’s police and taken in for interrogation, which often included torture, until they signed some sort of confession, landing them in jail for years. Mitch, too, was taken from his press room and planted in a chair in an interrogation room. They placed a written confession in front of him and insisted he sign. If he signed, Mitch would be confessing to working in collusion with rebel forces who were using his newspaper to overthrow Moi’s government. He refused to sign, even when they used persuasive tactics too gruesome to mention here. Lots of people "disappeared" in the Moi years.
Today, Mitch’s biggest concern is how to handle Lucy Kibaki, Kenya's First Lady. She recently hit a photojournalist, who immediately brought assault charges against her (the charges were later dropped). When her neighbor, a minister of some such governmental department, threw a party, Lucy tramped across the lawn in the wee hours (in her night gown) and broke the party up. The press were at the party and naturally filmed the first lady in her gown, ranting at the noisemakers.
So, fed up with how the press portrays her, Lucy goes to The Nation’s news center, the other national newspaper in Kenya, and berates the journalists from 11pm to 4am on what she perceives as their unfair coverage of her. Five hours. Some people say Lucy is not quite right in the head. Mitch thinks the Kenyan public should be compassionate toward Lucy, recognizing she has a slight mental imbalance. Others speculate Lucy is under pressure because President Kibaki has a girlfriend whom the press calls his "second wife." Whatever the source of Lucy’s angst, she feels the press has no right to portray her as someone who hits journalists and traipses about in the middle of the night breaking up parties, even though that's exactly what she's been doing.
After Lucy chastises the press at the Nation for five hours, Mitch phones her assistant and reminds Lucy she can take her complaints through the Media Council of Kenya, which will act as mediator between her and the press. Within a few days, Lucy delivers to Mitch an 11-page complaint detailing every incidence of her perceived mistreatment by the press. Mitch then shares the complaint with the media houses (newspapers, TV and radio) and asks for their response.
When we're teaching, Mitch tells the class about his handling of Lucy and we discuss how public figures are not protected. In fact, just as in the US, anyone who places themselves into the public arena must expect all kinds of unflattering things to be written about them. And they have very little recourse apart from suing for libel, which is long shot if they fit the definition of a public figure. This week, as Mitch and I are in front of the class, he takes a phone call, pacing up and down the hallway while I talk to the students about persuasive theories in the field of social psychology. Mitch returns and tells us he’s just received word that all media houses have submitted their responses to Lucy’s accusations. Mitch and the Media Council will now set a date for a hearing.
The next morning, Mitch brings The Nation and The Standard to class. On page two of the Nation, an article quotes Mitch saying the media houses have responded and a date for the hearing will be set. The article is impartial and presents only the view Mitch expressed when on the phone. I read the article to the students. They’ve heard Mitch tell his views of the "Lucy" tale and how he has communicated with the media. Now they get to see the results on the printed page, including quotes from their esteemed instructor.
Together, Mitch and I share information about the academic field of communication, the media, public speaking do’s and dont’s, persuasive techniques and ways of overcoming cross-cultural and language barriers. It’s a full week and Mitch’s knowledge areas dovetail ever so well with mine. Co-facilitating with Mitch has been uplifting and eye-opening. At times, when I’d be talking about the roots of rhetoric from Aristotle to the present, I’d see his open face and notice the slightest nod of encouragement. He would interject tidbits and facts to my presentations and I’d do the same when he was speaking. Even though he normally teaches this section of the course alone, he totally opened up the curriculum and schedule to include any info I wanted to impart. He’s even invited me to come to our Nairobi campus and co-facilitate with him to our students there.
How wonderful to share this info with students who will take what they’ve learned and apply it to their work of changing people’s lives for the better--not simply use it to sell or market a product as we do in the North (or first world). I’m honored to know Mitch and to have taught alongside him. This week’s experience has shown me I have a great deal of useful knowledge to share. I’m also honored to get to know our TICH students better, many of whom are in their 30’s and already degreed as nurses or who currently work with NGOs in Kenya and other African countries. One student owns a pharmacy in town. They are intent on helping their countries develop by sharing what they’ve learned at TICH to improve the lives of their fellow countrymen and women. I'm humbled by the earnestness and selflessness exhibited daily by TICH students and staff.
Mitch and I are tasked with instructing our master's students on how best to work with the media when promoting causes and community work. In addition, we’ll expose the students to persuasive theory and public speaking practices to ensure their messages are constructed properly for their audiences.
Mitch lives in Nairobi but travels to Kisumu. We have tea at St. Anna's Guest House and discuss content for the course. Mitch and I are the only people in the dining room until Jacquie, a student nurse from Canada, stops by to say hi. The windows behind Mitch are open, allowing a cool breeze to lift the lacey, white curtains up and up throughout our conversation. No lights are on in the room, but filtered illumination comes through the windows. Sitting opposite Mitch in this comfortable environment feels like home.
Mitch is only slightly taller than me, but is solidly built, with a strong face and kind eyes. His hair, I notice, is slightly long for today’s fashion and is going gray around the edges. I guess Mitch to be in his early 50s, but Kenyans age well and it’s hard to pinpoint their years. Tea consists of traditional East African tea (tea, milk and water boiled together and then strained), along with sugar (sukari). But Mitch is diabetic so he pulls out a small bottle of artificial sweetener tablets. The waiter brings out four pieces of bread, untoasted, and softened butter.
As we butter our bread and prepare our tea, Mitch tells me about his background as editor of The Standard and his current trials with Lucy Kibaki, President Kibaki’s wife and Kenya’s First Lady. During Moi’s years as president, he ruled Kenya by intimidation. It’s hard to believe his reign of terror ended only three years ago with the election of President Kibaki. Stories abound of people being pulled from their office or home or off the street by Moi’s police and taken in for interrogation, which often included torture, until they signed some sort of confession, landing them in jail for years. Mitch, too, was taken from his press room and planted in a chair in an interrogation room. They placed a written confession in front of him and insisted he sign. If he signed, Mitch would be confessing to working in collusion with rebel forces who were using his newspaper to overthrow Moi’s government. He refused to sign, even when they used persuasive tactics too gruesome to mention here. Lots of people "disappeared" in the Moi years.
Today, Mitch’s biggest concern is how to handle Lucy Kibaki, Kenya's First Lady. She recently hit a photojournalist, who immediately brought assault charges against her (the charges were later dropped). When her neighbor, a minister of some such governmental department, threw a party, Lucy tramped across the lawn in the wee hours (in her night gown) and broke the party up. The press were at the party and naturally filmed the first lady in her gown, ranting at the noisemakers.
So, fed up with how the press portrays her, Lucy goes to The Nation’s news center, the other national newspaper in Kenya, and berates the journalists from 11pm to 4am on what she perceives as their unfair coverage of her. Five hours. Some people say Lucy is not quite right in the head. Mitch thinks the Kenyan public should be compassionate toward Lucy, recognizing she has a slight mental imbalance. Others speculate Lucy is under pressure because President Kibaki has a girlfriend whom the press calls his "second wife." Whatever the source of Lucy’s angst, she feels the press has no right to portray her as someone who hits journalists and traipses about in the middle of the night breaking up parties, even though that's exactly what she's been doing.
After Lucy chastises the press at the Nation for five hours, Mitch phones her assistant and reminds Lucy she can take her complaints through the Media Council of Kenya, which will act as mediator between her and the press. Within a few days, Lucy delivers to Mitch an 11-page complaint detailing every incidence of her perceived mistreatment by the press. Mitch then shares the complaint with the media houses (newspapers, TV and radio) and asks for their response.
When we're teaching, Mitch tells the class about his handling of Lucy and we discuss how public figures are not protected. In fact, just as in the US, anyone who places themselves into the public arena must expect all kinds of unflattering things to be written about them. And they have very little recourse apart from suing for libel, which is long shot if they fit the definition of a public figure. This week, as Mitch and I are in front of the class, he takes a phone call, pacing up and down the hallway while I talk to the students about persuasive theories in the field of social psychology. Mitch returns and tells us he’s just received word that all media houses have submitted their responses to Lucy’s accusations. Mitch and the Media Council will now set a date for a hearing.
The next morning, Mitch brings The Nation and The Standard to class. On page two of the Nation, an article quotes Mitch saying the media houses have responded and a date for the hearing will be set. The article is impartial and presents only the view Mitch expressed when on the phone. I read the article to the students. They’ve heard Mitch tell his views of the "Lucy" tale and how he has communicated with the media. Now they get to see the results on the printed page, including quotes from their esteemed instructor.
Together, Mitch and I share information about the academic field of communication, the media, public speaking do’s and dont’s, persuasive techniques and ways of overcoming cross-cultural and language barriers. It’s a full week and Mitch’s knowledge areas dovetail ever so well with mine. Co-facilitating with Mitch has been uplifting and eye-opening. At times, when I’d be talking about the roots of rhetoric from Aristotle to the present, I’d see his open face and notice the slightest nod of encouragement. He would interject tidbits and facts to my presentations and I’d do the same when he was speaking. Even though he normally teaches this section of the course alone, he totally opened up the curriculum and schedule to include any info I wanted to impart. He’s even invited me to come to our Nairobi campus and co-facilitate with him to our students there.
How wonderful to share this info with students who will take what they’ve learned and apply it to their work of changing people’s lives for the better--not simply use it to sell or market a product as we do in the North (or first world). I’m honored to know Mitch and to have taught alongside him. This week’s experience has shown me I have a great deal of useful knowledge to share. I’m also honored to get to know our TICH students better, many of whom are in their 30’s and already degreed as nurses or who currently work with NGOs in Kenya and other African countries. One student owns a pharmacy in town. They are intent on helping their countries develop by sharing what they’ve learned at TICH to improve the lives of their fellow countrymen and women. I'm humbled by the earnestness and selflessness exhibited daily by TICH students and staff.
posted by Cindi at 3:42 AM
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