September 23, 2004: Headlines: COS - Kenya: Journalism: Television: Primary Education: The Oregonian: Before he became a teacher at age 40, Kenya RPCV Kurt Reister led a different life with a different career in a different country. As a producer for CNN's Africa bureau, he worked on stories that included the freeing of Nelson Mandela in South Africa, the Scud attacks on Tel Aviv during the Gulf War in 1991 and famine in Ethiopia. Reister is probably the only first-grader teacher in the Beaverton School District who can speak some Swahili.

Peace Corps Online: Directory: Kenya: Peace Corps Kenya : The Peace Corps in Kenya: September 23, 2004: Headlines: COS - Kenya: Journalism: Television: Primary Education: The Oregonian: Before he became a teacher at age 40, Kenya RPCV Kurt Reister led a different life with a different career in a different country. As a producer for CNN's Africa bureau, he worked on stories that included the freeing of Nelson Mandela in South Africa, the Scud attacks on Tel Aviv during the Gulf War in 1991 and famine in Ethiopia. Reister is probably the only first-grader teacher in the Beaverton School District who can speak some Swahili.

By Admin1 (admin) (151.196.185.151) on Saturday, October 02, 2004 - 1:38 pm: Edit Post

Before he became a teacher at age 40, Kenya RPCV Kurt Reister led a different life with a different career in a different country. As a producer for CNN's Africa bureau, he worked on stories that included the freeing of Nelson Mandela in South Africa, the Scud attacks on Tel Aviv during the Gulf War in 1991 and famine in Ethiopia. Reister is probably the only first-grader teacher in the Beaverton School District who can speak some Swahili.

Before he became a teacher at age 40, Kenya RPCV Kurt Reister led a different life with a different career in a different country. As a producer for CNN's Africa bureau, he worked on stories that included the freeing of Nelson Mandela in South Africa, the Scud attacks on Tel Aviv during the Gulf War in 1991 and famine in Ethiopia. Reister is probably the only first-grader teacher in the Beaverton School District who can speak some Swahili.

Before he became a teacher at age 40, Kenya RPCV Kurt Reister led a different life with a different career in a different country. As a producer for CNN's Africa bureau, he worked on stories that included the freeing of Nelson Mandela in South Africa, the Scud attacks on Tel Aviv during the Gulf War in 1991 and famine in Ethiopia. Reister is probably the only first-grader teacher in the Beaverton School District who can speak some Swahili.

A captive, young audience These days, CNN and Africa are a world away for a Raleigh Park teacher
Thursday, September 23, 2004

Name: Kurt Reister Age: 47 Job and school: First-grade teacher at Raleigh Park Elementary School Two people: Before he became a teacher at age 40, Reister led a different life with a different career in a different country. As a producer for CNN's Africa bureau, he worked on stories that included the freeing of Nelson Mandela in South Africa, the Scud attacks on Tel Aviv during the Gulf War in 1991 and famine in Ethiopia. Reister is probably the only first-grader teacher in the Beaverton School District who can speak some Swahili.

"It feels like there are two people in me," he says. "There's the teacher Kurt and the journalist Kurt." Serengeti sojourn: After Reister earned a bachelor's degree in radio, TV and film production from the University of Michigan, he joined the Peace Corps. He was offered an assignment in Kenya and remembered being curious about the Serengeti from his childhood. He spent three years working on water development projects.

Reister met with a guy who was scratching by, making films. In 1985, Reister became his sound technician after the fledgling CNN offered the filmmaker a job as correspondent in Africa. Reister soon became a producer, which means he did just about everything but stand in front of the camera.

It was a great job. With his CNN salary in a Third World country, Reister was able to live well -- he had a gardener, a guard and a maid -- and still save money. He traveled most of the time and met the real people of Africa. His big frustration was getting permission from governments suspicious of American journalists.

"With the culture clash, you sort of loved and hated it," he says. Danger zone: Reister and his crew went to Tel Aviv during the Persian Gulf War.

"We were Scud chasers," he says.

When the air raid sirens went off, they would run to the roof while other hotel guests ran down to the shelter. He still has the gas mask and chemical suit from those days and sometimes shows his class.

But the job wasn't particularly dangerous.

"It could have been, but we were basically wimps," he says.

Reister stayed away from the front lines until the day after a battle. He heard tanks in Eritrea. In Liberia, he followed Charles Taylor's rebels into a town they had just captured. Gunfire soon erupted, with bullets whizzing above the house Reister was in.

One of the biggest stories Reister worked on was the U.S. military's involvement in Somalia in 1993. When U.S. troops went into Mogadishu and 18 U.S. soldiers died, Reister was in Nairobi, Kenya. But he transferred to CNN the videotape of dead Americans being dragged through the streets. In the half-hour it took Reister to get from work to home, President Clinton had seen the footage on CNN and was publicly commenting. It was a powerful reminder of the impact of broadcast journalism. Out of Africa: After 11 years working for CNN and a total of 14 years overseas, it was time to come home. By 1995, Reister was married and had two boys.

He wanted to do something different and had always been intrigued by how people learned. And he loves children. At refugee camps in Africa, he prided himself on being able to make kids laugh by pretending to trip or making a goofy face.

"That was sort of my personal gauge," he says. "If I couldn't make them smile, I knew they were on their death bed."

So Reister decided to teach. The family moved to Portland, where Reister's wife could get a good job in finance at a high-tech company, and he could go to school at Portland State University.

Reister doesn't use his experience in Africa all that much in the classroom, but it affects who he is and the kind of teacher he is. He's able to convey to children, for example, how lucky they are to have soccer balls and uniforms when children in Africa use plastic bags wadded together and tied with string for a ball. Wide-eyed discovery: Reister started out teaching kindergarten.

"The wide-eyed discovery was really fun," he says.

He satisfies his journalistic urge by acting as director of Raleigh Park's bimonthly news broadcast, RPTV. He still has moments when he misses working on the big story. But there are plenty of special moments in his new job, such as the one last week when a boy drew a letter M in which all the lines connected.

"He looked up at me like a god," Reister says, "for showing him how to write an M." -- David R. Anderson





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Story Source: The Oregonian

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Kenya; Journalism; Television; Primary Education

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