So, while we have enjoyed the realities of living in a third world country and find them humorous, usually, we struggle a lot with school. I don't even know where to begin. All I can say is that it is very different. I am enjoying my students 100%, even when they are sassy. We are starting to get more used to each other and I am getting used to the expectations and needs of each of the students. I find it difficult to bring in materials that will be beneficial to them because they are so young that I need to give very specific rules for the activities. It's fine but they also are new to outside materials and get a little excited when I do bring them in. Usually the things I bring in are so basic but again, it's something totally new that they are not used to so they get over excited. This is getting better. Today we spent a good 30 minutes talking about expectations and how to use the different materials, again. I am hoping that it will help. I know I will have to repeat it all tomorrow but for today, it worked well.
The school structure is something I am not used to as well. It's, different. There is not much time spent on behavior. We are starting too. They went over this first term, but my kids need constant reminders. They know how to behave, they just don't. Example, today after school they were supposed to sit in their seats and sit with a book and read. I was working with a few students in the back and really wasn't to worried about them because it was after school anyway, but someone was watching out the door and saw our teacher coming and yelled to the rest of the class that she was coming. This was their sign to settle down. So they know what and how they are supposed to be behaving, they just choose not to. It is really difficult. Again, we are trying to implement rewards for good behavior but it is a struggle. It's really helpful that my teacher respects the fact that I cannot cane the kids to get them to behave so she helps a lot with taking away privileges. When I am teaching, if there is someone she sees misbehaving she will take the disciplinary actions that I use as punishment. When she is teaching, she does it her way. It's really considerate on her part and I really appreciate it.
Culture is one thing that we are getting used to each other over. Some of the comments we make to each other may or may not be appropriate to each other and it's all a matter of trying to understand each other. I respect my teacher a lot. I think we have an unspoken understanding of each other and it seems to get better each day.
I have more to say but am running out of time. I just want to finish with some fun kids stories.
1. Today, I was really upset with my students this afternoon. One of my students told me after, " Auntie Carrie, I know when you get upset." I asked him when? and he said, "When your face gets all red." haha That's the truth.
2. A few days ago I was showing pictures of my friends to my kids and then taking pictures with them and one of them made a funny face in the camera. One of the other boys laughed at her and told her I was going to take the picture home to America and show all of my friends and they would laugh at her. The girl told him that they wouldn't because they don't know her and if they do, who cares because they don't know her. I thought that was a pretty awesome conversation between two five year olds.
3. Last week Rachel and I were sitting out in the front entrance talking and about 15-20 of her kids came marching out, in perfect unison, chanting, "We are GOoinggg to America!" haha! That made us laugh. They marched all the way through the front entrance all the way to the back. Apparently they play "going to America" during lunch.
4. I found a Laura Ingles Wilder picture book and it was showing the different seasons. I was trying to explain to them what snow is from the picture. I told them that it's really cold! like sticking your hand in the freezer for a long time. One of my girls asked if God lived where it was cold? I asked her if the picture looked like Heaven and she shook her head yes. It was precious. All my family and friends living in the cold, remember that story while you are upset about the snow.
5. So, shit is an acceptable word to say apparently and I was taking a picture of one of my girls with her head wrapped and when she saw her picture she goes, "Awww, sheet!" Which is how they spell shit but it sounds the same. haha She's five. It was hilarious!
Until next time..
Monday, February 20, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
The Reality
Hi all,
Many of you may or may not know the struggles Rachel and I have been going through. Being here is a great learning experience and is definitely the challenge I was hoping for but not in the way I was expecting it. Life here is so different. That doesn't exactly explain a whole lot about what it's really like. For the last few weeks Rachel and I have spent numerous hours trying to hash out our feelings and get to a place where we feel emotionally stable. The schools are not what we are used to at all so that has been a struggle to try and figure out how we fit into the classroom. My teachers are very welcoming and give me feedback when they see fit but it's still really difficult for a number of reasons.
So, we made a list of all of the realities of LIVING here in Ghana. (Realities of the school to come in a few days.) We love the culture and our home, 100%. We could not have asked for a better host mom and family that surround us every day when we come home. As I have mentioned before there are two other families who life in the same compound and then a few other random people as well. It's hard to explain but there are about 20 people living in our compound and we all get along really well. The kids that live with us are really fun. There are two people a few years younger than us when we need some peer time and then there are the parents of those kids and of course auntie and daddy, our Ghanaian parents. The first list was a list of things we think are funny because we don't ever have to worry about it at home:
1. No reliable electricity. It feels like our power goes out every other day. It makes it difficult to charge our phone to call home or to have access to the internet at the cafe, etc. When the electricity goes out, it goes out all over. There are the bigger stores that have back up generators but the small shops like the internet cafes do not. It goes out and you just find something else to do. You move on.
2. No hot water. This isn't that difficult because it's so hot here that the cooler water feels nice but the reality is, there is none unless you boil it or shower during the day when the water has been sitting in the reservoir in the hot sun all day.
3. People have a hard time sometimes understanding the American English. We both speak English but it's still different. It's similar to talking to someone from the south times 6 in difference. Makes it tricky sometimes. My students have finally gotten used to the way I talk, most of the time.
4. No easy access to internet. We don't have internet access at our house. Yesterday was the first time in 3 weeks that I even turned on my computer. And the internet cafes are either without electricity or the internet is down every couple of days so far.
5. We don't have a vehicle we can just hop in and go somewhere. We have to take the trotro or the taxi everywhere, which costs money, upfront so you feel like you are constantly spending money. We have started to tell Pati (grandson) that we prefer walking if possible.
6. Never being alone! some people may love this but I need my alone time to think and reflect. It's great debriefing with Rachel but I need my time to reflect alone. I sat out on the veranda the other day and some of the people stopped by and didn't want to see me sitting by myself. :) It was sweet of the time sit and talk with me but I don't have anywhere to escape if I need too.
7. No washer and dryer. The small things we take for granted. It's nice that she has help who does the wash for her and also does most of ours but we have some things we prefer to do ourselves and there are other times when we feel guilty for piling our clothes for someone else to do. Doing our laundry can be a process.
8. It's always hot here! It's so nice that we have air conditioning if we so choose but we carry our hankies with us to wipe away the sweat.
9. I have heard this is normal here but our fridge has a metal frame around the time and there are times when it gives you a shock when you touch it. That kind of freaked us out at first.
10. We sweep our rug with a weed broom.
11. Any water we drink has to be boiled or bottled. You can't brush your teeth with the sink water. yOu have to brush your teeth with water from a water bottle. It's not a huge deal but I challenge you to brush your teeth for 9 weeks without turning on the faucet.
12. I don't mind this that much but there is no texting, let alone unlimited texting. We are lucky that we have a phone we can use and it is relatively inexpensive.
13. We have seen one public library but it is far down town.
14. No reliable postal service. We heard that if we get packages we have to pay to pick them up. And in order to send ANYTHING you have to go to the post office, by the stamps, and drop it in the box there. There aren't drop off spots around town that you can drop them off at. And, everyone has to go to a post office box to get their mail.
15. Inability to buy anything on our own. We stopped at one of the shack shops the other day and had a hard time communicating with the person who owned it. We have to bring Pati or Najib with us so they can say what we want to say. I find it frustrating I can't just do it myself. I am always relying on someone else.
16. There is no one stop shopping. You have to go to a number of different places to get everything. Luckily we can often ask Auntie to pick up something for us if we need it.
17. I saw a picture of a cheese burger and pizza yesterday. Miss iiitt!! And ice cream is so expensive here! It's so sad!
18. Things are just always dirty. The streets are always dirty, the classroom always has dirt because it's so dry and things are just..always dirty.
19. Rice. To much. For every meal. Especially at school. The school lunch rotates between four meals. Fried rice, fried yam with sauce, rice cooked in sauce, and regular rice with sauce. And it's always chicken or fish with it. To much rice.
20. We are always spending money. You want to go to the beach? 4 cedi. You want to get home from the beach? 13 cedi. You want to get into the beach? Between 9 and 15 cedi, depending on the day you go. That's just the beach. Everything costs sooo much when you pay up front!
A list of the realities of the school are to come later...
Many of you may or may not know the struggles Rachel and I have been going through. Being here is a great learning experience and is definitely the challenge I was hoping for but not in the way I was expecting it. Life here is so different. That doesn't exactly explain a whole lot about what it's really like. For the last few weeks Rachel and I have spent numerous hours trying to hash out our feelings and get to a place where we feel emotionally stable. The schools are not what we are used to at all so that has been a struggle to try and figure out how we fit into the classroom. My teachers are very welcoming and give me feedback when they see fit but it's still really difficult for a number of reasons.
So, we made a list of all of the realities of LIVING here in Ghana. (Realities of the school to come in a few days.) We love the culture and our home, 100%. We could not have asked for a better host mom and family that surround us every day when we come home. As I have mentioned before there are two other families who life in the same compound and then a few other random people as well. It's hard to explain but there are about 20 people living in our compound and we all get along really well. The kids that live with us are really fun. There are two people a few years younger than us when we need some peer time and then there are the parents of those kids and of course auntie and daddy, our Ghanaian parents. The first list was a list of things we think are funny because we don't ever have to worry about it at home:
1. No reliable electricity. It feels like our power goes out every other day. It makes it difficult to charge our phone to call home or to have access to the internet at the cafe, etc. When the electricity goes out, it goes out all over. There are the bigger stores that have back up generators but the small shops like the internet cafes do not. It goes out and you just find something else to do. You move on.
2. No hot water. This isn't that difficult because it's so hot here that the cooler water feels nice but the reality is, there is none unless you boil it or shower during the day when the water has been sitting in the reservoir in the hot sun all day.
3. People have a hard time sometimes understanding the American English. We both speak English but it's still different. It's similar to talking to someone from the south times 6 in difference. Makes it tricky sometimes. My students have finally gotten used to the way I talk, most of the time.
4. No easy access to internet. We don't have internet access at our house. Yesterday was the first time in 3 weeks that I even turned on my computer. And the internet cafes are either without electricity or the internet is down every couple of days so far.
5. We don't have a vehicle we can just hop in and go somewhere. We have to take the trotro or the taxi everywhere, which costs money, upfront so you feel like you are constantly spending money. We have started to tell Pati (grandson) that we prefer walking if possible.
6. Never being alone! some people may love this but I need my alone time to think and reflect. It's great debriefing with Rachel but I need my time to reflect alone. I sat out on the veranda the other day and some of the people stopped by and didn't want to see me sitting by myself. :) It was sweet of the time sit and talk with me but I don't have anywhere to escape if I need too.
7. No washer and dryer. The small things we take for granted. It's nice that she has help who does the wash for her and also does most of ours but we have some things we prefer to do ourselves and there are other times when we feel guilty for piling our clothes for someone else to do. Doing our laundry can be a process.
8. It's always hot here! It's so nice that we have air conditioning if we so choose but we carry our hankies with us to wipe away the sweat.
9. I have heard this is normal here but our fridge has a metal frame around the time and there are times when it gives you a shock when you touch it. That kind of freaked us out at first.
10. We sweep our rug with a weed broom.
11. Any water we drink has to be boiled or bottled. You can't brush your teeth with the sink water. yOu have to brush your teeth with water from a water bottle. It's not a huge deal but I challenge you to brush your teeth for 9 weeks without turning on the faucet.
12. I don't mind this that much but there is no texting, let alone unlimited texting. We are lucky that we have a phone we can use and it is relatively inexpensive.
13. We have seen one public library but it is far down town.
14. No reliable postal service. We heard that if we get packages we have to pay to pick them up. And in order to send ANYTHING you have to go to the post office, by the stamps, and drop it in the box there. There aren't drop off spots around town that you can drop them off at. And, everyone has to go to a post office box to get their mail.
15. Inability to buy anything on our own. We stopped at one of the shack shops the other day and had a hard time communicating with the person who owned it. We have to bring Pati or Najib with us so they can say what we want to say. I find it frustrating I can't just do it myself. I am always relying on someone else.
16. There is no one stop shopping. You have to go to a number of different places to get everything. Luckily we can often ask Auntie to pick up something for us if we need it.
17. I saw a picture of a cheese burger and pizza yesterday. Miss iiitt!! And ice cream is so expensive here! It's so sad!
18. Things are just always dirty. The streets are always dirty, the classroom always has dirt because it's so dry and things are just..always dirty.
19. Rice. To much. For every meal. Especially at school. The school lunch rotates between four meals. Fried rice, fried yam with sauce, rice cooked in sauce, and regular rice with sauce. And it's always chicken or fish with it. To much rice.
20. We are always spending money. You want to go to the beach? 4 cedi. You want to get home from the beach? 13 cedi. You want to get into the beach? Between 9 and 15 cedi, depending on the day you go. That's just the beach. Everything costs sooo much when you pay up front!
A list of the realities of the school are to come later...
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Cape Cost!
Oh my goodness, what a weekend! Rachel and I traveled to Cape Cost this weekend. It was about a 5 hour bus ride there but only 3 hours on the way back. Welcome to Africa I guess, but we had a great time! We met up with a guide person, kinda who was suggested to Auntie by a classmate of hers. We were very lucky to have him. We went to Kakum National Park. It's a canopy sky walk over the forest. Really cool! Hard to explain. But it was a fun experience.
http://ghana-net.com/kakumnationalpark.aspx
Then we had lunch at Hans Cottage. It's this restaurant surrounded by a big pond full of crocodiles! So cool. We then stopped at Auntie's High School, Wesley Girls. It's a boarding school. Very large. she was excited we stopped there. Next we were off to look at the University of Cape Coast. We didn't get to go inside at all but we saw the outside of a few of their buildings. It's very spread out but was very clean compared to other parts of the city.
One of our favorite parts of the day was Elmina Castle. This was one of the two castles that slaves were brought to before being sold to other countries, including, of course, the U.S. That was an emotional experience. We learned a lot. I had my slavery class last semester so much of it I had already learned but to hear the history of it and see where it was all started was unreal. Our guide made the comment that from their villages, they came to Elmina Castle where life was worse, then to the ships where life was even worse and then to masters where life was even worse. Hearing the stories about Elmina and hearing him say that was really depressing, but it was real.
After Elmina we went back to our Guest House, walked around Cape Cost with our guide, Seth, and had dinner at Cape Coast Castle Restaurant. Really great food! It was an exciting night. Ghana won their soccer game so shortly after we got back to our room everyone in Cape Coast paraded the streets. It was so awesome to see the unity over a game. Similar to Green Bay after the Super Bowl.
Sleep time and then Sunday was a day at the beach! Auntie's grandson met us at the bus station and we took a couple tro tros down to the beach! Fun day. The beach is beautiful! We plan to go back often.
I have to start wrapping this up but just a few fun stories to share about school. One day after school I was practicing spelling colors with a few of my 5 year olds and this little 3 year old strolls into our classroom, walks up to me, touches my face and goes, "Color white!" It was precious! Another one of my students asked if I was born white. lol How else to you explain why other than answering with a "yes, my dear. I was."
One more fun kids story. Instead of asking if they can go to the bathroom they ask if they can urinate or go wee wee. I have started to make a point to tell the kids to go right after lunch so they don't have to leave once they get into the classroom. I was asking one of the girls if she had released herself yet and she looked at me and goes, " Auntie Carrie, I tried to wee wee but my wee wee won't come out!" What can you do besides laugh!
Soooo with all of that, I am off! hope everyone is doing well at home!
http://ghana-net.com/kakumnationalpark.aspx
Then we had lunch at Hans Cottage. It's this restaurant surrounded by a big pond full of crocodiles! So cool. We then stopped at Auntie's High School, Wesley Girls. It's a boarding school. Very large. she was excited we stopped there. Next we were off to look at the University of Cape Coast. We didn't get to go inside at all but we saw the outside of a few of their buildings. It's very spread out but was very clean compared to other parts of the city.
One of our favorite parts of the day was Elmina Castle. This was one of the two castles that slaves were brought to before being sold to other countries, including, of course, the U.S. That was an emotional experience. We learned a lot. I had my slavery class last semester so much of it I had already learned but to hear the history of it and see where it was all started was unreal. Our guide made the comment that from their villages, they came to Elmina Castle where life was worse, then to the ships where life was even worse and then to masters where life was even worse. Hearing the stories about Elmina and hearing him say that was really depressing, but it was real.
After Elmina we went back to our Guest House, walked around Cape Cost with our guide, Seth, and had dinner at Cape Coast Castle Restaurant. Really great food! It was an exciting night. Ghana won their soccer game so shortly after we got back to our room everyone in Cape Coast paraded the streets. It was so awesome to see the unity over a game. Similar to Green Bay after the Super Bowl.
Sleep time and then Sunday was a day at the beach! Auntie's grandson met us at the bus station and we took a couple tro tros down to the beach! Fun day. The beach is beautiful! We plan to go back often.
I have to start wrapping this up but just a few fun stories to share about school. One day after school I was practicing spelling colors with a few of my 5 year olds and this little 3 year old strolls into our classroom, walks up to me, touches my face and goes, "Color white!" It was precious! Another one of my students asked if I was born white. lol How else to you explain why other than answering with a "yes, my dear. I was."
One more fun kids story. Instead of asking if they can go to the bathroom they ask if they can urinate or go wee wee. I have started to make a point to tell the kids to go right after lunch so they don't have to leave once they get into the classroom. I was asking one of the girls if she had released herself yet and she looked at me and goes, " Auntie Carrie, I tried to wee wee but my wee wee won't come out!" What can you do besides laugh!
Soooo with all of that, I am off! hope everyone is doing well at home!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The weekend and one exciting school story
This weekend we went to a Ghanaian wedding! It was interesting. It wasn't a Catholic wedding so comparing them to weddings back home wouldn't exactly be the same but it was unlike any weddings I have hear do of regardless. It was a very short service. We couldn't understand most of it since it wasn't in English but they groom gave gifts to the bride's family and they had to accept them and if they didn't then I don't know what would have happened but he accepted them. Then the bride came out and the relatives took turns putting cedis (their money) on the ground and she had to walk on the cedis to the groom and then she did the same back the opposite direction. They stand in the middle of the two families as well. The groom's family is on one side and the bride's family is on the other side facing them. It was outside under a tent in the front of a family member's house. After that family members take turns giving them advice. Like I said, it was hard to follow because it wasn't in English.
After our first Ghanaian wedding we went to the Accra Mall. The most exciting part was the ride there. We took the Trotro (?) which is similar to a large van. It's public transportation but is oober cheap! 50 peswas per person! it was like, maybe 30 US cents for this ride. There were maybe 15 people crammed inside. haha it was fun. Auntie Agnes sends her grandson Pati with us wherever we go (aside from the internet cafe and school). We all had fun.
Within the house we live in are 3 other families and then Auntie's grandson and grandnephew live with her as well but two of the families have multiple kids. Rachel started a nightly tradition of reading at night to the kids. We have come to find out that books are not very common but the kids LOVE hearing story after story. The kids range from 4 years to 11 years. We love the kids. We taught them the hand game where you cross your hands over each other and tap the table around the circle. If you double tap then you reverse. Fun game. The 5 year old asks us to play it every night. :)
My exciting school story. Caning the kids that misbehave is a part of the Ghanaian culture and something that I have struggled with because of the difference in beliefs about discipline. I have been invited to cane a child who was misbehaving but I just explained that in my country, we don't do that and gave other examples of discipline strategies. I have implemented the removal of a child from the classroom for misbehaving, and hitting others in the class, which is also incredibly common. The kids hate it because they happen to sit outside the classroom right in the sun. Behavior has improved with those who have had to sit outside. My teacher and the nun who helps in the classroom have both taken to this as well. Today my teacher told the students that if they were going to misbehave they could sit outside and not participate in the activity.
And! We used these color cards I made for the students to practice spelling their colors and they loved it! I am running out of time so I will explain that later.
<3 from Ghana!
After our first Ghanaian wedding we went to the Accra Mall. The most exciting part was the ride there. We took the Trotro (?) which is similar to a large van. It's public transportation but is oober cheap! 50 peswas per person! it was like, maybe 30 US cents for this ride. There were maybe 15 people crammed inside. haha it was fun. Auntie Agnes sends her grandson Pati with us wherever we go (aside from the internet cafe and school). We all had fun.
Within the house we live in are 3 other families and then Auntie's grandson and grandnephew live with her as well but two of the families have multiple kids. Rachel started a nightly tradition of reading at night to the kids. We have come to find out that books are not very common but the kids LOVE hearing story after story. The kids range from 4 years to 11 years. We love the kids. We taught them the hand game where you cross your hands over each other and tap the table around the circle. If you double tap then you reverse. Fun game. The 5 year old asks us to play it every night. :)
My exciting school story. Caning the kids that misbehave is a part of the Ghanaian culture and something that I have struggled with because of the difference in beliefs about discipline. I have been invited to cane a child who was misbehaving but I just explained that in my country, we don't do that and gave other examples of discipline strategies. I have implemented the removal of a child from the classroom for misbehaving, and hitting others in the class, which is also incredibly common. The kids hate it because they happen to sit outside the classroom right in the sun. Behavior has improved with those who have had to sit outside. My teacher and the nun who helps in the classroom have both taken to this as well. Today my teacher told the students that if they were going to misbehave they could sit outside and not participate in the activity.
And! We used these color cards I made for the students to practice spelling their colors and they loved it! I am running out of time so I will explain that later.
<3 from Ghana!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
My class
Hello all!
Well, finally, the reason we are here. The schools! Very different. The first couple days we were here I realized what I was doing. I realized that I was going to be teaching in a school system that I had never been taught in! I was really nervous. I didn't know what to expect. I was afraid of doing something the wrong way and failing student teaching!
But all has been well. It is a very different experience. We are teaching at Ancilla Primary and Junior High School. It is a Catholic school. The students range from 2 years old to grade 9. The first day, the Headmistress took us around and introduced us to all of the classes. Most of the classrooms look the same. The 2 and 3 year olds have some color in the room. I am teaching the 5-year-olds and some days I go to the 4-year-olds to teach writing their letters. The nursery wants me to teach in there too but I am trying to stay with the 4 and 5 years because that is more of the age group I am required to do.
I have 40 5-year-olds and 40 4-year-olds. Yeah. Big, big class. It's a lot of names to remember. I find it difficult because some of the students have what I call "American sounding" names and others have Ghanaian sounding names. Those are the names I am struggling with. And I can't pronounce them the same either so even if I know the student's name, he or she might not even give me their attention because they don't know I am calling their name. I am really trying. Also, with names that are "American sounding" they are not spelled the way I think of it being spelled. But, we are getting their. The students are patient with me and repeat their names for me multiple times.
So far I have done more teaching than I thought I would. The students practice spelling and writing every day. They have about an hour for each. They also have math every day which they have for an hour and a half or so. School starts at 7:15 with Assembly and classes start at 8:00. For reading, the students have a few different textbooks that they read from. One works more on word families and the other is just basic words the kids need to know how to read and spell. For writing, they usually have a sentence they have to read, spell, and write. Today they spelled their basic words for writing practice. It is a lot of repeat and memorize. It's difficult because the school and the students don't have many extra materials such as paper. The students have their small notebooks but they do not write in it unless they have an assignment, so things like extra practice isn't done. I made word family flash cards for them so that when they are done with their assignment they are not disrupting the other students who are still working. Math is done with chips to add. This was the first manipulative I saw in the classroom. They were to show their addition problems. We used these as well as their fingers to do the adding. It worked really well. Of course, it will all be repetition and practice but for today, it went well. Today I also read a story to the class. We read “Rumble in the Jungle” and I had the kids make the noise of the animals. Also a big hit.
Due to lack of resources the appearance and types of activities and lessons that I am used to at schools in the States are not often seen. The classroom has a few posters but otherwise there is not artwork or colorful posters on the walls. The classroom is small so it is hard to do movement activities and centers. The students sit two or three to a table and we are working on sharing and helping each other instead of distracting each other and poking each other. With a large classroom, my classroom management skills are being tested every second. The kids are funny though. My favorite is when they are given a sentence to copy in their book and a student will come up to me and say “Auntie, so and so is copying me!” I tell them that they all have the same sentence so no one is copying anyone. Auntie is our Miss. I kind of like it.
Time is running out. Until next time...
Well, finally, the reason we are here. The schools! Very different. The first couple days we were here I realized what I was doing. I realized that I was going to be teaching in a school system that I had never been taught in! I was really nervous. I didn't know what to expect. I was afraid of doing something the wrong way and failing student teaching!
But all has been well. It is a very different experience. We are teaching at Ancilla Primary and Junior High School. It is a Catholic school. The students range from 2 years old to grade 9. The first day, the Headmistress took us around and introduced us to all of the classes. Most of the classrooms look the same. The 2 and 3 year olds have some color in the room. I am teaching the 5-year-olds and some days I go to the 4-year-olds to teach writing their letters. The nursery wants me to teach in there too but I am trying to stay with the 4 and 5 years because that is more of the age group I am required to do.
I have 40 5-year-olds and 40 4-year-olds. Yeah. Big, big class. It's a lot of names to remember. I find it difficult because some of the students have what I call "American sounding" names and others have Ghanaian sounding names. Those are the names I am struggling with. And I can't pronounce them the same either so even if I know the student's name, he or she might not even give me their attention because they don't know I am calling their name. I am really trying. Also, with names that are "American sounding" they are not spelled the way I think of it being spelled. But, we are getting their. The students are patient with me and repeat their names for me multiple times.
So far I have done more teaching than I thought I would. The students practice spelling and writing every day. They have about an hour for each. They also have math every day which they have for an hour and a half or so. School starts at 7:15 with Assembly and classes start at 8:00. For reading, the students have a few different textbooks that they read from. One works more on word families and the other is just basic words the kids need to know how to read and spell. For writing, they usually have a sentence they have to read, spell, and write. Today they spelled their basic words for writing practice. It is a lot of repeat and memorize. It's difficult because the school and the students don't have many extra materials such as paper. The students have their small notebooks but they do not write in it unless they have an assignment, so things like extra practice isn't done. I made word family flash cards for them so that when they are done with their assignment they are not disrupting the other students who are still working. Math is done with chips to add. This was the first manipulative I saw in the classroom. They were to show their addition problems. We used these as well as their fingers to do the adding. It worked really well. Of course, it will all be repetition and practice but for today, it went well. Today I also read a story to the class. We read “Rumble in the Jungle” and I had the kids make the noise of the animals. Also a big hit.
Due to lack of resources the appearance and types of activities and lessons that I am used to at schools in the States are not often seen. The classroom has a few posters but otherwise there is not artwork or colorful posters on the walls. The classroom is small so it is hard to do movement activities and centers. The students sit two or three to a table and we are working on sharing and helping each other instead of distracting each other and poking each other. With a large classroom, my classroom management skills are being tested every second. The kids are funny though. My favorite is when they are given a sentence to copy in their book and a student will come up to me and say “Auntie, so and so is copying me!” I tell them that they all have the same sentence so no one is copying anyone. Auntie is our Miss. I kind of like it.
Time is running out. Until next time...
Saturday, January 14, 2012
I. Have. Arrived.
We are here! We finally made it after a flight cancellation and then a delay. It was a long few days of traveling but we finally arrived in Accra, Ghana yesterday morning around 9:00. Auntie Agnes was at the airport to pick us up and we made the 20 minute trip from the airport to their home in the community of Abogba, Accra. They have a large home that is surrounded by a brick wall. I believe there are four other families that live in the home as well. They each have their own section of the home. Rachel and I share our own bedroom with our own bathroom. We are able to lock our door as well. Auntie Agnes has made wonderful meals for us. She made rice and stew yesterday, eggs, onions and tomatoes this morning, and fish, fries, kiliwillie (?), and boiled cabbage tonight. Everything has tasted great!
Yesterday we slept, a lot, which made sleeping last night difficult. The bed is really comfy though. It's a foam type mattress. It's nice having our own bathroom. Yesterday the water would run sometimes and not other times but they did something so that it works all the time now.
Nerves have definitely been a constant lately. I keep thinking how I have never met my teacher, I have never learned in a classroom in Ghana and now I am going to be teaching in one? When I met with my teacher from Aldo, I was thinking of lessons that I could teach and I felt comfortable doing so. Right now, I know everything will be fine but I was so nervous about it, I couldn't sleep and now have a cold. Hopefully that will go away soon. Rachel and I expressed our nervousness to Auntie Agnes and she was great. She really calmed us down. I am definitely excited to be here. I came for the challenge, not knowing what to expect. Not having the same accessibility to resources. Our home does not have wireless but we were able to find the internet cafe. It's 1 cedi per hour which is about...I'm not sure but it's 1.6 cedi per dollar. It's only about a 5 minute walk from where we are staying. We also walked to the school today. That is not far either so that's nice. We went to the store today for food and at first we were going to walk, but then a Taxi drove by and we took that. It would have been a hike! Maybe about a 5 minute drive but in the heat, it would have felt much longer.
Until next time...
Yesterday we slept, a lot, which made sleeping last night difficult. The bed is really comfy though. It's a foam type mattress. It's nice having our own bathroom. Yesterday the water would run sometimes and not other times but they did something so that it works all the time now.
Nerves have definitely been a constant lately. I keep thinking how I have never met my teacher, I have never learned in a classroom in Ghana and now I am going to be teaching in one? When I met with my teacher from Aldo, I was thinking of lessons that I could teach and I felt comfortable doing so. Right now, I know everything will be fine but I was so nervous about it, I couldn't sleep and now have a cold. Hopefully that will go away soon. Rachel and I expressed our nervousness to Auntie Agnes and she was great. She really calmed us down. I am definitely excited to be here. I came for the challenge, not knowing what to expect. Not having the same accessibility to resources. Our home does not have wireless but we were able to find the internet cafe. It's 1 cedi per hour which is about...I'm not sure but it's 1.6 cedi per dollar. It's only about a 5 minute walk from where we are staying. We also walked to the school today. That is not far either so that's nice. We went to the store today for food and at first we were going to walk, but then a Taxi drove by and we took that. It would have been a hike! Maybe about a 5 minute drive but in the heat, it would have felt much longer.
Until next time...
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Caught up in DC
Sherton Hotel, Reston, VA.
So we got into DC at 4:00pm and our flight wasn't supposed to leave until 10:48pm. So, long time to wait. but I started clearing out my inbox AND started my resume. It's kind of a boring task. So we boarded at 10:05, we were waiting and waiting. 10:48 came and went. An hour and a half, two hours later we were told that there was a mechanical problem with the plane and we would all have to get off and take the flight at 5:00 tomorrow evening arriving at 8:00am Friday Ghana time. We were put up in the Sherton for the night. lol What are you going to do.
So we got into DC at 4:00pm and our flight wasn't supposed to leave until 10:48pm. So, long time to wait. but I started clearing out my inbox AND started my resume. It's kind of a boring task. So we boarded at 10:05, we were waiting and waiting. 10:48 came and went. An hour and a half, two hours later we were told that there was a mechanical problem with the plane and we would all have to get off and take the flight at 5:00 tomorrow evening arriving at 8:00am Friday Ghana time. We were put up in the Sherton for the night. lol What are you going to do.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)