Back to school!

Some things never change. I’m going to try to keep this to a reasonable length, but I’m sure I’m going to sound exactly the way I did when I came home from my first day of school: “And, and then this happened…. And this happened… and oh my gosh then it was this…..and I have to tell you about this…” Please, bear with me.

This week was a whirlwind, but a fantastic one! School is off to sprinting start to say the least, and I’ve really enjoyed getting back into the swing of things. Provided the schedule stays relatively the same until I leave, my mornings are going to very intense this term. Every morning except Thursday, I am busy teaching or reading with the English classes from 8 am to 11:20 when we stop for break. However, my afternoons will be very calm, which is good. Every teacher needs some time for correcting!

We’ve had some major class changes, and it’s definitely thrown us for a loop. Eight kids from the previous Class V did not go on to Class VI, which means Class VI now has about 20 kids and Class V swells to just under 40. It’s really not the best situation for the Class V kids; they’re an incredibly intelligent class. They just took their national exams last year in Class IV, and every one passed. One of our students even got one of the highest scores in Morogoro! They continue to surprise us too. One of the girls informed us of her birthday one day, including the year; she turned eight a few weeks before I arrived. She’s so smart, she’s articulate in English (her second language), and not only that, but she’s become smart by learning in her second language! In that class, it’s almost kid after kid with stories like that. Yes, not all of them are outstanding students, but even the worst in the class just aren’t that bad. Now, add in eight kids who struggle a lot. These were the kids in my remedial math class last year, and you’re faced with a conundrum of who to teach, how, etc. And with trying to keep 40 kids on task at once, it’s really hard to take time to help them because once you look away, the room volume has an amazing ability to raise a few decibels. I’m not really sure who’s going to end up getting focused on in that class. If we had the resources (mostly a separate classroom which we now don’t have), I think we would seriously try to institute a remedial class.

Likewise, this does now make Class VI really easy to teach. It seems like there’s hardly any of them, and the ones that are left do ok and are well behaved. They’re even more well behaved for me at the moment because they’re still terrified of me, as is Class VII. They don’t really know what I’m going to be like as a teacher, so they almost refuse to talk. I can hardly read their faces to try to figure out if they’re understanding the concepts I’m teaching. And at this stage of the relationship, they seek only to please Madam, so when I say “All right guys, do you have any questions?” the answer will be no. I still ask.  It’s really almost all for kicks and giggles. Class V on the other hand knows me too well. They don’t want to behave as well for me, but between me and Christine, they’re getting a bit of a crackdown. I’ve taken away a number of breaks this week because kids haven’t been doing work, and they’re being forced to take seriously the idea of homework which isn’t very common here. In many ways I understand. Since the textbooks are so small, it’s not uncommon for kids to buy the books, but not all of them have them. If you assign work, you’re forcing a number of students to either do the work in school during break, during another teacher’s class or to come before school since we lock up the school’s books as soon as school is over (seriously, I have my own cupboard and keys). I want kids to have a break because they need it, they’re kids! And I don’t want them doing other teacher’s work in my class so I don’t want the reverse to happen. However, we’re trying to do it. In all of my science classes, I usually give two or three questions a day about what we talked about, and every day I check to make sure it’s at least done. I’m praying that the longer we go with this new system, the better they’ll get at it so we won’t have to punish them for not doing their work like we have been this week.

Teaching this much science is turning out to be a particular challenge to me. I’ve basically concluded that every line in their text books is important, so we almost have to read the textbooks verbatim. Also, I should clarify textbooks; none of them are longer than 170 pages. However, it is expected that you as the teacher will get through all of the material in the year (for Class VII we’ve been asked to finish it by June to allow more preparation time for the national exam). So, in some ways we’re moving fast. I try to do discussions as much as I can, but I’m finding it still quite limited. That more or less leaves our learning methods down to memorization of the material. I’m trying to come up with other ways to liven up the learning, with hopefully an additional purpose of increasing retention, especially since when it comes to their exam, that’s sadly all that matters.

In other non-school related events, things have been also busy. Last Sunday I taught Sunday school as usual, but then preached at the youth service, and Christine and I hosted the missionary prayer service. Last night Christine spent the night in town, so I had my first night at home by myself; it really wasn’t a big deal, but everyone commented on it. I barely even noticed because I had to get early for a Saturday anyway. Lauren invited me to a seminar for Sunday School teachers, and I wasn’t really sure what that meant, but I said yes. We walked to a church about fifteen minutes away from our street with Lauren, the Pastor’s wife, Pastor Eunice, and myself. The seminar was put on by Operation Christmas Child, which I think we’ve contributed to from our church. Essentially, this organization sends a Christmas shoebox to children in impoverished nations. In each shoebox, they have a little book which explains the story of Jesus, but the organization goes further, which is what they primarily discussed with us. They also have written a twelve week lesson book to further kids growth in Christ if they want to do it. The hope is that kids will get exposed to Jesus and interested in him from the boxes, and then they’ll want to do the twelve-week course. If they complete it, they get a certificate hardcover copy of the New Testament. The seminar was interesting, but it went long. They spent a long time on why children were valuable and why they should be taught, which I recognize as all the more important in this sort of culture. Children just aren’t as valued here as they are in the US, so it’s good that they spent a long time discussing how to teach children in a loving and beneficial manner. Sadly, I know if we start this (we don’t have the boxes yet, so I’m not sure when we will) I won’t be able to finish it since it’s twelve weeks. It was interesting nonetheless, but way too long. My body hurt from the benches by the end of it.

Clearly, we’re getting back in the swing of things, and our work is cut out for us. However, I was right. My postulation that going back to school would alleviate my mood during break was entirely on target. I don’t know how I found such favor in his eyes, but the blessing God provided me with in these kids is beyond measure. They just brighten my day so much, and I love getting to work with them. There are frustrations do crop up with children, with teaching them, and with the culture differences here, but getting to be back in school really has been simply wonderful. :)

God bless,

Kjirstin