Call Me Madam

FYI: I wrote this on May 27 but am posting it today because of computer problems. So pretend it was Tuesday.

Teaching finally began today! I was planning on teaching a class by myself, but thank goodness Lorna and I decided to partner together. We have class 6B in Asenemaso Primary School, and there are 74 students in our class. Oh geeze. Technically, the students are sixth graders and their ages range from 10 to 13 years old, but their level is more like third grade. Most of the students share desks with one or two others and barely have any paper, textbooks or writing utencils.
Ghana didn't start concentrating on education until it gained its independence from the U.K. 51 years ago, and standardized education wasn't implicated until about the 70's at the earliest. So even the teachers here aren't that well educated, because while they were in school a stabilized structure did not exist. Ghana is beginning to catch up, but at a slow pace. Besides the lack of resources, the composure in the classroom needs to be more effective. For the most part, students are caned or hit when they misbehave. Fear is the biggest motivator for the kids to do well, but this doesn't really mean they're learning anything. All of their answers are "Yes, madam. That is right...I agree." Even when the question does not require a yes or no response. They are too scared to say anything else to avoid shame from the teacher and ridicule from other students. This makes it difficult to assess how much they know or are comprehending from the lesson.
The GRLP team witnessed a few classroom sessions last week and saw saw the regular teachers' approach. Lorna and I decided that we wanted to instill a new atmosphere into our classroom. So at the begginning of today, Madam Lorna and Madam Kate wrote an affirmation on the board, which we'll do everyday. Today's was "You are loved." We had them repeat the mantra out loud and tell their peers the same thing. It sounds cheesy, but Lorna and I wanted them to know that they are loved by God, by us, and by each other. Our rules were based around the same thing: Treat others as you like to be treated; Speak one at a time; Respect others' opinions; There are no right or wrong answers. This seemed to create a positive response, and their regular teacher was pleased that we were being creative.
After our introduction, we had everyone make nametags then I took a picture of all 74 students holding their tags. This way Lorna and I can try and memorize them quickly. I then read them the classic story "The Tortoise and the Hare" from the Children's Book of Virtues. Even though it's a short one, I had to stop after a few sentences to explain and ask them comprehension questions.
The rest of the class time was spent on a writing prompt. We asked them to describe their favorite thing about their self and explain why. This exercise allowed us to see how big the gap was between the students. Some could easily write a whole page and answer the question as well as elaborate. Others really struggled and seemed too nervous to answer the question. Lorna and I attempted to explain that it doesn't have to be your eyes or legs, but a personality trait, like being friendly, caring, social or a good athlete. We collected the responses, and there were a few well written ones, as well as a few hilarious, and a couple wrote asking us for money. Later, I learned that not all of the kids have been going to school school since first grade. The school just groups everyone by age, but a kid could have started attending school in fifth grade, causing them to be severly behind everyone else.
Overall, it was a good first day. Starting tomorrow we'll try and start a book that we'll read everyday. Initially I was a tad nervous to start teaching, but then I saw that the students truly are eager to learn and listen to us.
And tomorrow I really believe we'll be moving in with our new families. Diana, Amanda, Megan and I will be living with one of the town elders, Charles. He's helped us out a lot already and his house will have a better family atmosphere because he has five kiddos! Living with everyone in the chief's house was cool because we could just call a meeting together whenever, but I'm sure we'll just all reconvene at night anyways.