Sunday, July 3, 2011

Ghana, How I've missed you!

Welcome back to Annabelle's African Adventure, Part II! Please enjoy, and send me comments/
questions. I would love to hear from you!

By Day 1 I already had the most randomly awkward mosquito bites-- 2 on my forehead (the only part of my body exposed while sleeping) and one on my pinkie finger knuckle. Hello Ghana! How I missed you so! I start my days with (unheated) bucket showers and haven't seen the sun in full force since I've been here. It's been overcast an an unusually wet rainy season. By Day 3, I got my hair braided, and no I don't think it makes me more "African," it just makes bucket showers much easier. You have one bucket of water you take with you into the shower. And it is this water only that you will have to wash your whole body and hair. Washing my hair takes about 2/3 of the bucket. It's really just unfortunate when you run out of water and you still have soap on your body/ hair and have to leave the shower room (literally a room with a hole in the corner for drainage) to fill your bucket and return. I lock my bedroom door with a padlock by day, and by night I'm securing a broomstick horizontally across my door, as they did in the Middle Ages. It makes me laugh. I am however a convenient 10 minute walk to the major strip of clubs and bars. So that's really nice.

I've started teaching at this NGO in a village that takes 2 hours to get to by tro tro in traffic, or just 30 when driving directly. The distance is not far, but the traffic makes the journey quite long. This school began in 2009 when a local to Kissemah Village, Kwame Agoe, realized that too many children were living on the streets, or working, and not getting an education. He started rounding up children and asking them to join him on his porch to learn. And they came. After a year, he teamed up with an American studying at the University of Legon, and they started working together to get financing for their school and meet the criteria for NGO. As of now I'd say there is about 30-35 kids at the school, ages 4-14. Classes are held in the courtyard of a housing compound, but they have started building a proper school for the children. Unfortunately, the progress of the new school keeps getting delayed due to lack of finances.

Day 1 at the school and I already see much room for improvement. For the past seven months,
three teachers have been teaching four classes without any help. With me, it will be 4 teachers/ 4 classes, making it easier, but unfortunately it's only temporary. I will be teaching basic maths and English everyday. Class is from 10-3.30 with a 1.5 hour lunch break.

If you remember from my blog last year, I mentioned how the university students are not taught to analyze or comprehend information, so much as memorize what they are told. That was my complaint. Well this process of memorizing starts in primary school and I experienced it within hours of my first day at the outreach program. For example, the children were reciting their multiples of 2- "2x1, 2. 2x2, 4. 2x3, 6," etc. But I do not think the children understand the concept of what multiplying is. They repeat these numbers from memory without actually knowing what they are saying. And this I see as a problem in the education system. Not just at this school, but in public schools in Ghana. Learning in Ghana is based on muscle memory. If you are slow to "learn" then you are lashed accordingly. Obviously in my class, I will not be lashing as a form of punishment for wrong answers. I would rather like to reward those for getting it correct and help those who do not understand. But that's just me. I don't know how much of a difference I can make in the 4 weeks I am teaching, but I will try!

I have a feeling I'm going to come to love these kids before I leave, making it hard to leave yet again! But I must do what I can while here, and go from there. I brought with me donations from a couple friends which amounted to 3 soccer balls (this brought the most excitement to the school!), $300, and a set of children's books authored by my club soccer coach, Lasan Darboe. The school was pleasantly surprised and the most grateful.

Can I also mention that the students all call me "Madame." SO weird! Not "Miss Annabelle,"
but "Madame!" I'll see if I can get used to that. It's so formal!

Cheers for now,
Annabelle

P.S. Did I mention that I'm loving Ghana all over again?! Because I am. Haha

4 comments:

  1. i wish you had told me you were going to teach. i could have set you up.
    when you find your falling in love with the kids, then you'll feel my world. and every so often, an annabelle comes along and knocks you off your feet, and you find that you desperately want to remain a part of her life. and if your lucky, she feels the same way about you so that one day, when your older, she'll greet you with big hugs and glowing smiles, and spend dinner after dinner, sharing her adventures with you.
    sooo proud of you!!! can't wait to hear more....

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  2. i wish you had told me you were going to teach. i could have set you up.
    when you find your falling in love with the kids, then you'll feel my world. and every so often, an annabelle comes along and knocks you off your feet, and you find that you desperately want to remain a part of her life. and if your lucky, she feels the same way about you so that one day, when your older, she'll greet you with big hugs and glowing smiles, and spend dinner after dinner, sharing her adventures with you.
    sooo proud of you!!! can't wait to hear more....

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  3. You are quite the prolific writer! I am enjoying reading this. I'm glad you are teaching. You have a proven ability of cutting through bullshit and getting some real results when facing a problem, at least with me. Keep posting, Annabelle!
    -Luke

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  4. It will be interesting if you have as much success using the carrot instead of the stick. I'm not advocating corporal punishment (although the thought of you lashing Ghanaian boys and girls is quite funny), but giving candy for the right answer may not be the best answer.

    A neat way to teach pupils about multiplication especially if they're learning by rote is to use area of a square. (a 2x2 square has 4 places in it and so on...)

    Have lots of fun and be safe!

    ReplyDelete