So while you all were enjoying your beer, barbeque and fireworks, I was TOO!
Us "hamukuwa" (white people) came from hundreds of miles away to Rundu where
the Peace Corps volunteers hosted a party. Man there are a ton of PC folks!
But it was great to meet everyone, despite being a little weirded out by how
many white people were in town for the weekend. We had yummy yummy food,
meat from the BBQ you could actually eat without breaking a sweat (Namibians
for some reason love to cook the hell out of their meat.think thick-ass beef
jerkey), and even chocolate cake! Towards the end a few fireworks were set
off in the parking lot. About half of them worked (kinda), the other half
not so much. Course the dog only went sniffing around the ones that
eventually worked.
It felt great to be able to talk at normal speed and to sit and gripe about
whatever.And of course to compare notes on accommodation. The PC has a
policy in Namibia that for the first three months the volunteer must stay
with a host family. So many end up in the mud huts. There's a part of me
that's jealous, but I think that sort of thing would get pretty old after a
week or two. Plus I like being able to not be social if I don't want to be.
So I guess you could say I'm happy where I am.
All told, it was a great time. And though everyone is still pretty far
away, I feel a little less alone.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Vacation, Power, Blood
This weekend saw quite a bit of excitement. Megan and Rachael (WorldTeach)
had planned to come to Divundu for a change (rather than me going to Rundu).
The plan was to come for a visit, then head a few kms away to Chris' place
on the Kavango River. Chris is a Peace Corps volunteer who's been here 1.5
years. Well, naturally, the girls got delayed in Rundu do to a
never-leaving hike. So they didn't arrive until dark. This meant we had to
start walking straight away to get to Chris'. We walked and walked, and
were finally picked up to be taken the rest of the 5 or 6 kms. We arrived
in a veritable paradise. First of all, the house is freshly painted in
lively colors, and all the windows are in tact. The entrance faces the
river, and the front porch has a lovely hammock to gaze out from. Inside,
there's an actual living room with a futon! And a proper table and chair
set to eat. The kitchen is spotless! And has an oven, drawers, counters,
cabinets, you name it! Both bedrooms have real beds and actual closets!
OH, there's a shower AND a tub! .And hot water!! Oh the luxury. I'm not
exaggerating. We were all running around like we'd never seen any of this
stuff before. (And to think it's only been a month.)
Chris and Justin (another Peace Corps) were wonderfully gracious hosts. We
had dinner and chatted the night away. We finally decided "movie night"
should commence and got down to choosing from a library of well over a
hundred movies. THEN, the girls had brought chocolate chip cookie mix
("American style"..whatever that means..it's what the box said.) And Justin
decided to make cinnamon rolls, from scratch! Oh my goodness, all the
calories I didn't have over the course of the week were had Saturday night.
(I managed to still be hungry on Sunday though.)
We woke up on Sunday to find that the power was off (turns out it was out
for the entire region). Never fear, breakfast would still be had. We dug a
pit in the sand, gathered wood, lit a fire and cooked up fried eggs and then
water for coffee. Mmmmmmm. Thanks again Chris and Justin!!
We hiked back to Divundu proper (in the back of a police truck.with bars and
everything) and the girls headed for home. I returned to my place to find
that yes, the power was still off. So people were cooking outside. The
kids, however, had not been fed all day (and wouldn't get fed until very
late that evening.) So, I passed the time with lesson planning and kindle
reading.
Around lunchtime, I returned to the house to find a goat being led into the
yard by a boy. I asked Mr. T. what was going on and he said, "I bought a
goat." I knew he'd been wanting to get one as he asked to store some of the
meat in my fridge. But I was confused.did we have to keep the goat for a
while before someone would come and get it to be killed? Then I saw the boy
brandish a small kitchen knife (5"). I immediately ran for my camera. A
couple of other boys then tied the goat to our back fence, and swept its
legs out from under it so it was on the ground. The knife boy then just
sawed through its neck. Blood was spurting everywhere. It took quite a
while, unfortunately. I thought that sort of thing was more or less
instant. But it's not. I'd say it took a good 2 minutes. The thing was
kicking and gurgling, while the blood was spilling on the ground. I've of
course seen large dead animals before (worked up close and personal on
them). But I guess I'd never seen anything that big be killed. It was
pretty horrific actually. I didn't get queezy or anything, but it was still
pretty shocking.
They then strung the thing up by its legs from a tree, and proceeded to
artfully skin it. By this time it was well past my lunchtime, so I went
inside (subsequently missing the gutting process).
Now, you'd think Mr. T. would have waited till the power was back on to have
the goat killed, given that it should be refrigerated immediately. But
alas, no. The meat sat in plastic bags for another several hours, flies
buzzing around of course. And in case you're wondering, no, I will not be
partaking of any of Mr. T.'s goat. Oh, I asked, the goat cost him $200NAM
($25US). Now, SOUTH of the red line, where there are veterinary control
procedures in place, the same goat would have cost $600NAM ($75US).
The stray dogs swarmed around the yard for the next several hours, and
likely through the night. I just put it as far from my mind as I could.
Amazing how the smell of blood must travel.
The power came back on around 7pm, to many cheers. I was particularly happy
as Matt was due to call at 8pm, and no power meant no cell service. So I
still got to have a good long chat and tell him all about my very exciting
weekend.
had planned to come to Divundu for a change (rather than me going to Rundu).
The plan was to come for a visit, then head a few kms away to Chris' place
on the Kavango River. Chris is a Peace Corps volunteer who's been here 1.5
years. Well, naturally, the girls got delayed in Rundu do to a
never-leaving hike. So they didn't arrive until dark. This meant we had to
start walking straight away to get to Chris'. We walked and walked, and
were finally picked up to be taken the rest of the 5 or 6 kms. We arrived
in a veritable paradise. First of all, the house is freshly painted in
lively colors, and all the windows are in tact. The entrance faces the
river, and the front porch has a lovely hammock to gaze out from. Inside,
there's an actual living room with a futon! And a proper table and chair
set to eat. The kitchen is spotless! And has an oven, drawers, counters,
cabinets, you name it! Both bedrooms have real beds and actual closets!
OH, there's a shower AND a tub! .And hot water!! Oh the luxury. I'm not
exaggerating. We were all running around like we'd never seen any of this
stuff before. (And to think it's only been a month.)
Chris and Justin (another Peace Corps) were wonderfully gracious hosts. We
had dinner and chatted the night away. We finally decided "movie night"
should commence and got down to choosing from a library of well over a
hundred movies. THEN, the girls had brought chocolate chip cookie mix
("American style"..whatever that means..it's what the box said.) And Justin
decided to make cinnamon rolls, from scratch! Oh my goodness, all the
calories I didn't have over the course of the week were had Saturday night.
(I managed to still be hungry on Sunday though.)
We woke up on Sunday to find that the power was off (turns out it was out
for the entire region). Never fear, breakfast would still be had. We dug a
pit in the sand, gathered wood, lit a fire and cooked up fried eggs and then
water for coffee. Mmmmmmm. Thanks again Chris and Justin!!
We hiked back to Divundu proper (in the back of a police truck.with bars and
everything) and the girls headed for home. I returned to my place to find
that yes, the power was still off. So people were cooking outside. The
kids, however, had not been fed all day (and wouldn't get fed until very
late that evening.) So, I passed the time with lesson planning and kindle
reading.
Around lunchtime, I returned to the house to find a goat being led into the
yard by a boy. I asked Mr. T. what was going on and he said, "I bought a
goat." I knew he'd been wanting to get one as he asked to store some of the
meat in my fridge. But I was confused.did we have to keep the goat for a
while before someone would come and get it to be killed? Then I saw the boy
brandish a small kitchen knife (5"). I immediately ran for my camera. A
couple of other boys then tied the goat to our back fence, and swept its
legs out from under it so it was on the ground. The knife boy then just
sawed through its neck. Blood was spurting everywhere. It took quite a
while, unfortunately. I thought that sort of thing was more or less
instant. But it's not. I'd say it took a good 2 minutes. The thing was
kicking and gurgling, while the blood was spilling on the ground. I've of
course seen large dead animals before (worked up close and personal on
them). But I guess I'd never seen anything that big be killed. It was
pretty horrific actually. I didn't get queezy or anything, but it was still
pretty shocking.
They then strung the thing up by its legs from a tree, and proceeded to
artfully skin it. By this time it was well past my lunchtime, so I went
inside (subsequently missing the gutting process).
Now, you'd think Mr. T. would have waited till the power was back on to have
the goat killed, given that it should be refrigerated immediately. But
alas, no. The meat sat in plastic bags for another several hours, flies
buzzing around of course. And in case you're wondering, no, I will not be
partaking of any of Mr. T.'s goat. Oh, I asked, the goat cost him $200NAM
($25US). Now, SOUTH of the red line, where there are veterinary control
procedures in place, the same goat would have cost $600NAM ($75US).
The stray dogs swarmed around the yard for the next several hours, and
likely through the night. I just put it as far from my mind as I could.
Amazing how the smell of blood must travel.
The power came back on around 7pm, to many cheers. I was particularly happy
as Matt was due to call at 8pm, and no power meant no cell service. So I
still got to have a good long chat and tell him all about my very exciting
weekend.
Learner of the Week
In WorldTeach orientation, a program was suggested called "Learner of the
Week" where we choose 1 learner from each class to recognize as, you guessed
it, the learner of the week. When I arrived at Divundu, James had not been
using the program, so I was anxious to introduce a new, exciting motivation
for the learners.
When I started teaching, I told them about Learner of the Week. I would be
watching who did their homework, participated in class, etc. through the
week and that they'd be getting a certificate and a surprise if chosen.
They didn't seem to take much notice. But come Thursday of last week, when
I said that I would be announcing the LoW on Friday, they definitely perked
up. So along came Friday, and class by class I announced my LoWs. I made
goofy powerpoint slide certificates and stuck a few star stickers on them.
I had the learner come up to the front, shake his/her hand, presented the
certificate, and asked for a round of applause. Then I dug into my goody
bag of "surprises". I have a huge assortment of school supplies, plus some
novelty items I brought from home (SF Giants cups and jewelry (thanks
Cindy/Elida!!). I allowed them to choose their surprise. Naturally all the
kids strained to see what made up my goodies (and many chimed in on what the
LoW should choose).and when the LoW sat down much interest was paid to the
certificate. Soo.I think my program is going to go over big!
I'm thinking I'll have a "Learner of the Year" in each class as well. One
other volunteer I talked to took her LoY's out to dinner. Unfortunately,
Divundu doesn't have any sort of eating establishment that I have heard of.
So I'm thinking that I'll have a picture taken with me and each LoY, then
have it printed and framed and give it to the learner. What do you guys
think?
Week" where we choose 1 learner from each class to recognize as, you guessed
it, the learner of the week. When I arrived at Divundu, James had not been
using the program, so I was anxious to introduce a new, exciting motivation
for the learners.
When I started teaching, I told them about Learner of the Week. I would be
watching who did their homework, participated in class, etc. through the
week and that they'd be getting a certificate and a surprise if chosen.
They didn't seem to take much notice. But come Thursday of last week, when
I said that I would be announcing the LoW on Friday, they definitely perked
up. So along came Friday, and class by class I announced my LoWs. I made
goofy powerpoint slide certificates and stuck a few star stickers on them.
I had the learner come up to the front, shake his/her hand, presented the
certificate, and asked for a round of applause. Then I dug into my goody
bag of "surprises". I have a huge assortment of school supplies, plus some
novelty items I brought from home (SF Giants cups and jewelry (thanks
Cindy/Elida!!). I allowed them to choose their surprise. Naturally all the
kids strained to see what made up my goodies (and many chimed in on what the
LoW should choose).and when the LoW sat down much interest was paid to the
certificate. Soo.I think my program is going to go over big!
I'm thinking I'll have a "Learner of the Year" in each class as well. One
other volunteer I talked to took her LoY's out to dinner. Unfortunately,
Divundu doesn't have any sort of eating establishment that I have heard of.
So I'm thinking that I'll have a picture taken with me and each LoY, then
have it printed and framed and give it to the learner. What do you guys
think?
Cut Off at the Knees
I gave all of my classes tests today. And sigh, for the most part, James
was right. I feel like I've been cut off at the knees. The marks were
dismal. I suspect that most simply don't know the material, and maybe for a
few they freeze up on tests. Either way, I'm extremely nervous for my grade
10's on their national exams. EXTREMELY nervous. I am glad that I have a
hold of the grade 9's right now so I can work on some of their math
fundamentals. But jeez louise, what to do with my grade 10's? I feel like
the guy from Stand and Deliver, except I have 1 month until their test, not
3 or 4 years. I'm going to start giving extra classes for them. Hopefully
there I can drill some fundamentals into their heads.
What is so disturbing is how they just make up numbers out of the blue. If
the problem is written as 4x + 6 = 24, someone's next step might be 4 + 2 =
22. Then their answer is 6 = 22. Huh? What? What part of "find x" is
unclear? And these are grade 10's!
Anyway, I give back the tests tomorrow, and I'm worried they're going to be
really upset with their grades (because many really do care). But there's
not much arguing a 0/22. And that's me desperately trying to give partial
credit wherever they did ANYTHING right. I got many of those.The class
stats, for grade 10A (which is supposed to be the most advanced):
Out of 22 possible points, the average was 4.3. The high was 11.5, the low
was of course, 0.
Sigh.
was right. I feel like I've been cut off at the knees. The marks were
dismal. I suspect that most simply don't know the material, and maybe for a
few they freeze up on tests. Either way, I'm extremely nervous for my grade
10's on their national exams. EXTREMELY nervous. I am glad that I have a
hold of the grade 9's right now so I can work on some of their math
fundamentals. But jeez louise, what to do with my grade 10's? I feel like
the guy from Stand and Deliver, except I have 1 month until their test, not
3 or 4 years. I'm going to start giving extra classes for them. Hopefully
there I can drill some fundamentals into their heads.
What is so disturbing is how they just make up numbers out of the blue. If
the problem is written as 4x + 6 = 24, someone's next step might be 4 + 2 =
22. Then their answer is 6 = 22. Huh? What? What part of "find x" is
unclear? And these are grade 10's!
Anyway, I give back the tests tomorrow, and I'm worried they're going to be
really upset with their grades (because many really do care). But there's
not much arguing a 0/22. And that's me desperately trying to give partial
credit wherever they did ANYTHING right. I got many of those.The class
stats, for grade 10A (which is supposed to be the most advanced):
Out of 22 possible points, the average was 4.3. The high was 11.5, the low
was of course, 0.
Sigh.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Some Questions Answered
My mom recently asked me some questions and I thought I'd answer them for
everyone.
"What are the bathroom facilities like in your "house"?
What kinds of food can you cook for yourself on a hotplate?
Are you going to feel lonely while there?
And how is it going with the malaria pills?"
So, bathroom facilities...First of all vocab-wise, there is no "bathroom".
It's only "toilet" and "shower". It's a little San Francisco like in that
we have one room for the toilet and one for the shower. The toilet does
work (when the water is on) and also has a sink that works (when the water
is on). I use that sink to wash my dishes as the kitchen sink is a basin
resting on an old student desk that drains into a bucket. However this
evening my toilet sink got clogged and I had to dismantle it and fish out
who knows how many years of gunk. Joy. I'm lucky I'm a MacGuyver type.
The shower is in another small room. It's cold water only (and naturally
the cold water handle is the one that is missing. The hot water one is
still there, it just doesn't do anything.I may fix that this weekend too.)
The floor is rotted out. I bought a bath mat so I wouldn't slip and break
my neck like I nearly did my first weekend.
Back to the toilet.there's no toilet paper holder, and even if there was
there are so many people in and out of my house that my TP would be gone in
a heartbeat. So every time I go I cart in my government-issued role. (I'm
allocated 2 rolls a week I think?)
Food.ya, food is going to be a problem. A pair of pants that fit me when I
left is hanging off of me now. The learners noticed me pulling them up and
I said that at home my boyfriend cooks for me. So here I'm losing weight.
Of course, the other teachers think I have HIV. Because that's the only
plausible reason a person would be losing weight. But, I digress..
So far I'm making a lot of egg sandwiches and pasta for dinner (no meat
though). I add tuna to the pasta for protein. For lunch I have PB&J. They
have miscellaneous cans of vegetables and sometimes meat mixes that I heat
up. But all in all, I'm at a loss. The kitchen is pretty disgusting to
realistically use. I kinda don't know what to do. I'm losing weight and
have a sort of nagging hunger feeling all the time. Granted I'm doing a lot
of running around and I'm sure burning a ton of calories. Next time I'll
buy the full fat butter instead of light. Figure I could use the calories.
Mom is sending protein bars. I'll also happily take teriyaki beef jerky if
anyone wants to send it. Ohhh, I know what I want, TJ oriental rice cracker
snack things.those wasabi peas and the green/red/brown twisty snacks? Love
me some of those. I bet no one is even reading this far.
Am I going to feel lonely.YES! The conversations I have here are very
limited. At least in Windhoek the level of English was good enough to
actually connect with people, like with my Thimbukushu tutor Angie. But
here, it's limited. There's a lot of nodding and smiling.
I'm reading a truckload. I just started my 4th book in as many weeks. I'm
going to blow through War & Peace.I just know it.
Malaria pills are going great! I told some of you, but the meds I'm on for
malaria double as anti-acne in the states. So my face is looking marvelous!
Plus I think the climate agrees with me. I haven't noticed any side effects
either.
Awight, that's it for that post. I'm going to attempt the free internet at
3 am here, so it's off to bed I go.
Please email me. Please call me, seriously, anytime.
everyone.
"What are the bathroom facilities like in your "house"?
What kinds of food can you cook for yourself on a hotplate?
Are you going to feel lonely while there?
And how is it going with the malaria pills?"
So, bathroom facilities...First of all vocab-wise, there is no "bathroom".
It's only "toilet" and "shower". It's a little San Francisco like in that
we have one room for the toilet and one for the shower. The toilet does
work (when the water is on) and also has a sink that works (when the water
is on). I use that sink to wash my dishes as the kitchen sink is a basin
resting on an old student desk that drains into a bucket. However this
evening my toilet sink got clogged and I had to dismantle it and fish out
who knows how many years of gunk. Joy. I'm lucky I'm a MacGuyver type.
The shower is in another small room. It's cold water only (and naturally
the cold water handle is the one that is missing. The hot water one is
still there, it just doesn't do anything.I may fix that this weekend too.)
The floor is rotted out. I bought a bath mat so I wouldn't slip and break
my neck like I nearly did my first weekend.
Back to the toilet.there's no toilet paper holder, and even if there was
there are so many people in and out of my house that my TP would be gone in
a heartbeat. So every time I go I cart in my government-issued role. (I'm
allocated 2 rolls a week I think?)
Food.ya, food is going to be a problem. A pair of pants that fit me when I
left is hanging off of me now. The learners noticed me pulling them up and
I said that at home my boyfriend cooks for me. So here I'm losing weight.
Of course, the other teachers think I have HIV. Because that's the only
plausible reason a person would be losing weight. But, I digress..
So far I'm making a lot of egg sandwiches and pasta for dinner (no meat
though). I add tuna to the pasta for protein. For lunch I have PB&J. They
have miscellaneous cans of vegetables and sometimes meat mixes that I heat
up. But all in all, I'm at a loss. The kitchen is pretty disgusting to
realistically use. I kinda don't know what to do. I'm losing weight and
have a sort of nagging hunger feeling all the time. Granted I'm doing a lot
of running around and I'm sure burning a ton of calories. Next time I'll
buy the full fat butter instead of light. Figure I could use the calories.
Mom is sending protein bars. I'll also happily take teriyaki beef jerky if
anyone wants to send it. Ohhh, I know what I want, TJ oriental rice cracker
snack things.those wasabi peas and the green/red/brown twisty snacks? Love
me some of those. I bet no one is even reading this far.
Am I going to feel lonely.YES! The conversations I have here are very
limited. At least in Windhoek the level of English was good enough to
actually connect with people, like with my Thimbukushu tutor Angie. But
here, it's limited. There's a lot of nodding and smiling.
I'm reading a truckload. I just started my 4th book in as many weeks. I'm
going to blow through War & Peace.I just know it.
Malaria pills are going great! I told some of you, but the meds I'm on for
malaria double as anti-acne in the states. So my face is looking marvelous!
Plus I think the climate agrees with me. I haven't noticed any side effects
either.
Awight, that's it for that post. I'm going to attempt the free internet at
3 am here, so it's off to bed I go.
Please email me. Please call me, seriously, anytime.
Great Day
Man today was great. Even though I'm exhausted from teaching 7 out of 8
classes, plus oh about 100 notebooks to mark, I'm just beaming. I did my
first "practical investigation" today in grade 9 math. I put the kids in 6
groups and passed out 6 boxes of various sizes (mostly from empty food
boxes). The assignment was to determine the surface area of your box (given
the formula). Some kids weren't sure how to use a ruler (doh!) so I had to
go around and demonstrate. But pretty much instantly they were all working
together, sometimes squabbling over the correct measurement or order of
operations, really! They were quiet and orderly, and man, did they care!!
I'm glad no one was paying much attention to me because at one point I got a
little choked up. I had one of the mean teachers walk in during one of
those classes, I think to dole out some sort of punishment to some of the
kids, but he walked in and I gave him the "shhh" sign. I went over to see
what he wanted and he said, "mmmm, they look very busy." I said, "yes, they
are doing an investigation, and they are doing a VERY GOOD job!" He said,
"ok, I will get them later." Whew! Tonight during evening study, a few
learners came by to make sure they got the correct measurements, take
measurements for the first time because they missed class, or just to check
their work. PROUD MAMA BEAR!
In my science classes, I think the kids finally get the whole molecular
diagram thing, at least on a very primitive level.
And in my grade 10 math, there was a girl who wasn't doing anything at all.
"Madam, I don't understand." So I sat down with her and we worked through 2
problems together. She got them and got a big ole grin on her face. And
the rest of them are just thrilled to have me review their work. We laugh
together. They teach me some Thimbukushu; I teach them some Spanish.
These kids really are amazing, especially compared to some of the classes
I've seen in the states. But the way they are dealt with here is soooo
disheartening. I don't want this to come across as me slamming the Namibian
teachers. I'm not. I realize that the way they think and act is a product
of how they were raised and taught, and it'll take a long time before the
cycle is broken. But knowing this doesn't make it any easier to see what I
see. It's all about punishment. "They must be punished." Today I walked
into a class to drop off some notebooks and all of the chairs were piled in
the corner. The kids were KNEALING on the concrete floor! I was appalled.
The teacher says to me, "Madam, they must stay this way today because they
were making too much noise with their chairs." (OK, yes, the chairs
scraping on concrete is annoying, but I simply hold up my hand when they do
it and they stop.) Then this afternoon I saw some kids standing outside of
a classroom in the middle of class. I asked what they were doing and they
said they were late to class (and hence prohibited from coming in.) Ok,
hello, if the kid is late then they have missed the material that was
presented and they have to catch up. Why make them miss the entire class?
At least they came right? So I'm totally playing good cop, and it's working
for me so far. I suspect it will continue. When the kids get a little too
talkative in class (when they should be listening or taking notes), I simply
stop talking or writing. It's not 20 seconds before the talkers are shushed
by the rest. I think in any one class I've only had to do that twice in a
row.
Anyway, I'm really loving my darlings. (That's what I call them.) I
suppose it shows.
:-)
I'm giving all my classes tests on Monday though. James warned me that on
test day I'd, how'd he put it? Feel like my legs were cut off at the knees?
We'll see. The tests are pretty straightforward.
Nighty night.
classes, plus oh about 100 notebooks to mark, I'm just beaming. I did my
first "practical investigation" today in grade 9 math. I put the kids in 6
groups and passed out 6 boxes of various sizes (mostly from empty food
boxes). The assignment was to determine the surface area of your box (given
the formula). Some kids weren't sure how to use a ruler (doh!) so I had to
go around and demonstrate. But pretty much instantly they were all working
together, sometimes squabbling over the correct measurement or order of
operations, really! They were quiet and orderly, and man, did they care!!
I'm glad no one was paying much attention to me because at one point I got a
little choked up. I had one of the mean teachers walk in during one of
those classes, I think to dole out some sort of punishment to some of the
kids, but he walked in and I gave him the "shhh" sign. I went over to see
what he wanted and he said, "mmmm, they look very busy." I said, "yes, they
are doing an investigation, and they are doing a VERY GOOD job!" He said,
"ok, I will get them later." Whew! Tonight during evening study, a few
learners came by to make sure they got the correct measurements, take
measurements for the first time because they missed class, or just to check
their work. PROUD MAMA BEAR!
In my science classes, I think the kids finally get the whole molecular
diagram thing, at least on a very primitive level.
And in my grade 10 math, there was a girl who wasn't doing anything at all.
"Madam, I don't understand." So I sat down with her and we worked through 2
problems together. She got them and got a big ole grin on her face. And
the rest of them are just thrilled to have me review their work. We laugh
together. They teach me some Thimbukushu; I teach them some Spanish.
These kids really are amazing, especially compared to some of the classes
I've seen in the states. But the way they are dealt with here is soooo
disheartening. I don't want this to come across as me slamming the Namibian
teachers. I'm not. I realize that the way they think and act is a product
of how they were raised and taught, and it'll take a long time before the
cycle is broken. But knowing this doesn't make it any easier to see what I
see. It's all about punishment. "They must be punished." Today I walked
into a class to drop off some notebooks and all of the chairs were piled in
the corner. The kids were KNEALING on the concrete floor! I was appalled.
The teacher says to me, "Madam, they must stay this way today because they
were making too much noise with their chairs." (OK, yes, the chairs
scraping on concrete is annoying, but I simply hold up my hand when they do
it and they stop.) Then this afternoon I saw some kids standing outside of
a classroom in the middle of class. I asked what they were doing and they
said they were late to class (and hence prohibited from coming in.) Ok,
hello, if the kid is late then they have missed the material that was
presented and they have to catch up. Why make them miss the entire class?
At least they came right? So I'm totally playing good cop, and it's working
for me so far. I suspect it will continue. When the kids get a little too
talkative in class (when they should be listening or taking notes), I simply
stop talking or writing. It's not 20 seconds before the talkers are shushed
by the rest. I think in any one class I've only had to do that twice in a
row.
Anyway, I'm really loving my darlings. (That's what I call them.) I
suppose it shows.
:-)
I'm giving all my classes tests on Monday though. James warned me that on
test day I'd, how'd he put it? Feel like my legs were cut off at the knees?
We'll see. The tests are pretty straightforward.
Nighty night.
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