Wednesday, January 31, 2007
football
So we’ve made the switch to playing football (soccer) instead of Frisbee on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is all boys (the girls play netball on another field, not really sure how that game works). Everyone wanted me to pick a team. This was somewhat difficult, since I still have trouble with names, but I was able to pick a team of 22 kids which everyone seems to be okay with. I’m hoping to run practices, and help the kids improve (even though they’re all better than me). Unfortunately, it’s kind of hard to do anything but scrimmage without many balls. We finally got three new balls, but the one needle to our pump broke today. A couple of the kids have cleats, but almost everyone plays barefoot, (which amazes me since I always found kicking a ball barefoot hurt). We plan to play other schools on Saturdays eventually. (The kids of course want to begin playing games immediately). They also say we need jerseys, but somehow I think a school with 56 kids in a class and no books has more pressing needs. I think I might right a letter to Adidas or something anyways. And if anyone knows a high school that’s getting rid of old jerseys…
The pictures above are from the field where we play. Since Gracious doesn’t have its own field we walk to the field of a Muslim School. They let us play in return for donating balls and slashing the grass on the field. Yes, there are goats on the field, and no, the giant ant hill does not count as an extra defender.
Don’t worry, I still play lots of Frisbee, and may try to start up Ultimate on Mondays after school.
The pictures above are from the field where we play. Since Gracious doesn’t have its own field we walk to the field of a Muslim School. They let us play in return for donating balls and slashing the grass on the field. Yes, there are goats on the field, and no, the giant ant hill does not count as an extra defender.
Don’t worry, I still play lots of Frisbee, and may try to start up Ultimate on Mondays after school.
Friday, January 26, 2007
cow, pig, train
So I heard before I came here, and may have told some of you, that the educational standards/level of students in Malawi were the same as the USA. Turns out that wasn't exactly accurate, which makes a little more sense. Of course the kids in Malawi are just as smart as the kids in America, but they aren't any smarter either. Considering the typical kid here went to a primary school where there are 120 kids in a class, it's not shocking to learn that most of them are very far behind in their math skills, (and from what I've heard other subjects as well). Never mind having kids who don't know their times tables, I have kids who don't understand the concept of multiplication!!
I dealt with many low level students in NYC, but nothing like this. Their low math skills are of course compounded by the fact that they have a rather weak grasp of the English language.
For example, the following happened today when I tried to introduce my kids to the concept of sets:
On the board: cow, pig, rhino, lion, train
Me: Which one of these things does not belong?
one student raises hand: cow!
It wasn't until I taught the same lesson to a later class that I realized nobody understood the word train!!
I'm learning from this and trying to ask kids whether they know certain words before moving on with my lessons.
I'm determined to raise the level of all these kids, and will be adding a mandatory class during lunch time in coming weeks(don't worry, they'll still have 40 min to eat). This will allow me to break them down into smaller sizes (form 2 is still over 50 kids) for atleast 1 period a week.
Students are only required to get above a 40% on national exams, but I'm certainly expecting to get my students well above that. As we've all heard a thousand times, high expectations are the first step to a successful school, so that's what we're hoping to do at Gracious.
I dealt with many low level students in NYC, but nothing like this. Their low math skills are of course compounded by the fact that they have a rather weak grasp of the English language.
For example, the following happened today when I tried to introduce my kids to the concept of sets:
On the board: cow, pig, rhino, lion, train
Me: Which one of these things does not belong?
one student raises hand: cow!
It wasn't until I taught the same lesson to a later class that I realized nobody understood the word train!!
I'm learning from this and trying to ask kids whether they know certain words before moving on with my lessons.
I'm determined to raise the level of all these kids, and will be adding a mandatory class during lunch time in coming weeks(don't worry, they'll still have 40 min to eat). This will allow me to break them down into smaller sizes (form 2 is still over 50 kids) for atleast 1 period a week.
Students are only required to get above a 40% on national exams, but I'm certainly expecting to get my students well above that. As we've all heard a thousand times, high expectations are the first step to a successful school, so that's what we're hoping to do at Gracious.
pictures
I added some pictures to last weeks Thengo blog entry, including the first published photo of me with my hair chopped. I also realized that posting large pictures takes a long time, but no longer than posting small pics, so that is what I will do from now on. I do try to put pics up as often as possible, but it takes a looooong time, so sometimes you'll just have to deal with my fascinating stories.
A Typical Day
I’ve had a few sound requests that I post a blog entry about a typical day of my life here in Africa. Here goes…
I typically wake up around 6:00am. (Actually, first I wake up repeatedly during the night thanks to dogs, roosters, etc.) I then eat breakfast with the Sibales and the two other Americans staying with us. We don’t really all sit down together or anything, but people come and go from the table. Breakfast consists of white toast with margarine (4 pieces for me), tea, and of course Malaria prophylaxis. We then pile into the car, Nick, Paul, Myself, Sibale, three Sibale girls, two students who live nearby, and a few others who pile into the back of the pickup truck, to make the ½ hour trip to MCV. The route is over both dirt roads with huge puddles (you really need a truck or SUV) and a long paved road with lots of potholes.
I take attendance for the 1B class at 7:25, and classes start at 7:30. The students stay in the same room all day, and have 9 40-minute classes. They get a break from 9:30 to 10:00, and a break for lunch from 12:00 to 1:30. I eat nsima (maize meal) with various meats and vegetables on the side. For the students, lunch is provided for a small fee at MCV, generally consisting of either nsima and beans or porridge. The sponsored orphans get lunch for free (MCV pays their school fees as well). I will post the exact number of orphans/regular students later when our numbers begin to stabilize, but about half of the students are orphans. School ends at 3:30. I run sports from 3:30 till 5:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which has changed from frisbee to football (soccer) and netball, but more on that later.
We then pile back into the truck around 5:00 and head back to Nyumba wa Sibale. We eat dinner (which still consists of mpunga (rice) nyama (meat) and masamba (vegetables) pretty much every night. And of course, there's always nsima). I can't say we do a whole lot else at night, I typically do a little planning reading and then go to bed early. The girls normally are told to go study.
Hope that wasn't boring, my life here definitely isn't.
I typically wake up around 6:00am. (Actually, first I wake up repeatedly during the night thanks to dogs, roosters, etc.) I then eat breakfast with the Sibales and the two other Americans staying with us. We don’t really all sit down together or anything, but people come and go from the table. Breakfast consists of white toast with margarine (4 pieces for me), tea, and of course Malaria prophylaxis. We then pile into the car, Nick, Paul, Myself, Sibale, three Sibale girls, two students who live nearby, and a few others who pile into the back of the pickup truck, to make the ½ hour trip to MCV. The route is over both dirt roads with huge puddles (you really need a truck or SUV) and a long paved road with lots of potholes.
I take attendance for the 1B class at 7:25, and classes start at 7:30. The students stay in the same room all day, and have 9 40-minute classes. They get a break from 9:30 to 10:00, and a break for lunch from 12:00 to 1:30. I eat nsima (maize meal) with various meats and vegetables on the side. For the students, lunch is provided for a small fee at MCV, generally consisting of either nsima and beans or porridge. The sponsored orphans get lunch for free (MCV pays their school fees as well). I will post the exact number of orphans/regular students later when our numbers begin to stabilize, but about half of the students are orphans. School ends at 3:30. I run sports from 3:30 till 5:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which has changed from frisbee to football (soccer) and netball, but more on that later.
We then pile back into the truck around 5:00 and head back to Nyumba wa Sibale. We eat dinner (which still consists of mpunga (rice) nyama (meat) and masamba (vegetables) pretty much every night. And of course, there's always nsima). I can't say we do a whole lot else at night, I typically do a little planning reading and then go to bed early. The girls normally are told to go study.
Hope that wasn't boring, my life here definitely isn't.
Marching for the Donation
This picture is from a small ceremony that was held on Tuesday after school. The students and staff had a ceremony to honor fundraisers from Alaska (chiefly Tom and Ruth Nighswander) who had raised the money necessary to start the MCV Vocational School. The school choir wrote their own songs, and sang a song "Marching for the Donation" to thank the Alaskans. They also learned and sang the Alaskan state song. The kids sound amazing, especially since they have had no formal training. Sibale was also kind enough to publicly thank me for all the money I raised (which is really a recognition of the generosity of all of you). He pointed out that I raised well over one million Kwacha! I like the sound of that!
Monday, January 22, 2007
The Malawian Landscape
This picture is what you typically see as you drive or walk around Malawi. villages (85% of the population live in rural areas) with hills in the background.
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