Wanted to say two other things that I enjoyed this week:
* As a model story throughout my composition lessons, I got to share the story about how my grandma Kinney used money when her clothes burned in a warehouse fire to buy supplies to become a hairdresser, achieving her dream despite obstacles.
* Brian taught about using positive recognition and verbal praise, and happens to say "Wow!" a lot when he talks, which the teacher picked up on and teased him about. Everyone was saying WOW! all week. I then added on the Superstar cheer from Girls on the Run and the roller coaster cheer from Harlem Link. None of them knew what a roller coaster was, but then I renamed it "driving in Sierra Leone" cheer and they completely connected and laughed. Finally, I taught them the cheesy WOW cheer that my mom used in her class, making W's with two hands and using your mouth as the "O" in the middle. The teachers loved it and were doing it all week. Who knew? :)
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Carrying On
Wow.
I am back in the office with functioning internet, now with the insurmountable task of summing up the past week and a half and only about 15 minutes do so.
* The seminar with the theme, "Caught You Being Wise," was a big success. On any day there were between 79 and 90 teachers and head teachers there every day, which is who had signed up. Yay!
* We had prayed for decent weather during the travelling times, because in heavy rains (typical this time of year) people tend not to leave and it is very difficult to find transport. The prayers were answered. For a solid week, Monday to Monday, there was abnormally light rain, and never when we were commuting. Only once was there a heavy rain during the classes. When it rains on the zinc roofs, it is impossible for anyone to hear even at a shout. The rains started again on Tuesday, yesterday, when we were all done with our meetings with teachers. It hasn't stopped raining for the past 14 hours.
* I just finished compiling all of the evaluation results, and teachers were most impacted by learning from our composition classes, where Ryan (for K-3) and I (for 4-6) taught about the writing process (Prewriting, Drafting, Revising, Editing, Publishing) and have students select what they are going to write about from their own experiences. We had all of the teachers go through the writing process with the topic, a Wise Person, and had an authors celebration at the end. It was most exciting for me to see teachers excited about the possibility and value of creating their own compositions for themselves and students, and having students write from their own experiences. I thought composition lesson time limits and student ability would be stated as an overwhelming obstacle, but instead they saw this method as a way to help them accomplish their goals, even for exams. Will include good quotes and pictures later.
* Another well-received topic was classroom management, especially problem-solving strategies, and positive recognition. Brian Gangloff, a really talented School Psych PhD student from University of Buffalo has been here for 2 months working with the schools in this area. He did a really great job of connecting with teachers and especially head teachers.
* Religious and moral education is taught in all Sierra Leonean schools with an emphasis by the president on attitudinal change. Samuel taught sessions on Heart Transformation, confronting head on some scenarios teachers routinely face, such as charging students for extra lessons to earn money, when they can teach lessons during the day; missing school for funerals, shopping, etc; flogging students before finding out the story behind misbehavior. We were a little worried about how teachers would react, but were so impressed with their openness, honesty, and receptivity.
* On Tuesday Gwen mentioned to one teacher that we missed him Monday for the first day of the session. He told us he was at his wife's funeral, but would be here the rest of the week. Speechless.
* Teachers were only paid for transportation and provided breakfast and lunch, but they were SO eager for the content and enthusiastic. (Though in evaluations they said 9-3 would be much more preferable to our 8:30-4:30 schedule.)
* The most valuable part for me was dialoguing with teachers about their classrooms and their lives and any applicability of what we were teaching and how to work around and with the challenges they face.
* Some teacher participants make equivalent to $20 a month, the average between $60-$70 a month, and the private school about $150 a month. Class sizes we heard of ranged between 25 to a class of 1st graders in the provinces of 120 pupils. Average is between 35 and 65.
* We had about 10 teachers come all the way in from the provinces for the week for the workshop.
* One head teacher said she had never had any instruction on how to teach reading before this, even at her Teacher's College.
* The weekend after the seminar, from Saturday late afternoon to Sunday early afternoon, the training team left the city and camped at the most beautiful beach I have ever been to, and enjoyed church in the village the next morning. Pictures to come.
* We met with the Head Teachers on Monday to follow up, hear their reactions, create some action plans, and start planning for next year. It was decided that they want as a goal to have each student take one composition through the writing process each term!
I need to go now so that I can revise the lesson plans and materials so teachers and head teachers and other organizations can use them starting in the fall.
I only have 2 more sleeps here.
I haven't cried yet, though I did get teary hugging Gwen as we wrapped everything up on Friday afternoon. I feel like I am experiencing so much but don't know if I am slowing down enough to let it impact me beyond the professional/academic level yet.
I look forward to writing more in the upcoming weeks, about the teachers, interactions, the sweetness of the people and children, the miracle of the training team coming together, and all the ways I want my friends and family to come and experience and contribute their skills.
But for now...revisions!
Marianne Kinney
aka
Mariatu Kargbo (as renamed by Saidu)
I am back in the office with functioning internet, now with the insurmountable task of summing up the past week and a half and only about 15 minutes do so.
* The seminar with the theme, "Caught You Being Wise," was a big success. On any day there were between 79 and 90 teachers and head teachers there every day, which is who had signed up. Yay!
* We had prayed for decent weather during the travelling times, because in heavy rains (typical this time of year) people tend not to leave and it is very difficult to find transport. The prayers were answered. For a solid week, Monday to Monday, there was abnormally light rain, and never when we were commuting. Only once was there a heavy rain during the classes. When it rains on the zinc roofs, it is impossible for anyone to hear even at a shout. The rains started again on Tuesday, yesterday, when we were all done with our meetings with teachers. It hasn't stopped raining for the past 14 hours.
* I just finished compiling all of the evaluation results, and teachers were most impacted by learning from our composition classes, where Ryan (for K-3) and I (for 4-6) taught about the writing process (Prewriting, Drafting, Revising, Editing, Publishing) and have students select what they are going to write about from their own experiences. We had all of the teachers go through the writing process with the topic, a Wise Person, and had an authors celebration at the end. It was most exciting for me to see teachers excited about the possibility and value of creating their own compositions for themselves and students, and having students write from their own experiences. I thought composition lesson time limits and student ability would be stated as an overwhelming obstacle, but instead they saw this method as a way to help them accomplish their goals, even for exams. Will include good quotes and pictures later.
* Another well-received topic was classroom management, especially problem-solving strategies, and positive recognition. Brian Gangloff, a really talented School Psych PhD student from University of Buffalo has been here for 2 months working with the schools in this area. He did a really great job of connecting with teachers and especially head teachers.
* Religious and moral education is taught in all Sierra Leonean schools with an emphasis by the president on attitudinal change. Samuel taught sessions on Heart Transformation, confronting head on some scenarios teachers routinely face, such as charging students for extra lessons to earn money, when they can teach lessons during the day; missing school for funerals, shopping, etc; flogging students before finding out the story behind misbehavior. We were a little worried about how teachers would react, but were so impressed with their openness, honesty, and receptivity.
* On Tuesday Gwen mentioned to one teacher that we missed him Monday for the first day of the session. He told us he was at his wife's funeral, but would be here the rest of the week. Speechless.
* Teachers were only paid for transportation and provided breakfast and lunch, but they were SO eager for the content and enthusiastic. (Though in evaluations they said 9-3 would be much more preferable to our 8:30-4:30 schedule.)
* The most valuable part for me was dialoguing with teachers about their classrooms and their lives and any applicability of what we were teaching and how to work around and with the challenges they face.
* Some teacher participants make equivalent to $20 a month, the average between $60-$70 a month, and the private school about $150 a month. Class sizes we heard of ranged between 25 to a class of 1st graders in the provinces of 120 pupils. Average is between 35 and 65.
* We had about 10 teachers come all the way in from the provinces for the week for the workshop.
* One head teacher said she had never had any instruction on how to teach reading before this, even at her Teacher's College.
* The weekend after the seminar, from Saturday late afternoon to Sunday early afternoon, the training team left the city and camped at the most beautiful beach I have ever been to, and enjoyed church in the village the next morning. Pictures to come.
* We met with the Head Teachers on Monday to follow up, hear their reactions, create some action plans, and start planning for next year. It was decided that they want as a goal to have each student take one composition through the writing process each term!
I need to go now so that I can revise the lesson plans and materials so teachers and head teachers and other organizations can use them starting in the fall.
I only have 2 more sleeps here.
I haven't cried yet, though I did get teary hugging Gwen as we wrapped everything up on Friday afternoon. I feel like I am experiencing so much but don't know if I am slowing down enough to let it impact me beyond the professional/academic level yet.
I look forward to writing more in the upcoming weeks, about the teachers, interactions, the sweetness of the people and children, the miracle of the training team coming together, and all the ways I want my friends and family to come and experience and contribute their skills.
But for now...revisions!
Marianne Kinney
aka
Mariatu Kargbo (as renamed by Saidu)
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Samuel, Samuella, and entourage
This is Samuel, Transformation Education's staff member, who is a remarkable man. His 4 year old daughter Samuella came into the office yesterday with her grandmother and friend/nurse. She is a star, as could be expected from anyone who has Samuel as a Dad. They are in the new teacher resource center that Samuel is setting up.
España! (and Ghana) in Sierra Leone
Taken where I watched the second half of the World Cup final at a sports bar called The Office (genius). It is Ghana's flag hanging, and Spain's on the TV after final whistle blew. K'naan's Wavin' Flag was playing as soon as Spain got the goal. I would say the bar was in more support of Spain (including me), but there were definitely disappointed Netherlands fans.
This is one of the schools in the worst shape. The students at the back were sitting on the floor before they stood up to greet us. There is no glass in the windows so it gets very wet during rainy season.
Next is a picture of me from the New England section of Freetown up on the mountain. Getting up to the spot, on a leased TE property, produces more adrenaline than a rollercoaster, but the view from the place is amazing. Freetown's setting reminds me a lot of Santa Barbara, ocean and hills.
I am trying to type up thoughts throughout the day as I have them. Here is a collection. Sorry about the formatting and grammar!
July 14 (Bastille Day :) )
I just got back from lunch with Jimmy Kandeh, my International Relations and Politics of Africa professor at the University of Richmond. He is Sierra Leonean and it was in his class when he described how when he went to school he got a very good education, but now when he goes, he sees students bringing their own benches to school. He has been back for the past 10 months on a Fulbright research grant looking at democratization and politicization. He leaves on Tuesday, so remarkable timing that I found him! He came to pick me up today but because of one way streets asked me to walk down to meet him down the road a block or two. So that was our reunion, me walking down Sanders Street in Freetown and seeing his face through the window of his silver 4 runner. I smiled at the contrast of meeting him in the context of upper middle class white University of Richmond. We enjoyed conversation over lunch downtown by the water, talking about politics, education, and Salone life. I love when life comes in circles. He does not have much confidence in the leadership of the country saying Koroma is running it based on patronage, with many Koromas in upper levels. He is going to wait to write up his book until he gets home, both because of convenience and during the last elections he published articles that against the candidates and they were not viewed favorably. Also, the men watching his car called him Spiderman because of the Richmond spider on the car.
In the afternoon, Mr. Karimu from the ministry of Education came by for Gwen, but I asked him reading/composition questions. These are my notes:
Mr. Karimu
Challenges of reading
• Too many students
• Not identified time within language arts on time table
• Should be practiced every day
• So many other programs—peace education, human rights
• Illiterate homes (home situation is not good—no light, dark)
• No books
• Foreign language
Initiatives
• Ministry of Ed talking of printing books
• Books from NGOs are from different cultures, even looking down on their own culture
• Books not in our own favor, not much motivation
Secondary school
• Taking a lot we cannot handle
• DSS 1- DSS 3 8 subjects not materials for subjects especially in indigenous languages
• When children fail, either drop out, private school,
• Students read to learn, not learning to read, from primary to University
• Only read to pass exams
• Teacher training colleges—no methods of teaching—how to teach reading, methods of writing
• 4 different methods of writing, print-script, cursive, joined script,
• how to prepare students for exams—in essay
Head Teachers,
• If Head teachers could bring together their teachers to take courses
• Expect more from teacher training candidates, disappointed
• First month every Saturday, one hour teach how to write-print, cursive,
• How to do reading
Last term Carimu lent out books so students can have free reading time. At the end of the day, they don’t have time to give that period as free reading time.
For them to go back and implement is very challenging.
Not with the salary the schools are giving.
Basic education certificate examination…middle period of Secondary school, between junior and senior secondary school
Mathematics, language, social studies, science focuses ministry of Ed
Felt so bad at the performance of the students
English language was the problem, cannot
2015 EFA every child should be able to read and write, but still have 300,000 children out of school
Child’s right—allow the child to decide (big problem because we have our own culture, black, keep to older, when teacher said this you have to stand by it,)
Teacher has to grade and send home assignments, if you do not do the work, then flogged
If you don’t know your times tables flogged.
Peace Edders: He feels that the requirement to have Peace Ed and Human Rights Ed in the curriculum leaves little time for reading and the basics. Can't wait to talk this out with you all (and me, honorarily).
July 15
I have been spending all late evening and early morning prepping the plans and handouts for the seminar and will spend most of today doing so, as well. Internet is working well today.
I am so grateful that the longer I am here, the more valid the work seems. From more and more people I hear the need for strong teachers and the need for people who can read and write and think as the foundation for which other things can be built. Mr. Karimu from the Ministry of Ed yesterday was talking about the lack of books and how the books provided by NGOs are not in Sierra Leone’s favor and are totally out of context for our students. This morning during prayer, I found myself praying that these teachers and students would be the next authors, creating meaningful texts and stories for their own country. I think framing the need for great readers and writers in that context will give added purpose to the seminar next week. These are our next authors who can fulfill the need now for texts but also later for great literature based in Sierra Leone.
Spiritually, it has been really good for me to be here. I want to expand more on it later.
For now, back to work, need to finish up the writing (Composition, "writing" is Handwriting) and reading plans!
p.s. Yesterday it was sunny all day until the rain came around 10 p.m. and it's sunny again this morning. Hurray!
July 14 (Bastille Day :) )
I just got back from lunch with Jimmy Kandeh, my International Relations and Politics of Africa professor at the University of Richmond. He is Sierra Leonean and it was in his class when he described how when he went to school he got a very good education, but now when he goes, he sees students bringing their own benches to school. He has been back for the past 10 months on a Fulbright research grant looking at democratization and politicization. He leaves on Tuesday, so remarkable timing that I found him! He came to pick me up today but because of one way streets asked me to walk down to meet him down the road a block or two. So that was our reunion, me walking down Sanders Street in Freetown and seeing his face through the window of his silver 4 runner. I smiled at the contrast of meeting him in the context of upper middle class white University of Richmond. We enjoyed conversation over lunch downtown by the water, talking about politics, education, and Salone life. I love when life comes in circles. He does not have much confidence in the leadership of the country saying Koroma is running it based on patronage, with many Koromas in upper levels. He is going to wait to write up his book until he gets home, both because of convenience and during the last elections he published articles that against the candidates and they were not viewed favorably. Also, the men watching his car called him Spiderman because of the Richmond spider on the car.
In the afternoon, Mr. Karimu from the ministry of Education came by for Gwen, but I asked him reading/composition questions. These are my notes:
Mr. Karimu
Challenges of reading
• Too many students
• Not identified time within language arts on time table
• Should be practiced every day
• So many other programs—peace education, human rights
• Illiterate homes (home situation is not good—no light, dark)
• No books
• Foreign language
Initiatives
• Ministry of Ed talking of printing books
• Books from NGOs are from different cultures, even looking down on their own culture
• Books not in our own favor, not much motivation
Secondary school
• Taking a lot we cannot handle
• DSS 1- DSS 3 8 subjects not materials for subjects especially in indigenous languages
• When children fail, either drop out, private school,
• Students read to learn, not learning to read, from primary to University
• Only read to pass exams
• Teacher training colleges—no methods of teaching—how to teach reading, methods of writing
• 4 different methods of writing, print-script, cursive, joined script,
• how to prepare students for exams—in essay
Head Teachers,
• If Head teachers could bring together their teachers to take courses
• Expect more from teacher training candidates, disappointed
• First month every Saturday, one hour teach how to write-print, cursive,
• How to do reading
Last term Carimu lent out books so students can have free reading time. At the end of the day, they don’t have time to give that period as free reading time.
For them to go back and implement is very challenging.
Not with the salary the schools are giving.
Basic education certificate examination…middle period of Secondary school, between junior and senior secondary school
Mathematics, language, social studies, science focuses ministry of Ed
Felt so bad at the performance of the students
English language was the problem, cannot
2015 EFA every child should be able to read and write, but still have 300,000 children out of school
Child’s right—allow the child to decide (big problem because we have our own culture, black, keep to older, when teacher said this you have to stand by it,)
Teacher has to grade and send home assignments, if you do not do the work, then flogged
If you don’t know your times tables flogged.
Peace Edders: He feels that the requirement to have Peace Ed and Human Rights Ed in the curriculum leaves little time for reading and the basics. Can't wait to talk this out with you all (and me, honorarily).
July 15
I have been spending all late evening and early morning prepping the plans and handouts for the seminar and will spend most of today doing so, as well. Internet is working well today.
I am so grateful that the longer I am here, the more valid the work seems. From more and more people I hear the need for strong teachers and the need for people who can read and write and think as the foundation for which other things can be built. Mr. Karimu from the Ministry of Ed yesterday was talking about the lack of books and how the books provided by NGOs are not in Sierra Leone’s favor and are totally out of context for our students. This morning during prayer, I found myself praying that these teachers and students would be the next authors, creating meaningful texts and stories for their own country. I think framing the need for great readers and writers in that context will give added purpose to the seminar next week. These are our next authors who can fulfill the need now for texts but also later for great literature based in Sierra Leone.
Spiritually, it has been really good for me to be here. I want to expand more on it later.
For now, back to work, need to finish up the writing (Composition, "writing" is Handwriting) and reading plans!
p.s. Yesterday it was sunny all day until the rain came around 10 p.m. and it's sunny again this morning. Hurray!
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