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!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Monday Tuesday
July 12
· I am working away on the workshop content at the Transformation Education office and am very conscious of how many people are “with” me right now. I have Sara Miller’s workshop notes everywhere, reciprocal strategies pushed by Ed, Melissa’s rubrics, Joshua’s management strategies, grad school big picture thoughts and perspectives, ASWG stories, friends and families encouragement, church’s prayers and prophesies. Amidst the noise of chickens and horns and voices outside the office window, I feel wrapped in experiences and relationships that are allowing me to do what I need and want to do today. I am very grateful for this moment and all the moments that have led up to it.
·
· As I feel more confident here, it is good for me to move forward, rather than being immobilized by caution in planning something that is not effective or inappropriate. I want to stay reflective and keep Friere with me as well.
·
· I wish I could video and photograph all of the streets. Every space is filled with someone selling something specific: in shops, in stalls, in booths, or from the heads. I saw someone passing with a head basket full of toothpaste and toothbrushes today.
· I had a productive conversation with Gwen talking through the session objectives for reading and writing. Mr. Conte and Mr. Camara were unable to make our meetings today, so tomorrow I am going to spend some time in a classroom with a fifth grade teacher, and then pick their brains about what will be useful for them. I hope I will work well with Jane so we can present a lot together.
·
· After work, Audra, another volunteer came, and we all went to go get our presentation outfits made with the cloth Gwen and I picked up Saturday. I am getting a sundress cut (with pockets!). I hope it will be professional enough. The catalogs all showed very plump women modeling the dresses. So different from Western beauty ideals!
July 13
Today I met with teachers at Samaria Primary and then had a good conversation with Bokeray, a class 6 teacher. Mrs. Tucker, the head teacher at Samaria is retiring this week and was all smiles and had all her teachers come to meet with me.
· The biggest issues: The smallest classes have 40 students, some 50, and Bokeray’s have 60-70 students. Some students do not have even the phonetic sounds down. Big classes. Little time. (Reading 2 x a week, Writing 1 or 2 x a week) The schools do things differently. English is the second or third language. I am now pulling in my English Language Learner knowledge, and seeing how to best alter what I had planned. Praying for guidance.
This afternoon we got home around 6, and Gwen suggested we go for a run before it gets dark. Perfect! Driving and office work has gotten me restless since our beach run Sunday. Gwen, Audra, and I laced up, walked up the initial huge hill and then set off at a great pace. It was the same effect as a great trail run, dodging the mud, potholes, and rocks on the road. On the streets we would say good evening and get a pleasant reply back, if not someone saying, “Keep it up! Go! Well done!” with occasional laughter. As we came up the long hill on the return with a view of the city and ocean, night fell, and I got a little more cautious not knowing the roads and avoiding traffic on the main road. I can’t wait to go again.
FYI: $1 = 4,000 Leones and the largest bill is 10,000 Leones. Bread is 500 Leones, mangoes are 2,500 Leones (out of season), all taxi rides are 900 Leones, our lunch meal from a restaurant is about 9,000 Leones, and a box of Cheerios I found was 34,000 Leones ($8.50!).
I tried unsuccessfully several times today to upload pictures. I'll keep at it!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
July 6-11, Anticipating, Observing, Moving Forward
July 6, 2010
I am typing this at Heathrow, a few hours before boarding my flight to Freetown. The past two months have been a whirlwind of finishing up the school year with my fifth graders and finding and moving into a new apartment. For about an hour every day, I have been working on the logistics of the Davis Peace Project. I have had to prioritize the logistical elements of the project: getting immunizations and medical releases, acquiring the visa, and raising the $2000 on top of the grant money that I need. My stateside sponsoring organization, World Hope International, has been unexpectedly helpful in creating my personal budget, providing a two day training, handling the visa, and even providing a packing list. This logistical help is exactly what I needed.
The rest of the project has moved fairly slowly. Gwen Smith, my sponsor in Sierra Leone, is also busy with the end of the school year and things are complicated by intermittent internet access, but we have had several good phone calls and many emails figuring out what the head teachers of the 11 schools she works with would like to see in the workshops this summer. We are now assembling a team--there will be professional development in classroom management, science, lower grade literacy, and upper grade literacy (which I will focus on). I am anxious to arrive and be able to work face to face with my colleagues. We will still have several weeks before the workshops begin. I think it has worked out for the best that the content of my section has waited to be developed until I have a better sense of the context. My suitcase is full of teaching supplies that friends have donated and care packages and medicine that have been sent to me to give to specific people in Sierra Leone.
I will be able to stay for about a month, until July 31. In about 8 hours, the real work finally begins!
July 11, 2010
I have been in "Salone" now 4 and a half days, and they have been full! I need to quickly summarize very rich experiences:
* My luggage and I arrived fine, landing in the dark at Lungi Airport. To get to Freetown proper, I rode down bumpy roads in a van (with Sierra Leoneans and IRC workers), to a small water taxi taking me about 20 minutes across the water to the city, where my collaborator, Gwen arrived shortly. The sights and sounds of a busy African city welcomed me as well!
* I am staying in a house with Gwen and 3 other ex-pats on the western side of town, on the mountain over looking the city and water. As is typical throughout Freetown, people living in secure houses surrounded with barbed wire and glass on walls are neighbors with families living in tin shanties with no electricity. The national electricity, or NPA, is turned off regularly, and shut down soon after I arrived. The house I am in has a small generator to keep minimal lights on. The main roads in town are faily solid, but any side street, especially up the mountains surrounding the country, are crumbling and full of potholes. 4 Wheel drive SUVs thrive here, though the common taxis are compact cars that are regularly seen being worked on in the street. Gwen knows all of her neighbors by name and talks regularly with them...they call her Auntie Joy.
* I went to work my first days here at a new office space downtown. They just hired an office manager, a wonderful Sierra Leonean man named Samuel, and we are in the process of setting up a teacher resource center with all of the materials that have been donated throughout the years Transformation Education has been in operation. The biggest challenge has been figuring out where all of these specific teacher resource books go in the Dewey decimal system. Samuel has brought in several local librarians to help, and hours long conversations ensue.
* Gwen and Brian, a volunteer who is studying school psychology at Buffalo and has been here a month already working on classroom management and positive behavior strategies with schools, took me around to about 6 of the school we will be working with. School is still in session, though exams are done, so when we went around most teachers were grading exams while the students were entertaining themselves. I enjoyed a comraderie I felt when I met the teachers, seeing the similarities of our task in our profession. Many differences abound though. The staff of schools is a Headteacher, and the classroom teachers, and some lunch and cleaning crew. No secretaries, specialists, reading teachers, vice principals. In one school they showed off the school library that consisted of 3 shelves of books, mostly old American textbooks. Other rooms were bare except for student benches and tables (we saw several classes where students were sitting on the floor) a teachers table, and chalkboards. The kids and teachers generally brightened on seeing Gwen. We led a couple of classes in songs that Gwen had previously taught them. She says she does not observe the classes as often as she would like. Also in several buildings, 2-6 classes shared the same room, divided only by chalkboard structures. Teaching here has many challenges. As we went around to the schools, we were also finalizing the lists of teachers that were going to be able to participate in our workshop. Some teachers expressed the wish to get paid for the workshop, but then would say that the desire to get more training makes the time worth it, and the food and transportation provided will be helpful. TE can't set the precedent of paying for workshops when that won't be able to be a reality further down the road.
* Although Temne, Mende, and many other languages are spoken in the country, the lingua franca is Krio, a language derived from English, similar to some Carribbean languages as well. It is spoken by most people and I am picking up just a little, "Kushe (kooshay)" is the greeting, with "Ow di bodi?" being "How is your body, or how are you?"
* Gwen, Brian, and I had a productive and long conversation about the content and format of the weeklong workshop from the 19th to the 23rd. We will have about 90 participants, mostly with educators from the 11 schools Transformation Education works closely with, and some from schools with other relationships. We just got a call from a teacher who wants to travel 6 hours into town to attend. The seminar will be from 8:30-4:30 every day, with breakfast and lunch. It has been interesting talking through positive behavior strategies and their reception by the schools. In the past, the primary strategy for discipline is flogging, both by the teachers and headmasters and only correct answers are praised if at all. Even as Transformation Education has provided other strategies for management, and flogging became illegal last year, teachers still regularly do it, though often it wasn't part of the discipline plan TE encouraged teachers to post. TE then encouraged teachers if they are going to flog, at least make it consistent as the most severe consequence and actually post it, rather than just giving the leadership and "westerners" the signs they want to see. (This made me think a lot of the processes and realities of globalization talked about in my Comparative Education class with Gita Steiner-Khamsi.) One of the schools, Modern, is ready to make a big transition. One of the themes of the workshop is "Caught You Being Good," and we are going to use various and consistent classroom management strategies throughout the entire seminar.
I am about to sit down and work through the 5 writing and 5 reading sessions for juniors (grades 3-5) teachers I will be presenting. I am sitting with a head teacher, teachers assistant, and teacher on Monday to discuss what would be beneficial and feasible for teachers to work towards in a setting where most reading is learned by copying down what a teacher has just written on the chalkboard, and then reading it in call and response style. I am excited about this conversation and the preparation of something useful to teachers. Though I have led reading, writing, and management workshops before, they have always been in an American context. I was afraid that I would be complete inept at transferring anything useful, but now that I have talked with the teachers here and will continue to collaborate with them in the preparation, I feel much better about being used as a tool to make this happen.
*Finally and concurrently, we are working out the logistics of the seminar too. So much is relational in this city. There are markets on every street and dozens of people lining every street walking with different items piled high on their heads, from fruit to snacks, to pants, to coal, to clean water. When asking Samuel about a caterer, he mentioned his sister caters. He called her and she came in at noon and she, Gwen, and I discussed what was desired, and she agreed to provide lunches for the week, but that drinks, and breakfast would be too much. Mr. Conte, Modern's head teacher, said he knew of someone who could probably do breakfast. We will get estimates for both of these by Tuesday. It makes me happy that the Davis money is not only going to support the teachers' development, but also supporting the local economy as well as we hire these business people. There is no "Yelp" to help us verify their success, so traditional word of mouth will have to do.
*Each day is full of new experiences and there are so many things about the society and city and people and organization I could write about, but there is not time for all of this. One thing is, presenters often have outfits of the same material made, so yesterday we selected fabric to be made into team outfits for about $8 per person. Internet and time have not been as plentiful as I had hoped, so this will have to do. I will post some pictures soon hopefully, but people are particular about getting their photos taken. "I am hungry, and you want to snap me?" one person said, as she thought I took a picture of her.
I am very glad to be here and am learning every day. Now it is time to work on the content of the workshops before the World Cup final tonight!
Also, did I mention it was rainy season? There have been 2 days when the rains haven't come till evening, but most days it has been heavy heavy heavy rain on and off all day. This has such implications for so many people here. It might also impact the seminar...if the weather is too bad, people won't leave home and taxis, the one form of transportation besides walking, (and chartered motorbikes) are impossible.
I am typing this at Heathrow, a few hours before boarding my flight to Freetown. The past two months have been a whirlwind of finishing up the school year with my fifth graders and finding and moving into a new apartment. For about an hour every day, I have been working on the logistics of the Davis Peace Project. I have had to prioritize the logistical elements of the project: getting immunizations and medical releases, acquiring the visa, and raising the $2000 on top of the grant money that I need. My stateside sponsoring organization, World Hope International, has been unexpectedly helpful in creating my personal budget, providing a two day training, handling the visa, and even providing a packing list. This logistical help is exactly what I needed.
The rest of the project has moved fairly slowly. Gwen Smith, my sponsor in Sierra Leone, is also busy with the end of the school year and things are complicated by intermittent internet access, but we have had several good phone calls and many emails figuring out what the head teachers of the 11 schools she works with would like to see in the workshops this summer. We are now assembling a team--there will be professional development in classroom management, science, lower grade literacy, and upper grade literacy (which I will focus on). I am anxious to arrive and be able to work face to face with my colleagues. We will still have several weeks before the workshops begin. I think it has worked out for the best that the content of my section has waited to be developed until I have a better sense of the context. My suitcase is full of teaching supplies that friends have donated and care packages and medicine that have been sent to me to give to specific people in Sierra Leone.
I will be able to stay for about a month, until July 31. In about 8 hours, the real work finally begins!
July 11, 2010
I have been in "Salone" now 4 and a half days, and they have been full! I need to quickly summarize very rich experiences:
* My luggage and I arrived fine, landing in the dark at Lungi Airport. To get to Freetown proper, I rode down bumpy roads in a van (with Sierra Leoneans and IRC workers), to a small water taxi taking me about 20 minutes across the water to the city, where my collaborator, Gwen arrived shortly. The sights and sounds of a busy African city welcomed me as well!
* I am staying in a house with Gwen and 3 other ex-pats on the western side of town, on the mountain over looking the city and water. As is typical throughout Freetown, people living in secure houses surrounded with barbed wire and glass on walls are neighbors with families living in tin shanties with no electricity. The national electricity, or NPA, is turned off regularly, and shut down soon after I arrived. The house I am in has a small generator to keep minimal lights on. The main roads in town are faily solid, but any side street, especially up the mountains surrounding the country, are crumbling and full of potholes. 4 Wheel drive SUVs thrive here, though the common taxis are compact cars that are regularly seen being worked on in the street. Gwen knows all of her neighbors by name and talks regularly with them...they call her Auntie Joy.
* I went to work my first days here at a new office space downtown. They just hired an office manager, a wonderful Sierra Leonean man named Samuel, and we are in the process of setting up a teacher resource center with all of the materials that have been donated throughout the years Transformation Education has been in operation. The biggest challenge has been figuring out where all of these specific teacher resource books go in the Dewey decimal system. Samuel has brought in several local librarians to help, and hours long conversations ensue.
* Gwen and Brian, a volunteer who is studying school psychology at Buffalo and has been here a month already working on classroom management and positive behavior strategies with schools, took me around to about 6 of the school we will be working with. School is still in session, though exams are done, so when we went around most teachers were grading exams while the students were entertaining themselves. I enjoyed a comraderie I felt when I met the teachers, seeing the similarities of our task in our profession. Many differences abound though. The staff of schools is a Headteacher, and the classroom teachers, and some lunch and cleaning crew. No secretaries, specialists, reading teachers, vice principals. In one school they showed off the school library that consisted of 3 shelves of books, mostly old American textbooks. Other rooms were bare except for student benches and tables (we saw several classes where students were sitting on the floor) a teachers table, and chalkboards. The kids and teachers generally brightened on seeing Gwen. We led a couple of classes in songs that Gwen had previously taught them. She says she does not observe the classes as often as she would like. Also in several buildings, 2-6 classes shared the same room, divided only by chalkboard structures. Teaching here has many challenges. As we went around to the schools, we were also finalizing the lists of teachers that were going to be able to participate in our workshop. Some teachers expressed the wish to get paid for the workshop, but then would say that the desire to get more training makes the time worth it, and the food and transportation provided will be helpful. TE can't set the precedent of paying for workshops when that won't be able to be a reality further down the road.
* Although Temne, Mende, and many other languages are spoken in the country, the lingua franca is Krio, a language derived from English, similar to some Carribbean languages as well. It is spoken by most people and I am picking up just a little, "Kushe (kooshay)" is the greeting, with "Ow di bodi?" being "How is your body, or how are you?"
* Gwen, Brian, and I had a productive and long conversation about the content and format of the weeklong workshop from the 19th to the 23rd. We will have about 90 participants, mostly with educators from the 11 schools Transformation Education works closely with, and some from schools with other relationships. We just got a call from a teacher who wants to travel 6 hours into town to attend. The seminar will be from 8:30-4:30 every day, with breakfast and lunch. It has been interesting talking through positive behavior strategies and their reception by the schools. In the past, the primary strategy for discipline is flogging, both by the teachers and headmasters and only correct answers are praised if at all. Even as Transformation Education has provided other strategies for management, and flogging became illegal last year, teachers still regularly do it, though often it wasn't part of the discipline plan TE encouraged teachers to post. TE then encouraged teachers if they are going to flog, at least make it consistent as the most severe consequence and actually post it, rather than just giving the leadership and "westerners" the signs they want to see. (This made me think a lot of the processes and realities of globalization talked about in my Comparative Education class with Gita Steiner-Khamsi.) One of the schools, Modern, is ready to make a big transition. One of the themes of the workshop is "Caught You Being Good," and we are going to use various and consistent classroom management strategies throughout the entire seminar.
I am about to sit down and work through the 5 writing and 5 reading sessions for juniors (grades 3-5) teachers I will be presenting. I am sitting with a head teacher, teachers assistant, and teacher on Monday to discuss what would be beneficial and feasible for teachers to work towards in a setting where most reading is learned by copying down what a teacher has just written on the chalkboard, and then reading it in call and response style. I am excited about this conversation and the preparation of something useful to teachers. Though I have led reading, writing, and management workshops before, they have always been in an American context. I was afraid that I would be complete inept at transferring anything useful, but now that I have talked with the teachers here and will continue to collaborate with them in the preparation, I feel much better about being used as a tool to make this happen.
*Finally and concurrently, we are working out the logistics of the seminar too. So much is relational in this city. There are markets on every street and dozens of people lining every street walking with different items piled high on their heads, from fruit to snacks, to pants, to coal, to clean water. When asking Samuel about a caterer, he mentioned his sister caters. He called her and she came in at noon and she, Gwen, and I discussed what was desired, and she agreed to provide lunches for the week, but that drinks, and breakfast would be too much. Mr. Conte, Modern's head teacher, said he knew of someone who could probably do breakfast. We will get estimates for both of these by Tuesday. It makes me happy that the Davis money is not only going to support the teachers' development, but also supporting the local economy as well as we hire these business people. There is no "Yelp" to help us verify their success, so traditional word of mouth will have to do.
*Each day is full of new experiences and there are so many things about the society and city and people and organization I could write about, but there is not time for all of this. One thing is, presenters often have outfits of the same material made, so yesterday we selected fabric to be made into team outfits for about $8 per person. Internet and time have not been as plentiful as I had hoped, so this will have to do. I will post some pictures soon hopefully, but people are particular about getting their photos taken. "I am hungry, and you want to snap me?" one person said, as she thought I took a picture of her.
I am very glad to be here and am learning every day. Now it is time to work on the content of the workshops before the World Cup final tonight!
Also, did I mention it was rainy season? There have been 2 days when the rains haven't come till evening, but most days it has been heavy heavy heavy rain on and off all day. This has such implications for so many people here. It might also impact the seminar...if the weather is too bad, people won't leave home and taxis, the one form of transportation besides walking, (and chartered motorbikes) are impossible.
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