Patience

Well I haven’t written for a while. I have been busy getting my new office ready (Teacher Resource Centre) It has now become my job to manage the resource centre, even though we have a Resource Centre Manager. I came down last week and it was obvious that the centre has not been opened up for months if not years. I opened up the doors and I could taste the dust, the books were covered in a mountain of dust and I could write my name on the table. I commissioned a team of cleaners to help me make a start on the cleaning and make the place habitable. It only took us a week, lots of old tatty resources were thrown out and burnt and all the books wiped and filed into subject order. We found a whole Ginn 360 reading scheme (a blast from the past) which is what I learnt to read with at primary school over 25 years ago ! !

I managed to get 3 computers provided by the local councillor to put into the Resource Centre so that we can have classes come in and use them when they have ICT on the timetable. As I have mentioned previously most children have never seen a computer let alone touched one. I had mentioned to the Director that I could also set up some sessions for the office staff to come and learn how to use the computer and begin some basic skills. She was very keen and assured me she would love to come down, I was also hounded by a number of staff to let them know when they could come and start their lessons . . . . . I put up a timetable and made myself available, rearranged school visits and I sat and I sat and I sat, only one member of staff at the office actually came in, used the computer and asked for help. No sign of the Director or any of the officers who had signed up.

This week I have opened up the gates and made a timetable for JHS classes to come down and use the computers during their ICT lessons. The three local JHS schools have all brought students down and taught ICT which is a real breakthrough for Nadowli, seeing the excitement and sense of achievement of each student is amazing. After a few attempts I think we have finally got a timetable sorted and every class has a slot. I’m still in the process of encouraging Primary schools to bring in P6 classes  ! !

 I have continued to work in schools these past few weeks, doing training on phonics and reading strategies, hope to follow up on some lessons in schools over the next few weeks.

Where is your Teacher ?

Another trip to a school today, although as promised it was a much shorter ride, not mentioned was the state of the road we had to go on to get there. Again it was a dirt road but not so uneven this time, until we made a turn off the main road towards the village. We pootled along for a few hundred metres until all of a sudden the road ended and there was a sheer drop of about 20m. I stopped suddenly to decide how I was going to get both myself and my moto across or whether I was going to abandon my journey and retreat home. Due to the fact that we had arranged to meet the Head at the start of school and didn’t have her phone number we decided we should attempt to get across. I worked out the only way across was down the crevice and out the other side. I got to the bottom and realised that it also contained about 1m of thick sand, panic struck and you guessed it I got my moto stuck. Two men on moto’s passed and not an offer of help for the stranded female, male chivalry hey. With a huge amount of revs and adrenaline I powered myself out the other side.

As we continued along the road towards the school we saw that the children were all outside singing and marching doing their assembly. By the time we had parked our moto’s the assembly had finished and all the children had gone back into class ready for a prompt 8am start. We approached the first classroom and popped our heads around the door to greet the teacher, no teacher present so we moved to the next class, did the same, no teacher, went to the next classroom, no teacher, then to the next and the next and the next, meanwhile all the children were sat silently in their desks, books out, ready to start the day. In P6 we enquired where the staff were, only to find that none had turned up yet, not even the Head. Two P6 girls found us both a chair and we sat and waited a while. I can’t imagine this happening in the UK or what the consequences would be of 6 classrooms without a teacher, I know for certain that the children would not be sat at their desks waiting silently.

After a call to the education office to enquire of what we should do, we saw a lady ride past on a bicycle and disappear around the back of the school. A few minutes later she appeared again in front of the school -with her wig on back to front. I soon realised that this was the Head just arriving at what was now 8.45am, only 45 mins late ! !

After a short chat we arranged that I will go back in two weeks time to do a workshop for her staff on phonics, let’s hope some more staff turn up next time.

The journey back was just as hairy, I later found out that in the wet season the crevice is actually a fast flowing river that is impassable, during the dry season it is a short cut to the local villages.