Tutoring at Manye

Working with the kids here has been very rewarding so far. I technically started my work tutoring on Monday, although one of the teachers was sick and I ended up filling in most of the day. And then we had a shortened school week because tomorrow is Republic Day -- a national holiday celebrating the adoption of the current constitution (in 1992 I believe) -- and the children got today off from school as part of a midterm mini-break.

But on Tuesday and Wednesday I started my work tutoring some of the students in need of the most help with their reading skills. I had a little training on this when I got here and also I came in with some experience with teaching phonetics from my ED41 class in the spring. From that, I was able to begin to grasp the importance of reading and some methods to help children develop strong reading skills.

And I am certainly seeing its importance here in Ghana. Almost all of the classes are based on memorizing what the teacher writes up on the board. It is a very different culture, based on learning as a task that must be accomplished rather than a process and experience to build a better human being. Part of this mentality is maintained and perpetuated through corporal punishment, which is something I will devote a separate post to.

But without basic reading skills, you simply can’t do anything in the Ghanaian school system or in life, I would posit. And in my first encounters with students at the bottom of their respective classes, I have been stunned by how far behind the children are in their reading abilities.

The case of Daniel, a second grader with whom I was paired on Tuesday, stands out as the most extreme case. He can recite the alphabet from memory, and recognize the first 7 letters or so, but that’s where his skills end. In order to recognize any letter essentially from I-Z, he had to have the entire alphabet in front of him and go through reciting the ABCs until he found the name of the letter in front confronting him. All my notions of what education was supposed to be sort of flew out the window at that point. I couldn’t imagine how he had been allowed to advance from first to second grade. Even more troubling was imagining how he had spent the past school year, where nearly all the material is written on the board and the children are expected to copy it down and re-read their notes before quizzes and examinations. And finally, the comparison between this second grader and the first grade class at Marion Cross Elementary, where I was paired with a mentor teacher in the spring, is almost comical. The kids at the ‘bottom’ of the class of first graders in Norwich, VT were light years ahead of Daniel. Plus they receive a terrific amount of extra assistance to help them progress forward. This is a very different place.

But I’m really glad I’m here. What I have learned, more than anything so far, is about myself and how I feel a strong passion and commitment to help those most in need of assistance, especially in reading. There is no skill that the education system professes to directly teach that is more important to living a happy and successful life. If I can help children develop those crucial methods needed to decipher the squiggles we put on paper or a chalkboard, or a computer screen, then I know he or she will be that much closer to actualizing their potential and living life to its fullest degree. I may be getting a little too emotional here, but right now I feel that is the most important and rewarding thing I could be doing. So I am very thankful to be here in this position, able to act on those goals and hopefully making an impact in the lives of some children who need help.

Start of Week Two

Things are going well here in Ghana as I am now in my second full week at the school. Yesterday we went back to the internet place and got a new SIM card, so hopefully that will resolve my internet problems. So now is a good time to update you on what has been going on as of late.

Things at the school are going well. I’ve gotten to know all of the teachers and many more of the students. There are so many that I have a lot of trouble remembering names and faces. They all recognize me though, although recently I've been getting more ‘obroni’ (translation: foreigner, but in a fairly benign sense) or even sometimes ‘Mr. Ben’ (for Ben Schwartz, WPE’s founder. I guess all white men look the same to them? Haha. Most of the time they’re just kidding but sometimes I'm not so sure).

Last week, I observed teachers in their classrooms as I was getting to know the system. This week I am beginning to work with individual students who need the most help in reading. I just started this today, and it was quite an eye-opener, which merits its own post. But it is a good feeling to start this work, which I feel is critically important and extremely rewarding (although very frustrating at times!).

But the kids are a lot of fun. They are all very welcoming and excited to include me in their lives. Here is a picture of me and some of the kids. As you may be able to see, I’ve decided to let my moustache and other facial hair grow out since I’ve gotten to Ghana. I figured now is as good a time as any to give it a try. I doubt it will live up to the incredible displays of Kevin, John Gerdes, and Tim (couldn't find a link, but there has been some wild styling).

In other news, I’ve learned some new skills since being here. The first involves the drinking water here, which is sold in half-liter plastic bags for 10 pesewes (~7 cents) each, or 1 cide (less than a dollar ) for a giant bag of them. But to drink them, you have to tear a small hole in the corner with your incisor teeth, which took me several days to master. I had a nice picture to share on this, but the internet is acting slow so I'll save it for later. Anyways, I’m not sure how this plastic pouch model caught on in Ghana, but it's a similar deal for Fan Ice, which is a kind of ice cream in a plastic pouch. Again, you tear off a corner and squeeze it into your mouth. Those are quite refreshing on hot days.

The other skills I’ve learned (sort of) is washing clothes by hand. I say sort of because when I went to wash some clothes on Sunday, six kids jumped up (there are always some hanging out at the school after school and on weekends) and insisted they do it for me. So I “supervised” this round, and promised myself I would play a more active role the next time I need to do wash – which will now be as long as I can avoid doing it, because it is a long and painstaking process.

One final note and I’ll let you go. We’ve had two nights with the other set of WPE consultants and volunteers. They are at NAP Academy, which is in a slightly more suburban part of Tema, about half an hour away from Manye. It seems that they are doing well. I had met Jon and Kiki (both Dartmouth ‘14s) at the WPE orientation meetings at the end of the spring. And I got to meet the NAP consultants – Richard (Dartmouth ’15) and Katy (Dartmouth ’10, and Teacher Education Program graduate). It was great to spend time with that crew and we’ll see each other again this coming weekend.

So that’s what I know for now. I will hopefully have some more posts of my reflections on my first experiences tutoring and some other thoughts as I’m now in my second full week in Ghana. A lot has happened and it feels I’ve been here much longer than that. But everything is going well. Talk to you all soon.

Storms in Ghana

On Wednesday I went into bustling downtown Tema (which is actually a sizable city – but based on my first few days in Ghana, this felt like a super-metropolis) and got an internet SIM card and loaded it with some internet credits. So with this I can use the internet more regularly. Of course the thing broke after one day, so we’ll be back there this weekend to replace it. But hopefully once that is resolved, I will be able to keep you all updated on what’s going on as well as add some more reflection posts, like this one.

One thing that immediately stands out for me to mention is rain storms. It is after all the rainy season here, so it has rained just about every day. They have been mostly at night, and they don’t last all that long. But when you’re trying to fall asleep and it starts to rain on my tin roof, the sound is quite alarming.

Last night I realized where I’ve heard this sound before. The rain on the tin roof here is pretty much exactly like the sound of a “rain stick,” which I remember playing with when I was younger. For those who haven’t seen one before, it’s a roughly three foot long wooden stick that’s hollow and filled with lots of grains of rice or similarly small objects. And when you tip it one way and then the other, it makes a sound as all the pieces fall from one side to the other. And when you’re trying to sleep under a tin roof, it feels like you’re inside one of these things – it’s like a million little beads pounding down over your head. Then we’ve had a couple thunderstorms as well – when the thunder is near you, it shakes your bones. It’s quite an experience.

So I just thought I would put this thought up since it’s on my mind. I should hopefully get more regular reflections up as I go along. I’m keeping a couple different journals to record both my experiences and my reflections, so hopefully I will be posting elements from both in the future. Stay well.

First Long Ghana Update!

Hi all,

Everything is going really well here in Ghana. These first three full days have been action-packed, so I’ll get right into it. I slept a lot on Saturday night/Sunday morning because I was really tired from the flight and plenty jet-lagged. I had a relaxing afternoon – got a tour of the community from some of the local kids and spent some time reading as well. So it was a good way to get settled in.

I'm living in the house of the headmaster (Mr. Kabutey) of the Manye school. The school is in the cit of Tema which is a suburb of Accra (~30 minutes away). Tema seems pretty interesting in its development – it is a planned city and we are in Community 25. Since Community 1 is at the center of Tema, a big number like 25 means we are really on the outskirts. And in Ghana, the outskirts of a major suburb = rural. We have electricity and a working shower. The toilet is a little shack with a toilet looking shape on top of a hole in the ground. The smell isn’t too bad – makes me think of all those horse show porta-potties back in the day.

My room is good. I’m in an annex of the headmaster’s house and I’ve kind of got the place to myself since it’s separated from the other part of the house where the headmaster and the WPE consultants live. So it’s nice to have some personal space. You can see some pictures of my room. Note the fan and the mosquito net – key assets. I’ll take some pictures of the school soon to put those up – the house is right next to the school.

Another thing of note is the food, which has been great! Emma, the wife of the headmaster, is a really great cook and she has been serving mostly western dishes with some Ghanaian flavor. Dishes of note have been fried chicken and rice, chicken and chips, and a delicious spaghetti plate with bits of meat, vegetables and spices. It could have been right off a restaurant’s list of specials. So that’s been really great and my stomach has had no problem since being here, which is a great contrast to Morocco where my whole family got really sick on our second night in the country.

I haven’t gotten off scott free, though. I spent all of Sunday night tossing and turning, not able to sleep – likely because of the jet lag. Then I woke up late because my alarm didn't go off. I tried to get ready really fast and suddenly felt dizzy and nauseous. The lack of sleep and probably a little dehydration did me in. So I took it slow on Monday morning. I met some of the kids and teachers. Mr. Kabutey tricked me into substituting for the First Grade teacher who was out sick. So that was a bit of a riot, but by the end of class I actually felt back to normal.

The children are pretty hilarious. All the young ones want to come up and hold my hand and play with my watch and ask me questions. They all call me “Mr. David” or “Sir” which I find pretty funny. Sometimes it turns into "Sir David" which is just hilarious. But Ghanaian culture places a strong emphasis on respect, which is interesting to see. And all the kids are very friendly and curious. They remember all the past WPE volunteers, so I’ve been telling them I know "Mr. Kevin," "Madame Jeni," "Madame Sidny," and "Madame Maya" – all Dartmouth friends of mine who have been here previously. They think that’s greatest and they wish all of them would come back and visit them. The volunteers certainly make a big impact in the lives of these children, which makes my time here feel very special.

I spent Monday afternoon walking around the community with some kids and local people they know, which was great. And on Monday night, I slept really well, which was a big relief. I may be over the jet-lag (fingers crossed). I woke up feeling fine this morning and had a great day at the school. I observed a Third Grade class in the morning as they did French, Reading Comprehension, and Math. Then I went back to check out my First Grade class in the afternoon. Luckily the teacher had returned. She was teaching the subject RME (Religious and Moral Education), which a pretty interesting element of Ghanaian public education. They were going over the basic practices of Ghana’s three major religions – Christianity, Islam, and “Traditional” (animistic) religions. Although all the students and teachers here are Christian, the coverage of the topic was balanced and seems a good way to promote tolerance. Although the topic and the title they use for it constantly made me think of REM’s “Losing My Religion.” Haha

So that’s what I’ve got for now. I’ll see if I can cut down the length of future posts, but a lot has gone on in the first few days and I wanted to make sure I’m relating the experience well. If you have any specific questions and want to know more about something, send me an email and I will reply the next time I have internet. Hope you all are well and I will be in touch!

Arrived Safely in Ghana!

Just thought I would do a quick post since I arrived and borrowed an internet connection. I have arrived safely, although my flight was really delayed last night. It was supposed to leave at 9:30pm. But because of all the thunderstorms in NY, the plane got there late, then the pilots got in even later, and then they had problems closing the cargo door (!), and finally we were stuck in a huge line trying to take off. So we didn't get in the air until 1am.

But we did get in the air! And I slept well on the plane and read a little as well. I had with me a great little book called The Other by Ryszard Kapuscinski, which my good friend Joe Polwrek recommended to me. It talks about how we only know ourselves in relation to "The Other," which I think is a very timely message for me as I explore this very different culture. The author says this is the most important thing a person can do, and I think I agree. I know I will learn a lot about myself through this experience.

So I'll keep this post short since I'm on borrowed time. Hopefully I'll get myself set up with my own internet connection in the next week or so. But everything here at Manye seems great. The two consultants - Catherine and Jamie (both Dartmouth '10s) have been very welcoming and helpful. And meeting a few of the kids has been great. But remembering names is going to be hard. I'll work on it. And I'll hopefully keep you updated sometime in the near future!

First Post! About to Leave the US

As I've been telling everyone who asks, I am very excited as well as nervous about leaving for Ghana. My flight is tomorrow (Friday) at 9pm and I will arrive in Accra around noon local time on Saturday.

 

This past week, I've had an incredible time on a family vacation in Cancun, Mexico. All of my mom's side of the family was able to be there and the 19 of us had a great time. I spent most of the trip sleeping, eating, reading by the beach, and occasionally doing something productive like snorkeling or water skiing. I also did get to play a lot of tennis, which was great. It was hard to leave that tropical paradise, but I know I have a great experience ahead of me.

So I'm brand new to this whole blogging thing, but it seems like a great way to stay in touch. And I remember reading my close friend Kevin Niparko's blog when he was part of this program two summers ago. It was through Kevin and some of my other friends that I learned about the great work World Partners in Education (WPE) does in Ghana and I'm really looking forward to getting there and experiencing it for myself. I'm sure I will learn a tremendous amount this summer, especially pertaining to my two academic focuses at Dartmouth - education and international relations. But I'm also sure that I will learn a lot about myself in the process and have valuable experiences that I will remember for the rest of my life.

So I'll try to remember to cut my rambling short in future posts. I'll hopefully keep this blog up and running with regular updates while I'm there. I feel ready to go, but I know that I can't fully prepare for the experience I'm entering and will have to just go with the flow most of the time. It should be a wild ride and I'm ready to get started. Talk to you all later!