Merry Christmas Ghana

This is the month to
remember mom: Dec 17, 2007

Well, Merry Christmas in Ghana.  School is on vacation and I have no reasonable excuse not to update my blog.   It is warm, dusty and dry now.  I often wondered where all the smoke that comes from the behind of almost every truck, tro-tro or taxi on every hill or climb goes.  For my first six months the skies were clear with scattered clouds that gathered to produce some rain at least every other day. The result: no smog in the day and the night skies that are a wonder to behold when the power is out.  We haven’t had a drop of rain for two weeks or more and, just like Seattle, a haze has developed and turned the sky to a pale grey right to the zenith. The sun sets red and the moon only tries to shine through the haze.  It’s warmer in the day but the air is dryer and the nights are cooler now.

Emmanuel: Top Score in District
Math Exam, SA JHS

Betty: A really good
Math student at SA JHS

Ophelia: Another really good
Math Student, SA JHS
Form 1

Enough about the weather: my Form 1 students weathered their first set of district tests this month.  I expected them to struggle a bit with math, but was more than dismayed by both the difficulty of the test (many questions went beyond the text or they syllabus) and their performance on questions they should have mastered. I not only threw out three or four questions, I gave pupils credit for answering them correctly.  If all questions were properly within the objectives, many of them would have scored far worse. I have much work to do if they can turn math into a subject that they can handle.  Emmanuel Fripong who spent the last four weeks of the term in hospital after being hit by a car riding his bicycle obtained the best test score. Overall Betty and Ophelia Owusu got the best grades, because Emmanuel didn’t do homework or exercises while in the hospital.  I advised his class mates that if they did not improve their work by mid-term, I would break all their legs and see if 3 weeks in hospital would improve their marks (I may be kidding; we’ll see.)

Kukurantum Hub Language Trainers: Cecilia, Ida, Taj, Me & Moses

Part of the problem is their lack of confidence in their own thinking.  More than one student crossed out a correct answer and replaced it with an incorrect one that he obtained from a neighbor. Another problem they have is with the English language.  I relate with them for that; my struggle to bring my Twi up to a serviceable level makes me quite sympathetic.  This month I had to go to Kukurantumi to retake my language test.  I was sworn-in in August with the condition that I retake the test in my first 3 months of service.  So I returned to the Kukurantumi Hub where I passed the test, but I missed the last week of school.  One of the difficulties for my students was the number and length of my absences. 10 days in October at the Kumasi Sub Office when my septic system overflowed concurrently with a case of diarrhea. 10 days in November for Thanksgiving at the Ambassador’s residence and then 4 days in Kukurantumi. Not good for continuity and remediation of subject matter.  A lot of good Peace Corps is doing here so far, but I expect do better next term.  We have far to go in math and science next term. It was some comfort to discover that most of my fellow teachers experienced similar difficulties.

One of my hopes after “Wade in de Watah” was to start an after-school music program.  I thought I could teach a couple of African-American Spirituals and Christmas Songs, and learn a couple Ghanaian songs from them.  I have discovered this week that the largest denominations in my town make a point of not observing Christmas as a holiday.  Here children celebrate Christmas by asking for gifts of money or food whenever you greet them.  I faced the day ill-supplied.  Esther my neighbor suggests that if someone asks for a gift to ask them what they have brought for me.  I will give them their gift when they bring me mine

If I do something with music next term I will have to consult with my neighbor, Esther, she usually offers good counsel and her brother teaches music in a secondary school nearby.  An after school math/science club is also a strong possibility for next term.  I simply need to find what lies within the interest of the students and my ability to do something for it. 

Thanksgiving, 2012

Main Street, Sanfo.  on my way to Atta's house for a Saturday night
movie.

I have been in Ghana nearly six months.  I have taught for nearly three.  At this point the Peace Corps “invited” (aka “ordered”) all first term education volunteers to attend a week of in-service training. All have arrived and last night it was fun to actually spend time with the other teachers and hear their stories.  All in all it was encouraging if only because I could see that I was not the only one who struggled with classroom management and seeing children master the objectives provide so idealistically by Ghana Education Services.

Last Tuesday I gave my students a big test in fractions.  Actually I didn’t think it was a very hard test, but when I got the results I nearly cried.  In the class exercises they did quite well, but in the test they made every mistake possible. (i.e., adding denominators, comparing them raw.) Their errors were so correlated. It was obvious that most of them cheated (usually from the wrong person). And I left for Thanksgiving in Accra so I had no opportunity to challenge them or make them account for their performance.  In Accra I was able to print the test.  Normally all work is copied onto the chalkboard and they copy it into their workbooks.  We don’t even have clean paper that I can give them to do a test on.  At the Peace Corps office, I printed three section tests so that I can help them prepare for district end-of-term exams when I get back on Monday.

Anyway commiserating with Lou Triacci, the only guy in our education group who is older than me, he suggested that part of their problem is self-confidence.  Even when they know something, if they happen to see someone out of the corner of their eye with a different answer than theirs they assume their answer was wrong.  Lou taught in New York for many years and he says that he gives his pupils some feel-good exercises in addition to fractions and word problems.  I need to think of something that will give them confidence in their thinking as well as their feelings. Overall my kids are bright and working with them is a lot of fun. I only have 35 in my math class; Lou has 60. They work hard for their families to cook, wash clothes and farm.  They greet me with an enthusiastic “Mr. Jim” whenever I come near their compounds. We have a long way to go but the material is there.

This month was Thanksgiving. In that spirit, I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn to teach here, my good neighbors prepare delicious fufu, red-red and other Ghanaian dishes for me, my room is comfortable,  my family in America support and sustain me,  and my Peace Corps colleagues are amazing.

Three slices of pie on this plate, Apple,
Pumpkin & Pecan.

On Thanksgiving Day we had a full scale Thanksgiving Dinner at the home of US Ambassador Gene A. Cretz and his wife Annette.  All Peace Corps volunteers in Ghana were invited. Cretz is from Albany, New York and I got the opportunity to introduce him to a couple of our volunteers from his region.  We all enjoyed the time. I spent through Friday night in the PC Hq in Accra.  There are three rooms with bunks where we can hang out if we make a reservation or have an official reason to be there (i.e., medical checkup).  The air conditioner leaked onto the floor of my room so i spent an hour or more mopping the floor while the other residents were out for the evening.  The next day i met with the doctor who gave me three shots and weighed me.  160 lbs!  That's what i weighed when we first moved to Washington State in '75. I'm not sure I'm thrilled about that, because a lot of it was muscle.  I'm still soft in places. In the afternoon, I was reading in the PC library and Raven, a Utah PCV who dressed up as Tin-Tin for our Halloween party in Kumasi, asked if i wanted to see a movie.  Sure!  About 6 of us took 2 drop cabs to an American style shopping mall out past the airport.  We saw the latest Bond 007.  I don't want to spoil it, but i think the villain was the best (i.e., worst) I've seen. Fun stuff

Accra, Ghana Temple

Finally while in Accra I was able to attend the Mormon Temple there. It is an island of peace, solace and service, welcome to me in a time of personal stress.  It is also close to the Peace Corps office in Accra; I hope to find many occasions to attend during my teaching tenure here.

Wade in the Water

It has been while since I’ve updated my blog and a lot has happened.  First today I am at the Peace Corps Sub Office in Kumasi (KSO) because the septic system has been overflowing into the yard creating an awful smell and making the toilets in our compound unusable.  We have had heavy rains almost every night for a week and the place is designed so that each time it rains the runoff leaks into the septic access ports and when the whole system is full it all leaks into the yard. Not only that i am having a stomach problem so a long hike to a public toilet could be disastrous. So the Peace Corps director for education volunteer directed me to go to the KSO while they try to fix the place.

I am disappointed to leave site at this time because we are making good progress in both science and math classes, while the children will do fine in my absence I will miss out on the action.  Three weeks ago the district sent us 6 student teachers who will be with us all year.  There are only 8 regular teachers at my school anyway so that means that we all have student teachers to “supervise”.  One has taken my science class.  I’m still responsible. But he is an incredibly flexible and creative teacher and I have learned from him already.  When he found out I had to leave he quickly volunteered to take my math classes as well.  So I don’t feel like I have abandoned the educational enterprise, but I do feel like I have abandoned my kids and hope to get back to them real soon.

Our regular classes are 70 minutes long and sometimes I give them a short song or game to break up the time.  I even taught my Form 1 Class an old spiritual that I personally love.  It’s called “Wade in de Water”

Wade in de water,

Wade in de water, children,

Wade in de water,

God is gonna trouble de water.

Who’s those children dressed in red?

God is gonna trouble de water.

Mus’ be the children that Moses led,

God is gonna trouble de water.

Sanfo-Aduam JHS Form 1 (7th Grade) Jubilee Singers debut on
October 19, 2012

They really like the song and I tell them slaves, for whom Moses was a symbol of their hope for freedom, sang it to a tune they probably brought with them from Africa.  The Fisk University Jubilee Singers first published it in 1901. But my kids sang it for the school morning assembly last Friday.  They sang very well, especially if you equate loud with well. I am very proud of them. 

To me it is a symbol of stepping out on any enterprise with uncertainty–like joining Peace Corps or starting Junior High School.  Speaking of that, I think some of them progressing on the “boring basics” like multiplication tables, 3 digit multiplication and l o n g division. I think I have a scheme to recognize those who take the trouble to master these skills; I hope I can get back and see if it will work.  I was told I might even be able to return today, so I packed for the possibility, but Mary APCD for Education called later and said the place was not ready so I should stay put for another day or two.

Star Gazing in Africa

The rooster crows even if the power is out
usually at 3:30 am.  People don't eat
their chickens, it seems.  I wish they
would make an exception for this one.

September’s full moon was very early in the month so I expect there to be another one before the end of the month. They call that a blue moon, I think. A few days ago the moon was a slim slit in the early evening sky like a Cheshire cat with it’s head tilted slightly to the south. Now the crescent is filling up with moon like a large cup in the sky; in a week or so it will be full again. Electrical power fails almost every night for a couple hours. Two days ago a thunderstorm took it out until sometime after school started the next day.  We have power in the school but we don’t usually use it so it doesn’t affect us much if it goes out. 

I love it when power fails on a clear moonless night. The stars are phenomenal.  The milky way is clear and I think I could see Gemini, Taurus and Draco all lined up.  I wish I had the star mapper that I used to have on my old laptop so I could be sure.  The African sky is amazing, but it's been 50 years since i took the class.  Of cou cannot see the north star.  If it’s not under the horizon, the light from Bekwai obscures the north.

Bicycles

It works fine now.

Last week I bought a bicycle.  One of the teachers took me to Kumasi this morning (Saturday) and we picked out a nice looking used trail bike.  I bought it without riding it.  I would never have done that at home.  But it looked solid.  When I got it home I rode and the shifters didn’t seem to work. I should have stopped and checked them, but I didn’t need to shift so I rode along.  It felt so good to be riding again.  We’ll I didn’t go far and the pedal slipped like it wasn’t connected.  So I stopped and found that one of the idler wheels in the rear shifter had fallen out and though I could find the axle bolt, I could not find the wheel. So I walked it home, the proud owner of a disabled used bicycle. That very nigh, I had not quite finished this writing about this to a friend and my neighbor, James came to my door with a man who fixes bicycles!  He looked at it and said he would come by in the morning and fix it.  Being an Adventist he prefers to work on Sunday. When I got back from church my bike was together, working and oiled.  I rode it every day except  one rainy morning and it feels great! Today i even rode to Bekwai, 5km and 3 hills away.

Teaching and Learning

I taught Beatrice, my neighbor's sister,
to ride. The first time, she stayed up with
almost no help.

I had and interesting science class last week.  The school held an early morning assembly and showed the students a video on malaria. My class was partly superseded by the assembly, but when we went to the Form 1 room, it was locked–both doors.  No one had a key that would work.  I tried to have the student do the study out doors, but they were not doing it very well and there are only about half enough books to go around.  So I gathered some of them at one end of the building and said if they would teach me a Twi song, I would teach them and American song.  So we did that and some of them seemed to enjoy it.

Finally I suggested to the head master that I could unscrew the hasp with my swiss army knife. He said do it.  two screws came out fine, but two were stripped and wouldn’t back out. The head master whacked them out with one of the student’s cutlasses (machete) and we got in for the last 10 minutes of my period.  The HM suggested that we use the sports period for science, but my pupils had already observed that the social studies teacher Madam Frema wasn’t there so we used her period and my kids got their sports period after all.

Madam Frema is teaching Social Studies to my Form 1 students.

Teaching here is interesting.  I’m never sure they understand my American English and a few of them don’t read at all.  They copy the words from my chalkboard, but words like observation, and experimentation, and factorization are not in their active vocabularies.  Few know their multiplication tables and long division seems to be a new topic to everyone.  I teach two extra early morning periods where I try to drill the basics in mathematic. But it’s hard to see improvement yet.  Still it is only the third week and it is their first year in Junior High School. 

Kwame

I enjoy my neighbors, Esther and James, and visiting Kwame, a friend about my age, who is teaching me Twi slowly enough so that I can understand what he says.  He’s been around.  He worked as an clerk in the docks at Tema and learned to speak good English from the sailors and merchants he worked with there.  I get with him almost every evening for practice and some new words.  Friday is Founder’s Day in Ghana, so I taught Beatrice, my neighbor’s young sister how to ride the bicycle and then practiced with Kwame.  Now it’s time to finish my lesson plans for next week. Tests in both Math and Science.  We'll see how we're doing.