Actually Teaching

Sweeping the school yard on the first day of school, Monday
September 3rd.

I'm into my second week of teaching.  It's only Tuesday and already i have taught 4 classes–three Math and one science class.  I think it's going better than the first week, but I'm learning and finding that my students will agree with things i say that they absolutely do not understand. Since these are first year (Form 1) junior high school student, my headmaster is very concerned that some of them are not ready for the work.  I gave them a simple multiplication test.  Most did okay, but there are a few who may not be ready yet.  Some of them have already been held back so we probably wont send those back.

Sad Week

Last week was a sad week in Sanfo/Aduam.  On the first Monday of school I was informed that the woman who operated a little store in Aduam where I often bought bread for my morning egg sandwich had died. On Wednesday they told me a young girl who would have been in my Form 1 classes died.  I passed near her home on the way to visit my twi teacher, Mr.  Kwame and met a group dressed in the traditional black and red mourning clothes and greeted them with the “mo nshe den” (transliterated and translated “have strength/endure” and shook hands with each thinking it was for the young girl.  On reaching Kwame I was told that a young man in his 40’s near by had also died very near the same compound.  So I don’t know which occasion these people were “enduring”.  Later in the week I passed another compound in a different place that had chairs an awnings set up for a funeral, and my counterpart, Tim, said that a relative of his too had died and he would miss some of school to meet with the family.

Funeral Awnings for Elizabeth Yaboah, the operator of the store where I regularly bought
tea bread for our breakfast sandwiches. She was widowed and had lived a full life
so I expect there will be drinking and dancing tonight

Funerals tend to be celebrations for people who lived full lives.  They play amplified music all night  and dance, drink and greet.  For the young it is more of a sad occasion.  My headmaster, Mr Bruce, said it has been a sad week in Sanfo.  I asked if he knew the causes.  He did not.

Prefect Elections

Last Friday, my science class was superseded by the election of the school officers (the Boy’s and Girl’s Prefects). That is like a student body president with a little more authority–they actually direct the work for cleaning the school compound and the formation of the morning and after school assemblys.  Mr. Bruce, who  is also Assemblyman for Sanfo/Aduam, wanted to conduct the election like the national presidential elections that will be held in Ghana in December. So three Form 3 boys and three girls were nominated for each position early in the week by the faculty.  They each prepared campaign speeches and elections were to be held using secret ballots.   Friday arrived and all the students assembled in one of the classrooms together with drums.  Only two of the boys stood, but they and all three girls gave excellent speeches.  The students cheered as loudly as if these students were running for national office. Two drums added to the excitement.  The Form 1 students will have to work hard if they want to be as good. Mr Tim (my counterpart teacher) prepared ballots, I prepared a ballot box, and Madam Linda (a colleague) and I judged the proceedings as the students passed through the room one at a time to cast their ballots by marking a secret ballot with their thumb print from an ink pad.  One of the boys won by a landslide.  Two of the girls nearly tied, only two votes different.  I suggested to Mr Tim, that in America, since neither girl had a clear majority a run-off or at least a recount would be in order.  In Ghana they don't mess around.  Two votes are enough, so Sanfo/Aduam Municipal Assembly Junior High School has two new Prefects.  Life goes on.