Update: June 15, 2010
The last two days have certainly been an experience. Yesterday, Brittany and I taught our first class. We wanted to keep the first day more relaxed, so we included several played get-to-know-you games. I certainly learned my first lesson- these students are competitive. We played a game similar to musical chairs, and I have to say I almost feared for our safety. The tenacity with which they grabbed seats was quite remarkable. We had to tell them more than once to “be gentle, it’s just a game.”
I also asked each of the students if they were willing to come up to the front of the class and take a picture with their nametag (I need all the help I can get remembering their names). I made it a rule that, if they wanted a picture, they had to smile. Apparently, it’s not customary to do so, and the result of my pleading and their reluctance was basically a batch of some rather well… expressive pictures. Unfortunately, I cannot post pictures on this blog. I will try to make another blog and post the link so that you can see my pictures.
Today, Thaba-Bosiu decided to introduce us to a real winter in Lesotho. It went from a sunny 50 degrees to a grey and windy 30 degrees overnight. My new expression in Sesotho for the day is hoa bata, pronounced Who-uh-baa-tuh. Everyone around town says this expression almost as a greeting on days like this, and who can blame them. It is cold.
Yesterday was also my first time trying common dishes here. For lunch the secretary prepared papa, which I can best describe as super-dense grits, along with mincemeat and cooked cabbage. It was delicious. Today we had another common meal- mashed-pea stew with bread for dipping. Vegetable haters take note: if you can’t stand mashed peas, but want to get your veggie intake for the day, teach a class in the cold for three hours and serve the peas hot. It transforms them into the best food ever.
On a more serious note, we gave our students their first diagnostic exam today. We chose to test biology first, because it was generally accepted as the easiest of our three subjects. Unfortunately, the class average was a 19/40. We spent a solid hour and a half going over the answers, and the students looked confused. One issue I noticed immediately was their lack of critical thinking and problem solving. If they did not have a fact memorized, they had no idea how to approach the multiple-choice problems. During the lecture, I mentioned different ways of arriving to the correct answer, including logical guessing and process of elimination, as part of each explanation. Their expressions gave me the impression that this problem-solving teaching style is a first for them.
Based on this class, it seems like we will really have our work cut out for us. It is obvious that the students need basic subject review, but I also want to spend some time going over critical thinking and test-taking strategies, because I feel they are important skills that will prove useful for their high school and (hopefully) college careers. Looking at the task ahead, I do feel overwhelmed; there is a long road ahead of us. I can promise one thing though- I will spend all of my daylight hours working with these students until they understand the material, as long as they are willing to work with me. Based on their reaction to learning about this class on the first day, I would say things are looking up.