What an amazing week as after two weeks of putting together
books, curriculum, and translating materials we were finally able to put it all
together for an incredible four days teacher training. We began the week in Lome, the capital, where
we met with five of the 14 schools. The
morning started with “This is the Day” in Ewe, French, and English and
continued to a joyful way as we introduced a new value curriculum that I wrote
this summer. We are excited about the
chance to instill in these children a different virtue a month as they learn to
have a persona relationship with Christ.
What an honor we have to model the virtues and encourage them to share
Christ’s love with others. In the
afternoon, I had the great opportunity to work with the second grade
teachers(CP2 in French) with their new language curriculum In second grade, the students are still
learning French from Ewe so these lessons give a chance to use French through
role playing, talking to a partner, and drawing. This is definitely foreign to the teachers as
they are use to having the students repeat the words over and over again,
thinking this will enable them to remember the word but the students have to be
active in their learning. The teachers
were very patient with me as I fumbled through my French and I felt horrible
with how awful it was but they continued to encourage me. They said they understood me but I am not
sure if that was the case. Anyways, we
made progress growing through the lessons and had a blast taking turns being
the teachers while the rest of us were the students. At one point I found myself role playing as a
three year old student registering for school with a mother the same age as me,
so we were definitely very productive.
By the end of the two days in Lome, I began to have good conversations
with these teachers as they really want to excel and help their students learn
but more importantly have a persona relationship with Christ. Bea asked them the difference from our school
to the public schools and they said we disciple children to know Christ and
that is exactly right. It is a huge
responsibility but one we are in charge of doing for the future of these
children and Togo. On our way home
Tuesday afternoon, I purchased for the first time a blue motorcycle
helmet. Did I ever think I would buy a
motorcycle helmet? Probably not, but I
am glad I have one as it will be useful once I start taking longer trips to
visit the schools. It was only $12 but I
think the quality will be sufficient and hopefully I will never actually put it
to the test.
Wednesday, we were on the road again to Kpalime which is
only a half hour away. We met with the
rest of the 9 schools and this proved to be a little different experience than
with the teachers in Lome. When we were
explaining the virtues to them, their main concerns were about finding time
during the day to teach these short lessons or if it would be too much of a
burden for them. This wasn’t the
response I was thinking but I it made me realize that I have a responsibility
to these teachers to encourage them so they can encourage these teachers. The best thing that happened to me as a
teacher was when I realized a needed the Joy of the Lord in everything I
did. It can get tiresome but when we see
it as our job as a Christian to instill these values in others, it is a
pleasure to serve the children and share Christ with them. Continue to pray that I can be that joy for
the other teachers so we can look past ourselves and focus on the children
knowing Christ. One different from this
seminar than others was that a lot of teachers brought their children with them
as I understand they don’t have another option.
Most of them slept on their mother’s backs the entire time while others
had a little more energy. After being
around babies this past summer, I realized how many things are packaged in
convenient sizes for their age and can be used by their small handles. This was quite the opposite as the mother’s
would bring out a bowl of rice with the largest spoon possible for a two year
old. Again, just a totally different
mindset but there is nothing wrong with this, it is just the way it is. In the afternoon, I found myself alone in a
classroom to teach the second grade teachers all in French. My translator, Roger, who is one of the main
directors of the schools, said he would help but mysteriously slip away
although he told me he was praying for me during this time. At points, I wished he was there as I
couldn’t articulate the exact words or I didn’t understand all of their
discussion but I realized it is a lot like training wheels. It is a great comfort to have and you don’t
really want to get rid of them, but you never know how to really ride a bike
unless you take them off. When I couldn’t
rely on a translator and I had to use only French, I managed and we all
survived. However, there are some bumps
and scraps along the way as I know I said
a lot of mistakes but this is the only way to get better and become
fluent. I asked one of the teachers
afterwards if he could understand me and he said yes. Then he said well, not all the time. I appreciated his honesty and know I still
have a long way to go although I love making the effort and actually being able
to carry on conversations with others.
Well the above part
was written last Wednesday and plans change as of Wednesday night thanks to the
government. You find out quickly here
that you never get you mind set on particular plans because they mostly likely
change a few hundred times. This is an
example of this as the Togolese government announced Wednesday night that they
were postponing school for another two weeks.
Now keep in mind that school was support to start this coming Monday and
they just announced the postponement on Wednesday. The reason they gave was because the parents
aren’t ready. Everyone knows that
parents are always ready for their children to go back to school but Bea has
been teaching me that the Togolese will say outlandish lies like this because
they know no one actually believes this.
The real reason is because they are afraid that the teachers will strike
if they don’t give them a bonus and they think that they will be able to
deliver these bonuses to the teacher with another two weeks. This is quite frustrating as we are just
ready to start school and we encouraged these teachers all week to be filled
with joy in sharing Christ with their students and now we have to wait another
two weeks. However, this is life here so
we accept it and find things to keep us busy like making clocks for the
teachers and kids, puzzles out of laminated pictures, or sprucing up the
curriculum. I am just ready to start on
a routine and pour into my students’ lives but Africa has taught me a lot of
patience so I must exhibit that oh so wonderful skill.
On Thursday when Bea told some of the teachers that they
should still be at the school for the next two weeks, one of the teachers
replied with, “Faire quoi?” which
literally means, “to do what?” It
definitely is a different mind-set here as the teachers don’t see the
importance of preparing their classroom ahead of time and practicing the new
curriculum but we are slowly allowing this concept to creep inside and
hopefully some teachers will take advantage of this time. I spent Thursday afternoon with the first and
second grade teachers to explain math games and why they are important in the
classroom. When I said that some
students can be playing games while you are teaching a small group, I got looks
like I had four heads! But I am excited
to actually get into their classrooms and help them model playing games while
working with other students so they can actually make sure the student
understand the material. One of the
teachers did ask me to come and help him implement this in his classroom and I
am thrilled for the opportunity to do this.
I just need school to start first!
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