A few weeks ago, I stopped by to see if it was possible to come to school one day. Shortly thereafter, we met the English teacher who spoke no English. Next, I met the school supervisor and he brought me around the school to show me all of the classrooms. All of the younger children were following us around in their formal Muslim wear and it was apparent that Mzungus weren't frequent at this school. I felt like show and tell.
The next day, Nini and I showed up with no lesson plan and no expectation of what was to come. A half hour later, we found ourselves in our own classroom with two pieces of chalk and an eraser. Even the teachers had joined to learn. Apparently we were teaching English class. The children were all very shy and the girls hid behind their headdresses when we called on them. Nini and I bounced around the room and had the kids get up and play games and practice the little English they knew. Two hours later it was getting dark and we told them we had to go. The next day we showed up and 20 minutes later our first student arrived on a bike that was too big for her. 10 minutes later a young boy and then a teacher shortly thereafter. That day we had a lot of rain so many of the students couldn't make it to school but we still held class and the kids were very engaged. At the end of class we taught them row row row your boat.
These kids are full of energy and are great listeners but have varying levels of English. It's quite apparent that they want to learn English and many don't get the opportunity. English is a requirement for any good job on the island so we are happy to have another week to help get them motivated. We plan to bring notebooks on Monday so that they can take notes while we teach. Nini is inspired and is talking about taking part of her allowance to sponsor one of the kids in our class.
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this is my favorite "paying forward" story of your entire trip. for you and nini to wing it with no lesson plans was inspirational and a great example for all of us who have so many excuses in our lives. motivating others is your specialty and i imagine the kids were all eager to try out some English knowing it may be a stepping stone toward getting a decent job down the road. nice job girls. how endearing to hear that nini is thinking about using her allowance to sponsor a student. she will never have any regrets. luv. mum
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