Only one full week of teaching remains here at Christ the King. Although I have not yet told the students that next week will be my last, some students are starting to sense that my time here is drawing to an end. I think that since I brought my camera to the school yesterday to start capturing some of the priceless images, I tipped off the students that I will soon be leaving. As is usual with children, they are often ready and eager to pose for the camera.
Tomorrow at school, the students will remain at home as their parents are invited to come to see their student's work and to chat with their student's respective teachers. While I have only met a few of the parents thus far, I am looking forward to meet many more of them tomorrow.
This week in English class, I introduced descriptive adjectives (i.e. The large building was built in 1890). Next week we will discuss adjectives of quantity (i.e. There are four car driving on the road). This week in math class, we wrapped up a two week unit on time. Students can now tell time on non digital clocks and can also solve problems that ask how many minutes are between two different times (i.e. If I fell asleep at 5:15 and woke up at 6:05, how many minutes did I sleep for?) Next week the students will begin a unit on counting money.
It is setting in that time here is winding down. As you can imagine there have been many friendship formed with the students and other teachers which will make the good-byes hard to encounter.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
An international school
As I continue to learn more about the students and school, some early conceptions that I had of the school have proven to be false. I initially thoughts that many of the students here would have been students who grew up around the neighborhood of the school. I thought this because after talking to my host parents shortly after arriving, they mentioned how hard it is for a Ghanaian to travel to the U.S. or other parts of the non-African world.
However after talking with many of the students here, I have realized that this is not the case. Many students here were either born in the U.S. or the U.K. and have parents still working in those countries. However as you can imagine, it is quite expensive to raise a child in these countries with paying for clothes, food, and education. So often when children are old enough to attend kindergarten (or KG as they call it here), children are flown back here to Ghana and raised by their grandparents. To serve as an example, my host parents are currently raising two of their own grandchildren.
Once students are old enough to attend college, students permitted that they receive a Visa apply to colleges in the U.S. or U.K. to receive their higher education.
This school also has an international flavor since four different languages are taught here. The official langauge of Ghana is English so most classes are taught in English. Students also learn French 3 days a week along with Twi (pronounced Tree) and Ga, two local dialects.
I have also learned that this school, Christ the King International, is well respected as one of the top five schools in the country!
However after talking with many of the students here, I have realized that this is not the case. Many students here were either born in the U.S. or the U.K. and have parents still working in those countries. However as you can imagine, it is quite expensive to raise a child in these countries with paying for clothes, food, and education. So often when children are old enough to attend kindergarten (or KG as they call it here), children are flown back here to Ghana and raised by their grandparents. To serve as an example, my host parents are currently raising two of their own grandchildren.
Once students are old enough to attend college, students permitted that they receive a Visa apply to colleges in the U.S. or U.K. to receive their higher education.
This school also has an international flavor since four different languages are taught here. The official langauge of Ghana is English so most classes are taught in English. Students also learn French 3 days a week along with Twi (pronounced Tree) and Ga, two local dialects.
I have also learned that this school, Christ the King International, is well respected as one of the top five schools in the country!
Friday, February 9, 2007
The weeks are flying by
I can not believe that another school week has ended. With each week that passes by, it has become easier to settle into the classroom. Still though this week brought with it a few challenges.
With so many students in the classroom, it is very hard to ensure that all the students are learning at the same pace. Some will complete the classwork and homework with ease. For others, the work is more of a challenge and these students will take longer to finish, make many mistakes, or only do a few of problems. It is nearly impossible to help those students who are behind since their are so many students to get to. Here the teaching mentality is that you direct each lesson to the entire class.
During classwork time, I am able to help those students who have questions with their problems one-on-one. It is frustrating to see other teachers during classwork time correcting other work rather than helping their struggling students. I also always review the homework from the previous day to help make sure that the students understand the content. Most of the other teachers here begin their class period by assigning more classwork without discussing the previous days homework and without giving any new instruction.
This seems to be the biggest difference from what I am used to. The focus here seems to be that the students are constantly doing work while the teacher is constantly correcting their work. Therefore it has been a challenge teaching from a different perspective.
This past week in math, we worked on solving addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication sentences with missing parts while also showing the work. For example 50 divided by ___ = 10. Students had to solve the problem and show how they solved it by using long division. Next week in math, we will begin a two week unit on telling time and word problems involving time. In English class, we worked on the future tense where you need to use the word shall for first person pronouns and will for second and third person pronouns.
With so many students in the classroom, it is very hard to ensure that all the students are learning at the same pace. Some will complete the classwork and homework with ease. For others, the work is more of a challenge and these students will take longer to finish, make many mistakes, or only do a few of problems. It is nearly impossible to help those students who are behind since their are so many students to get to. Here the teaching mentality is that you direct each lesson to the entire class.
During classwork time, I am able to help those students who have questions with their problems one-on-one. It is frustrating to see other teachers during classwork time correcting other work rather than helping their struggling students. I also always review the homework from the previous day to help make sure that the students understand the content. Most of the other teachers here begin their class period by assigning more classwork without discussing the previous days homework and without giving any new instruction.
This seems to be the biggest difference from what I am used to. The focus here seems to be that the students are constantly doing work while the teacher is constantly correcting their work. Therefore it has been a challenge teaching from a different perspective.
This past week in math, we worked on solving addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication sentences with missing parts while also showing the work. For example 50 divided by ___ = 10. Students had to solve the problem and show how they solved it by using long division. Next week in math, we will begin a two week unit on telling time and word problems involving time. In English class, we worked on the future tense where you need to use the word shall for first person pronouns and will for second and third person pronouns.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Reflections after one month
Having been educated and teaching in private schools my entire life, it is hard to get used to classrooms that have 40-45 students. At times it is overwhelming. This seems to be the biggest obstacle to overcome since there is so much as a teacher that you need to monitor. You can not prevent all of the chit chat or some of the minor quarrels that some of the students get into. You also become swamped to grade student classwork and homework. I just hope as a teacher that I can connect with most of the students and engage them with the content.
It has also been a bit of a challenge since the school does not have the same resources that schools back home have (i.e. access to a copy machine, manipulatives for students to use, text books for all students, copies of teacher books or workbooks, etc.). Assessments here are very limited as well. Students are graded based off of their classwork, homework, and tests. There are not any projects, papers, creative homework assignments, or any informal assessments. At times if feels like I am teaching with my hands tied behind my back.
It is encouraging to know that many parents here to monitor their student's work by checking their homework every night. I would guess that about 60% of my students parents will check and sign their student' work. As in most cases, the parents who keep an eye on their student's work and performance see their children succeed.
I have been able to have students do types of work that most teachers do not have their students do. For example in math class I have students show of their work on the chalk board when usually only the teachers are allowed to work on the board. I have also done a bit of group work while many teachers give just give independent work for students to work on. Also many teachers will correct other student work while their students are working on classwork. This means that most teachers do not walk throughout the room assisting those students that are have trouble with the work. Further many teachers here seem to lecture without often engaging the students. I always try to ask as many questions as I can while teaching to allow for students to interact and make sense of the content.
All in all, I can not believe that I have taught for four weeks. The time has sure gone by fast.
It has also been a bit of a challenge since the school does not have the same resources that schools back home have (i.e. access to a copy machine, manipulatives for students to use, text books for all students, copies of teacher books or workbooks, etc.). Assessments here are very limited as well. Students are graded based off of their classwork, homework, and tests. There are not any projects, papers, creative homework assignments, or any informal assessments. At times if feels like I am teaching with my hands tied behind my back.
It is encouraging to know that many parents here to monitor their student's work by checking their homework every night. I would guess that about 60% of my students parents will check and sign their student' work. As in most cases, the parents who keep an eye on their student's work and performance see their children succeed.
I have been able to have students do types of work that most teachers do not have their students do. For example in math class I have students show of their work on the chalk board when usually only the teachers are allowed to work on the board. I have also done a bit of group work while many teachers give just give independent work for students to work on. Also many teachers will correct other student work while their students are working on classwork. This means that most teachers do not walk throughout the room assisting those students that are have trouble with the work. Further many teachers here seem to lecture without often engaging the students. I always try to ask as many questions as I can while teaching to allow for students to interact and make sense of the content.
All in all, I can not believe that I have taught for four weeks. The time has sure gone by fast.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Christ the King turns 51
Yesterday Christ the King turned 51 and the school celebrated its birthday with a mass and activities for the students. The day, referred to as Founders Day, began with a mass where the priest spoke about the importance of students of not only being academically intelligent but also socially intelligent. He stressed that students need to know how to treat their fellow peers, teachers, friends, and family. Without social intelligence, academic intelligence does not matter becuase you will not know how to use it. He also talked about the importance of being one family united by love and peace.
Following mass, the students took part in games of soccer, basketball, and volleyball which was accompanied by music, food, and refreshments. It was a great opportunity to be thankful for the founders of the school while also reflecting on the current term.
Today in math, I continued teaching long division which seems to be a hard concept for some students to grasp. Therefore we have taken baby steps and slowly the students have been comprehending it. In grammar class, we began discussing the future tense. Apparently according to British English when you speak first person with the future tense you use the word shall (i.e. I shall run tomorrow or We shall go to the store). However when you use the second or third person for the future tense you use the word will (i.e. You will clean your room or They will be travelling this weekend). I was unaware of these uses of the future tense which shows that I am learning alongside my students.
Following mass, the students took part in games of soccer, basketball, and volleyball which was accompanied by music, food, and refreshments. It was a great opportunity to be thankful for the founders of the school while also reflecting on the current term.
Today in math, I continued teaching long division which seems to be a hard concept for some students to grasp. Therefore we have taken baby steps and slowly the students have been comprehending it. In grammar class, we began discussing the future tense. Apparently according to British English when you speak first person with the future tense you use the word shall (i.e. I shall run tomorrow or We shall go to the store). However when you use the second or third person for the future tense you use the word will (i.e. You will clean your room or They will be travelling this weekend). I was unaware of these uses of the future tense which shows that I am learning alongside my students.
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