So I’ve officially moved to yet another region of Ghana. Make that 3 total I’ve lived in, 4 I’m familiar with… And the reason I’ve moved again is a really exciting one! I got a new job!!!
After about five months working for my other job, I realized mainly that the town wasn’t for me, but also I just couldn’t sit in front of a computer day in, day out. It was physically making me feel sick. Within the first hour of beginning work, my head would start to spin, my vision would get blurry and hazy, my head would hurt and I would overall feel nauseous. I didn’t realize how related these feelings truly were to using the computer until I stopped for a few days (thank you malaria). My vision during that time cleared up away from the computer, making me realize how bad it had gotten. Still, I am more than grateful for the opportunity I had to work there and even more so for the wonderful co-workers and friends who came into my life. My Ghanaian roommate/co-worker/best friend is someone who has truly impacted my life and become a teacher to me and a best friend. I already miss her so much…
And so despite these wonderful people, I knew it was time for a change. I found an opportunity working at a Library/ICT Centre called To Be Worldwide. Check out the website here: http://www.tobeworldwide.org/ or “like” the facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/To-Be-Worldwide/139695902714893 . Check it out, share it, like it!!!
My job revolves around working with the kids and teaching them to read. Our previous teacher from Holland (I call her by her Ghanaian name-Ama) helped to set up a really great program with a set of books called Bob’s Books. (Calling all teachers for young children!! Check these out!) They are absolutely wonderful and a great tool. There are 5 box sets, each with 8-12 books inside. The first set, first book, uses only the letters “m”, “a”, “t”, and “s” and creates a short story. We teach the children the sounds instead of the names of the letters, which makes reading much easier. Then, the books gradually progress to add in all the sounds, using only 3 letter words. By the end of the first 12 books, the child knows all the sounds of all the letters!
And what’s even more, they have read 12 books! For a child who has never been able to read, this is a pretty important achievement!
We have wooden letter blocks that we practice making three letter words with. The kids really love these. You would be surprised how long they will enjoy sitting and making words for you…
We try to help them understand the books by explaining the pictures. This skill is really lacking, even with the children who read a bit better. I’m currently working to develop Activity Cards which provides them hands on activities, similar to a workbook, to help them practice skills-like understanding what they read.
We also have a Reading Club, which Ama handed over to me. We work with a local school and a wonderful Ghanaian teacher in one of the classes to help the kids who really don’t know how to read at all. The Reading Club spans 6 weeks and there are 4 potential levels for them to read at; most start at level 1. We move up through the Bob’s Books sets, supplementing with other books, word rows, flashcards and worksheets. Ama also created many different fun activities for the kids to do, which is really helpful. They love any kind of game they can play!! We also use the Activity Cards in the library with the kids if a teacher (myself or if another volunteer) is around. This helps them to build skills and teaches them to work independently.
We also do Saturday activities, since the kids are out of school those days. They come in the morning and read in the library as usual, but at noon, we do something fun and educational. Jigsaw puzzles I think will always be their favorite! The amazing part is how good it really is for them when you think about it! The creativity of the activity and the end result of a beautiful picture for all your hard work is so important. Especially since much of the school work here lacks creativity and critical thinking.
The most shocking part of this job is the number of kids who cannot read. I’m not talking just young kids, but all the way up to Class 5! I always ask myself-how did this child get to this Class (Grade) level without reading? I’ve heard different things from different people, so the following suggestions are not all “facts”, but rather conclusions I’ve drawn from information I have been informed of. I think part of the reason is the class size. 40 kids and 1 teacher is not effective and quite impossible to manage. It takes 1 teacher just to keep them all quiet. Furthermore, that 1 teacher is not paid so well in government schools and therefore sometimes lacks motivation to spend a lot of extra time with children who need extra help.
Then there’s the issue of caneing children….I know many of you will not like this topic anymore than I do. It is commonplace in the Ghanaian classroom for the teacher to carry a wooden cane and hit children with it (usually on the palms of their hands or on the bottom, sometimes the head) when they misbehave. Unfortunately, it is also used when a child gets an answer wrong. Or apparently, as I found out the other day, when one is not a good reader…I have a wonderful boy I work with in Class 4 or 5 (can’t remember which). When he came in, he couldn’t read at all. Ama and I have both worked with him and he is doing wonderful! He has made so much progress already. His passion and love for reading really propel him forward and make teaching truly enjoyable. There’s nothing better than hearing a child say to you, “Madam, reading is fun for me!” He is always wearing a smile. So you imagine my shock when one of the volunteers comes to my office to tell me he has arrived in tears. I then found out the teacher was caneing him because he could not read well…
You can imagine my heart felt a bit trampled…and quite angry. I’ve known about caneing since I arrived and I know many volunteers struggle with it. Still, I also have grown to accept that it is a practice which will take many years to modify, as it is deeply engrained in the culture. Canes are even used by parents in the home. If a child is misbehaving, they say “Stop or I’ll beat you”, etc… (Please don’t think “beat” means punch or anything. It generally means caneing, and although this is not much better, I wouldn’t want confusion). A practice such as this, one that teachers believe is necessary to keep the kids in line, will not easily leave the schools.
Regardless, caneing a child for their inability to read seems rather preposterous to me… What benefit could possibly come of this? You only make the child afraid every time they are called upon and therefore it is guaranteed they will mess up! Furthermore, it is partly the fault of the teachers for not working properly with a child who is in need of extra attention. Beating that child will NEVER help him read better…
I could rant all day about this… But thankfully, after working together for an hour or so, this particular boy left the Centre smiling. That’s the most rewarding part of the day…seeing a child proud of themselves for what they have accomplished in that day. And seeing them have fun along the way.
So I think that’s enough rambling for now about the new job! I’ll try to keep you updated with what’s going on around here and what not. I’ve decided to start writing blog posts about different aspects of life or culture here to give people a better idea of Ghana, rather than always talking about my own life. So hopefully I’ll find a bit more time to write than I have the past year☺ If you have instagram, you should follow me! I don’t really know how it all works, but if you can find me through my username, its autumnwindd1. I finally got one and I’ve been trying to post pictures of life here and the children.
As far as the rest of my life goes, relocating has been a bit of a struggle, but finally the boyfriend and I found a room yesterday, so today we will be moving in☺ Finally we get to have a place to call our own to rest our heads for more than one month or one week or whatever…somewhere I don’t have to feel like I’m tip-toeing around because it’s not my house and I am a guest. It’s something I never thought I would be happy for-to be in one place for a longer period of time- but at this moment, it’s a huge relief. Everything is finally coming into place a bit with the job and the apartment. I’m grateful for all those who have supported us and helped us along our way…there’s been too many to count.
Thank you for reading! Sorry for the length…Since it seems to be my tradition, I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes…I shared this one and many others with some new friends the other night and I realized how much I loved this one. And how relevant it has been for me recently…
“Realize that whatever life you’re living, you are creating it-right now, in this moment. If you don’t like what you’re experiencing, then resolve to create something else. Begin to create that new reality immediately. Realize that no one is coming to rescue you. It’s entirely up to you to make your life what you want it to be.”
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