Tag Archives: teaching abroad

A new term

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First Day

It was 8:10 a.m. No one was at school except for the grounds keeper and myself. Great, I thought.

Less than five minutes later, in a few separate groups, all of the teachers arrived, looking fresh from the winter holiday and time spent with family. The students soon trickled in and began dusting and cleaning the school. Nearly two hours behind schedule, at 10 a.m., we began the first day of the second term.

I’ve been anxious about going back to school. To be perfectly honest, I am a lousy teacher and just haven’t gotten the hang of controlling and motivating my students. The last term ended with me nearly in tears as some students tried to lie and cheat their way out of my class. I hoped the winter break would offer some perspective and time for me to steady my breath, but I wasn’t sure that I had reached the calm I desired. The students could easily eat me up and spit me out like before.

This term my scheduled changed a bit. Previously I was teaching Form B (ninth grade) English and Life Skills and Form E (senior) English. Form E and Form C are called externals, meaning students have to take a national test to pass on. The Form Cs move to high school whereas Form E is eligible for technical schools and university. It’s not recommended for volunteers to teach externals, especially in their first year, but my school had no one to teach it. It is just one student and her exam is all writing so I thought I could help her and my APCD (fancy acronym for my Peace Corps education supervisor) agreed to it.

However, a few weeks before final tests, one of the school’s former English teachers came looking for work. She was still on payroll and they decided to let her teach because they were still paying her. (The ins and outs of hiring and firing teachers in Lesotho is quite complex and is strictly handled by the Ministry of Education, which works like all governments: slow. This teacher had hoped to be released to work at another school and it didn’t happen, so she returned to the school). Because we already had one paid English teacher and two volunteer teachers (myself included) we all gave up a few classes for this teacher.

At first I was adamant about not giving up my Form E. I thought it was unfair and it made me feel not needed, then I put my ego aside. This other teacher has actually taught Form E before and has much more experience with the exam than I do, meaning she can offer much more practical advice to the student than I could. At the end of the day, I realized the student may have a better chance of passing with this other teacher leading her than I, so I willingly gave it up.

But I didn’t want to feel completely useless and asked to take something else. Another teacher was teaching two forms of Life Skills and said that I could have the Form As. I was nervous to take them because the Form Bs have a hard time understanding me and I knew it would be worse with a lower level. When working with the students at my school, I have to speak very. slow. English. If you’ve heard me speak, I don’t do slow. But I have to for the sake of these children and I have to use very simple words (which actually isn’t too terribly tough for me because I don’t have that extensive of a vocabulary and I’ve been forced to write at a fourth grade level through my newspaper training). I would also have to repeat things over. And over. And over. And over. And over. It can be very frustrating and I knew I would have to be slower, simpler and more repetitive with the Form As.

On my first day, I had only one class and it was with the Form A. I made a quick lesson plan of review and introduction, including rules for ‘Me Keneuoe’s class. Although there was only six students, I was intimidated by them and feared that eating and spitting thing I mentioned earlier.

I walked into the class with a bright smile and the speed of English so slow I didn’t even know if I could pull it off. Immediately the students warmed up to me. We had both seen each other around school for four months, but now we got to interact and it was kind of fun. I suddenly felt at ease and excited about the rest of the semester.

The rest of the day went so smooth that it was hard for me not to put my hopes on this being a precedent for the rest of the term. The teachers seemed eager to be back in the classroom and a few students, who were wandering around the village earlier in the day, had gone home to changed and showed up in their uniform, ready for the learning fun.

By the end of last term, I was rarely in the staff room. I was usually in the computer lab or library, busy doing whatever it is I do, but I decided to hang out with the teachers. They asked me about my winter and I joked with them that the school’s cat missed them. It was fun to be with them again, speaking Sesotho-English and making fun of each other. We even sat down to write the school’s mission and vision statement. That is kind of the one thing that I am semi-good at and produced both to their liking in five minutes. (Fun fact: I also wrote the SDSU Foundation’s mission statement, unless they have changed it in the last two years. Maybe I should write mission statements for a living.)

It’s funny how anxious I was about this day because it couldn’t have gone smoother. It showed me that this next term will have confusing and frustrating moments, but I can beat each smile when I put on a smile and good attitude and find resolve in not being in control.

There are 92 school days, give or take, left in the school year and I have 92 good feelings.

Valentine’s Day

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On this February 14th, I have a valentine – 23 of them actually.

For an hour on Tuesdays and two on Thursdays, I teach a lifeskills class to the Form Bs, the equivalent of high school freshmen. We discuss making good decisions, communicating opinions and wants and, eventually, HIV/AIDs, early pregnancy and drugs and alcohol. Today, though, we took a break from assertive behavior for Valentine’s Day.

Most of the classes are straight lecture, without much play let alone crafts. Lifeskills is a class where I can incorporate more hands-on and fun learning as opposed to English, which requires a lot more board work and notes. We have been talking about surrounding ourselves with people who help us make good decisions, such as a teacher or parent, so I took a bit further, to incorporate the holiday, and reminded them to tell those people we love them.

One of my loves, Amy, sent me a box of crayons in a Christmas package so I brought them to class and instructed the students to tear out a sheet of paper and write a message to someone they love. I showed them an example that I made the night before and dumped the crayons on to a desk. But before they began, I handed them each a little paper heart with their names and a simple declaration: I love you.

I do love my students. On the tough days, the why-am-I-here ones, they change my attitude. They make me laugh and scream at the same time. Their smiles dissolve all the hate in my heart and I am ready to try again.

On Valentine’s Day, we get so wrapped up in romantic love that those who don’t have it are bitter and jealous. But, this day isn’t about that for me. Maybe it’s because my romantic life has been put on hold for many years to make this dream happen and happen without any reason to look back but it could also be that I have so much love around me that it doesn’t matter who it comes from.

At home, there are many people that I love and miss greatly, but, here in this tiny country, I have new loved ones. They are scattered throughout the kingdom but also in this tiny village. Love, I have it, and lots of it.

There will be no fancy dinners, boxes of chocolate, shiny red cards or bouquets of roses for me today. Instead, I had 40 minutes with a group of coloring teenagers singing Akon and Justin Bieber. It was the perfect Valentine’s Day.

Happy Valentine’s Day, my loves.

The first day

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Hello, all,

As I continue to record my Peace Corps service through words, I am going to take my writing a step further and will be a regular columnist for my former employer, The Capital Journal. The column will run every other week and will focus on my experiences in Lesotho related to America, specifically South Dakota. The columns won’t be much different than these blog posts, however, maybe with less errors thanks to my editors. I plan to post them on my blog as well, after the publish date, for my beloved blog readers. However, if you are in Pierre, make sure to pick up a copy of the paper and check out other local news, especially stuff from the other Mangan. Below is my first submission for the paper.

Also, just so my readers are aware, posts on the blog are usually one to two weeks old. I schedule my posts a week before they run so that I always have content in case a huge rain storm knocks out the electricity box and I can’t charge my computer or the network stops works because it can (which does happen).

I am really trying to make something of this blog and believe in consistency. With that, I would love you forever if you recommend posts to friends, followers or random people on the street.

Thank you, and enjoy.

—

In August, I pulled up to the front of Washington Elementary before the majority of students had arrived. I was there on assignment for the Capital Journal to cover a big event for every student in the Pierre School District: the first day of school.

My job was to capture the glow and wonder of a new academic year, so I decided the best spot would be the kindergarten room. A teacher graciously allowed me to observe the five and six year olds walk into their new classroom. Some students where excited and rushed to their cubbyholes, while others hung close to their parents and slowly tested the waters of the new place.

Being there brought back memories of my first days. In preschool, I tried to take off my shoes. The day before my freshman year of high school, my mother and I rushed to the store to repair a terrible dye job that turned my hair orange.

Still, no matter what had happened during the previous year or the summer, the first day full of hope.

This week, I had another first day of school, this time as a teacher. In October, I left South Dakota and the country to serve with Peace Corps in Lesotho. After eight weeks of training, I became an education volunteer and spent the first month in my new village integrating into the community and preparing for my own big day.

School in Lesotho is different. Instead of the parent drop-off ritual, students walk to class, sometimes as far as six miles. They may have a few notebooks and pens, but most schools don’t have textbooks, let alone other colorful posters or SMART boards. At the middle school and high school level, all classes – even complicated courses such as physics – are taught in English, a language they only start learning in the fourth grade.

It is not easy for students in Lesotho, yet, even a culture different from ours, the magic of a new year isn’t lost. Sunday, before the first day, a student walked by my house and said with a giant smile, “School starts tomorrow.”

The first day brings nerves and, as a first-time teacher, that anxiety is stronger: Will my teaching be so terrible that the students learn nothing and I completely ruin their lives forever?

Even with my over-exaggerated anxiety, the first day of school brings out something better – hope. A new year means hope for new adventures, new friends and a new you.

With only three months in Lesotho, I still feel link a stranger in this country. However, the energy of the first day of school is something I can relate to, something I can find comfort in. It marks the beginning of my teaching career with hope, not only for the school year but also for all of my two-year service.