A Well Deserved Holiday?

I have just completed three days at Ntabayengwe Primary School.

About the school, its name means mountain of the leopard. It is called this either because: a) there used to be a leopard that hunted in the area killing lots of sheep b) the mountains behind the school make the outline of a leopard. (Mme Ntembo - Deputy Principal - took time out to show me the leopard-like shape of the surrounding hills. I wasn’t entirely convinced. I tried to argue that it looked like any sedentary animal. She was adamant that it resembled a leopard. I didn’t push my point.) The school is about 15km from home. Being at the base of the mountains it is 5-6 degrees hotter that the temperature at the hospital.

Though Mpontshini (school I was at last weekend) was hardly Charterhouse, Ntabayengwe is much more desperate. Most of the buildings have temporary roofs. There are very few staff. One of the two male members of staff is very sick and so is rarely able to attend. There are almost no classroom resources. Despite all this, I had a much more enjoyable time with the children. The main reason for this was that the school has much fewer pupils. As a result I was able to teach classes of 25 instead of 70.

I taught most of my lessons to a group of grade 6s. What they lack in English they make up for in huge enthusiasm. Being only 25 in number, I have learnt most of their names (or shortened versions) which they are very pleased about. This has helped us to bond. They clearly like me, even if they are puzzled by my lessons. My biggest appeal is that I do not hit them if they are not paying attention. This is the practice of the fearsome lady who usually teaches them. (She now sits in the corner of my lessons and acts as translator when they look entirely lost.)

The quality of my lessons is very suspect. The trouble is that what I am meant to teach them is far above their ability levels and often extremely dry. My challenge is trying to inject some interest but without any resources. I have had some successes but more failures.

Failures:

In social science lessons we have been looking at causes of ‘change’. We looked firstly at technology and the impact of the computer on the world. We went through examples of technology. The children were familiar with cars and phones. None have electricity. Most had seen computers. None knew about the internet. My lesson on the profound impact of technology and computers on the world ‘we’ live in began to unravel.

Yesterday, in a follow up lesson, I brought in my computer. I hoped to be able to show them the internet. Unfortunately, I could get no connection. To try to make up for their disappointment, we played a game of computer chess. They were thrilled. After this we looked at how individuals have changed the world. We discussed Nelson Mandela. Then muggins here, decided to teach them about another great individual – Albert Einstein. Why did I pick him? Because he was the example in the text book. Crap reasoning. My monologue on Einstein quickly descended into farcical levels of detail. So atoms…and splitting….and huge release of energy…and nuclear reactions…and atomic bomb…and Hiroshima…and the Cold War…and prospect of nuclear holocaust. Lindon’s increasingly animated nose picking in the back row was the only productive part of the lesson.

Then, I give you the example of my social science lessons. Prior to my arrival, the children had been learning about human rights. I was given the task of explaining gender stereotyping and sexism. Before tackling this, I thought a recap on rights would be worthwhile. What were their rights? I focused in particularly on their right not to be subjected to physical abuse. I’m not sure what my friend in the corner thought about my emphasis.

Looking at gender stereotyping, the boys and girls congregated in different corners of the room. Right, says I, ‘What do most boys like doing?’ Answer from bright girl called Slo, ‘Playing football’. ‘Guhle’ I say (meaning good in Zulu; must be pronounced as if thoroughly inebriated). ‘But, obviously, not all boys like playing football’. Except, all the grade 6 boys at Ntabayengwe do. Nevermind. Then we reversed it (with equal success) to look at how not all girls like netball.

‘Now, what if I said that all the boys in this corner are very clever. They all have big brains. All the girls in this corner are not clever. They are all stupid. Would anybody disagree? What is wrong with what I just said? Please somebody put up their hand. Girls, please defend yourselves.’ Silence. Rest of the lesson was spent trying to show that boys are not more clever than girls. I’m not sure I changed many opinions on either side.

Last but not least, my English lessons were truly horrid. Yesterday was spent teaching about prefixes and suffixes. Never have I been so boring. Regardless, at the end of each lesson the children my departure would be accompanied with a chorus of ‘Thank you, Sir.’

Football

The end of the day I was able to organise games of football and netball. The football match took place on a pitch outside the school. When we arrived, one end was occupied by cows. They willingly vacated the area when we made clear our intentions. The pitch has no grass and has many rocks. I split the sides into two. And they kicked off. The game was utterly brutal. There was little passing as nobody was clear on their team mates. (I need to try and make them some bibs). The boy in possession of the ball was routinely hacked down. The referee made an early decision to let the game flow. As a result not a single foul was called. Though most of the players were bloodied and bruised by the end nobody complained once.

Sadly, today marks the start of a school holiday. The holiday runs until the end of next week. To fill my time I have taken on responsibility for organising the Ingwavuma half-marathon. I will let you know more about this.

After half-term I will probably return to Ingwavuma High School to get a better idea of what it would be like to teach there. Unless I really enjoy it, I am likely to return for good to Ntabayengwe.