I have seen many things in the Gambia which have been difficult to see or hear about but this is the first time I have really found something that shocked me, something unexpected. Though I am still not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing because of how amazing it was.
I have been organizing myself to go and observe students teaching over the last few weeks and this student was my last stop. I rang the evening before and was surprised to talk to a student with unexpectedly good English. Nothing impressed me more though than when I saw this student’s school.
Parfeh was out trying to locate me when I first arrived at the school (guided by a local) and I came to a fairly large mud brick room filled with small tables and around 80 mixed aged nursery school children. I didn’t know what else to do so I just started singing and the children good naturedly joined in. They were amazing for such a range of ages to be able to sing along in English with me so well.
Parfeh arrived and again I was amazed by how well spoken he was. He explained that he had only just started school this week and some of the children were new, but agreed to rehash one of the previous year’s lessons for me to observe (yeah I have to do that sometimes). He then taught a lesson on the abc combining letters, words and counting all of which the previous grade was able to do. It would have been nearly impossible to have used child centred methods with such a large group of children, especially with a few who had just started and still wanted their mums. However again it was amazing to see the rapport Parfeh had with the children, he really seemed to enjoy teaching them.
Parfeh was unemployed and started his own school in 1998. He still has no sponsor so funds the school himself and has paid for his own tuition to do studies in ECD. He is really struggling but definitely not through lack of trying and he would be one of the most brilliant students I have seen in a while.
My gasp is one of shock that someone would actually have to teach 80 children of that age, especially in a bare classroom which was so hot you could fill a cup from your forehead (no exaggeration), or that even under those conditions some teachers are so gifted the children still learn. Imagine what a teacher like that could do if given the advantages of the Western World.
I have been organizing myself to go and observe students teaching over the last few weeks and this student was my last stop. I rang the evening before and was surprised to talk to a student with unexpectedly good English. Nothing impressed me more though than when I saw this student’s school.
Parfeh was out trying to locate me when I first arrived at the school (guided by a local) and I came to a fairly large mud brick room filled with small tables and around 80 mixed aged nursery school children. I didn’t know what else to do so I just started singing and the children good naturedly joined in. They were amazing for such a range of ages to be able to sing along in English with me so well.
Parfeh arrived and again I was amazed by how well spoken he was. He explained that he had only just started school this week and some of the children were new, but agreed to rehash one of the previous year’s lessons for me to observe (yeah I have to do that sometimes). He then taught a lesson on the abc combining letters, words and counting all of which the previous grade was able to do. It would have been nearly impossible to have used child centred methods with such a large group of children, especially with a few who had just started and still wanted their mums. However again it was amazing to see the rapport Parfeh had with the children, he really seemed to enjoy teaching them.
Parfeh was unemployed and started his own school in 1998. He still has no sponsor so funds the school himself and has paid for his own tuition to do studies in ECD. He is really struggling but definitely not through lack of trying and he would be one of the most brilliant students I have seen in a while.
My gasp is one of shock that someone would actually have to teach 80 children of that age, especially in a bare classroom which was so hot you could fill a cup from your forehead (no exaggeration), or that even under those conditions some teachers are so gifted the children still learn. Imagine what a teacher like that could do if given the advantages of the Western World.
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