Back at work...

Wednesday 6th October



Thankfully all recovered and feeling fab! Great to be back at work and I’m so very proud of how my students are doing. Wasn’t so impressed that quite a bit of their equipment is now missing, but probably shouldn’t be too surprised as it has been used by other teachers in my absence, and clearly they don’t nag and check quite as much as I do!! A trip to the supermarket needed at weekend to restock. Also, a lot of the wall displays that I’d put up were hanging off, or were completely off the walls, but everything is back up now where it should be. I will be really pleased, when (and if?) we do get doors on the classrooms so that the rooms can be locked at break and lunch as it is bedlam there at times….just excitable kids, with not much enforcement going on.






Following the kids mindmap on Shauriyako, I am now keen to take their work into more detail, so we have explored more about ‘buildings’ today, and the kids completed a fantastic floor plan of their school. Their excitement and pride in their work is phenomenal, and the level of detail they worked at on their plans was great to see. We sat outside in one of the ‘new’ but not finished classrooms to do the plans, and they were so focused. They are now starting to verbally answer questions with a sentence rather than one word answers, and some of them are also able to write sentences now. I am hoping to take the theme of Shauriyako further so that we will go out into the village and actually draw a plan of the village, marking out the different buildings there, and being able to describe a little bit about each one (which will help me (and you) get to know the village better). Mind you, haven’t yet asked Madam Jane whether I can take the kids out for a bit of field work, but hopefully she won’t say no.






I hope you like and appreciate the photos of their work! Proud teacher moment!!

Managed to do quite a bit of work on mapping out the curriculum in English and maths. Frankly it’s all a bit bonkers, especially the English. The assumption is that these kids will just be able to pick up the reading by osmosis and grammar is taught in a strangely illogical way (eg. The use of the apostrophe is taught in standard 2, but capital letters and full stops not taught until standard 4). There is no doubt we need to re-write the curriculum for the kids, and also try to persuade Madam Jane to let us teach the kids by ability rather than year/standards, as kids are being moved down to standard 2 from standard 5 because they can’t read, yet are fine with their maths etc. So, am doing a lot of work behind the scenes and presenting it to the staff here, who then have to negotiate with the headteachers, such as profile sheets for each kid so we can track their progress and any data we build up on them, but, as am only a mere minion in the grand scheme of things here, it is up to them what they decide to use or not! I’m trying to put a bit of lid on my typical hurricane energy and ability to ‘cut to the chase’ ……but it’s so hard! There are some excellent volunteers out here who are all really pushing to get some structures into place, and I truly believe by the new year, things will be very different at Precious.






Got some interesting volunteers here as well. As in any communal living situation, there has to be at least one that leaves a trail wherever she goes, forgets to do duties, doesn’t make it to school on time, head in the clouds, and well basically everything that is guaranteed to wind up everyone else, and yes, she’s on the bunk on top of me (did I tell you I commandeered a bottom bunk as soon as one became available). But, after being broken in well and truly in the Seychelles, I am strangely laid back now over things, mildly sarcastic, and nicely direct (this girl has rhino skin so no chance of any offence being taken).