my first days of school

 I’ve been going to school for a week now, and I think I’m starting to get the swing of things. For now, I’ve just been shadowing other teachers and learning how things work.

Classes here are… well, kind of what you might expect from a school that asks for a Peace Corps Volunteer. Classes are large, learners are not always prepared for class, and they really need to work on critical thinking skills instead of rote memorization.

On the other hand, the kids are really cute! They don’t always want to be in school/care about school, but they’re just kids, you know? They like to talk to me and ask questions about America (finding out that Ms. Barbara and I did not, in fact, know each other in America—she’s from Texas—blows their minds). It’s crazy how everything I do is noticed by someone here, because I’m new/American/etc.

There are some really good teachers at my school, though! The teachers are, obviously, all different and come in with different skills. A lot of them seem to not know a whole lot more than their learners. But some of them are incorporating really good techniques for teaching to a variety of learning styles, using manipulatives in class, and other really encouraging things that I’m super excited to see here!

One of the biggest problems in our classrooms is discipline. Even though it’s technically illegal, corporal punishment is still really common in this region of Namibia. It’s culturally the norm, both at home and in school, and many people maintain that corporal punishment is the only kind of discipline that the kids will respond to. Volunteers get kind of laughed at for our noisy classrooms and lack of discipline among students, so I foresee that being a major problem next year.

On the other hand (I’m starting to feel like Tevye with all of these hands), there are SOME learners who really do care about their education, and try hard, and care about school! Those ones are awesome. For instance, on Saturday we had a mandatory study for all grade 10 learners, since they are just starting to take their exams (you need to pass national exams to move on to grade 11 at an upper secondary school). The classroom was pretty loud, most students had notebooks out but most of them were really just talking to friends. Then I had an optional study that night, so that if they had more questions about the physical science exam they are taking today, they could come in and ask me. A handful of really dedicated grade 10 learners came in and spent 2 hours asking me questions and going through examples. It was wonderful to see how much they cared! (It was also really nice for me to get to hang out with a small group of learners.)

Any of you who are reading this – I would love to hear any advice you have for classroom management, nonviolent discipline, dealing with rambunctious learners, running a classroom with learners at very different levels of understanding, etc. Thanks for your help!