lyrics + disclaimer

Life is short, so let's go live it.

**all opinions expressed here are my own and do not reflect those of the Peace Corps or any official US or Namibian organization.**

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Too many Kids, Not Enough Parents/Time/Attention/…

One of the things, which I’ve always known but have been especially hit with this year, is that there are not enough parents around for all of my learners. Every time I have a bond with one of them, I want to give them my attention, time, motivation, and help. Sometimes this means buying a new pair of school shoes (thanks everyone at home who has helped to make this financially possible!). Sometimes this means calling them in for extra study time or one-on-one tutoring. Sometimes this means sitting on the front stoop of my house and just spending time together.
But the thing is, there’s not enough time. Just to give you an idea, here is an example of my kids’/my schedule during the week:
6:45-1:30 school
1:30-2:30 lunch
2:30-3:30 resting time
3:30-5:00 afternoon study
5:00-6:00 sports practices
7:00-8:30 evening study
9:30         lights out (for the kids… but seeing as I’m now an old grandmother my bedtime is usually not far behind!) 
 It’s awesome that we keep them busy, especially the hostel kids who have limited supervision as it is at the hostel (2 supervisors on duty at any given time, for up to 144 learners). But it becomes a problem when you’re looking for time to take the kids one at a time or in small groups!
 In terms of being a teacher, I’m lucky. I don’t have my own kids/husband/family to worry about, so I have more free time than most. I’m teaching fewer classes than my colleagues, so I have less stress with lesson planning and marking. I tend to be organized and dedicated to work, so again I have more time to give than many. But the sad fact is, and I know it is true at nearly all Namibian schools, these kids just don’t have enough support. When I was young, I remember my parents checking on my homework EVERY DAY so that it would be finished for tomorrow’s classes – and we simply can’t do that for each of 250 learners in our school! How can we give them all that they need in order to grow up into disciplined, moral, educated young people?

Either way, I’m lucky to be close to a lot of the learners and have them come to me when they need help. And I take that role as seriously as I can!

No comments:

Post a Comment