A taste of local Culture

One of the best things about living in Namibia is the huge variety of local cultures. I'm uploading a series of videos to give you an idea of some of the great songs, dances and skits that I've gotten to see in the last few months! Blogger won't let me put extremely high quality videos, but it can give you a sense.

My school choir is absolutely phenomenal. The acoustics are a bit funny here, but it gives you an idea of the enthusiasm they have for singing, and the raw talent some of them have (they don't practice often at all!)

Every year, schools host a Culture Day where learners are able to perform traditional dances from various cultures. Here is one of mine: the Nama culture (traditional in the area where I am staying), check out some of the boys' footwork! The red facepaint is a traditional ochre of some sort. Traditionally all of the clothes would be in a specific patchwork pattern (like the girls and the one really noticeable pair of pants) but not all of the kids have it, so they're wearing school uniforms.

Down the Drain

I've decided to try to write smaller shorter posts on random stuff so I can get my blog alive again! Usually this type of decision works for me for about a month and then I fall off again... but I'll try.

It's exam time at school. Again.

More specifically, exams finished last week, and this week we have only grade 10s at school to help them prep for their upcoming JSC exam series (if they fail, they are out of school for good...). It is also marking time for all of the teachers - we have to mark all of the exams of our kids and put out progress reports by tomorrow.

There is no time like exam time to make you feel like all of your efforts are for nothing! I was mildly saddened that only 19/105 grade 8s passed my maths class this term. I made the exam a LITTLE harder than it could have been (my theory being that they would be overprepared for the November Regional exams... I think I just scared them). Still, the 27% pass rate bothers me much more than it would have 2 years ago. Settling for complacency, or something like that.

The thing that REALLY bugged me was the marks of the grade 9s. I taught them last year as grade 8s, and worked the hardest I ever have at teaching to try to help them recover some of the basic skills they were lacking and also master grade 8 material. Now, in the first term of grade 9, those kids did great. Almost 50% passed grade 9 maths. Now in term 2, only SIX passed out of the entire grade!!! I am incredibly frustrated. I know my frustration will solve nothing... BUT I WORKED SO HARD WITH THEM LAST YEAR and it seems like all that work is down the drain. They told me last year that math was becoming "less scary" and "more fun." Now, when I talk to those same kids, they tell me that they dodge class and "hate the class and the teacher." AGH. What is the point of my working hard if they only go on to continue hating/failing maths!!!

In other news, my dad and Louise and Aunt Pamela are coming to visit next week. We're going to tour around Namibia a bit - it will be nice to get out of Tses and to see some faces from home. If anyone needs anything sent with them from Nam to the US, let me know!