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Tuesday 15th
After my 4 day weekend this was the day to start getting things sorted. Cecelia and I went to the Teachers Development Centre, which is attached to St Peters school and waited for Mr Ngwale. He was late and I got frustrated so started to go through things with Cecelia. St Peters gave us a list of the resources they are short of and we went through seeing which ones need money and which can be made at the workshop. Mr Ngwali finally came and the Head teacher was also there. I looked in the teachers book to see what the next science lesson they would be teaching next week and thus what lesson they would observe me teaching- it was heating liquids
Thursday 17th
Over Wednesday and Thursday Cecelia and I got together all the resources we needed, mostly asking the boat yard that is attached to the Lake Malawi Projects (LMP) office to cut up bits of wood for us. I found it very frustrating at times not being able to go to B&Q and buy the correct size things Paul’s calls every evening have definitely kept me going and we seem to have found
a way round all our problems and I think we are ready for the workshop.
Friday 18th- Day of the first workshop.
We went to the LMP office to collect our resources. We had been offered a lift from the District Education Manager but it never showed up so instead someone from the boat yard wheelbarrowed everything up to the Teacher Development centre (TDC) for us. We couldn’t set up as there was a meeting taking place in the morning so we went back to Cecelia’s and I washed my clothes in the Lake. After lunch we returned to the TDC but the meeting was still going on. It was now going into the time that I had booked the hall for. Most annoying the District Education Minister was in our meeting and after meeting him yesterday, him saying how great what I was doing and then him not only not giving us a lift in the morning but being in the meeting that meant we couldn’t start until 45mins later!! So frustrating- its just typical of the problems encountered here.
Aaaannnyyway…deep breath… I showed the teachers the resources they could make- clocks, rulers, balances, spatula (out of bottle
tops), as well as posters, abacuses and anything else they could think of. And they showed eachother what things they use in the classroom I say lets begin. They sit and stare at me!! So I comment that if they don’t move the children wont have any resources!! This gets them moving and once they start it all goes fairly well. Only one teacher is sitting there not doing anything. At 4pm I say they can go when they want to but the continue for 5 minutes, then one asks about money. I forward the question to Cecelia, they are complaining it isn’t enough. I want to shout at them- do you want me to buy resources for the children or do you want more money- Rah Rah Rah. But money and late start aside I think the first day of workshop is a success.
Saturday-19th- Day of the second workshop.
At the workshop the teachers start coming in at 8am and continue with there activities from yesterday. Someone from LMP comes and discusses with them the money issue and although the government tell the teachers they should get K860 LMP only pays K500 what ever the situation. I
explain to them how the money was raised and it is Nayland Primary School in England that they need to thank as without them none of this would be happening. The conversation is done in Chichewa and I find out afterwards that we have agreed to buy lunch for them. At 10.45 over drinks and biscuits we start discussing good teaching methods. Remembering what the girl said at the weekend I make it into them sharing ideas with eachother and use Mr Ngwali who is an experienced teacher to put across some of the points we came up with after observing there lessons. It went really well and we got our points across with out sounding like we were criticizing. After lunch at the Hunger Clinic we continued discussing a good lesson and then went on to discuss what resources they think they really need us to buy them from the mainland. This takes us till 2.30. They still have an hour and a half but they say they will finish making the things at school- I doubt it but most things are made and they are all adults- I cant force them to stay. Two of the teachers come
and thank me and say how great it was. There is another misunderstanding over the lesson they are suppose to watch me observe and if there is going to be another meeting next week, once that was sorted out and they had got their money they left.
I went and watched a bit of a netball match that was going on and then came home to have a swim/wash. The workshop is over with now I just have to teach 80 pupils standard 7 science- three times as they say they can all come to one school!
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