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Published: August 7th 2007
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Day 3 of substitute teaching has ended better than the other three. I always knew that substitutes had it hard, but I always thought, all they really had to do was babysit and keep order. Which is still sort of true if you have lesson plans and something to teach.
But...
I was asked on Friday if I could teach Math on Monday. I actually thought this was a bad idea. Not that I minded teaching but the students had a teacher and I thought with language and what what that they should keep the same teacher if they could.
Turns out that one teacher was going to a wedding.
I wasn't sure how they would get by with me just teaching one class of math but mine was not to wonder why.
So Monday morning they say...
Here is the P3 math book they are learning multiplication. Do some examples and then give them an exercise.... Piece of Cake..
It actually went pretty well.
Then after break they said, can you teach P2 math, addition? That went pretty well as well.
All things being equal that is.
But then Tuesday came by and they had
Kampala and the religious right
Wow, Benny Hinn... I don't think he chases women around in his underwear Kampala and the religious right
Wow, Benny Hinn... I don't think he chases women around in his underwearno teacher for P2. Can I teach P2? Teach them what? Math and English. Sure, we can do that.
Math is easy enough.
English, well imagine having only 1 book and trying to teach "this" and "that" I don't know that I can really explain my frustration without getting animated. Some of it is that the students learn by memorization not by any thinking of their own. I found that out trying to teach them story problems in math as well.
Anyway, after break.. I was asked to teach P2 again. What? Math, or English. To which I said that we just did 2 hours of that and they needed something else. What about Science or SST (social studies)? Yes that would be good. Oh we don't have the book for that, the other teacher has. I could teach Religious Education they suggest. Bad idea, I don't think I should poison kids with my religious views.
I decide to teach SST. I figure we can do something like where do you live. Continent, Country, City, Village... etc etc.
I don't know
if these kids will know it or not but what the heck. FYI P2 kids are mostly
Namuwongo Market
8-10 years old (I looked on the roster when I called roll this morning). I did finally get some response when I started going over things you can buy in a market. They know all the fruits that are grown around here so that is good.
Now I don't know if what I was trying to teach was over their head or what. But it just seems that every time I ask a question they just stare and talk to each other. Sometimes I wonder if they just don't understand my accent or english that well anyway. One girl told me yesterday that she didn't have her writing book. I asked her where it was and I got "Yes" as a response. Basically, it didn't matter what I asked I got "Yes" as a response. What is 2+2? "YES"
Today I resorted to making the girls that kept trying to sneak out of class just stand in the front. That seemed to help some.
And yes today went better. I taught... of all subjects... handwriting.
Trust me the
irony wasn't lost on me either, but it was a better option than English.
In English yesterday I would
Man frying Cassava in the market
ask a question about a chalkboard and I would get "Yesterday we went to school, today we go to school." Not sure what that all meant.
Other random things that happen in my class. Kids just seem to break down into tears. I have no idea what is really going on. Two days in a row I've had to tell 2 different girls to quit trying to take off their school uniforms.
I hope that the real teacher is back tomorrow. I'm running out of good ideas on my very own.
Yesterday, I went to the market here in Namuwongo to buy a new shirt. One of the other teachers went with me to make sure I didn't get ripped off. I paid 3500UGX (about $2.25) for a nice golf shirt. Also wandering around the market I tried to buy peanut butter. The shop owner didn't know what I was talking about. When I found it in a another shop and showed him he said... "Oh, Peanut Butter." Of course he pronounced it as 2 words instead of my probably slurred one. That was his excuse anyway for not knowing it.
Ok so what am I doing in Namuwongo and least of all why am I teaching. Well I didn't plan on teaching.
Well..
I came up from Kigali almost 2 weeks ago.
I haven't done much in town other than get settled in.
I'm going to spend 2 months here doing some volunteer work. I'm working with a grass roots project... Ray of Hope. They are a primary school in the slums of Kampala. It has been going on since 2001.
What will I be doing? Not sure, I spent most of last week just getting my feet wet and being the token Mazungo.
I did manage to set up their computer and get the printer working. Oh yeah, I got ripped off on my Windows 95 to Windows 98 upgrade. I paid 20,000UGX and it should have only cost 10,000UGX. FYI $1=1660UGX... you do the math.
What can I tell you about Kampala.
Not much. It is very crowded and polluted -- air pollution that is.
But you can find just about anything here. The city is very western. They even have a Game -- S. African Walmart. It is so strange to walk down one block with shops selling parafin stoves, lanterns and jerry cans for water and then the next block you are in a nice quiet Walmart with treadmills. Sort of surreal.
Oh yeah, and good food. Though I can't seem to get away from Indian food, which I've had lots of.
I've had several different groups of friends from Kigali come up and so we seem to go out to the nice Indian restaurants.
I have found some new accommodation as well. I was staying in a hostel/backpackers, which was nice.
But this place is really flash by cheap standards. I'm staying in a room in the house of the Aunt of the lady that runs the project. I have indoor plumbing and a shower which I've been told is hot... we will see.
That is flash by local standards. I'm pretty happy.
I moved in Sunday and she promptly invited me to lunch. Then when I got back from dinner she was eating and told me that she made me a plate. This might be a good couple of months.
She has offered to feed me every night. But she doesn't eat until 10PM. So I've been eating out mostly. It isn't so bad. Other than, they really like the carbs here.
In most of Africa you get a big plate of Pap (maize mush) and some relish or meat to go with it. Here you get rice, poshe (Uganda Pap), sweet potato, cassava, cassava bread, and moshe (banana mush). I'm sure ole Atkins is rolling over in his grave.
Well that pretty much sums up Uganda for me so far. I haven't done much.
I hope to get to the river this weekend. This is almost like being in ATL.. same same but different.
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Toby
non-member comment
practice for the future...
very cool, farrell. so even though this is grade school, has it affected your plans (such as they were) to possibly teach if/when you come back to the u.s.?