The First Day of School (October 9, 2006)
I am only teaching three days a week for a variety of reasons. First of all, the Peace Corps limits teachers to 12 hours a week so that volunteers have time to work on community development projects, integrate into the community and promote cultural exchange. On a more local level, my school complex only has two buildings of three classrooms each. This means that there are only six physical spaces whereas there are nine groups of students (2 – 7th, 3 – 8th, 2 – 9th, 2 – 10th). As a result, class times have been cut back. Students are supposed to get six hours of math a week but now only get four, even though the school is open Monday – Saturday. The school day is from 8 – 2:00 pm.
By 7:45 this morning, I am heading down the hill towards the school when I meet a teacher, he teaches biology, coming up the hill. He turns back towards the school with me though he said that no one was there yet. A little before 8:00 a lone student appears followed by the principal and his assistant. Well, I guess we will not be getting off to a flying start. By 8:15 about 15 students had arrived and a few teachers. Parents were coming in to register their students entering 7th grade (moving up from primary school). New students have to pay 5,000 Guinean Francs and either bring a 2 person desk with them or pay an additional 25,000 GF to have one made. Two families can go into a desk together. As a student leaves after 10th grade, they take the desk with them if it is still in decent condition.
At 9:00 about 60 or so students had shown up. The principal or any of the teachers are not fazed. “It’s the first week. By next week, most students should show up. Some are here today just to find out if classes are really starting or not. Tomorrow you will probably only have one class.”
I guess they are expecting only a small number of my approximately 270 students to show up. For the mathematicians out there, you are right. I have three classes with nearly 90 students in each class. The classrooms are smaller than what I had at Sunnyside and filled to the brim with these 2-seater desks. There are 50 desks in each class.
Well, let the games begin. Hopefully, my year's start will be better than the end of today. I got home to find that my container of freshly, hand-made peanut butter had come open in my bag. It was a gooey mess.
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