Midway in Awaso
Posted by Laura Scocchia on November 16th, 2009
Hello!
I am now midway through my placement, here in Awaso, Ghana.
I am enjoying it so much and my experience so far has exceeded my expectations.
Although, several details have changed and are very different than I was originally expecting, everything has turned out for the best.
For example, my biggest concern was being completely on my own. When I applied to volunteer through Students Without Borders, I was under the impression that I would be with a few other Canadian volunteers. However, this did not turn out to be the case. But, I strongly feel that this has turned out to be a huge advantage for me. I am forced to interact with the locals in the village; and thus, am completely immersed in the culture.
The other major change is I am living in a Guest House and not with a Host Family, which was not possible. This also, has turned out for the better, because at times I find it essential to have my own space. This has helped me tremendously while going through various phases of culture shock. Overall though, it has been fairly easy to adjust, because Ghana, as a country, really does live up to its reputation of being filled with the most friendly and helpful people. Although sometimes it is tiring to have to respond to “Obruni” wherever I go, I know they are just excited to see me and because they are not used to a multicultural society, for them, this is a very appropriate welcome.
The third and last major surprise to me was my school time-table that I would be following to teach French. According to my mandate, I originally applied to be an Assistant-Teacher. This later got changed to “Teacher”. Because I am already a qualified teacher, I was happy to have the extra responsibility, although was slightly concerned it may be overwhelming with the adjustments to be made in a new country. However, once again, there was no need to worry! My first week, on the job, I felt like I would have nothing to do, because the Principal did not want to “sacrifice” any of the other subjects for more than an hour a week, for French. So my original time-table consisted of me rotating through the primary classes, teaching an hour a day!
Over the week, I was able to add more to my responsibility list, and I now feel much more useful to the school. Many teachers struggle with teaching Computer classes, so I took over those classes for a few of the teachers (in order to help them learn as well) and assist others. I also teach “typing” classes to the grade 6s everyday after school, who are very motivated to learn! In addition, I am volunteering with the Boys and Girls Club events which consist of Debates, Spelling Bees, Sports, and an Excursion to the Big City. Finally, I got to present a Creative Art Teacher Workshop and will also be holding a Teacher Workshop for Alternative Discipline Strategies (to provide them with possible consequences instead of using the Cane).
The teachers were very excited for the opportunity to try out different arts and crafts, as materials have always been very limited or non-existent; and they now have the enthusiasm, confidence, and resources to go along with the ability to develop creative art lessons. Secondly, because the Kanaso School is funded to be a model school, they are strongly encouraged to abolish their use of Corporal Punishment. However, after having the chance to observe many of the teachers, I understood that most of them have never experienced a school setting without the use of a cane; thus, the “cane” was the only discipline method they were familiar with. For this reason, I asked if I could do a presentation based on Classroom Management, Prevention, and Alternative Consequences as part of a teacher workshop. My supervisor agreed, and although the changes cannot take place over night, I hope that I will at least inspire them to evaluate and reflect upon their practices and hopefully try using some of the alternative options instead.
It’s hard to believe I only have a month left! This experience has taught me so much! The people are all very positive and wonderful to work with and the children’s eagerness and willingness to learn is especially inspiring. I truly love it here and I already know I am going to be sad to leave and have a hard time saying goodbye to people I may never see again. If you are at all thinking this is something you may want to do, personally I think it’s worth it and you should do it! That is, as long as you are willing to go in with an open-mind…
