We’ve officially made it through five weeks of school without the building going up in flames. I seem to be making it through alright out here in the bush. Each week has brought many challenges and obstacles to overcome. The challenge of this week? I’ve had my first complaint- from the children.
This week two of my students told their parents that they don’t want to come back to school anymore because of how they are treated.. Let’s just say this came after I didn’t let one of them come to night-gym because his homework wasn’t done. Oh the horror! Insert village life explanation here.
As I’ve said before, education is not a priority to most villagers. There is no support or help when it comes to homework and projects. When the kids leave to go home, their parents aren’t monitoring or checking that their homework is getting done. As we get further into the school year, I have limited when I send work home, because the reality of the situation is that it won’t get done. So I narrowed it down to two nights a week; Tuesday and Thursday nights. This way, if the kids don’t do their work, they cannot attend night gym on Wednesday or Friday. It holds the students accountable and pushes them to actually get their work done. Is it ideal? Nope not at all, especially because the kids need all the extra practice they can get. But it’s what works out here.
Well apparently two of my students think this is outrageous and don’t want to come to school because of it. Aren’t I terrible? Might I add in that one of them drew me a picture just the other day and said at least five times that she wants Chris and I to be her teachers forever. Clearly there’s something that doesn’t add up.
One part is that it is just the culture of the village that the students do not want to do work. Another factor is that both of these kids have known no other teacher. They have both had the same teacher throughout their entire school career. Not only is it a new school year, but they have to get used to a whole new routine; this includes two new people in their daily lives. It’s a huge adjustment for them, and it will continue to be so. If giving homework and pushing the kids to do a little work is the worst complaint I receive, I think I’ll survive. Oh the life of a teacher!
No comments:
Post a Comment