Hello Cornelia!
I hope your school year is off to a good start. You might remember me from last year if you were in one of the classrooms that I helped out in, or as that guy who always waited for the buses to arrive each morning. I’m already missing not being there this year, but I am having an amazing time in Africa.
Here in Tanzania I am teaching English and math, and I know each one of you is studying these subjects as well! In Tanzania however, the students have a much different experience in their classroom than you do at Cornelia.
One big difference is in the number of students in each class. At Cornelia, if you look around your class, there are about 24 other kids close to your same age. In my math class there are 58 students, and in my English classes there are 80 students! The students here are much older than you are too. The schools that I teach in are like a middle school (South View) but instead of being 12-15 years old like you will be when you go to South View, the students that I teach range from 15-28 years old.
The main reason why there are so many students in my classroom is because there aren’t enough schools and teachers in Tanzania. Often times students must travel 30-60 minutes to school, but there are no buses or cars to drive them so they must walk this distance. Schools try to accept as many students as they can because they know that if they turn down a student they might not be able to get an education.
The main reason why students are older is because education is not free. Students and their families must work to raise money so they can go to school. This is difficult because the average family of 4 here lives on only $5.00 a week. Many families and students must work for a long period of time to raise money to pay for school fees. If a family cannot afford to pay for the school fees then the kids are not able to get an education.
The classrooms are also very different. The classrooms here have chalkboards, bare walls, and rows of long wooden desks. There are only 20 desks so the students sit 2-4 per desk. It is very crowded. They don’t have any Tvs, computers, overheads, fans, or cd players. In fact, during the day there is no electricity. Many students have never used a computer before.
These are just some of the differences between the classrooms here and at Cornelia. If you have any questions about the students and their classrooms please leave a comment and I will try to answer as soon as I can. Every week or two I will try and post about some more of the differences between being a student at Cornelia and a student in Tanzania.
Derek
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Reply to Mr. Zetah's Questions
Response to Mr. Zetah:
Thanks for the updates! Sounds like it should be a good staff and a great year!
You asked some really good questions so let me get right to it:
What do your students know about America/What is their perception of living there?
My students believe that everyone in America is very wealthy and has many possessions. They will not believe me when I try to tell them that in America there are also many problems with crime, poverty, health, and education. They often argue and tell me that a poor person in America is much better off than a poor person in Tanzania. However, I’m not sure if this is always the case. I try to explain that because America is so developed there is a high cost of living and people do not grow their own food so they must rely on a job to pay for housing and food. As a result, when people cannot find jobs they are often left to live on the streets with no shelter or food. Here in Tanzania land is an abundant resource and, even though people here are poor in the sense that they make very little money, many are still able to self sustain themselves with food and shelter.
Also, because many of my students have never used a computer or been on the Internet before they don’t have any resources where they are able to get current events and other perspectives on different countries. Therefore, they rely on the few photo books that they have here that show only the beautiful landscapes of the United States.
What would your students love to receive?
Anything. Ok, that might be a little too broad. My students love to hear about America and see pictures and find out new things about the lifestyle. Some students found one of my bookmarks and had never seen one before so I’m sure they would love to have one of their own. They don’t have stickers here or paper to color on. I think they would be pretty fascinated with anything that I could tell them came from America.
What do I really miss from my usual daily routine?
This is a tough one. At first I missed being able to snack on food. My diet here is limited to about 10 different types of food (rice, ugali, beans, chicken, beef, pork, spinach, potatoes, bread, bananas, and eggs). Every now and then we might get spoiled with something a little different, but it’s usually the same food each day. But, I’ve started to get used to the food. I think what I miss the most is hot water. I’m fortunate enough o actually have a nice bathroom with a shower in my room, most people in Africa do not, but getting up at 5:30 in the morning and trying to take a cold shower is a little tough.
One thing that is really cool that people in America would like:
Besides the beautiful scenery and friendly people I think one of the coolest things is how the women here can balance a 5-gallon bucket of water on their heads while they walk. Very few roads here are paved and they are full of potholes and uneven ground, but it doesn’t seem to affect these women while they walk. No matter where you are going you will always see women walking with bundles of logs for firewood, buckets of water, or baskets filled with various items on their heads.
Thanks for the updates! Sounds like it should be a good staff and a great year!
You asked some really good questions so let me get right to it:
What do your students know about America/What is their perception of living there?
My students believe that everyone in America is very wealthy and has many possessions. They will not believe me when I try to tell them that in America there are also many problems with crime, poverty, health, and education. They often argue and tell me that a poor person in America is much better off than a poor person in Tanzania. However, I’m not sure if this is always the case. I try to explain that because America is so developed there is a high cost of living and people do not grow their own food so they must rely on a job to pay for housing and food. As a result, when people cannot find jobs they are often left to live on the streets with no shelter or food. Here in Tanzania land is an abundant resource and, even though people here are poor in the sense that they make very little money, many are still able to self sustain themselves with food and shelter.
Also, because many of my students have never used a computer or been on the Internet before they don’t have any resources where they are able to get current events and other perspectives on different countries. Therefore, they rely on the few photo books that they have here that show only the beautiful landscapes of the United States.
What would your students love to receive?
Anything. Ok, that might be a little too broad. My students love to hear about America and see pictures and find out new things about the lifestyle. Some students found one of my bookmarks and had never seen one before so I’m sure they would love to have one of their own. They don’t have stickers here or paper to color on. I think they would be pretty fascinated with anything that I could tell them came from America.
What do I really miss from my usual daily routine?
This is a tough one. At first I missed being able to snack on food. My diet here is limited to about 10 different types of food (rice, ugali, beans, chicken, beef, pork, spinach, potatoes, bread, bananas, and eggs). Every now and then we might get spoiled with something a little different, but it’s usually the same food each day. But, I’ve started to get used to the food. I think what I miss the most is hot water. I’m fortunate enough o actually have a nice bathroom with a shower in my room, most people in Africa do not, but getting up at 5:30 in the morning and trying to take a cold shower is a little tough.
One thing that is really cool that people in America would like:
Besides the beautiful scenery and friendly people I think one of the coolest things is how the women here can balance a 5-gallon bucket of water on their heads while they walk. Very few roads here are paved and they are full of potholes and uneven ground, but it doesn’t seem to affect these women while they walk. No matter where you are going you will always see women walking with bundles of logs for firewood, buckets of water, or baskets filled with various items on their heads.
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