JSS Presentation #1

10/09/08

We gave our first presentation to the JSS students today. It was pretty basic to start things off. We introduced ourselves, and explained why we were there. We talked about school and asked what their favorite and least favorite subjects are. We talked about furthering their education, going to university, and finding a career. Going around the room, we asked each student what they wanted to be when they grow up. Answers varied: nurse, doctor, lawyer, broadcaster, journalist, writer, teacher, soldier, pilot, engineer, bank manager, football player. After a class discussion, the students agreed that university was important for having a career.

We addressed how to do well in school, touching on time management skills, and stressing how important it is to study and do their homework every day. We asked what problems they might come across in school. Students raised their hands, or called out answers: have to go to the farm after school, don’t understand the homework/lesson, have to care for younger siblings, etc. After talking with the students about these issues, we asked them what they could do to fix these problems. The teachers had previously asked us to stress their role as the students’ biggest resource, which we of course relayed to the students. We really tried to get across to them how important it is to a) look at the assignment as soon as they receive it, instead of waiting until they get home to realize they’re confused; b) ask for help from the teacher right away if they don’t understand something; and c) set aside time every day to study their notes and complete assignments. We conveyed that the teachers are there to help them learn, and want them to understand. We also said that if they need more time at home for schoolwork, they can politely explain to their parents how important school is, and ask if they can work something out, where they can have more time for assignments every evening.

We asked each student to answer some questions on a sheet of paper for us to learn from them. Questions included: favorite and least favorite subject in school and why; do they plan to go to university; what problems do they face in school; and questions about anything for Christine and Denise. Reading over some of their papers was really interesting. The questions they asked will be listed in another post. Problems they listed were “don’t understand the subjects” or “money” or “don’t have school bag or school sandals or pen” or “I want to go to senior secondary school but my father doesn’t have enough money.” Other problems were “I don’t understand when the teacher uses a big word,” or “I don’t want to repeat or get pregnant.” All in all, I think the presentation went over very well. I think we got through to most of the kids about the importance of education, what they can do to improve, how to solve problems they might have, and to use their teachers for help and guidance. We’ll be speaking with the Primary School students tomorrow on the same subject, but less detailed. Tony translated for us in the first two classes, and supervised the third class. He was very pleased with our material and told us it was “perfect.”