A Few Days' Layout

This week, my schedule really tightens up. On Monday I had my second full day lesson with the teen mothers at Joy. We spent quite some time reviewing. It was difficult for the girls to remember all the materials I gave them with a full week between each class. They did a fantastic job memorizing the vocabulary list I asked them to memorize, however they had some issues grasping some of the concepts we studied the past week, namely the articles of speech. After we reviewed, we continued by learning new vocabulary: Showing Emotions. We then engaged in a series of activities that linked each emotion to a verb to show the emotion. For example, Lucy, why do you eat? “I eat because I am hungry.”

The remainder of the lesson was a two-part open question session. During the first part, the girls had the opportunity to suggest topics that they want to learn. I told them that I will be making the curriculum this week for the rest of our time together, so they should tell me if they have any subjects that they definitely want to learn about. They were very responsive and offered a plethora of topics. Some of them I would have guessed, for example verb tenses and household appliances, whereas others, such as how to pray to God in English and how to follow a cooking recipe, I would not have thought of on my own.

A large chunk of my day today was devoted to preparing for the rest of the week. Tomorrow I am teaching 3 lessons – an hour and twenty minutes each – one for grade 1, one for grade 2, and one for form 3, which is the equivalent to American grade 11. I am more anxious about teaching the younger kids because I am afraid that it will be difficult for them to focus for so long. An hour and twenty minutes is a long time for five and six year olds.

I’ll let you know how the lesson goes. So far, teaching at Joy has continued to be the best part of my week. Those girls are inspiring.

Sorry this post is kind of bland and general – I figure it is important to supply a base for the biographical sketches I will illustrate of these students when I get to know them on a more personal level. So stay tuned!