By Katy Allen | Director
The first half of the school year ends on Friday 5th June. The schools close for five weeks. Mid-year tests and examinations have been taking place before the end of term.
Our projects have continued but in fierce competition with the rain! It has rained torrentially for many weeks and our access to the primary schools in Lower Moshi has been severely limited. There is black cotton soil and so even the sturdiest four-wheel drive vehicle is in danger of getting stuck. We have not been able to get to our project in Manyara at all.
However, some days have given access and these have been used for in-school training sessions for teachers of mathematics. Barbara Kerr has led these with Madeleine Eriksson there as well. In most schools the sessions tackled the topic of addition with carrying, and then subtraction with carrying. This was not as easy as it might seem. The sessions highlighted that the teachers do not fully understand ‘place value’. When ‘carrying’ 10 from 40 in the tens column some teachers firmly believed that only 1 was being taken and so leaving 39 behind! The arguments were vociferous and only when Barbara demonstrated with money was the real mathematics understood. Barbara’s sessions are now attended by nearly all maths teachers in each school as they realise that they have a lot to learn.
Two ‘mobile tea’ sessions have been held for teachers of English. This is a workshop session when we collect the teachers from their schools and bring them to Langasani primary school, set out our thermoses of tea and milk and our plate full of ‘maandazi’ (doughnuts), and work whilst taking refreshments. Each session takes a grammar structure for the teachers to learn and practise. These are either structures which we note need some attention having observed the lessons in the schools, or are structures which we foresee will cause future difficulty. One session was on the past simple with attention to the question and negative forms (e.g. I walked. Did you walk? You did not walk.). The most recent session was looking at the past continuous with the past simple (e.g. When I was reading the telephone rang), which was made fun with actions and guessing. The teachers enjoy these sessions, not just because of the tea and maandazi but because it is an opportunity to be with teachers from other schools and to realise that they are all in the same boat.
Our work with the teachers is the only constructive help they receive. From our experience we know the inadequacies of the prescribed textbooks and the topics which cause the most difficulty. We not only increase the teachers’ knowledge of their subjects but provide them with ways of teaching which will engage their pupils and lead to full understanding.
We work on a very tight budget and achieve a great deal with very modest income each year. However, for that income we are most grateful and it is only because of the kindness of our donors that we are able to continue our valuable work.
Many thanks to everyone who supports our work.
Very best wishes
Katy
Katy Allen
Director
By Katy Allen | Director
By Katy Allen | Director
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