Ash Wednesday. Today we received our ashes during mass held outside between St Raphaels secondary and primary schools. There were over 800 people present, including members from the local community, Waterloo. Fr Joe wore purple tie dye vestments and the singing was led by Mr Vandi. Is was a very colourful and reverent mass. Religion is the centre of life here in Waterloo. The majority of people are either Christians or Muslims. Both groups of people coexist in peace alongside each other.
Big test for Mrs Pinnington and Mr Naughton today, we had to start teaching, which is one of the main reasons we came here. We each taught a different class, of 70 pupils. The lesson was about sustainable use of water, a class discussion prompted by lots of images we had bought with us. The behaviour was excellent, the pupils did exactly as we asked, which was amazing considering we taught in a way you are used to not the way they are used to. The outcome of the lesson was that in their opinion UK citizens do not make sustainable use of water because of the way we access our water supply, were as water use in Sierra Leone is sustainable as they have to collect water in buckets or bottles for swamps or wells on a daily bases. So they are more careful with how they use it. It was very moving when we passed around some pictures showing the different uses of water, it was obvious the use of visual aids is absent in their day to day education.
Other interesting observations were that your peers had never seen a bathroom or a kitchen. I had to explain the function of these rooms. They were astounded that we have a machine that washes clothes as all their laundry is done by hand. They were keen to know about the plants we grow in the UK and the cost of different irrigation methods as this is something that would help them. Your peers have very different priorities to you.
This afternoon a debate took place, with the whole school watching. The question ‘Who is more important in society, teachers or doctors?’ The team representing teachers won as they were able to identify the local and nation impact of these professions. An interesting point raised was that Doctors are not important because they want your money before they treat you. Last year 7 doctors in Sierra Leone graduated, only 1 stayed in the county. The Maricourt staff judged the debate with Mr Vary announcing the winning team.
Big test for Mrs Pinnington and Mr Naughton today, we had to start teaching, which is one of the main reasons we came here. We each taught a different class, of 70 pupils. The lesson was about sustainable use of water, a class discussion prompted by lots of images we had bought with us. The behaviour was excellent, the pupils did exactly as we asked, which was amazing considering we taught in a way you are used to not the way they are used to. The outcome of the lesson was that in their opinion UK citizens do not make sustainable use of water because of the way we access our water supply, were as water use in Sierra Leone is sustainable as they have to collect water in buckets or bottles for swamps or wells on a daily bases. So they are more careful with how they use it. It was very moving when we passed around some pictures showing the different uses of water, it was obvious the use of visual aids is absent in their day to day education.
Other interesting observations were that your peers had never seen a bathroom or a kitchen. I had to explain the function of these rooms. They were astounded that we have a machine that washes clothes as all their laundry is done by hand. They were keen to know about the plants we grow in the UK and the cost of different irrigation methods as this is something that would help them. Your peers have very different priorities to you.
This afternoon a debate took place, with the whole school watching. The question ‘Who is more important in society, teachers or doctors?’ The team representing teachers won as they were able to identify the local and nation impact of these professions. An interesting point raised was that Doctors are not important because they want your money before they treat you. Last year 7 doctors in Sierra Leone graduated, only 1 stayed in the county. The Maricourt staff judged the debate with Mr Vary announcing the winning team.
No comments:
Post a Comment