this term, for my jhs classes we studied calabash art. calabash art is using decorative gourds for different purposes. we focused mostly on the theory end of it for the term, taking a lot of notes and doing a lot of reading.
so after an entire term of calabash everything, notes every week, quizzes almost every week, i finally gave my exams this week.
and one boy called me over and pointed to the word calabash on his paper and asked me what it meant.
30 March 2010
26 March 2010
something to think about
i was recently reading a document discussing poverty in ghana. some of the statistics in it really shocked me. i mean, i live here, and i see "poor" people, but i had no idea even that what i see is as extreme as it is.
poverty in ghana is defined as having less than 90Ghc (about $60) per year. Extreme poverty is defined as having less than 70Ghc (about $45) per year. PER YEAR.
when i read those numbers, i thought maybe they are just being extreme in their definitions, but then i read on.
the prevalence of poverty in my region is the highest in ghana, which i knew, as i am in a very rural, very poor area of the country. but this article defined the prevalence as 88%.
that means 88% of the people in the upper west here earn less than $60 a year.
wow.
poverty in ghana is defined as having less than 90Ghc (about $60) per year. Extreme poverty is defined as having less than 70Ghc (about $45) per year. PER YEAR.
when i read those numbers, i thought maybe they are just being extreme in their definitions, but then i read on.
the prevalence of poverty in my region is the highest in ghana, which i knew, as i am in a very rural, very poor area of the country. but this article defined the prevalence as 88%.
that means 88% of the people in the upper west here earn less than $60 a year.
wow.
19 March 2010
juluis
p2 is one of my favorite classes to teach, both because it is my last class of the week, and because the kids are well-behaved and so darn cute. it is a small class, so i am able to get the know the kids better than p1 and p3, which are huge classes.
one of my first weeks teaching p2, i came early and observed the classroom teacher for a while before my class began. they were working on spelling, simple words like "dog" and "ball." students were taking turns coming to the blackboard to spell the words. one little boy named julius had an especially hard time, repeatedly spelling "bog" and "dall." as much as he tried, he just could not understand the difference between "b" and "d". the teacher made him stay at the front of the class, over and over making him rewrite the words, but little julius could not get it right. the teacher grew frustrated, but julius just kept trying and trying and never gave up.
and that's just how this little guy is. he's deaf and also has vision trouble. one eye is clouded, so he probably can't see out of it at all. since his only method of communication is visual, and he probably only has half vision at best, he obviously has a lot to overcome. plus, it seems that he has a learning disability.
but he never gives up. he spends at least twice as long on every assignment as the other kids do, but he keeps trying.
i noticed that he tends to misspell his name on a lot of assignments. he transposes the "u" and "i." i corrected him a couple times, but then i figured out why he was getting it wrong. he can't remember how to spell his name, so when he went to write his name on is paper, he flipped the hem of his shorts up, and stitched upside-down on the hem so he could read it right side-up was "JULUIS."
so that's just what he writes on every paper.
juluis.
one of my first weeks teaching p2, i came early and observed the classroom teacher for a while before my class began. they were working on spelling, simple words like "dog" and "ball." students were taking turns coming to the blackboard to spell the words. one little boy named julius had an especially hard time, repeatedly spelling "bog" and "dall." as much as he tried, he just could not understand the difference between "b" and "d". the teacher made him stay at the front of the class, over and over making him rewrite the words, but little julius could not get it right. the teacher grew frustrated, but julius just kept trying and trying and never gave up.
and that's just how this little guy is. he's deaf and also has vision trouble. one eye is clouded, so he probably can't see out of it at all. since his only method of communication is visual, and he probably only has half vision at best, he obviously has a lot to overcome. plus, it seems that he has a learning disability.
but he never gives up. he spends at least twice as long on every assignment as the other kids do, but he keeps trying.
i noticed that he tends to misspell his name on a lot of assignments. he transposes the "u" and "i." i corrected him a couple times, but then i figured out why he was getting it wrong. he can't remember how to spell his name, so when he went to write his name on is paper, he flipped the hem of his shorts up, and stitched upside-down on the hem so he could read it right side-up was "JULUIS."
so that's just what he writes on every paper.
juluis.
16 March 2010
long time
i just realized that it has been almost a month since i last posted here, and i do apologize to all my loyal readers for that.
i don't have much new to say right now, except it is hot. that's the only news over here.
for the recipe i posted last time, there were a couple questions. on the ginger, get a couple pieces of the root. they should be the size of a couple fingers maybe. also, i think i overestimated the rice amount, so cut back on that.
please let me know if you make it; i am so curious what americans will think of this dish!
i don't have much new to say right now, except it is hot. that's the only news over here.
for the recipe i posted last time, there were a couple questions. on the ginger, get a couple pieces of the root. they should be the size of a couple fingers maybe. also, i think i overestimated the rice amount, so cut back on that.
please let me know if you make it; i am so curious what americans will think of this dish!
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