Thinking…

As most of you know, my idea or philosophy behind teaching and education in general, is to get students to learn and, even more importantly, to think. I try and do that at SHG and I have brought that same philosophy here to Ghana. However, like everything else here, the education system is very different. Although in many respects the students here are similar to the students in the US: similar likes and dislikes, fear and frustrations, there are certainly some differences, especially in the classroom.

At the end of each term all of the students have to take exams. The exams here though are a bit different than in the US. Instead of each teacher making up his or her own exam, the entire social studies department makes up one exam for each level. Therefore, some of the extra things that I may teach in my class, will not go on the exam because none of the other teachers will have taught it. The philosophy seems to be that it makes curriculum more uniform throughout the school. For terms one and two, this department exam is protocol. For term three, instead of the department making the exam, the students are to take an exam, that is cumulative over the entirety of the three terms, that is written by some type of West African Education Examination Council. The teachers do not see the test and, from what I can tell, have no input as to what is on the test.

What does all of this mean? First of all it is simply a cultural difference that offers a unique learning experience for myself. Also however, it makes me change my teaching around and rethink my own teaching philosophy if only for a year in Africa. Again, as many of you know, as I grade the students, I ask them to grade me. I have continued to so that here and the feedback that I have received in not at all what I expected. I thought that the students would love to learn more about the world outside of the walls of the campus and the borders of Ghana and West Africa. However, they told me that they want more notes, more dictation, more lecture, more tests, and more homework! Most did like to discuss current issues and deeper level thinking questions, but did not see the relevance and did not want to waste the time when they need to be preparing for the exams. In the grades that they put for me, there was an incredible range; from A+ all the way down to an E (yes they use A, B, C, D, E, and F)! I am happy to say that no one failed me, but obviously, some think that I need to pick it up!

The conundrum then is this: How am I to not only get the students ready and prepared to do well no the exams (which are very much based upon rote memorization, and I don‘t write) while also getting them to learn (not just memorize) and become independent thinkers? I have been teaching here now for almost 6 weeks and feel that I have learned a great deal, but also have realized that I have even more yet to learn.

Any suggestions are more than welcome, I would love to hear your input. My first year teaching at SHG was a mile-a-minute and I learned a great deal and had a great time doing it. Here, I feel similar in that the curriculum that I am teaching is different than anything I have ever taught, as well as the entire education system is different. One of the reasons that I came to Ghana, besides wanting to work on my tan, was for the challenge of it. I was not sure exactly what form those challenges would take, and now that I have been here for almost two months, I am beginning to see the shape they will take. It is a challenge that I embrace and look forward to tackling it in one way or another.

Ghanaian/American Pizza Night...

Saturday night was the first official Ghanaian/American Pizza Night in Ghana, and it went over very well, at least in my estimation. I love to cook and I love pizza, so I though it only natural to have some of the other Fulbrighters over to have pizza and to talk about our experiences in Ghana. My house here at Accra Girls’ is probably the most centrally located of all the Fulbrighters here in Ghana, so it is slowly becoming a meeting point for anything that we all do together.

Saturday, myself and one of the researchers went out in search of ingredients. Pizza is not common here at all and therefore some of the basic ingredients are a bit hard to find. Nonetheless, we made do with what Ghana has to offer. After two traditional markets and two “Continental” grocery stores, I had flat bread for the crust, tomato paste, tomatoes, a can of stewed tomatoes, onion, garlic, green pepper, and fresh basil (which was incredible), and mozzarella cheese (crazy expensive). I could not find sausage or pepperoni, but it is probably better because two of the other Americans are vegetarians.

People started arriving between 5:30 and 6 and so I started to make pizza. Please, keep in mind that this is Africa and the ideas of an American kitchen cannot really be applied here. There is not running water, but instead I have a trash can that I fill with water every few days and use a small bucket to dip with. Also, it is in the mid eighties and to make pizza I need to light the oven, which makes the kitchen, well, it makes Africa hot even hotter! After some difficulty, I finally got the oven (or “gas cooker” as it is called here) and realized that there are no temperatures settings just a picture of a big flame on one end and a little flame on the other. I made my best guess, and put the pizza in. If I can say so without sounding vain, it turned out pretty well…it was at least edible. We made five pies altogether for six people and had only a few pieces leftover, so I think that everyone enjoyed it, and no one has called me telling me they got sick (on that level alone I consider it a success).

After pizza we all sat and talked about our experiences so far and I had invited the headmistresses’ son over to eat with us, so we were able to ask him different questions about Ghana as well. It was a fun night and it was neat to hear about everyone else’s experiences thus far. The researchers are studying the elections here and it is fascinating. Plus, as a teacher, it is always good to bounce ideas off of another teacher, especially when the culture and educational system is so different.

All in all the first Ghanaian/American Pizza Night (or GAP Night) was a success. I got to cook, eat, and converse with some interesting people.

Busua Beach…

Last Friday night the two other Fulbright teachers and one of the Fulbright researchers met here at Accra Girls’ and we all went out to dinner with Akordy. We all had a nice time talking about our experiences thus far. Everyone spent the night at my house and we got up at 4am and caught a bus to Takoradi, about 5 hours away. We then took a trotro and taxi another 45 minutes or so to this tiny little village named Busua on the ocean. It is beautiful! The town itself is all of about 200 yards, but the beach it sits on is a pristine sand beach of about 2 miles! We checked into a hotel that was right on the ocean (you hear the waves crash all night), and then went to the beach. There is one surf shop in Ghana, and it is Busua. So I rented a surf board and spent about 4 hours learning to surf and getting pounded by the ocean. The water is so warm though that it was a blast. In the evening we all took a walk around the little town an talked with some of the locals, it is mainly a fishing town, very poor, but really neat as well. We had dinner on the roof of the hotel, looking out at the ocean and the sunset to the west. It was such a neat experience, that it was a bit surreal, like many of the things I have experience here in Ghana. Saturday night we went down to the beach and just sat looking at the ocean and a crystal clear sky, and say a handful of shooting stars! The last time a saw a shooting star was probably 15 years ago!

Sunday morning, I was way too excited to sleep, so I got up as early as was possible and I went down to the beach to go for a run. When I stepped on to the beach, I looked up and down, and did not see a single person; I had a tropical beach to myself to go for a run at sunrise! I ran for awhile, went swimming and then went back to have breakfast with everyone. We stayed until noon and once again I spent about 2 hours or so trying to surf (the waves were bigger on Sunday) and got up on my knees but never was able to stand up, but it did not matter, it was a lot of fun regardless. Also, there is an island about a mile off the coast of Busua. So I talked with one of the local fisherman and he agreed to take us out to the island. We got into a traditional, handmade, African fishing canoe (about 30 feet long) and had to paddle out to the island! I had never been on a boat on the ocean! Within the first 3 minutes we had hit two whitecaps and the bottom of the boat had a foot of standing water that we had to bail-out like mad. But, we kept going and eventually reached the island. There were 5 locals that took us out and I asked if I could help paddle, I thought, I am in good shape, it is only a mile, it will be cool. Well, these men do it everyday and after about ¼ of the way to the island I was spent, and they were still going strong, there was no possible way I could keep up with them! The island itself was very cool too, beautiful with tons of beautiful shells, plus a very interesting visual perspective of the coast and the ocean.

When it was time to go we took a taxi back to Takoradi to catch our bus. The taxi driver told us that he was the son of the chief and would be the new chief soon. He also told us that he was a Rastafarian in this heart but “not on his head” (he did not have dreads), and proceeded to sing along with the Bob Marley tape he was playing. The bus trip back to Accra was fine, but by the time I got back to Accra Girls’ the sun, surfing, and lack of sleep caught up with me and I was exhausted. The trip was incredible and I would love to be able to go back to Busua.

International Dinner...

Last night I had a full house for the first time since I have been here. Three of the Fulbright researchers came over to my house as well as the headmistresses son, Akordy. We all had dinner together and talked about a variety of topics. Akordy, prepared traditional Ghanaian fried rice (which was excellent) and I made a simple salad (Ghanaians don’t really eat salad, so although simple, really hit the spot, at least for me). It was a neat experience to be sitting in my house in Ghana, West Africa talking with 3 Americans from all over the US, all researching fascinating and different topics here in Ghana, and a Ghanaian who has had the opportunity to travel to the US. We talked about politics (US and Ghanaian), cultural differences, economics, the bailout plan (the little we know about it), and of course, food. It was a fun evening. I am still not sure that I have fully grasped the fact that I am in Africa! It still seems surrealistic at times. Regardless, I am enjoying it and I hope to share as much with the Ghana as it has with me.